Fireproof // H.S.

24. Lost Trust

"Hey, that's...you," Niall said, examining all the newspaper clippings in the folder. "VIOLET REED: THE LUCKY ONE. HOUSE FIRE IS A MYSTERY. CAUSE OF DEADLY HOUSE FIRE UNKNOWN. All of these are about you. He's been keeping tabs on you." Among the clippings were printouts of research articles describing how investigators determine the cause of fires, how fires start and spread, and stories of people surviving fires with extensive burns on their body. We reached the bottom of the stack of papers to reveal an orange sticky note with faded ink that had two questions written on it: How did she survive unscathed? What sparked the fire?

I was overwhelmed with emotion. This man was watching me the whole time! I took a seat at the desk, too weak to stand. I had to take deep breaths as the familiar feeling of guilt engulfed me as I mourned the death of my family.

"It was you who started the fire, wasn't it?" Niall asked. His voice was soft and there was no conviction in his voice but I couldn't help but cry. Niall hugged me, rubbing my back to comfort me. "It's okay. You didn't know. Don't be so hard on yourself."

"I c-can't help it. I'm the reason why th-they're dead," I sobbed. Niall continued to hug me and I managed to calm down after five minutes. My eyes were red and swollen but I knew I couldn't just sit here and cry all day. We had to look through the other folders. "What's in the other folders?"

"That's a good question. Let's take a look," Niall said, picking up the next folder. He opened the next folder to reveal a newspaper clipping titled: HARRY STYLES BRINGS HOME THE GOLD. There was a picture of Harry, fresh out of the pool with a towel wrapped around his shoulder, holding up a gold medal proudly. STYLES CLAIMS HE'S A MERMAN. STAR SWIMMER HEADS TO HARVARD. Again, at the bottom of the stack was a sticky note. Gifted swimmer. Loves water.

There were exactly ten folders. One for each of us. I dug through the folders trying to look for Zayn's. Zayn's folder was pretty empty to my disappointment. In his folder, there were no clippings. Instead, there was a piece of notebook paper with several bullet points.

- Dad says he's reserved, likes to be alone

- Was bullied as a child

- Tends to have violent thoughts and is violent when provoked

- Is very green; into protecting the environment

The sticky note in his folder said one word: Inconclusive.

I didn't know what to make of Dr. Rosario's research on us. I guess after we were let go, he didn't believe that nothing happened to us. Being the curious scientist he was, he knew that something had to happen. Something. Anything. So he continued to observe us even though he wasn't supposed to. He was trying to put the pieces together. He was trying to find any patterns that could connect us all together. But did he find something?

"Well well well, look what we have here." My head shot up to find Dr. Rosario at the door. His face was flushed from the cold and he looked tired. He sighed before speaking. "I thought I could trust the two of you." There was an edge to his voice that I didn't like. "Get out before I call the police."

"I know this looks bad but this isn't what it looks like. We're trying to help you," Niall choked.

"Help me by going through my stuff? The two of you are criminals. Get out. Get out of my house NOW!" Dr. Rosario yelled. Niall and I quickly got up and walked out of the small office, careful to not touch Dr. Rosario on the way out.

"We weren't lying when we said your life is in danger," I told him. "He's coming after you. We're here to protect you."

"Protect me? Bullsh*t." Dr. Rosario opened the front door. "Get out," he seethed.

"Dr. Rosario, please listen! We're very sorry for snooping around. We were curious, we couldn't help it! But you need to listen to me. Zayn and his crew are coming after you. You need to hide or go to the police!" I shouted. Dr. Rosario shook his head and slammed the door in our face.

My eyes widened in panic. "This can't be happening," I said to Niall. "He's going to die! Dr. Rosario, open up! You're going to die. You need to hide! Protect yourself!" I yelled, banging on his door.

"GET OFF MY PROPERTY! I'm calling the police right now!" I heard Dr. Rosario shout. His dog started barking again. Niall grabbed my arm dragging me towards the car.

"Violet, let's go," he said sternly. "We told him but he won't listen."

"I can't. We can't. He's in danger," I said, fighting his grip. I could feel the tears rolling down my cheek. I struggled to move towards the front door but Niall's grip was too strong. He basically dragged me to the car. Harry, Bridget, and Liam were surprised at the scene unfolding before them.

"What the hell happened?" Bridget asked, getting out of the car.

"We ruined it," Niall said, angry at himself. "We gained his trust and then we lost it. We have to get out of here. He called the police." Bridget's mouth was open but no words came out. She then closed her mouth, waiting to ask questions till we were out of the neighborhood. We slowly climbed into the car.

"He's going to die," I cried. No one tried to comfort me. All they did was stare at me with wide eyes. Harry stared at me through the rear view mirror but kept his mouth shut. He put the car in acceleration and sped out of the neighborhood.

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Sorry this chapter ended on a weird note. But anyways, what do you all think of One Direction's new album? It took me a while to get used to their new sound but I'm finding that the more I listen to it, the more I like it. What about you?