Chapter 1

The smell hit me first, acrid and wrong.

Then the building shook.

A dull thud from somewhere below, not a boom, but enough to rattle the windows in our fourth-floor apartment.

"What was that?" I yelled, already moving.

Mark was closer to the door. He didn't answer.

His eyes were wide, fixed on something outside our living room window, in the direction of the street, towards Chloe's building just a couple of blocks over.

"Gas," he muttered, already yanking the door open. "Chloe."

He was gone.

Just like that.

I stood there for a second, the acrid smell stronger now, my heart pounding against my ribs.

Our building. The explosion was in *our* building.

I grabbed my phone and keys, my mind racing.

Fire alarms started blaring, a deafening shriek.

I stumbled out into the hallway, smoke already coiling near the ceiling.

People were shouting, running.

I fended for myself.

Down the stairs, out into the chaos of the street. Firetrucks were already arriving.

I saw him then.

Across the street, near Chloe's less affected building.

Mark was with Chloe.

Her arm was around his neck, and she was leaning heavily on him, her face buried in his shoulder. He was stroking her hair, murmuring something.

She didn't look injured.

He hadn't even called me. Hadn't checked if I was okay.

He saw me. His eyes met mine over Chloe's head.

No guilt. No panic for me. Just... a flicker of something I couldn't name. Annoyance?

Fury, cold and sharp, cut through my fear.

I walked straight towards them, pushing through the small crowd.

"Sarah," he started, his voice calm, too calm.

Chloe looked up, her eyes wide and tear-filled. "Oh, Sarah, thank God you're okay. Mark was so worried."

Liar.

"Were you, Mark?" I asked, my voice tight. "Worried about me?"

He shifted, Chloe still clinging to him. "Of course. I knew you'd be sensible."

Sensible. While he ran to her.

"We're done, Mark," I said, the words tasting like ash. "I mean it. We are over."

He stared at me, finally looking surprised.

Chloe gasped softly, clutching him tighter.

"Sarah, don't be like this," Mark said, his tone placating. "It's been a shock for everyone."

"No," I said, my voice shaking but firm. "The only shock is how clear things are now."

I turned and walked away, leaving him standing there with her.