Because of the fire.

chapter three

"how was your day?" mom asked as soon as I got in the car.

" it was great, " I replied earnestly.

"that's new. Something must've happened.. Care to tell me about it?"

"where's Luke?"

"your dad picked him up from school. Stop avoiding the question," she urged.

"well we have been paired for a new project so let's just say I've now got something to look forward to when I go to school," I skipped the part that I'd been paired with the boy I had a crush on. Knowing my mom, she'd obviously make a fuss about it.

"that's amazing. At least you won't spend hours drowning in misery. You should occupy yourself with something. If I had more time we could do something.. The world has a lot to offer.."

"it's okay mom. I'll find some activity," I quickly replied before she said anything more.

Later in the evening, we were watching TV. Dad was working late so it was just me, mom and Luke.

"I'm off to bed. Don't forget to turn off the lights. Also don't stay up late, okay? " mom said getting up from the couch.

"okay mom," we both replied.

I definitely wasn't going to bed anytime soon. It was about 7.45p.m. it's not like I had anything else to do so I opted to binge-watch pink panther with Luke. I took out my phone.. There were no messages, it wasn't like I had any friends to text. The only contacts I had besides family and emergency numbers were of the few people I had worked with on class projects before. That's when I remembered that I had Kyle's contact.
He had told me that we needed to make arrangements about the project but could I call him or text him first.

"Trae.. I'm hungry,"

"Really Luke. We've had dinner just now.." I replied in surprise.

"yeah but I could have your breakfast. You said I could have it remember," he said pleadingly.

"okay," I stood up to put the food in the microwave. It was almost frozen so it'd take a long time to thaw.

Minutes later I saw Luke dozing off.

"come on champ, let's get to bed," I said nudging him.
I turned off the TV and switched off the lights then we walked up the stairs. After getting him into bed I went to my room. I changed into my pjs and got into bed. Minutes later I drifted into sleep.
.....
It's so hot in here. I thought as I put the wet towel to my forehead.
Why isn't it working? Suddenly dark clouds covered the sky.
Here comes rain. I'll be feeling better soon.
The clouds instantly fell over me and I began to choke.
I opened my eyes and couldn't believe what I saw....if I could see anything at all. The room was filled with smoke and I began coughing. It took me enough time to register that the house was on fire. My mind rushed to mom and Luke.. I wondered if dad had been back when the fire started. It was at that moment when I realized how crucial life was. I fumbled for my bag which was at the foot of my bed and took out the water bottle that I always carried.. thanks to mom.. I poured water over my pillowcase and covered my nose so that I'd breathe more easily... I stumbled in the smoke and walked towards the window. There was no way I could jump and survive.. Panic crept up my neck, tears automatically made their way down my cheeks. There was no way I could go through the door... I could see the first flames start to lick the wooden door. The room felt unbearably hot and it was getting even harder to breathe. If the fire had started downstairs, then my bedroom would be the first one to burn down since it was the first on the landing, after the stairs. I sat in the far corner of the room trying hard not to look at the fire consuming my door. I took my phone and strained my eyes to see.. The screen light helped a bit. If I was going to die, I needed to see pictures of my family one last time. It was sad that I'd die not knowing if they survived or not. That's when it dawned on me that if I died, everything would be over. I wouldn't ever see Kyle...he would never know how I'd felt about him for the greater part of my life. I found myself tapping on the message app icon, selecting Kyle's contact and typing a message;