He had just left! How could this have happened so fast?! The blaze looked like it had been going for hours!
"Oh my God! Oh my…" Matt parked the truck on the curb and spotted Tyler several houses down tugging his hair and looking panic stricken as firefighters dashed about, connecting the water hose. The neighbors had all come out to watch the scene as well, some faces concerned, some of them condolent, most of them shocked. It was like watching a train derail, devastating but you couldn't peel your eyes away.
"Tyler what the fuck?!" Matt screamed, as one of the kitchen windows shattered, sending glass flying across the grass. "What happened?!"
"I—I was—I got—cooking—grease—fire—" Tyler stammered hysterically, his eyes as wide as quarters. "I sprayed water on it—"
"You put water on a grease fire?!" What the fuck? No one was that clueless. "Tyler you dumb ass! You have to smother grease fires! But of course you wouldn't know that! Because you've never cooked anything before! When have you ever done anything for yourself?!"
"Is there someone inside?" a firefighter asked urgently.
"Yes," Tyler fumbled. "Vicki's still in there. I thought she wa—"
"My sister's still in there?!"
"I thought she was right behind me! I swear! But she never came out and—"
"Oh my fucking God! Tyler!" Matt's heart felt as though it were attempting to escape his chest. He couldn't breathe properly. He stared wildly up at his burning house, the flames having already consumed the kitchen and the living room and were now moving down the hall. He could see the blazing fire through the open front door. Vicki… Why hadn't she come out?
Matt watched as two of the firefighters bravely dashed into the burning building.
"Matt, what in God's name…?" Matt and Tyler both turned at the sound of his name to find Sheriff Forbes arriving on the scene. "Are you okay? How did this happen?"
"I don't know. I wasn't here," Matt snarled, answering the woman but glaring at Tyler furiously. "Ask this idiot." Sheriff Forbes turned on Tyler instead.
"I got hungry, okay?" he said innocently. "I was only trying to fry some eggs, because I googled it and it's supposed to be easy. But you didn't have any oil. So I used some of the oil that was already—"
"Already on the stove?" Matt interrupted. "Tyler that oil was old. Weeks old. I was gonna throw that out."
"Hold up. Let him finish," Sheriff Forbes pressed, incredibly remaining calm, but Tyler didn't get the chance to finish, or at least Matt didn't hear it, because at that moment, a firefighter burst from the house with a smut covered, unconscious Vicki in his arms. Matt immediately attempted to rush over to her but was halted by the fire marshall grabbing the back of his shirt.
"Don't get too close to the building," the man said.
"Matt! Oh my God!" Once again, he looked over his shoulder at the sound of his name to find the entire gang. Jenna, Bonnie, Caroline, Jeremy, Elena, and even that knew guy…. Stanley? All looking worried and panic stricken. How did they even know? With all the neighbors out watching, somebody must've called somebody and… here they were.
"We came as soon as we heard," Jeremy said throwing himself into Matt's arms. Matt noticed the confused frowns that action caused several faces to make, but he didn't care. After everything he'd been through, a hug was much needed and appreciated, especially coming from Jeremy.
"I'm so glad you're here, Jer," Matt mumbled in the boy's ear, hugging him back. It was then that he looked over Jeremy's shoulder to the EMT where the firefighter had deposited his motionless sister onto a stretcher.
And the EMTs were attaching the defibrillator. Matt's heart stopped. Time seemed to freeze, and the sound left, as Matt watched his sister's body arch off the bed and flop back down motionless.
"What…? What's happening? What's… Vicki!" He took Jeremy's hand and tugged him over to the stretcher.
"Stay back young man," an EMT said firmly, holding an arm across his chest. So Matt could only watch in horror while Vicki's body arched off the bed one, two, three more times.
"Come on, Vicki," Matt mumbled desperately, his breaths nearing hyperventilation. "Wake up. Just open your eyes."
But the EMT sighed solemnly. "Time of death, 10:13 am."
Matt face went blank as he let those words sink in. Time of death. Death. That was the most important word, the most concerning. Death. Lack of life. Dead. His sister was dead. Matt couldn't think, he couldn't… he couldn't breathe. He couldn't stand. He just couldn't. His house was burning and his sister was dead. Just… no. No.
"Matt?" Jeremy asked, apprehensively. "It's gonna be okay. Look at me. Just breathe. Just listen to my voice and breathe."
But Matt didn't look at Jeremy. His eyes landed on Tyler instead, where he stood still talking to Sheriff Forbes. "I hate you…" Matt growled, glaring at the boy venomously.
"What?" Tyler asked, completely confused.
Everything bad that had ever happened to Matt was Tyler's fault. He was disgusted that it had taken his sister's death for him to open his eyes.
Tyler was the cause for the rift in his relationship with Jeremy. Tyler was the reason he had wasted two baseball tickets. Tyler was the reason he had wound up in detention on the first fucking day of school. Who does that? Tyler was the reason Vicki had gotten attacked in the woods. Because she'd been arguing with him. Tyler was the cause of Coach Tanner's death, and now he'd burned up Matt's house, inadvertently killing his sister. Tyler was the cause of everything. He was poisonous, a virus, infecting everything around him and it had taken Matt far too long to realize it.
"I hate you!" Matt bellowed. He snatched his hand away from Jeremy's and dashes back over to Tyler, wailing on the raven haired teen's face. Matt punched so hard Tyler lip burst and boy went crashing to the ground.
"Whoa!" Sheriff Forbes cried as Mat kicked Tyler.
"I hate you!" Matt repeated as Sheriff Forbes wrapped binding arms around him.
"This is your fault!" Matt bellowed, tears streaming down his face, as Sheriff Forbes struggled to restrain him. "Everything is your fault!"
"Matt, don't make me arrest you!" she threatened.
"I fucking hate you!" Matt snarled at the boy on the ground. "I wish I never met you!
"Matt, calm down!" Sheriff Forbes huffed angrily, losing her grip on the strong teen.
And quite suddenly… Jeremy was there. Kissing Matt. Right there in front of everybody. Jeremy kissed him. And Matt discovered that Jeremy's lips had the same effect on him that his had on Jeremy. Though the anger still coursed through the blonde's veins, he could feel himself relaxing. He melted into Jeremy's lips, softly kissing back until Jeremy pulled away.
"It's okay, Matt, he said consolingly, cradling the blonde's face. "I'm right here. We're gonna get through this together. Okay?"
"Okay," Matt agreed stoically, stilling in the sheriff's arms.
"Are you calm now?" Sheriff Forbes asked, relaxing her bear tight grip around him.
"Yes, ma'am," he answered, still angry, but staring into Jeremy's comforting brown eyes.
"Alright then," she said, tentatively releasing him.
Jeremy sighed in relief when Matt didn't immediately attack Tyler again. Tyler simply remained in the ground, looking up at Matt in disbelieving shock.
"Let's just go back to my house and let these guys handle this. Okay?"
"Okay."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah."
"Give me your keys. I'll drive okay?"
"Yeah." Matt handed over the keys to his truck without question and he calmly let the boy pull him away.