The smoke smell was overpowering. I felt like I was gagging because the smoke was the strong. It took me a moment to realize that it was Neo's house that was on fire. Chang came running out of the flaming house, screaming loudly, because his arm was on fire. Jon quickly stripped off his sweatshirt and pat down on Chang's arm, diffusing the flame. I looked around him, searching for Abby.
"Where's Abby?" I shouted.
"You mean she's not with you guys?" Chang said wincing "I didn't have time to check upstairs, because it was already engulfed in flames"
"Oh…my…God. Abby's still up there, she must be in my room then…" Neo broke off.
We all hurried to the side of the burning house, where Neo's room was. The smoke was thicker and I could barely breathe now. I heard a shrill scream and saw something fall out of his window, covered in flames. It wasn't something, it was someone. That someone was Abby.
Abby's body was terrorized by the fire. Jon quickly used his sweatshirt again and patted down the flames. The skin on Abby's body had been deeply burned and you could see her bones in certain places. Her gorgeous curly hair was left in hideous clumps, and one of her eyes was missing. I was about to check her pulse, but Neo grabbed my hand so I wouldn't burn my fingers. I did it anyway, her skin burned but I kept my fingers firm on her throat. Abby's pulse was barely going. I flipped open my phone and dialed 911 and told them where I was, and they said they were on their way.
Neo's house was in ashes, just a few black walls standing. The fire truck and ambulance had just arrived. Jon directed them to Abby's body. I watched them put her on the stretcher and strapped an oxygen mask on her damaged face. Chang and Neo jumped in and they were off to the hospital.
I watched them leave, and I broke down in tears. I realized that Abby's not going to make it; she's probably going to die from the fire. I hugged myself, feeling myself shivering even though there was a scorching fire behind me. I was feeling so much pain, and then I felt a familiar pair of arms wrap around my waist.
"We need to get out of here" Jon whispered in my ear"The news people are here and they're coming this way"
I nodded and we hurried into my car, I handed Jon my keys, because I couldn't drive right now. We drove to the hospital in silence, but I had to break the silent.
"So are you still going to rehab?" I asked.
"I'm going to delay it; I know that I need to stay here"
"Okay" I whispered
Jon parked the car and we ran into the hospital. We burst through the glass doors and pushed our way through the mad rush of people. We sprinted to the receptionist's desk and asked for where Neo and Chang's room was. We asked where Abby was, but she said the doctor would explain. We made our way up to Chang's room, Chang's arm was wrapped up and then a doctor came in. He asked to talk to me, Jon, and Neo in the hallway and we obediently followed. I could see the doctor was trying to think of good words, because his hand was on the back of his neck. He took and a deep breath and began,
"We just got out of surgery with Abby. We tried everything, skin graphs, and surgery. She had way too much fire exposure to her body, her lungs were pretty beat up already and her heart was too. We put her in surgery right away, but she stopped breathing in the middle of it. We tried to revive her, but nothing worked. I'm sorry…but she didn't make it"
He quickly turned around and started walking, as he walked away, his footsteps got louder. I felt this deep crushing pain in my chest and I sunk to the floor. I felt like I fell in broken glass, like I was bleeding everywhere. Then my tears came, and I quietly sobbed. I looked up at Neo and then at Jon their faces pale white. Neo's eyes were glossy and Jon's eyes were filled with sadness. I saw they snapped out of their trance and sat down beside me; they both took one of my hands and intertwined their fingers with mine. The tears kept flowing and flowing, it was starting to burn my eyes. I unlocked my fingers from Neo and Jon's and wiped my tears with my sleeve and I stood up. Then Jon and Neo got up also and we went back into Chang's room, from the look on Chang's face I could see that he had heard. The a question hit me, and I turned to Neo and asked,
'Where are you guys going to stay now? Your house is burnt to the ground"
"I guess we'll have to leave New Jersey to go live with our Aunt in Nevada till our house is remade" Chang replied sadly
"So you guys would have to fly across the country?" I choked out
"Sadly, yes" Neo said "She's our closest relative, all our other relatives live in Japan"
I felt a new set of tears burn my eyes, and then I found hope when I thought of an idea
"Why don't you guys stay with me? We have plenty of room and my parents are never home. Please?" I begged
"You're sure it's not a problem?" Chang asked" Because I don't want to intrude or anything"
"It wont be a problem" I said "It will also be a lot cheaper then flying to Nevada"
"True" Neo agreed
So we checked Chang out and Jon took me, Chang, and Neo to my house. We all got out of Jon's car and walked into my house. When we entered the house I saw my parents sitting on the couch staring at the television.
"Where were you today?" my mom asked
"I was just hanging around today" I said, feeling shaky.
"That's a load of bull, Nina" my dad slurred
Great. Now he chooses to get drunk for once in his life
My dad turned the TV louder so I could hear,
Hello and I'm Gwen Brocket for Channel Six news. Reports came from fellow neighbors that a mysterious fire burned down a house today. The people who lived there, Neo and Chang Chou managed to escape the fire quickly. Sadly one of their friends wasn't so lucky and was suffocated from the fire. Her name was Abby Burgess, 16 years old. She was pronounced dead at the hospital. The others Jon Adams and Nina Rosely were outside of the house when this happened so they were safe. How this mysterious fire started, we will let you in on this soon, now back to the weather"
"Honey, this has been playing for hours, you don't need to lie" assured my mother.
My mother was always the busy mom, always trying to get everything done and it was always more then she could manage. She was really never there for me, she was off at work. My dad on the other hand just stayed at work, he barely came home. He was always on these mysterious conference trips and would be gone for days. It used to worry me, but I gave up on caring a few years back. We don't even celebrate Mother and Fathers day, and they've never been there for my birthday either, 7 years in a row. I seriously just gave up caring.
Then I just felt this rage burst out of me, it was like I could bottle it up anymore.
"Fine. One of my best friends died today. She was tortured for god knows how long in a crazy fire. I don't even know how it started or why it happened. My lungs are still hurting and my throat burns like I'm in hell. You happy?"
"Why would we be happy that someone died?" my father said
"Because you never around to care! Speaking of which Neo and Chang are staying here until their house is rebuilt" I said
"So you're not going to even bother to ask our permission?" my mother said, venom twisting around her words.
"It's not like you're here anyways" I said coldly.
So we walked up the stairs and I directed them to the guest room, next to my room. I was about to head to my room, when realization struck me.
"You guys have no clothes!" I exclaimed
"I'm pretty sure I'm wearing clothes right now, or this would be very awkward" Neo said, cracking a small smile
"You're funny. I mean you have no more extra clothes" I said
"Then I guess we have to go shopping tomorrow" Chang mumbled
"Okay, we'll have to go tomorrow then" I said yawning "I'm going to try to get some sleep. Goodnight"
"Goodnight" they echoed
I went to my room and changed into shorts and a tank top. I threw my smoked clothes in the laundry and slid under the covers. I closed my eyes and tired to get comfortable. I couldn't. I tried counting till I fell asleep, once I got to a thousand I gave up. I slowly got out of bed and quietly walked down the stairs. I sneaked into my kitchen and opened the refrigerator. I grabbed a water bottle, when I heard a knock on the door. Curious, I went over to the door and saw a white note on the floor. I picked it up and unfolded it and read: The almond brown eyes, the way your black hair shined outside, little did you know that she loved you I suddenly heard a creak in the floor and I spun around and saw Neo.
"What's that?" he whispered pointing at the note
"Umm…" I started
"Just let me see it" he whispered
I hesitated and handed him the note. I watched his facial expression sadden. He realized it was about him.
"Why didn't you tell me she l-l-loved me?" he choked out
"I couldn't tell you, she wanted you to somehow figure it out yourself" I said "You only liked her as a friend anyway, so I didn't bother. I only just brought it up yesterday'
"Now there's nothing I can do about it" he whispered"For all we know she could have killed herself in that fire, because of me"
"Don't think like that Neo, don't put the blame on you" I whispered
"Then why do I feel so guilty, Nina? Why do I feel like if I said something, that she would still be here?" he said his eyes shinning in the darkness.
"It was an accident, a terrible accident" I said trying to reassure him, but honestly, I was reassuring myself. But all I could think of was the note on my nightstand and the note in Neo's hand. Did somebody purposely start that fire? But who would want us dead? I thought I closed my eyes and I saw Abby. I saw her wild dirty blonde curls and her gleaming hazel eyes. Then I saw her as I saw her today, her skin all crisp from the fire her hair left in hideous clumps, and her eye missing. I felt the tears run down my cheeks as I remembered when Abby first told me about her feelings towards Neo…
"Nina can I tell you something?" Abby asked nervously
"Sure, anything" I said
"I really really really really like Neo. I love everything about him. He just won't notice me"
"Well go for it" I said smiling" If you guys go out then we can double date! Just make sure you make it your goal"
"Okay. I vow that I will at least get kissed by Neo before I die" she said laughing
That goal was never completed. I feel terrible that I didn't try harder to get them together. But there was just something that really annoyed me about the thought of Neo and Abby together. Then I felt someone spin me around, I gasped.
"Sorry you were kind of zoned out" Neo said
"Oh, I'm sorry. It's just every time I close my eyes, I see her" I whispered
Neo immediately took me in his arms and I quietly sobbed on his shoulder. I felt my tank top strap get wet; it took me a moment to realize that he was crying too. I hugged him tighter, to reassure him. I pulled away and sat down on the couch, and I patted the spot by me. Neo sat down by me, and I laid my head on his shoulder. He did the natural thing and laid his head on mine. I clicked on the radio and I slowly fell asleep.
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I woke up to the smell of coffee. I opened my eyes and saw that I was lying on top of Neo, my head lying on his chest. Neo had his arm around my waist and he was still sleeping peacefully. Then I heard someone start laughing.
"Wow, what happened last night?" Chang said obviously amused.
That was all it took to wake up Neo, I saw his eyes widen at the position we were in. I quickly got up, wincing a little from the bandages rubbing against my raw skin. Then Neo got up and brushed himself off. I was still in my tank top and boy-shorts, but Neo was in his wife beater and boxers. This didn't look good.
Thankfully, Chang let the subject drop,
"You guys should hurry up so we can get to the mall before rush hour"
I gave Neo a smirk and ran upstairs to take a shower. After I got dressed, I ran downstairs to shove a breakfast bar in my mouth. Then I waited for Neo. He came downstairs in what he wore yesterday, a wife beater and sweatpants. I rolled my eyes, and quickly ran to the car, and Neo climbed in the passenger seat with Chang sitting in the back.
I drove to the mall and parked the car. We all walked into the mall, and went to the closest clothing store. Chang got enough clothes to last a while, in a matter of a few minutes. Neo, of course took more time. Eventually, Chang decided he would go sit in a bookstore and look at magazines.
Neo and I raided the Teen Clothing stores, doing the weirdest things possible. I put tried on some really baggy guy jeans, while Neo put on some really, really, really tight girl pants. I watched him struggle to breathe as he walked over to me. I quickly used on hand to keep my own pants up and ran into his changing room and grabbed his sweatpants.
"You did not just steal my pants" he said, hardly breathing " I need those to revive me and get the natural blood flow to my legs back"
I just gave him my signature smirk and next thing I know his arms are around my waist, trying to get his pants. His face was so close to mine, I saw him then smirk and he stole his pants back. Then he walked away to his changing room.
Why did that feel so… natural? I thought