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Oh God Was this it? I’d lived ht be the wrong one, and noould die in a fire before I even turned twenty?

I’d said good-bye to Reece and kicked him out of my life for what? To end this way? No Hell no

Ifor breath I clawed one hand after the other The puppy was still, a warm little body inside my sweatshirt, and I wondered di?

My entire body felt like lead as I struggled through the black s for a taste of oxygen I turned , suddenly confused Which as the door?

Oh God So sorry I’y was for Myself? Gram? My friends? Reece?

Reece

Yes I wished I could tell hi Froest sin, I realized My greatest regret Running fro you’ll ever find Suddenly I understood what he had been saying He had cared aboutBetter than any plan or fantasy I’d created in ave out I slu,

"Pepper!"

I flinched

"Pepper!"

Cruel ine Reece’s voice so close

"Pepper!"

I forced h the haze I h the slinized that voice Reece

"Here!" My voice caed inside ht back up to its hands and knees

I cried out again, "Here!" I was louder, but it still wasn’t enough Panting, I pushed ht direction I washard I peered through the fog, registering that it was the Carandfather clock Flames ate at the top portion of it Suddenly it started to cru onme across ulfed in fire And roaned and I heard a crash behindhad collapsed It wouldn’t be long before the rest of it caved in I was going to burn to death And Reece was in here so backI had left To save Reece To save me My voice ripped froh

Reece eh the smoke, his face sweaty and red where it wasn’t covered in soot Squatting, he pulledme to his chest, he didn’t bother to crawl He ran The fire roared all around us as he cut a straight line for the door

We burst out into the night The sudden cold was a shock on irls waited Once there, he dropped to his knees, still clutchingI still wheezed, starved for air All of s, my eyes, my skin

"Pepper" Reece turned ht?"

I nodded once and even that motion hurt "Are you?" I tried to assess him in turn, to see if he was hurt, but my eyes continued to blur with tears

"I’ainst ed at the heirls saw Jazz They squealed and grabbed hiround

Reece’s face loomed over me "Pepper? Pepper?"

He sounded so panicked I wanted to tell hiht That I was fine I wanted to thank hi, to keep fighting

I wanted to say all these things All these things and more But I couldn’t I couldn’t catch h I could find sos

There was no switch

I wheezed, terrible little sounds escaping led for more air Spots danced before es of aze strained, as if struggling to memorize his face Overheated andI had ever seen

I could hear hiain Could feel him His hands on my arms, my face

My vision went dark, and just before that darkness rolled in on ood ones I hoped he heard theht when I came to Ouch and then: Dear God, that really hurts

I moaned, and the simple action onlythe effort

"You’re awake!"