A Brand New Ending

Chapter 29

Phoenix



Pain. That's all I could feel.

My mind tried to put everything together but it was one big broken puzzle. I could only remember bits and pieces. One thing was for sure. Braeden was here. Braeden had pulled me out. But what I didn't know was what he was doing here. I continue to lay there on the sidewalk, my mind not being able to concentrate but on only one thing. Every second he was gone I began to question myself. Why would I trade his safety for hers?

~

I don't know how much time passes but I began to get uneasy, the smoke billowing from the house, the flames disintegrating the curtain on the upstairs window. I can't just sit here and wait.

I grip the right side of my abdomen as I lift myself off the ground, my whole body screaming in agony. After what seems like an eternity of mostly crawling I reach the opened front door, once again entering the fiery building. I can feel the adrenaline flowing through my veins now, it subsiding the pain slightly. As I stand in the middle of the family room I can't do much but listen. I cry out when my ears pick up on something. I hear voices but I can't make out what they are saying. But in my gut I know one of them is Braeden’s. Looking around the room I try to find something. Anything. And then I see it. I pick it up in my hand to test its weight. I'm satisfied when it feels quite heavy. I plan out what I know has to be done. I can't let anything happen to him. He doesn't deserve it.

When I make it to the bottom of the stairs I can't see much but I stop and listen, hearing his labored breath and follow it. I start up them slowly, the bottle grasped tightly in my fingers. When I reach the top I put my arm up and put my face into my elbow, hoping to block out some of the smoke. That when I see him. His figure is facing away from me and I smile inside. I am breathing hard at this point. When I get mere inches from him I drop my elbow and grip the bottle with both hands and swing with all my might, the bottle colliding with the side of his head, the noise is loud to my ears. I cry out in pain, my side hurting immensely. Carl's body goes limp and he drops to his knees for a second, before toppling to the floor in the fetal position. I stop, every part of my body frozen. Time stands still.

"Phoenix, we have to get out of here!" I hear someone scream at me.

But I can't move. I just stare. Stare at the lifeless body at my feet. I get joy from the flowing red. I feel a brush on my cheek, snapping me back to reality. All I see is his eyes. The beautiful emerald green I have been longing for. And then the sound of sirens drowns out my thoughts.