as soon as chris bolted out the door, the three of us stood there in stunned silence. my heart was pounding in my chest, and a wave of panic surged through me. we couldn't just let him go, not after what he had just told us.

'nick, we have to find out where he's going,' i said, my voice trembling. 'we can't let him do this.'

nick nodded, determination flashing in his eyes. 'i'll follow him. you and matt get the car.'

without another word, nick sprinted out the door, disappearing into the night. matt grabbed his keys off the table, and we rushed to the car, adrenaline fueling our every move. i could barely keep my hands steady as i fumbled with the seatbelt, my mind racing with worst-case scenarios.

'matt, we can't let him go through with this,' i whispered as he started the engine. 'we have to stop him.'

'i know, y/n. we will,' matt replied, his jaw clenched as he pulled out of the driveway and onto the street. his hands gripped the steering wheel tightly, and i could see the tension in his shoulders. 'just keep an eye out for nick. we can't lose him.'

we drove in silence, the night air thick with anxiety. my eyes scanned the dark streets, searching for any sign of nick or chris. the city lights blurred past us as we sped through intersections, the urgency of the situation pressing down on us like a weight.

then, just up ahead, i spotted nick's silhouette darting between shadows. 'there he is!' i pointed, and matt hit the gas, following closely behind. nick was quick on his feet, keeping a safe distance from chris but never letting him out of his sight.

when we caught up, nick waved us down, leading us into a small, quiet neighborhood. my stomach dropped as i recognized the area—friends of mine lived here, families with kids...

i rolled down the window as nick approached, his face etched with urgency. 'he went inside that house,' nick pointed to a small, suburban home. 'it's empty, but... y/n, he's going to set it on fire.'

panic seized my chest, making it hard to breathe. the walls of the car felt like they were closing in on me, trapping me in a nightmare that was quickly spiraling out of control. matt noticed, his hand finding mine, squeezing tightly, grounding me. nick opened my door, pulling me into a tight hug. 'it's going to be okay, y/n,' he whispered, but even he couldn't hide the fear in his voice.

i nodded, the gesture small and shaky, but enough for him to let go. 'thanks,' i murmured, trying to find strength in his words.

but then, a flicker of light caught my eye—flames, already climbing through the top floor of the house chris had entered. instinct took over, and before i knew it, i was running toward the house, my only thought of chris, of saving him, of not losing him to this madness.

'y/n!' nick and matt shouted after me, their voices full of desperation, but they didn't follow. maybe they knew this was something i needed to do alone. maybe they were too afraid.

the smoke hit me as soon as i entered, thick and suffocating, filling my lungs with each ragged breath. the fire was everywhere, an all-consuming beast that devoured everything in its path, leaving nothing but ash and ruin in its wake. the heat was unbearable, the flames licking at my skin, searing the air around me.

'chris!' i screamed, my voice barely audible over the roaring fire. i stumbled through the haze, my vision blurred, every step a struggle against the growing inferno.

a faint cough reached my ears, and i pushed forward, driven by the sound. i found chris in the living room, hunched over, hacking violently as he tried to make his way toward the back door. but the fire had surrounded him, a ring of flames closing in, trapping him.

'chris!' i called again, louder this time. his head snapped up, his eyes wide with shock when he saw me.

'y/n! you shouldn't be here!' he shouted, his voice hoarse, thick with guilt and panic. 'you need to leave!'

'i'm not leaving without you!' i shot back, rushing to his side and grabbing his arm. the fabric of his shirt was hot to the touch, singed from the flames. 'we have to get out of here, now!'

he hesitated, his face a mask of torment. 'i messed up, y/n... i never wanted this. i never wanted any of this.'

'we'll figure it out,' i promised, pulling him toward the front of the house. 'but we have to go—if we stay, we'll die!'

finally, he relented, and we bolted toward the front door. but the fire had spread faster than i'd imagined; the flames were everywhere, and the heat was suffocating, each step a battle against the growing inferno.

just as we reached the door, a deafening crack echoed through the house, and a beam from the ceiling came crashing down in front of us, blocking our only escape. i screamed, but there was no time to think—we were trapped, the flames closing in, hungry and relentless.

'chris, we need to find another way out!' i yelled, trying to keep the rising panic from swallowing me whole.

his eyes darted around, wild and desperate, before locking onto a side window. 'this way!' he shouted, dragging me toward it.

the window was jammed, but chris grabbed a nearby chair, smashing it through the glass, creating a narrow opening. 'you go first!' he insisted, hoisting me up.

i scrambled through, the jagged glass tearing at my skin, but i barely felt it. once outside, i turned back, extending my hand to him, my heart pounding in my chest. 'chris, come on! we're almost out!'

but he hesitated, looking back at the burning house, his face twisted with regret, despair, and something else—acceptance.

'i'm sorry, y/n,' he whispered, barely loud enough for me to hear over the roaring flames. 'this is all my fault.'

'chris, please!' i begged, reaching further, the glass cutting deeper into my skin. blood dripped from my hand, but i didn't care. i just needed him to take it, to get out of there. 'please, don't do this!'

he looked at me, his eyes filled with so much pain, and then he said the words that broke me. 'i love you, y/n. tell nick and matt that too. tell them i'm sorry.'

'CHRIS!!!' i called out, tears falling fast down my face. 'NO!!!!'

all of a sudden, i felt arms come around me and pull me down from the ledge of the window. i was kicking and crying, trying to get out of the person's grip. 'NO! WE HAVE TO GO BACK, CHRIS IS IN THERE, PLEASE!!'

the person set me down but held onto me still. i looked behind me and saw that it was matt. 'matt,' i cried into him. he held onto me as i let out sobs and gripped onto his shirt.

matt's hold on me tightened as i collapsed against him, my knees giving way under the weight of the loss that was sinking in, and we both fell to the grass. the fire raged behind us, the flames consuming everything i loved, everything i couldn't save. my sobs echoed in the night, a raw, desperate sound that cut through the crackling of the fire and the distant wail of sirens growing closer.

'we couldn't save him...' i choked out, my voice barely a whisper, as if saying it any louder would make it all the more real. 'matt... he's gone.'

'i know,' matt's voice was thick with emotion, his own tears mingling with the soot and smoke that clung to his face. 'i'm so sorry, y/n. i'm so sorry.'

we stayed like that for what felt like hours, the world around us a blur of flashing lights, shouting firefighters, and the acrid stench of smoke. i barely registered any of it, my mind numb, my heart shattered.

nick appeared beside us, his face a mirror of our grief. he looked at the house, now fully engulfed in flames, and then back at me. 'he loved you, y/n. he loved all of us,' nick said, his voice trembling. 'he didn't want us to get hurt. that's why... why he did this.'

i nodded, though the words felt hollow in my ears. it was supposed to bring comfort, but it didn't. nothing could, not when chris was gone, lost to the fire that had claimed him before i could pull him back.

nick crouched beside me, his hand resting gently on my back, rubbing small circles in an attempt to soothe.

the firefighters finally managed to contain the blaze, but it was too late—there was nothing left but charred ruins and the ghosts of what once was. they tried to talk to us, to ask questions, but all i could do was nod numbly, my mind still spinning in the aftermath of everything.

when it was over, matt and nick led me back to the car, their arms still wrapped protectively around me. the drive home was silent, each of us lost in our thoughts, in the unbearable truth that we'd just witnessed.

as we pulled up to my house, i felt a wave of exhaustion crash over me, the adrenaline that had kept me going now drained, leaving me hollow and broken. matt

~ A year later ~

'hey,' matt said, leaning against the door to my room. 'you ready?'

i nodded and checked myself in the mirror one more time; hopefully, i was ready.

nick was in the car already, and matt drove us to the cemetery, where chris was.

we walked over to his grave, and i set down some flowers and took back the old ones that we left last month.

matt and nick held both sides of me, and we just looked at his grave in silence.

'you ok?' nick asked me, noticing the tears going down my face.

'yeah, i'm ok,' i replied, letting my shoulder fall onto him.

nothing was ever going to be the same, but i could get through this. with nick and matt by my side, everything was ok. and i let myself hold onto that...

THE END

[A/N]

Before i say anything else, imma say, SORRY!!!! i had the plot line of chris dying in the very beginning of this book, please dont hate me!

Thank you if you read all the way to the end and i love you guys so much! This is the first book i have ever finished and i really hope that you have enjoyed reading with me!!

hope to see you in a next read!

with so so so much love, 

𝑭𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒖𝒏𝒆