Everything screeched. Was it possible for walls to screech? The sound so loud that it sent me curling up on the hard ground, hands pressing against my ears. The world shook, the lights flickered, and soon, everything went dark.
A set of purple lights flickered on above, emergency lights but that did little to settle me as the safe room continued to tremble, the image of the house crushing against the room leaving me breathless with fear.
Every time things settled and I started to hope that the chaos was over, the world would start shaking again, sending my heart pounding all over again.
"The rubble is just settling," Delle said, her voice seeming to send another shudder through the walls.
Then finally, everything went permanently quiet and I let out a shaky breath, relieved in the silence that followed. I looked around at my companions. Delle, Natalie andâ
"Where's Laurence?" Natalie asked at the same time I did. Both of our eyes widening in surprise at the realization that neither one of us knew where he was.
"I thought he was in here," I whispered. I had imagined him making it back safely into the safe room. Along with Allie.
Natalie shook her head, the purple lights making her face look pale and bruised. "No."
Gripping my phone, I called Allie, but the call didn't go through, Allie's words about Laurence ringing in my ear over and over like a fragile promise.
He's fine. He's fine. He's fine.
"You won't be able to reach anyone," Delle said. "We are buried under a ton of rubble."
"You were watching the screens. Did they get out?" I asked Natalie, my voice going up in panic.
"I... don't know. There was so much happening. I didn't see him get out."
I felt like I was falling. But that was impossible. I was still on the ground, body still half curled up on the ground after the house collapse.
"Oh no," I breathed, tears threatening to fall. "My brothers?" I asked Natalie, my voice small.
She nodded. "I saw them get out along with some girls that untied them." She turned to Delle. "Allie did too."
I was able to take in a single breath.
My brothers...
Another breath.
Bex...
Breath.
Laliana...
Breath.
Em...
Breath.
Prism...
Breath.
Lavender...
Breath.
Allie.
They are alive.
Laurenceâ
I couldn't breathe anymore.
No. No. No. No. No. No.No. No. No.
Delle placed her hands on my shoulders, serving as a tether back to the present as she crouched down before me. "Trust my sister."
I looked up into Delle's eyes, soaking in her steady gaze, her eyes glinting with determination in the purple light.
"She wouldn't lie. Not about that."
I closed my eyes, shutting her out for a moment. "Not even to make sure I didn't die by staying behind?"
Delle didn't respond, her silence speaking far too loud.
I stood on shaky legs, moving toward the door. "I need to know."
"You can't open it without crushing us," Delle said, concern peeking through her calm. "The house is collapsed around us. They have to dig us out.
I pressed my fingers against the door, feeling the heat of the recent flames on the other side. "How long?"
Delle settled down on the ground, her eyes seeing every feeling that flew across my face. "I wish I knew."
After a long moment, I sat down, temple against the door, eyes closed and waited, unsure of what I would find once we were pulled out of the rubble.
...
Delle seemed to be the only calm one, laying out on the ground, hands behind her head, staring up at the lights, lost in thought as minutes ticked by. Natalie did a little better, coping in the strange purple dark by whispering calming things to herself. I just... cried silently, head against the door, exhausted from the events, afraid to hope.
I love you Lily Autumns...
I pressed my cheek against the warm door, trembling at Laurence's final words to me.
When this is over... I want to finish that kiss...
With his words still ringing inside of me, I fell asleep, adrenaline finally giving out.
...
A loud clang kit the door, shaking me out of a restless sleep and sending me scrambling away from the door.
Delle was on her feet, eyes on the door. "They've found us."
She walked to the door and slammed her fist against it.
Another clang hit the door from the other side, a pattern of knocks.
Delle copied it.
Then the entire room began to shake. Delle pulled me up and all three of us moved to the opposite wall. Several moments later, the metal door was yanked free, and we stared into bright blinding light.
Em peeked her head through, her rainbow hair like a beacon that promised a new dawn. "Cool room!"
Delle let out a snort laugh and stepped outside nearly falling back inside when Em threw her arms around Delle. "You need to stop saving everybody!" Em shouted.
Delle laughed, prying Em off. "NEVER."
Natalie stepped out next, with me a step behind.
It took me a moment to get my bearings, the world utterly bright after spending what I believed to be several hours inside that small room. When the world came back into focus I let out a gasp.
Everything is gone.
We were no longer standing inside a house. It was ash, hot, the ground still smoking. I took it all in, suddenly overwhelmed with grief.
Laurence loved this place.
It was the first place he had ever been vulnerable with me. The first place he had ever opened up to me.
Laurence.
I spun, looking for him, my heart pounding so hard I could hardly breath past it. I didn't see him, but I came face to face with Lavender, Laliana and Prism instead.
"I think an escape room that's on fire will be on the bottom of the list for the next Girl's Night," Lavender said by way of greeting.
Prism laughed. "She means she's glad you're okay."
Laliana pulled me in for a hug, relieved tears in her eyes. "We're just glad you are okay... we weren't sure if you made it into the safe room."
I pulled Lavender and Prism into a hug along with us. "Thank you... for getting them out."
Laliana squeezed me harder. "Of course."
"It's what we do," Lavender said removing herself from the hug.
"But don't make a habit of it," Prism added, hugging both of us tighter.
I spotted Allie several feet away brushing shards of glass off of herself. When she was done, her sister pulled her into a hug. "I'll never get used to being terrified every time you get into a fight," Delle murmured, sounding far more concerned than she had while we were trapped under the rubble.
"I'm fine," Allie promised. "We jumped through the nearest window. Well I did. Laurence shoved Carter through right after me. Saved his life," she said, sounding irritated that Laurence bothered saving his brother.
"Laliana!" someone shouted before I could ask if Laurence made it out of the building after Carter.
We all turned to see two people walking upâ one toward Allie and one toward Laliana. I recognized Tate, Allie's boyfriend. He had been to the office several times. But the other man was new to me.
His identity quickly became clear by the way he stared at Laliana. His ice blue eyes filled with deep concern as he cupped her face, taking her in, like a man who had nearly lost the most precious thing in the world.
"You..." he swallowed, brow furrowed in a mix of frustration and confusion. "Why?"
Laliana placed her hand over his, squeezing it gently. "Because people needed my help."
He placed his forehead to hers. "You should have called me. I could have helped."
"You weren't close by. But you're here now, and I'm okay."
Tate and Allie's greetings went a far different route. Allie silent as Tate threw his hands up into the air, showcasing open frustration. "WHAT ON EARTH!?! ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME?!?"
Allie openly laughed at his frazzled and dramatic display. "Sorry."
Tate shook his head vehemently. "No you are not."
"No I'm not," she repeated, fighting a smile.
Allie glanced at Em and Delle. "Where are your boyfriends? Why is no one yelling at you?"
An amused smile crossed Delle's face. "He has no idea I'm here. We'll argue and makeup later." She gestured toward Em. "Same for her."
Allie sighed. "Should have done that."
"Hey!" Tate protested.
Em gave a nervous laugh, running her fingers through her colorful hair, a smirk crossing her features. "Those Walker boys are going to be maaaaad."
Delle and Em looked at each other and laughed, thinking of their boyfriends inevitable reactions when they found out what had happened.
"Do you know..." I cleared my throat taking a look around. "Do any of you know if..." I was afraid to ask about Laurence.
"There," Delle said, gesturing to where the back of the house would have been, saving me the trouble of finding the words.
"Told you he was fine," Allie said with a smile. "Got him out just in time."
She gave my arm a tender squeeze, a rare moments of affection from her. "Go get him."
Laurence stood covered in ash next to an ambulance and a police car, a haunted expression on his face.
Sprinting, I dashed through the debris, forgetting that I was barefoot, my feet scalding in the heat as I moved as fast as I could through the destroyed house.
He's alive.
I slowed when I saw someone with him at the police car. Carter stood facing him, hands behind his back, cuffed. Carter stared at his brother with a pained expression. "You pushed me out the window... you saved me?" It sounded half accusatory and half surprised.
"Yes," Laurence replied.
"Why?" that one word sounded gutted, broken, like a small boy was asking.
Laurence closed his eyes, fingers moving up to his hair before he forced his hand back down. "Because you are my little brother. And despite everything, I love you."
He paused, muscle in his jaw working. "I should have seen you. I should have helped you."
"And what about now?" Carter asked, the words full of garbled emotions.
Laurence took a step back. "Now you have to accept that your imperfect brother can't be your reason to live. Your reason to hate. Your reason to hurt. You need to figure out a better way to live your life, Carter. Then, we can figure out how to fix what's broken."
Laurence swallowed. "Mom and dad loved you. Even if it wasn't perfect."
"That's what makes it so much worse," Carter said. "I could tell they did. It just... wasn't anywhere near the way they loved you."
Before Laurence could reply, Carter was shoved into the back of the police car, Derik coming into view next to him for a single momentâ body covered in bandages and strapped to a gurney in the back of an ambulanceâ as the police car drove away.
Laurence watched with an unreadable expression before he turned and saw me, relief lighting up his face before he sprinted and took me up in his arms, his face burrowing into my neck as he let out a breath of relief. "Lily," he murmured, the single word thrumming through me like a single powerful note.
I reached up to kiss him, but he took a step back, his face solemn. The rejection stunned me.
"Lily..." he whispered, the regret in his voice leaving me alarmed.
"What is it?" I asked, concerned.
He took a step back, letting me go, forcing himself to look into my eyes. "I'm... I'm sorry... I couldn't get them out." He looked down, his hands working their way into his hair of their own accord. "I just.. wasn't fast enough to get to them."
Laurence fell to his knees, into the ash that was once his home. "Your brothers are gone and it's my fault. All of it is. I couldn't get them out."
I crouched down, fingers cupping his cheek. "But I could. Or rather... I had help. They're okay."
I had spotted my brothers while Laurence had been talking to Carter. They had abandoned the EMT's they were supposed to be checking in with, and were currently attempting to strap each other to gurneys as the EMT's chased them farther up the road with exasperated expressions that had become so common to those dealing with my brothers.
My brothers were clearly fine.
Laurence spotted them and let out a relieved wet laugh, his eyes filling with tears. "I thought... they were gone."
I pulled him into a hug, now kneeling in the ash too. "None of this was your fault, Laurence."
He held me close, for once, not objecting to my words. And in that moment, it was the best feeling in the world. Him in my arms, accepting the love he so deeply deserved after keeping it at bay for so long.
"LILY!" Henry shouted, my brothers making a break for us as the EMT's finally managed to gather up their equipment from them.
Laurence and I looked at each other, and smiled, only having a moment to brace ourselves before we were bombarded by six burly Autumns brothers.
"You liar!" Sam shouted as he crushed me to him in a near death grip hug. "You didn't go straight back to the safe room!"
"How... did..." I managed to squeak out through my crushed lungs.
"You just told me," me muttered, putting me down and staring at me with a relieved expression that was meant to be scolding. "Don't lie. The next time you do, I'll have Ryan tell you his hour long speech about honesty."
I shuddered at the idea of a Ryan monologue. "Fine. You win."
My brothers all gathered around, fussing over me until and Laurence until Bex broke through, shoving Will aside and pulling me into her arms. "Don't you dare jump out of a moving car and run into a burning building without a plan ever again!"
"I'll plan it all out next time," I murmured into her hoodie as she continued to hold me close.
"Good. Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a decent roommate in LA? It would have taken me MONTHS to replace you."
I snorted. "Love you too, Bex. Thank you for saving me."
She squeezed me tight before letting me go, her silent 'I love you too' clear.
"Boss man!" Dash shouted coming out of nowhere and tackling Laurence to the ground in a hug. I was surprised when Laurence didn't pry Dash off but instead gave him an awkward pat on the back.
Dash must have grown on him.
Dash wiped his eyes, sitting up, face now covered in ash and tears. "You could have diedâ"
Laurence gave him an attempt at a warm smile. "I'm fineâ"
"âAnd then I'd have had to find a new job!"
Laurence stared at Dash, shocked, before throwing his head back and laughing. "You are by far, the... strangest assistant I've ever had."
"Just trying to keep your life interesting, Boss Friend."
Laurence raised a brow. "Friend?"
Dash shot him a dangerous grin, throwing his arm around Laurence and ignoring the irritated expression that crossed his face. "I'll win you over. Just you wait. Friends in the making."
Allie, Laliana, Lavender, Prism, Bex, Em and Delle all gathered around along with my brothers as I was checked over by the paramedics, who then rushed me into the back of the ambulance when they found several burns along my calves and feet from running through the house to get to Laurence, along with bruises and cuts along my body after my fight with Derik.
Natalie was already inside the ambulence, her bruises and cuts being inspected.
I grew irritated when the others were given a free pass from an ambulance. One look from Allie and Delle, and the EMT's stayed far away from her. A glare from me left them laughing and I was hoisted onto a gurney.
I didn't feel the burns, too busy looking for Laurence through the chaos. But the ambulance doors began to close, family and friends swirling around the opening as I was hoisted up, and finally, Laurence broke through enough to be seen, his eyes finding mine before he mouthed a single phrase amid the chaos.
I'll find you.
Then the doors closed and I was taken to the hospital before I could reply.
---
Thank you for reading chapter thirty six! I hope you are enjoying the story! Or are at least curious to see where it goes! Add this story to your reading list to know when the next chapter drops!
UPDATE DAYS - A NEW CHAPTER EVERY FRIDAY!
Derik and Carter are in police custody! YAY! Will they stay there?
What about Liam? Will anything happen to him?
Will Laurence and Carter find a way to make things better between them?
What will happen next?
CHAPTER QUESTION - If you were to give someone a love confession, where would you do it?