"GOD, NO, LILY!" Harry's voice broke in panic.
"LILY!" Annie cried.
"LILY! Leave me alone!" Harry shouted, trying to push past the hands holding him back.
"I called the rescue team," Liam said, breathless. "They're already on their way!"
Harry fell to his knees. "my love... PLEASE, LILY! PLEASE, BABY, STAY WITH ME!"
Annie's voice trembled. "My child... PLEASE, ENDURE!"
"DON'T LEAVE ME!" Harry sobbed. "LET ME GO TO HER! PLEASE, I'M BEGGING YOU, LET ME IN THERE!"
"Harry!" Niall shouted. "The firefighters are here!"
"PLEASE, SAVE HER!" Harry turned to them, his face streaked with soot and tears. "M-MY WIFE'S IN THERE! P-PLEASE!"
"Calm down, sir," a firefighter said firmly. "And step back!"
"Just save her," Harry whispered hoarsely. "PLEASE... SAVE MY WIFE."
For twenty endless minutes, the fire crew battled the inferno.
When at last they pulled Lily out, her body limp and covered in ash, the world seemed to stop.
But no one knew that the real hell was only beginning...
Unquenchable...
Unbearable...
Endless...
...
|~Two Years Earlier~|
My name is Lily Hill, and I'm twenty.
A third-year student at Harvard.
I live with my brother - Charlie, my parents - Jackson and Annie. Also I have one best friend, well, she's more like my sister - Elena Gerald.
Charlie went to Harvard too. Now he's an FBI agent. Elena and I study psychology, though honestly, we don't even know why. Maybe because the guys in that department are handsome.
Don't get me wrong, we're not boy-crazy girls. We just think that if you're ever going to meet a normal guy, one who can actually handle girls like us, it'll probably happen there. Someone who'll understand us, calm us down, and won't run away when we act a little... unhinged.
We've made it to twenty without ever having boyfriends. We've never been in love. We don't even know what it feels like or how it's supposed to feel different from anything else.
Charlie hates that. We always have an argument about that. He says we're making a mistake. He's convinced the right person always shows up when you least expect it.
Honestly, I think he just can't stand hearing us talk about boys. He acts like we're chasing them around campus.
"You two are such flirts," he always says. "Keep this up and you'll attract maniacs. Then I'll have to kill someone for you."
He's annoyingly honest, he always says the truth, no matter how brutal. But I know it comes from love.
I'm not stupid. I can tell right from wrong. I love people, I love life, I love freedom. And I adore animals. They're my weakness. If I could, I'd adopt twenty of them and take care of them all. But I can't. Charlie's allergic to fur. Poor guy can barely breathe around cats or dogs. I don't even know how he survives at work. Hopefully, he's not the one doing the sniffing.
Tomorrow's Monday, so I have a lot of things to do tonight: pick an outfit for class, do my skincare routine, shave...
Ugh.. I haven't even started, and I'm already exhausted.
I showered, then walked out naked to pick something to wear.
Suddenly door opened.
"Li"
"GET OUT, YOU IDIOT! I'M NAKED!"
Charlie froze for half a second before I ran into my closet. I knew he had seen half of me.
"COULDN'T YOU AT LEAST GET DRESSED? DON'T TELL ME YOU OWN NO CLOTHES! OR YOU COULD'VE LOCKED THE DOOR!"
"YOU COULD'VE KNOCKED!" I yelled back.
Mom stormed in. "WHAT ON EARTH IS GOING ON IN HERE?!"
"SHE WAS NAKED IN IN HER ROOM!" Charlie exclaimed.
"YOU WALKED IN! YOU THINK I DID IT ON PURPOSE?!"
"LILY!" Mom said sharply. "Watch your mouth! Charlie, OUT!"
"Okay, Mom. …Hey, nudie! I'll be downstairs!"
He left laughing. I threw a shirt at him. "GET LOST, IDIOT!"
Mom sighed, clearly exhausted by our constant squabbles, though I could tell she was holding back a smile.
"JERK!," I muttered.
"LILY," Mom warned.
"WHAT?"
"Be nice to your brother. And hurry up before he barges in again."
"Fine, fine."
I put on a summer robe.
"That's what took you so long?" Mom asked.
"No, the arguing did."
She sighed, then came over and kissed my forehead.
"Do you know what he wanted to tell me?" I asked.
"No," she said. "Only that he needed to talk to you about something."
"Alright."
I followed her downstairs. Charlie sat on the couch, waiting.
We both stayed silent for a while, arms crossed, pretending to be mad.
Two minutes later, we burst out laughing.
No matter how angry we get, we can never stay that way for long.
After every fight comes laughter and a hug.
"So, Chaliko," I said, grinning. "What did you want to tell me?"
"Chaliko" - that nickname stuck from when I was two. I couldn't say "Charlie," so I said "Chaliko." It never went away.
He was just about to speak when his phone rang. Again.. It was a work call.
He bolted out the door.
"Where did he go?" Mom asked.
"Work call," I said. "He ran out."
"Must be important," she murmured.
"I guess.."
"Come on, let's have dinner. Jackson's running late, and I doubt Charlie will be back soon."
"Sure."
Just then, the doorbell rang.
"I'll get it!"
I opened the door and there she was.. My Elena.
"ELENA!!! COME IN! I MISSED YOU SO MUCH!"
"ME TOO! . But didn't we see each other yesterday?"
"So what?"
We both laughed loudly, so loudly that Mom came rushing in, hand on her chest.
"LILY! WHAT'S ALL THE SCREAMING? You nearly gave me a heart attack!"
"Sorry, Mom," I said, trying not to laugh.
Mom sighed, then smiled warmly at Elena. "Come on, dear. Stay for dinner."
....
We ate together, then Elena followed me upstairs. Thanks to Charlie, my skincare routine had been delayed, so I started it now.
Elena watched me with exaggerated fascination as I picked up each bottle.
"Stop staring like that, El," I said.
"What's that?"
"Cleanser."
"And that?"
"Serum."
"And that?"
"Calming oil. …What are you wearing tomorrow?"
"No idea," she said. "You?"
"Me..."
I burst out laughing.
"What's so funny?"
"I came out of the shower naked earlier to pick an outfit, and Charlie walked in."
"Oh my God," Elena said, laughing. "I can imagine."
"I laugh now," I said through giggles, "but then I almost killed him."
We laughed until we cried.
After I finished my skincare, we curled up in bed, watching romantic movies until it was late.
Several hours later I walked her to the door, went upstairs, and finally crawled into bed.
...