I lay back on the grass, stretching my legs out and letting the cool night air press against my skin. The ground beneath me was slightly damp, the kind of chill that should have been uncomfortable, but it wasn’t. It felt grounding. Like if I stayed there long enough, the earth itself would hold me in place. I exhaled slowly, my breath curling up into the night. It had been a long day. Not in a bad way, not really. But in a way that made my brain refuse to shut up, even now, when all I wanted to do was lie here and let the world fade out for a little while. Emma had been extra annoying today. I smirked to myself at the thought. Not that it was anything new—she made it her life’s mission to get under my skin. But today, it was like she was on a roll, throwing out snarky comments, challenging me at every turn, and gloating whenever she won. Still, I had to admit—hanging out with her tonight had been fun. We didn’t always get along, but I couldn’t imagine life without her. The house would be too quiet without her dramatic rants about school, too still without her jumping on my back just to piss me off. I sighed, rubbing my thumb absentmindedly over my phone screen. Mom would probably kill me if she knew I was lying out here instead of sleeping. She always worried about stupid things—if I was eating enough, if I was getting enough rest, if I was planning for the future. She acted tough, but at the end of the day, she was just a mom who loved too hard. Even when she was annoying about it, I knew it was her way of showing she cared. If Emma was my built-in lifelong rival, then Tsagi was the opposite. The constant. The person who had been there for as long as I could remember, always the same, always too much, too loud, too stubborn. The one person who could get under my skin and get away with it. He had been weird today. Not in a way that anyone else would’ve noticed, but I did. More physical, more present, more… clingy. He leaned on me more than usual, threw an arm around my shoulder like he was making sure I was real. Maybe it was nothing. Maybe I was overthinking it. But for some reason, I couldn’t shake the feeling that if I disappeared, if I was just _gone_ one day—Tsagi wouldn’t be okay. Emma would grieve, but she’d get through it. Mom would be devastated, but she’d move forward because she had no other choice. But Tsagi? He’d fall apart. He’d go off the rails, picking fights, drinking too much, spiraling into that reckless, destructive side of himself that he usually kept buried. He’d never admit it, but I knew him better than anyone. I knew how much he held on to the people he loved. And I knew he wouldn’t know how to let go. I sighed, closing my eyes for a moment. Maybe I should talk to him. Just check in, see if he was doing okay. He’d call me an idiot for it, but I’d know the truth. I rolled my phone between my fingers, about to shoot him a text when I caught it immediately. A flicker of movement against the window. A bright, pulsing glow, too strong, too unnatural. It took my brain less than a second to piece it together, but even that felt too slow. Fire. I sat up fast, my stomach twisting as I locked onto the kitchen window. Flames danced wildly behind the glass, crawling up the curtains, licking across the cabinets, spreading like they had a mind of their own. Thick, black smoke poured from the roof, rolling into the night air, suffocating the sky. For a second, I couldn’t move. Then I remembered—Emma and Tsagi were still inside. I bolted for the house, legs pumping, heart slamming against my ribs. The cold grass blurred beneath me, and then I was on the porch, reaching for the back door before I could think— The metal handle scalded my palm. I hissed, jerking back, barely processing the pain before I threw my shoulder against the door instead. Once. Twice. It crashed open on the third hit, and I stumbled forward into thick, suffocating heat. The inside of the house was unrecognizable. Smoke clung to the ceiling in heavy, rolling waves. The couch, the carpet, the TV—all swallowed by flames. The walls groaned, splitting and cracking under the heat, embers raining down like burning snow. I coughed, my throat seizing instantly. The air was so thick with smoke that breathing felt like swallowing glass. My skin burned—not just from the fire, but from the sheer, unbearable heat pressing in from all sides. "Emma!" My voice was raw, hoarse, almost swallowed by the roaring fire. "Tsagi!" No response. The flames screeched against the walls, the heat pressing against me from every direction. My eyes watered, but I forced them open, searching frantically through the burning wreckage. Then, through the smoke— A small figure near the stairs. I sprinted forward, my lungs screaming for air. As I got closer, her shape became clearer—Emma, hunched against the wall, her arms shielding her face. She was coughing violently, whole body trembling, too weak to move. I reached her just as her knees buckled. "Emma!" I grabbed her, my hands shaking as I lifted her up. She barely responded, her body limp, only a weak cough letting me know she was still conscious. The staircase behind her groaned, a loud crack splitting through the house as part of the ceiling collapsed. Flames exploded from the upper floor, forcing me to lurch back, shielding Emma with my body. The heat was unbearable, searing across my skin, stealing every breath before I could take it. I had to get her out. Now. Gripping her tightly, I half-dragged, half-carried her through the burning hallway. The front of my shirt was soaked in sweat, my lungs raw and burning, every step feeling like I was wading through fire itself. The back door. Almost there. A fresh wave of smoke poured through the living room, swallowing the exit. I gritted my teeth and pushed through, every inch of me screaming to just stop, just collapse. I reached the back door, nearly falling onto the porch in the process. Cool air. I could almost taste it. I turned to Emma, gripping her shoulders. "You need to run," I choked out, barely able to hear my own voice over the roaring flames. Her red, swollen eyes met mine, lips trembling. She tried to say something, but the smoke had stolen her voice. I didn’t let her finish. I grabbed the back of her hoodie and threw her outside. She hit the ground with a sharp gasp, rolling onto the grass. I saw her scramble to her knees, coughing hard, trying to turn back— But I didn’t follow her. From the moment I threw her outside, I had made my choice. I turned back toward the house, steeling all the willpower I had left. Please, Tsagi, please still be alive. I turned away from the open air, from the chance to escape, and ran back into the inferno. The heat slammed into me, stronger than before, like the fire itself was angry that I had gotten out, furious that I had taken Emma away. My body screamed at me to stop—to turn around, to follow her, to live. But my brain was locked onto one thing, one thought, one person. Tsagi. I staggered forward, my lungs aching, closing in on themselves, every breath thick with smoke and burning ash. My skin felt like it was peeling away, layer by layer, the heat crawling over me, sinking in deep, searing through my clothes like they weren’t even there. "Tsagi!" My voice came out raw and hoarse, barely more than a breath. The fire roared back, swallowing the sound whole. The house was collapsing around me. The couch was gone, nothing left but a smoldering, skeletal frame. The walls were split open, blackened, crumbling, glowing with the heat trapped inside them. A section of the ceiling groaned, then collapsed onto the dining table, sending up a fresh explosion of embers. My vision blurred, my body fighting me with every step. Every inch of me was breaking down. Then, through the thick wall of smoke— A shape. Slumped against the hallway wall, barely upright, head tilted forward like he was drifting in and out of consciousness. Tsagi. A rush of relief—quick and sharp—flashed through me before panic crashed down on top of it. He wasn’t moving. I stumbled toward him, nearly falling to my knees as I reached out and grabbed his arms. His body was too hot, his skin slick with sweat, his breath shallow. Up close, I could see how badly the fire had already gotten to him—his shirt was burned through in places, fabric melted into his skin. His arms, the ones he used to shove people around and put me in headlocks, were raw and red, burned deep. "Tsagi!" I shook him, my hands trembling, my own fingers burning from the contact. "Come on, get up!" He groaned slightly, his eyelids fluttering like he was struggling to stay awake. When his eyes finally opened, they were dull—too dull. He blinked at me like he wasn’t sure if I was real. "Ezra...?" His voice cracked, barely above a whisper. "You have to move," I choked, throwing his arm over my shoulder, trying to hoist him up. "We have to get out of here!" He tried. I saw it—he tensed, tried to push up with his legs, tried to help me lift him. But he barely moved. His body buckled under its own weight, his knees giving out, his head dropping forward against my shoulder. Too weak. Panic surged through me like ice water in my veins. I gritted my teeth, adjusting my grip, trying again, putting everything I had left into pulling him up. My legs trembled, my muscles screamed, my whole body shaking violently from the heat, but I didn’t stop. I couldn’t stop. Another loud groan from above. The ceiling, weakened, ready to cave. Tsagi coughed weakly, his fingers twitching against my side. "Ez..." He tried to lift his head, but it barely moved. "You have to move," I gasped, my breath coming in short, painful bursts. The air was so thick, I felt like I was breathing in fire itself. "Come on—please—" His fingers clenched weakly into my shirt, but his body refused to cooperate. His weight sagged against me again, his breath shaky, his voice almost too soft to hear. "You need to go." I froze. I knew what he was saying. I refused to listen. I pulled harder, every part of me screaming from exhaustion, from pain, from desperation. My hands were shaking so bad I could barely hold onto him, my skin blistering, cracking open as I tried to drag him forward. "Shut up," I rasped, gritting my teeth through the pain. "You're _not_ dying here!" Tsagi let out a breath that almost sounded like a laugh. "Damn…" His voice broke apart, rough and unsteady. "I really am going out stupidly, huh?" "Tsagi, please!" I heard the ceiling splitting apart above us. I didn’t care. I wrapped my arm tighter around him, fingers digging into his burned skin, trying one last time to force my body to keep going. The house had other plans. A loud, cracking SNAP. Then—impact. I barely had time to react before Tsagi yanked me forward, wrapping his arms around me as the ceiling gave way. The weight of the burning wood slammed down over us, knocking the breath from my lungs, sending us crashing to the ground. I felt everything. My back hit the scorched floor, Tsagi’s weight on top of me, holding me down. Fire seared across my shoulders, my legs, my arms, sinking into my skin, peeling it away. I tried to move, but I couldn’t—I was trapped, pinned beneath the wreckage, beneath the fire, beneath Tsagi’s crushing hold. My hands curled into fists, but I could barely feel them anymore. My nerves were shattered, overloaded, dying one by one. I gasped, but the air I inhaled wasn’t air at all. It was thick, hot, rancid smoke. It filled my lungs, wrapped around my ribs, drowned me from the inside out. Everything hurt. Tsagi was trembling, his body wracked with violent, uneven breaths. His grip on me had loosened slightly, but he was still holding on. Even now, he wouldn’t let go. He coughed weakly against my shoulder, his fingers twitching. His voice was barely a whisper, barely anything at all. "Ezra…" I tried to turn my head toward him, but I couldn’t. I had no strength left. His forehead pressed against mine, his burned skin against my burned skin. His grip weakened, just slightly. "I got you," he murmured. "I won't.... not this time..." I wanted to say something—anything. But my lungs had collapsed. I was slipping. Tsagi exhaled slowly, his breath warm against my cheek. "I'm sorry I couldn't…" he coughed hard. "I'm so sorry I... I..." No. No...NONONONONONONONO. TSAGI, NO! The fire roared louder. The heat pulled me under. Everything blurred—dark, hot, crushing. Then— Nothing.