Before the Dawn

Chapter Twenty Seven

As soon as I'm off the stage, I'm running. I sprint through the crowd of people leaving the theater, ignoring the "hey!"s and annoyed grunts of the people I shove past. I burst through the front doors of the high school just in time to see my parents' car speed off with Theo at the wheel.

I curse under my breath. Racing over to my car, I pat my dress, looking for my keys. Heart dropping, I realize I'd left them in the pocket of my jeans back in the school.

"Damn it!" I scream and punch the car door with as much force as I can muster. Tears fill my eyes as the throbbing pain sears through my hand.

Breathing deep, I push away from the vehicle and pass a hand over my face. My eyes flick back to the school. Do I dare go back in there to get the keys and risk being stopped by Declan? No, I can't risk it. I glance at the road that leads to my house. It's not that far from here. . .

"Screw it," I growl and take off running towards my house.

I run fast and hard, more so than I ever have before. The asphalt hurts my bare feet but I push the pain to the back of my mind. I have much larger things to worry about than hurt feet.

Looking back now, there are so many things that I could have done to stop this from happening. There are so many things that I regret that I feel as if I'm about to burst with guilt and regret confetti.

Oh, gods, I pray, hoping that someone out there is listening, please, please let them be okay. Please, let them be alive. I can't take anymore death. It's destroying me. My heart is so close to being irreparably broken that I don't think that I can bear to lose someone else.

My breathing is ragged and I have to remind myself to take each breath. In. Out. In. Out. My calves begin to burn, reminding me of how long it's been since I've really exercised. Sweat drips from my brow and into my eyes. Hopelessness fills my soul and I have to fight not to curl up into a ball and sob like my tired limbs want me to.

I look around me and recognize the houses that sit, cheerily painted on either side of me. Relief floods my body. I'm almost there. It's just around the block.

As I near the edge of the block, my brain registers a strange smell. It stings my nostrils, sounding alarms in my head. I stumble to a stop when I realize what the smell is: smoke.

Oh my gods. I take off running around the corner. My heart drops when I see what waits for me.

My house, the place I grew up in and made so many beautiful memories in, is on fire. The bright flames engulf the entire building, licking the starless night sky above. As if my body's on autopilot, I stop in front of my flaming house and stare up at it, my mind completely blank.

This must be a trick, I think in denial, Theo's evil, but he wouldn't do this.

I look around, refusing to believe, and spot my parents' car sitting in the driveway. Fierce hope grows in my chest as I survey the car and it's crushed as I come to realize that they're not in it.

At last my tearful eyes land on the golden man leaning against the vehicle. His eyes are solemn and grim, like a doctor's right before they give you bad news, almost regretful. His expression is that of pity as if I am some weak, pitiful creature beneath his feet. And, gods help me, if he says he's done what I think he's done, I may just shatter into just that.

"No one else has to die, Thanatos," Theo murmurs softly, carefully, like I might break any second. Maybe I already have. "All you have to do is give in."

He gives me one last grim look, then turns and disappears into the darkness.

I sink down onto my knees, staring up at the roaring fire that use to be my home. Rain drips from my sopping hair onto my forlorn face. I don't feel the drops. My face, along with the rest of me, is numb. My breathing deepens considerably. It's the I'mgonnacry, I'mgonnacryrightnow type of breathing. A low keening sounds in the back of my throat, nearly drowning out the maternal voice.