And I walked right into this and let her down. And this I’m not sure I can fix at all.
The room is some old storage room of some kind - stone walls, a crumbling beam and timber ceiling with rusty, dripping pipes running the length of it. Locked, solid wood door. No windows.
Of course.
I drop to the floor against the far wall, groaning as I hold my ribs.
I was a fucking idiot for walking away from her at that beach house earlier. I was a complete fool for walking away from the one good thing to drop into my life in years, and now we’re both paying for it.
I’ve spent years distancing myself from all of it - living alone up in my damn abandoned loft building like some sort of urban hermit. I’ve surrounded myself in coldness, and apathy, and control, and order, and anything even remotely resembling human feelings. I’ve taken it a step further, really, regarding those feelings as a weakness.
Feelings like the ones that have come exploding out of the darkest corners I locked them in, ever since Sierra walked right up and kissed me.
Except I don’t feel weak with her at all. In fact, I’ve never felt stronger. With her, I feel strong enough to be the man I want to be.
Except that’s done with. Down here in this room, I know that. Down here in the musty, dusty, smoky-
I suddenly frown, my senses perking up. My eyes narrow as I scan the roof, sniffing and thinking I must have hit my head harder than I thought. I mean shit, smelling burnt toast is a sign of an impending stroke or something.
But then, there it is again.
I sit up this time, inhaling deeply, and I suddenly cough.
Okay, not having a stroke, and I am definitely smelling real smoke.
Suddenly, I hear yelling outside in the hallway, and now I’m fucking alert. People are bellowing in Ukrainian, there’s a crash, more yelling, and slowly, I realize I can fucking see the smoke.
I scramble up from the floor and back against the wall, swearing as the black and grey smoke starts to pour into the room from the cracks around the door. I reach up and shred one of the sleeves off my t-shirt, holding it to my face as I crouch low. My eyes scan the room as they start to water, my lungs start to burn. And I’m doubled over and coughing when I hear the door jangling.
I tense, and as the knob starts to turn, I ready myself.
Time to get the fuck out of here and find the girl I’ve been too much of an idiot to admit I’m completely falling in love with.
The knob clicks. I cough, stumbling to one knee as the door flings open. Feet approach me, my jaw tightens, and as a hand lands on my shoulder, I snap.
I’m up with a roar, lunging at the guy and slamming him backwards into the wall and-
“Or you could stay here if you’re that opposed to leaving.”
I blink, coughing through the heavy smoke.
And then I grin.
I’ve got Sierra pressed up against the wall, her eyes wild, her lips pulled into a grin.
Soot all over her face.
“Why do I get the feeling you had something to do with this?”
Her eyes flash, that smile spreading over her soft lips.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
I grin, raising a brow at her. She raises her hand, the silver Zippo lighter glinting in the dim light. I start to laugh, but there’s suddenly an exploding sound, and the hallway outside the door fucking erupts into flames as the ceiling gives way.
Sierra shrieks, and I yank her behind me as fire and smoke come belching into the room, choking us and singeing the arms I throw up to block it.
I push her back into the far corner, flames crackling and roaring as they engulf the doorway - the only fucking doorway, and I can feel her hands tight on my arm.
Fuck, this ain’t good.
“Connor.”
I turn, my eyes meeting hers.
“If we-”
I stop her, my jaw clenching. “We’re not going to die here.”
I say it tightly, my voice leaden as I feel the heat at my back.
“Connor, I just-”
“I am going to get us out of here,” I hiss, looking her dead in the eye, ignoring the sound of more of the hallway ceiling collapsing. “I just-”
“I love you.”
I freeze, my eyes locked on hers. And fucking all of it just goes away. The rest of it just disappears around me until it’s just me, her, those lips, and the words that just came out of them.
“I just mean-” she stutters at my silence, her eyes dropping. “I mean if we don’t-” she shakes her head. “I need to tell you that, just in case-”
“Hey, princess?” I say quietly, reaching out and tilting her chin up.
Our eyes lock.
Time stops.
“I love you too.”
And then I just fucking kiss her.
It’s the worst timing possible. We’re trapped in a fucking burning room in the basement of a building that’s crumbling around us, with the oxygen quickly turning to poison and flames licking our backs.