AMELIA

 Tahoe, twenty-six months ago

 I wondered how long it would take to die. So this was how I died— so brutal— burn to ashes. What did I do to deserve this? Was this what it felt like to be trapped in hell for eternity?

 Smoke and fire were the only things I could see, obliterating the home where I grew up.

 “Help!” I screamed out loud as I pulled my knees to my chest and wrapped my arms around them as I watched the fiery flames devour my bedroom door, leaving me no way to ...