Chapter 103

Chapter 103
 Ivonne's POV
I let out a coughing fit once we reached the ground floor, the smoke filling my lungs and my eyes blurry from the haze. It was Tobias's turn to rub my back.
There was no one in the living room so we strolled toward the kitchen and my heart flipped in my chest the instant I caught sight of a flame and felt the heat from the entrance to the kitchen.
"Fucking shit!" I exclaimed as the two women in the living room seemed oblivious to the fire ignited behind them. "Fire!"
"Fire?" Martha whom I couldn't see clearly but spotted her silhouette and recognized from her voice asked in wonder. "Where's the fir---"
"Oh shit," Lora clamored in shock as I observed a figure whirl around on her feet and faced the fire. "Fire!!"
"Don't go in there Ivonne," Tobias ordered as I turned away from him and moved my feet toward the heated, confined space.
I disregarded his command, and dived into the kitchen, my hands flailing in the air to dispel the smoke coming at me and letting out a cough every now and then.
Acting fast, I went straight for the sink and turned on the kitchen tap, instantly grabbing a bowl in the midst of the whole madness and putting it under the running water.
"Lora would you stop panicking and get me the damned fire extinguisher!" I yelled at her as I turned off the tap and heaved the bowl with my two hands.
"Yes Luna," Lora let out and hurried out of the kitchen while I strolled to the curtain which was spreading the fire.
"Get out of my fucking way Martha," I commanded and as I hurried my steps, apprehension filling my system as I tried to hold down the fear creeping up my spine.
She scurried away as I ordered and ran for the exit, the same instant I poured the water in the bowl toward the spot of the fire. A sound filled the kitchen as well as ashes and more smoke as the water quenched the flames.

"Fuck," I uttered, feeling the ashes come at my face and skin, lifting my right hand toward my face to shield my mouth and turned away from it in the direction of the sink.
There was still some flame left and I put the bowl in the sink, turning on the faucet to fill it up again as I wondered what in heaven's name was taking Lora so long with the fire extinguisher.
"What the hell is happening?" I heard mother's voice ask from the living room, the commotion and smoke of the hour probably stirring her from her slumber.
The bowl filled up for the second time and I turned off the tap, placing my palm at the edges to lift it up when Lora breezed in, fire extinguisher in hand as she marched for the window where the curtain was hung, half burnt and emitting smoke with a little flame.
She instantly switched on the extinguisher, her hands poised at the perfect angle as she held it in her hold and directed it at the designated area.
"Thank heavens," I heaved in relief as the fire, flame and smoke all dwindled to nothing. The mist of the extinguisher and the ashes scattering around my vision, nonetheless that wasn't a problem.
"A very close one," Lora muttered as she placed the object in her hold beside me and leaned on it, our forms held up by the kitchen counter. "That would have really escalated into something else."
"You think?" I scoffed, breath coming out heavy as I slowly calmed down from the anxiousness and fear that came with spotting the fire and trying to put it off.
"I know right?" Lora questioned in a laugh, her gaze trained on me, before I could stop myself, I burst out laughing, our giggles filling the kitchen. "I wonder why I never thought to get the fire extinguisher."
"Life happens that way," I shrugged it off and sent her a small smile as sorry was written over her face in those moments. "It likes to play tricks on you. Your mind may know what to do but it wasn't able to function in that instant."
"Yeah," she let out, her expression blank as I observed her try to process my words. "I guess that goes to explain what happened to me."
"There's a high possibility about that," I declared, bobbing my head.
As we stood there, a minute later, Tobias walked in, not sparing the both of us a glance as he strived further into the kitchen and the ends of the wall where he didn't hesitate to unlock the windows and pushed them open.

"We forgot about that," I announced, my hand lifting in the air and dropping back to my lap, Lora chuckling while I shook my head. "Thank you Tobias."
"Honestly I was wondering what was wrong that you didn't think to do what I just did," he snorted in response, his lips tilted in a mocking smirk.
"Oh please," I rolled my eyes at him. Excuse me for not doing the other minor things after I handled the main issue perfectly."
"I'm not gonna contest that," he raised his palms in surrender and I bobbed my head in appreciation of that fact. "You really handled it well."
"I was damn scared," I admitted in a laugh and the two people joined in. "I never knew I could take charge in such a situation."
"Me either," Tobias confessed. "One minute you were with me and the next you were throwing yourself in a room with an ignited flame and a gas cooker with a bottle of oil likely to be hanging around somewhere."
"Yeah just imagine if the place had gone boom?" Lora questioned, her voice lower than it was when it was just us two, as she bent her head in respect to Tobias's presence as usual.
"That was my literal fear," I revealed, a bad shiver running through me at the fear of what may have been. "Which was why I was intent on quenching the fire which was the main problem at all costs before it spread out."
"What was the cause of the fire by the way," Tobias let out in more of a statement than a question. "The 3 of us have lived here before mother with occasionally, Anallise and Gina being here and none of this had occurred."
"Yeah Lora," I agreed with his logic, my vision sweeping the kitchen in search of the roof cause of our problem. "What the hell happened?"
"Martha tried to make breakfast," Lora informed, biting down on her bottom lip as if to prevent a laugh.
"She did what?" I screamed out the question, anger and shock fuelling my voice. "And you allowed that?"
"No Luna, I was not aware," she hurriedly shook her head in denial, a genuine expression on her face.
"Then what happened?" I asked in exasperation while Tobias waa quiet. "Where's the pan or pot or whatever that ignited this whole mess?"

"I heard sounds coming from the kitchen so I came down to check it out and help, thinking it was you or Mother," she elaborated. "Also as for the pan, I hastily tossed it out the window."
"That explains why the curtain ignited," Tobias blurted as it all clicked.
"Speaking of," Lora started to say, and our eyes shifted to peer directly at her. "I think Martha got burnt."