The Streets Higher Stakes

36. Burn

Trish's POV

I wasn't that type of girlfriend. The one that whined and bitch if their boyfriend happened to make plans with his boys. I wasn't one to send pictures in my panties and bra to him just to get him home with me. I wasn't one to call him and text him to see when he was coming home. I definitely wasn't one to get angry or defensive at him either.

It's because of everything that's going on and the thought of Cole leaving was one I didn't even want to think about. He had helped me get my walls down and I even felt like a new person. He had helped with The Raiders, risking his future on a plan none of us were sure was going to work. He helped reunite The Twins with their parents.

I told Dakota that we argued and after that I didn't say much of anything. But after I told her, the next day at school, she pulled Cole aside and spoke to him. I didn't know what she said but he looked scared or maybe shame afterwards.

We hadn't talked to since our conversation as I tried to wrap my mind around why he would think of leaving. I couldn't come up with a good explanation and I tried to think of other things.

Now, I was laying on my bottom bunk, alone in our home. Cole was with his dad, the rest were practicing our dance for the final competition at school. I left early because I wanted to be alone to think. That wasn't going too well because my mind went to The Raiders and the secretive plan Austin wasn't letting us in on. I thought about Wiz and our idea, thinking of all the ways it could go wrong. Finally my mind went back to Cole, who was always there.

I flipped over onto my stomach, wishing I could take him out of my mind so I could focus. I laid there for a few minutes my mind circling until I smelt something. It smelled like something, not sure what, was burning.

I looked up and I could see smoke coming from the stairwell. I padded my way over and went downstairs to see that the kitchen was aflame. I bent down and saw that I couldn't make my way to either of the exits, both of them blocked by the powerful flames.

I was trapped.

I quickly made my way up the stairs, and tried not to panic. I could hear the sirens of the emergency vehicles pulling in as my phone rang. I didn't answer it, but put in it my pocket and started to think.

There was no doors to get downstairs but there was a window. It was halfway up the wall and I would have to climb the pipes go get up. I'd also have to worry about not losing my grip and falling. I started to climb as the flames reached the first set of bunk beds. It was harder to breathe, way harder and I could hardly see anything. The smoke was suffocating me and it was stinging my eyes. It wasn't until I was a quarter of the way up, did I realize I forgot something.

I looked down to see the flames had almost reached my bunk bed. I climbed down quickly, insanely and ran to my bed and flipped over the mattress. I grabbed the photo and ran back to the pipes, climbing again.

When I got to the window, my muscles were strained and I thought I was going to pass out. The chemicals that they had in the kitchen had made the smoke toxic.

I gasped as I got on my knees and then cried out as I punched the window to break it. My knuckles were bloody and I gasped once more to get a fresh breath of air. I looked down and saw, two stories below that there was a dumpster, trash in it and with an open lid. I hesitated at jumping, I didn't want to miss. But I felt the thousands of degrees of heat behind me, the oxygen feeding the fire.

Before I could stall myself anymore, I jumped. I felt nothing but air and a blur of things around me, then I landed in the dumpster. I groaned, the landing not as soft as I hoped it would be.

There was a huge noise and I looked up to see flames come shooting out of the window I had been standing at moments before. I got out of the dumpster, my right hand aching because of the pain. I clutched it to myself as I saw a black car with tinted windows slowly roll past me. As it rolled passed me, the passenger window rolled down and a man I knew too well was grinning out at me. With his black hair, beard dotted with grey, tanned skin and green eyes, I suddenly felt like it was harder to breathe outside than it was in the burning building behind me.

Martinez. Here in the flesh. Before I could react, the window rolled back up and the car sped away.

Through my shock, I walked towards the front of the building, coughing with each step. I could hear screaming and crying as I saw Cole being restrained by the authorities. "Trish! Trish! You have to go get her! She can't be gone!" He yelled. The officer beside him patted him on the shoulder sadly and shook his head. I knew he was telling Cole that there was no way I could've survived the flames.

He fell to his knees and screamed. It was full of pain as he tugged at his hair and pounded at the ground. Beside him, my crew, in their own state of shock stood there, not knowing how to react. Cole continued to pound at the ground and he finally stopped. He looked up and I could see he was crying. I had never seen him cry before and it was heartbreaking.

I let out a loud cough, and continued to make my way forward. Cole, as if by chance, looked my way as if he heard my cough. I saw his face change to one of shock as I made my way out of the smoke. He got up and sprinted to me, the tears fresh on his cheeks. He reached me and wrapped his arms around my waist, lifting me off the ground. He held me as he cried and started mumbling into my neck. I couldn't hear what he said over the emergency vehicles around us. I shook my head against his neck and he held me even tighter to him as if he would never let me go.