The heartstopper

Chapter 42

Charlie was briefly conscious at the time that there was a thump from the room next to him. The roof must be caving in. He wasn't getting out. The doorknob leading to the stairwell was out of reach. The metal door handle would probably burn his hands at the touch, so even if he could muffle out the strength and energy, he was hopeless.

There was a thump against the door next to him. He heard a muffled cry from inside, or at least he thought he heard so, he could barely hear anything besides the crackling fire.

"Ch-r-lie!" The voice yelled. That Charlie could understand.

"Nick?" He croaked out.

There was banging on the door of room 204, the door right in front of him. Groggily, mustering up the strength, he reached his hand out and placed it against the door.

A cough came from the other side of the door. Either he was hallucinating, or he'd found Nick. It was too late. He'd found Nick at the last moment, but the hotel was in flames. He wouldn't be able to evacuate, he couldn't. Save. Nick.

"Char," He was probably yelling it but it was barely audible for Charlie to hear.

"Nick," Charlie cried. He was there, he was just on the other side of the door. He was so close yet so far.

The other banged against the door. He was far too weak to break it down. The smoke was making both boys far too lightheaded that neither would be able to climb out the window.

From the inside of the room, the boy reached to unlock the door. He couldn't stand up. He'd been tied up and had used all of his last remaining energy to break free. He had heard Charlie's cries for him. At first, he had thought he was imagining it. Charlie couldn't still be in the building, he had to be evacuated. But, he'd continued to hear his desperate cries and used his momentum to get to his boyfriend. He had to reach him before it was all too late.

When he could no longer hear Charlie's voice, he feared that he was too late so, running completely off of adrenaline, he pushed through the pain, ignoring the groggily feeling in his head.

He managed to open the door, opening it just a crack. Charlie knelt, leaning most of his weight on the door, making his weak body fall into Nick as the door was no longer supporting his weight.

Nick let out a cough as the smoke that had not reached him inside the room hit him. His lungs were absorbing the heavy smoke, making it impossible to breathe.

Charlie was barely conscious. He didn't comprehend anything as his body fell as the door moved away from his body. He didn't notice that someone had caught him until a few seconds later when he realized that it was a person. It was Nick. His Nick.

"Nick?" He mumbled. Was it actually him? Nick didn't look too well either. He was bleeding. His knuckles were bleeding from pounding against the door to get Charlie's attention and from breaking out of the rope that had bound his arms against his sides. He was bruised and had a bloody nose. His nose was definitely broken, and his hands were probably as well.

"Char," He mumbled into Charlie's hair. He weakly held him in his arms.

The fire seeped further into the building. The heat from the roaring fire was getting unbearable. Charlie fell back into an unconscious state, making Nick panic. This couldn't be the end.

Nick refused to let go of his boyfriend. He couldn't lose him. As he struggled to stand up, he held Charlie by under his arms. His legs wobbled when he tried to take a step. He pushed his body against the wall, holding Charlie tightly. The door to the stairwell was only a few steps away. He just had to make it down a few flights of stairs but he knew he wouldn't be able to make it. Maybe if he reached the stairwell a firefighter would find them at the very last second.

Charlie's breathing was very light. He tried to block the smoke from his face. Maybe he could drag himself and Charlie back into the room and they could get to the window. It was the only option, it might be their only hope.

Nick let his body fall to the floor. He wouldn't be able to walk that far. He crawled into the room, dragging Charlie with him, pushing the door shut behind him. The door didn't click shut but it was close enough that stopped some of the smoke from filling up the room, just enough to breathe.

Flashing red lights came from below the window. He hadn't even heard the firefighters arrive. He only had to make it a bit further.

Maybe he should have stayed where they were. Maybe then they would have been spotted by a firefighter. He didn't have the energy to climb out of a window. Maybe it was his fault that Charlie was going to die. He needed to push forwards.

With a cough, he pulled his body up, using the window sill to support his weight. He banged on the window. Maybe he could get someone's attention. The window was heavy. He didn't know if he'd be able to open it on his own.

Charlie was still breathing. His eyes fluttered open and closed as he fought to stay awake. He couldn't process what was going on. His vision was filled with black spots, he could see Nick struggling to open the window. His body was shaking, why was moving so difficult?

He tried to speak but all that came out was a groan. He couldn't even lift his head. He could barely see as Nick managed to get the window open a crack. He ended up having to stick his arm out the window to stop it from closing completely.

The firefighters were hosing down the building in an attempt to put out the fire, maybe they'd make it, but Nick couldn't last much longer. He was going to continue to push himself to the limit for Charlie.