Page 101 of Deceptive Games

My nightmares were forgotten as we moved towards the house, my lighter already in hand as I flicked it out of habit, glancing around for something to start it. There were some old pieces of furniture, but we needed more than that.

“Rory,” I whisper-yelled when she pulled herself through an open window, not wanting her to hurt herself on broken glass, let alone if the roof collapsed more, but she waved me off.

“I’ve been in here plenty. I want to make sure there’s no squatters sleeping inside first.”

“Look at it. I highly doubt anyone’s living in it,” I deadpanned as I followed, making her look back at me.

“When you have nothing, this is like a palace. It has some protection from the elements, and one of the houses further along the road is a dealer. Somewhere to sleep that’s within walking distance to drugs is a gold mine.”

“Have you stayed in places like this?” I asked slowly as she led me through the house, my nose wrinkling at the state of it. Trash was everywhere, mold growing on the walls in places as she pulled her phone out to use the flashlight on it. “There’s rats. I think we’re safe.”

“Cockroaches too, but that doesn’t mean someone hasn’t made it their home,” she explained, poking her head into one of the rooms to check. “And yes, I’ve stayed in places like this. I didn’t really get much sleep, but it was out of the rain and let me sit for a while.”

“How old were you?”

“Too many times to count. The first time I snuck out to a place like this though, I was probably ten. Max had creepy friends over, so I had to go somewhere else.”

“Ten?”

She stopped, turning to give me her full attention. “I’ve seen kids as young as three in places like this.”

“That makes my problems seem stupid,” I chuckled weakly, feeling bad all of a sudden. “This was a dumb idea. It was just a nightmare. You probably think I’m just being a typical rich kid.”

Her face softened, and she shook her head. “I don’t think that. Your problems and trauma are just as valid. Just becausethe situation is different, doesn’t mean it’s stupid. You want to burn this down, or not?”

I did. I really fucking did.

“Is it clear?” I asked, and she nodded.

“Yeah, the backroom is full of junk and part of the roof. There’s no room for a stray dog in there, let alone a person. Trust me, I’ve tried,” she laughed as if that was funny, starting to grab a few things and pile them up in the middle of the room.

I helped, and once we had a large pile, she stepped back for me. “Let it burn. We’ll run back to the car and head to the school. I’ll take you up to the roof so we can watch from a distance,” she explained, and I squatted down to set an old rag on fire, the smell of smoke filling my senses and calming something inside of me.

Once it was crackling and starting to spread, I moved back beside Rory with a grin. “We should’ve bought gasoline.”

“If it goes off like a bomb, the cops from Ashburn will show up,” she joked, tugging at my arm as it kept growing, picking up power as more items caught fire. “We need to go. By the time we get to the school, it should be fully ablaze.”

I wanted to stay right where I was, but I let her pull me towards the window we’d climbed in through, and we jogged back to the car that was surprisingly untouched.

I jumped as a gunshot went off somewhere close by, but Rory didn’t even react as she unlocked the car and slid behind the wheel, starting the engine as I got in and put my seat belt on.

“Did you not hear the gunshot?” I asked as she turned the car around, making her raise an eyebrow.

“That’s just the soundtrack of the Heights. It was a few streets over, nothing for us to worry about.”

“How do you know?”

“Growing up here, you learn fast where gunfire is coming from,” she shrugged, and I glanced back to watch the smoke rising in the sky, my leg bouncing with anticipation to watch it.

The drive to the local high school didn’t take long, and she took me up to the large, flat roof area that she seemed extremely familiar with, my eyes widening as I noticed the house fully ablaze, not all that far away.

It was a great view, and when she took my hand, I gave it a gentle squeeze.

We sat on the edge of the roof and watched it burn until fire truck lights flashed in the distance, the wail of the siren screaming out across the early hours of the morning.

The sun was only just coming up over the hillside, and I took the time to study Rory as she watched the blaze and swung her legs a little, seeming to find peace in the chaos like I did.

“Is this your spot?” I asked quietly after a while, glancing around the school yard to take it all in now that the sun was coming up.