Chapter 9
Pushing open the outside door to the student complex, Luke hurried up the stairs, anxious to share the good news with his girlfriend.
In his opinion, the success of the interview was due in great part to her.
She'd encouraged him when he'd felt the workload was all getting to be too much, yet scolded him when he got too immersed in his studies and left no time for hanging out with their friends, or more correctly her friends.
Luke had arrived at Palo Alto as a foreign exchange student from the UK. He hadn't known anyone amongst those already attending the prestigious College.
He'd always hovered on the sidelines until he'd met the stunning blonde American, who had somehow seen something worthwhile in the quiet somber student that he was.
"Stop putting yourself down," she'd say. "You're cute, intelligent, and that British accent of yours is sexy as hell."
That was nearly ten months ago, and their relationship had blossomed and grown until she asked him to move into her student flat.
At times he still couldn't believe she could have fallen for him, but there was no doubting the intensity of her love, or of the great sex they shared. So much so, that he was actually considering asking her to marry him, but the fact of being an exchange student held him back.
Sooner or later, he'd be heading back to London, and from what he'd heard, long-distance relationships tended to fizzle out.
Anyway, he'd face that if, and when, it came up. For now, all he wanted to dwell on was the successful interview.
:
Luke wasn't a social drinker. He liked to stay in command of himself, not lose his wits on an alcoholic bender, but tonight might be the time to finally let his hair down.
Strangely enough, he'd had no intention of accepting the place on the London University Exchange Programme a year ago.
English law was very different from its US counterpart so Luke didn't see the need, but his tutor had encouraged him to grab the opportunity to attend an American Law School.
It would give him a wider perspective on the various international applications of the law.
His tutor had been spot on.
:
Luke had managed to become as proficient in American law as he had in his homeland version. In fact, he'd been assured that if he desired, given his success in the interview, the College would fund his future studies even when the original British funding ran out.
As soon as he returned to London, he'd thank his tutor profusely for having encouraged him to accept.
If not for Professor Jones, he'd never have met Jessica.
"Hey, Jess," Luke called out as he stepped into the flat.
No reply was forthcoming, but the hiss of the shower told him why.
He considered joining her but there was no rush.
Hot, demanding sex could wait until he told her his news, then it would be celebrated to the best of his ability, and funnily enough, he grinned to himself, he was considerably able in satisfying the vivacious Jessica, and she him.
Another of Jessica's positives was that she could bake, her favourites being chocolate chip cookies ofwhich which Luke had become a passionate devourer.
There on the table was a plate filled with them.
With a gratified grin, Luke grabbed one and flopped down on the nearby bed.
He was one lucky guy.
Soon Jessica would exit the shower and want to know all about the interview. After that, well….
:
When the first droplet of liquid fell onto his face, Luke hardly noticed, but when he did look up at the ceiling, he couldn't believe his eyes.
Jessica was lying immobile on the ceiling, completely defying the law of gravity, but when she burst into flames, Luke wondered if he had fallen down some rabbit hole. What he was seeing was completely impossible.
He stumbled off the bed and tried to see through the now roaring flames, calling her name in panic, stunned at what was happening.
Just then, he felt two strong arms grasping him, yanking him back out of the room.
Luke struggled, screaming Jessica's name but the man pushed him down the stairs into the open air.
:
I've called the firemen. They'll be here soon, Luke," his rescuer assured him.
"No. I need to go back in. I've got to save Jessica, " Luke yelled, fighting to free himself from the man's grasp.
"There's nothing you can do. If you go back into that inferno, you won't come out alive."
It was only then that Luke realized who his rescuer was. "Brady. This can't be happening. You should have helped me get to Jessica, not pulled me out."
"What's happened to Jess is terrible but there's no use in you dying too, Luke. I'm just thankful I was nearby to see what was happening."
The two stood shoulder to shoulder as the firemen fought the flames.
It had only taken a few minutes for everything to fall apart and for his beautiful vibrant Jessica to die in such an impossible, cruel manner.
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A few days later, across the country from California, on a backwater hardtop, two men were sitting in the front seat of a Chevrolet Impala, its black bodywork camouflaging itself seamlessly in the darkness of the night.
The younger of the two turned his laptop towards the older man.
"Look at this, Dad. There's been a fire in a student flat in Palo Alto. A woman was burned alive."
"Accidents happen. " The older man shrugged.
"Yeah, but the boyfriend is going around saying that she died burned alive while hovering above the bed…. on the ceiling."
The man's face took on a harsh glow. "I'm thinking we need to talk to that young man, Dean. Don't you?"
"I think we do!"
tbc