Timofey slides his stool away from the bar and stands up. "I'll come. Piper's grandmother is too good at this crossword puzzle for me to keep up with her, anyway."
Gram actually giggles, and I grit my teeth.
Timofey has gotten under everyone's skin one way or another. If I don't do something to remove him now, it might be too late.
When he leaves the room with Akim, I'll hustle Ashley and Gram out as quickly as I can. They'll be confused about why we need to run, but we don't have a choice.
I'm in the midst of planning our route out of the house when Akim shakes his head. "You stay here, Tim. I'll handle Benjamin and be right back."
Akim glances at me. It's almost like he's reading my thoughts now.
He knows if they both leave this room, I'll run. He plays the happy-go-lucky sidekick, but Akim is far smarter than he looks.
Timofey scowls at him, probably pissed at being challenged in public. But Akim leans in, and this is it.
He's going to tell him.
Panic like I've never known flashes through me.
Every half-baked plan I've put together in the last few minutes goes straight out the window as I do the only thing I can think of.
I grab the oil dispenser next to the stove, pop the lid, and "accidentally" drop it directly onto the burner.
Instantly, a column of fire erupts in front of me. Flames lick the underside of the cabinets, browning the wood.
My plan was to ruin the pancakes and force Akim to come cook instead. I wanted to buy myself some time, not start a wildfire.
But here we are. Beggars can't be choosers.
"Fire!" Ashley screeches. "Fire!"
Gram is shouting incoherently. Akim jumps over the island and snatches up a fire extinguisher from under the sink. Timofey stands in the midst of it all, beautiful and unmoving.
I back away, trying to escape the mayhem, but the flames follow me.
The entire left side of my body is oddly warm. I keep moving away to get out of Akim's way so he can battle the flames, but I can't seem to escape the heat.
Ashley is safe at the far end of the kitchen, but Gram is gathering her belongings into her purse instead of fleeing.
"Get back, Gram!" I yell. "Leave the crossword book and—"
Gram looks up at me, and her face turns whiter than I've ever seen. She presses her liver-spotted hands to her cheeks and screams. "Help her! Help!"
I look back to Ashley to make sure she's okay when I realize Gram is talking about me.
That's when I look down and see the flames licking up the sleeve of my sweater.
TIMOFEY
The look on Akim's face says he has something he wants to share with the class. I'm mildly preoccupied with Piper's friend and grandmother eating out of the palm of my hand, but to be honest, that's child's play. So easy it's borderline offensive.
I can spare a minute for him to unload whatever fucking nonsense is bothering him.
But before I can tell him that he should never tell me to "stay here" again unless he wants his tongue cut out, there's a roar behind me.
I whirl around to see flames shoot up in a solid column of bright orange light from the oven. Piper is lost in the glow. Things crackle and burn.
Akim lunges over the island as Piper stumbles back from the stove. She's watching everyone else, checking on her addict friend and her grandma. She's so busy worrying about everyone but her that she doesn't see that she took a bit of the fire with her.
The flicker takes hold of the sweater. It grows exponentially until it's crawling up to her shoulder in a matter of seconds.
Everyone else is losing their damn minds. Transfixed and screaming and frozen by fear.
But I've spent a lifetime learning to ignore the voice in my head that says to freeze in place. I do one thing:act.
I hurtle past Akim and Ashley, who are both arguing over what to do next.
"Fire extinguisher!" Akim shouts, pointing under the sink.
Ashley grabs the sprayer in the sink. "Here's water!"
"You can't use water on an oil fire!" Akim swats it out of her hand and shoves her back. "Move!"
"Put the damn fire out!" I bark over my shoulder.
Piper is still staring at her arm like she's watching a scary movie. Like the action is somehow disconnected from her reality.
In the chaos of Akim spraying the fire extinguisher and Ashley and Gram screaming, the moment crystallizes. Piper is in front of me and nothing else matters.
I grab her and yank her towards me. For some reason I can't imagine, she resists.
"Piper!" I bellow her name, and she looks at me.
It all happens in a quarter of a second. An eighth of a second. Less.
Her eyes meet mine, understanding passes between us, and she follows me.
I drag her no more than a couple feet away from the stove and tear her sweater off of her body. I'm pumping with adrenaline, so the weakened material shreds and rips beneath my fingers like it's made of wet paper.
I stomp out the flaming pieces of fabric on the floor and start smacking out the embers still clinging to her. I feel my palms burning, but it's distant and unimportant. Pain is a signal. Nothing more. I choose to ignore it.
I can't focus on the angry red skin on her arm. All I can think about is getting the fire put out. Removing the danger.Making sure she's safe.
I twist her auburn hair over her good shoulder. Somehow, none of the flames touched it. Maybe it's because her hair is like a living flame already. An eternal blaze of gold and red when the light hits it just right.
"Are we good?" Akim asks, turning around with the extinguisher still in hand. Smoke is billowing from the stove and white fog fills the kitchen from the extinguisher.
Then,finally, the smoke alarm starts going off.
"Fucking hell," Akim grumbles. "I'm on it."
He hustles around to find a chair and gets to the alarm. I move Piper towards the sink.
She's in nothing more than a thin, see-through tank top, but she doesn't seem to notice. I try not to notice, either. I mostly fail at that.
"Arm under here," I ordered, flipping the faucet to lukewarm. "We need to cool down your skin."
She glances back over her shoulder. "Is my Gram—"
All at once, I grab her face and force her to look in my eyes. "Everyone else in this room is fine. You aren't. Because you were too busy worrying about everyone else."
She frowns. "I wasn't—"
"Get your arm under the water before I have to fucking force you."
Her jaw clenches, but she turns to the sink and does as I ask.
About goddamn time.