I Called For Help, He Called It Jealousy Chapter 03

I Called For Help, He Called It Jealousy Chapter 03

The records room windows finally shattered under the heat. With that last barrier gone, the fire surged inside and caught the hem of my dress.

System: [Estimated survival time remaining: 20 minutes.]

An ambulance siren shrieked through the radio. Ethan had clearly succeeded in getting Lily downstairs.

Then someone spoke over the channel again. This time, it was Lily alone.

“Hello? Claire? Can you hear me?”

Her voice was sweet and clear, without a trace of her earlier breathlessness. I held the radio and said nothing.

My silence didn’t bother her. She gave a little laugh and carried on.

“Ethan went to coordinate the crews. He left his radio with me because he was worried I’d be scared all by myself in the ambulance. Isn’t that funny, Claire?”

“There’s this enormous fire, and he’s not worried about you upstairs. He’s worried about me down here.”

She lowered her voice, savoring every word. “The smoke didn’t get to me earlier, you know. I was coughing on purpose. I’m so sick of you lecturing me like being his girlfriend makes you better than me.”

“There was only one blanket, and he wrapped it around me without a second thought. What does that tell you about how much you mean to him?”

I watched the fire spread around my feet. I didn’t even have the energy to get angry anymore.

“Lily,” I finally said, my voice scraped raw. “You think you’ve won, don’t you?”

She laughed softly. “Haven’t I? All I have to do is say my chest feels tight, and he’ll drop everything to come running. And where does that leave you? Nice and toasty in there?”

“Can’t get that blast door open, can you?”

I glanced at the security camera before asking, deliberately, “How do you know the door won’t open?”

Lily giggled into the radio. “Because when Ethan was closing it, I slipped a coin into the lock. I wanted you to suffer a little. You’ve been such a pain.”

“Once you’ve learned your lesson, Ethan will come rescue you. You’ll have to thank him for saving your life.”

She thought this was a prank. She thought the fire couldn’t spread that fast, and firefighters could get me out whenever they wanted.

She had no idea that her little coin had destroyed my only chance of getting out alive.

For a long moment, no word seemed strong enough for what she was. Finally, I said, “You’re out of your mind.”

“Call me whatever you want.” She sounded delighted with herself. “At the end of the day, I’m the one Ethan’s going to worry about. Anyway, I’ve got to go. Time to play sick again.”

The connection ended with a burst of static. I dropped the radio.

More than half the room was burning now. Even the soundproofing in the ceiling had begun to melt.

System: [Ambient temperature has exceeded 392°F. Extensive charring of the Host’s body detected.]

My vision blurred as the System spoke. Ethan had thrown me away for a woman who could do something this cruel and laugh about it.

Would he regret it, when he finally understood?

The records room windows finally shattered under the heat. With that last barrier gone, the fire surged inside and caught the hem of my dress.

System: [Estimated survival time remaining: 20 minutes.]

An ambulance siren shrieked through the radio. Ethan had clearly succeeded in getting Lily downstairs.

Then someone spoke over the channel again. This time, it was Lily alone.

“Hello? Claire? Can you hear me?”

Her voice was sweet and clear, without a trace of her earlier breathlessness. I held the radio and said nothing.

My silence didn’t bother her. She gave a little laugh and carried on.

“Ethan went to coordinate the crews. He left his radio with me because he was worried I’d be scared all by myself in the ambulance. Isn’t that funny, Claire?”

“There’s this enormous fire, and he’s not worried about you upstairs. He’s worried about me down here.”

She lowered her voice, savoring every word. “The smoke didn’t get to me earlier, you know. I was coughing on purpose. I’m so sick of you lecturing me like being his girlfriend makes you better than me.”

“There was only one blanket, and he wrapped it around me without a second thought. What does that tell you about how much you mean to him?”

I watched the fire spread around my feet. I didn’t even have the energy to get angry anymore.

“Lily,” I finally said, my voice scraped raw. “You think you’ve won, don’t you?”

She laughed softly. “Haven’t I? All I have to do is say my chest feels tight, and he’ll drop everything to come running. And where does that leave you? Nice and toasty in there?”

“Can’t get that blast door open, can you?”

I glanced at the security camera before asking, deliberately, “How do you know the door won’t open?”

Lily giggled into the radio. “Because when Ethan was closing it, I slipped a coin into the lock. I wanted you to suffer a little. You’ve been such a pain.”

“Once you’ve learned your lesson, Ethan will come rescue you. You’ll have to thank him for saving your life.”

She thought this was a prank. She thought the fire couldn’t spread that fast, and firefighters could get me out whenever they wanted.

She had no idea that her little coin had destroyed my only chance of getting out alive.

For a long moment, no word seemed strong enough for what she was. Finally, I said, “You’re out of your mind.”

“Call me whatever you want.” She sounded delighted with herself. “At the end of the day, I’m the one Ethan’s going to worry about. Anyway, I’ve got to go. Time to play sick again.”

The connection ended with a burst of static. I dropped the radio.

More than half the room was burning now. Even the soundproofing in the ceiling had begun to melt.

System: [Ambient temperature has exceeded 392°F. Extensive charring of the Host’s body detected.]

My vision blurred as the System spoke. Ethan had thrown me away for a woman who could do something this cruel and laugh about it.

Would he regret it, when he finally understood?