My Old Friend Burned My House Down, But His Parents Died Instead!

Alex, we accidentally set your house on fire with the fireworks! Your parents are trapped inside!

It was a holiday evening. My old friend, Liam, invited us out to catch up. He insisted on setting off some fireworks to liven things up.

Liam, wanting to make a grand show, just waved his hand and bought over ten thousand dollars' worth of fireworks, ready to light them all at once.

Watching the rows of fireworks lined up on the ground, my eyelids twitched, and I tried my best to warn him. But he wouldn't listen, just smiled and said,

"I know what I'm doing."

He finished speaking and rushed forward to light all the fireworks.

Helpless, I eventually went back inside to play cards with friends.

But my butt hadn't even warmed the seat when he burst in, frantic, claiming my parents were screaming in agony inside the burning house.

I instinctively thought Liam was joking.

"No way, my parents..."

Before I could finish, he anxiously cut me off.

"Seriously! Why would I lie to you? Come on, let's go! The fire's out of control!"

With that, he yanked me along and pulled me straight towards my house.

By now, the fire was completely out of control. I hadn't even reached my front door, but the scorching heat was already washing over me.

There were many people trying to put out the fire, and I could still hear painful groans from inside the house.

Someone was screaming a name heartbreakingly, but I couldn't quite make it out.

My brow furrowed. I was even more confused. My parents weren't home. They hadn't come back this year. So, who were the two people trapped inside?

Without thinking too much, I pulled out my phone to call the fire department and the police, but before I could dial.

Mayor Thompson called out to me. He hurried over, a somber expression on his face.

"Alex, your parents are trapped in there. I'm afraid we can't save them from this fire. We've thrown so much water on it, but it's no use."

"You need to brace yourself."

As he spoke, he wiped sweat from his face, his eyes red.

I looked up. The house was engulfed in raging flames. I could see two figures, burned, scurrying around, screaming desperately.

My heart clenched. Even if they weren't my parents, we had to get them out quickly.

But just as I was about to press the dial button, Mayor Thompson snatched my phone away, stepping forward to stop me.

"No, Alex, you can't call the police!"

"Our town is up for a major community grant soon. We absolutely cannot have a fire or fatalities on our record. Let's just put out this fire and forget about it."

I opened my mouth to argue, but Liam quickly chimed in.

"That's right, Alex, we can't call the cops. We can't jeopardize the bigger picture. Look, everyone's helping you put out the fire. Calling the police would be biting the hand that feeds you. I say let's just drop this!"

"Putting out the fire is the priority right now."

Though I didn't agree with their reasoning, putting out the fire first was indeed important. I didn't argue with them further.

I quickly joined the firefighting efforts.

Seeing this, they also stopped delaying and immediately started fighting the fire.

We fought the fire until almost three in the morning. The flames finally died down, but the air was filled with an acrid, lingering smell of smoke.

Two charred bodies were carried out and covered with white sheets.

Before I could even react, Liam covered his face and started to sob first.

"Alex, your parents are so tragic. They died in the fire before the holiday even ended. I wish I hadn't set off those fireworks; none of this would have happened."

"I'm so sorry, Alex. I never thought everyone else's houses would be fine, and only yours would catch fire."

"But I didn't mean to, please don't blame me."

I hadn't even said a word, and he was already playing the victim. Even if these weren't my parents' bodies, they were still two human lives.

I couldn't help but get angry, clenching my fists.

"Didn't I warn you today? But no, you had to light all those fireworks. Now the house is burned, and people are dead. What good are those words now?"

Liam looked at me with tear-filled eyes, then crouched on the ground, crying even louder.

He put on such a display, it almost looked like I was bullying him.

Some townspeople couldn't stand it and stepped forward to defend him.

"Alright, people are dead now, what good is talking about it? Just say less and let it go."

"Exactly! No one else's house caught fire, only yours. At the end of the day, your family just had bad luck. Who can you blame for that?"

"Right, if you ask me, you should thank Liam. Your parents died early, didn't that just cut your future burden of caring for them in half?"

He spoke casually, arms crossed, and his words stunned me, instantly sending my anger soaring.

"Are you even human?"

"What do you mean, 'burden cut in half'? Step forward and explain yourself!"

I tugged at my sleeve, gritting my teeth, and took a step forward. I couldn't believe those words had come from a person's mouth.

I wanted nothing more than to tear that person's mouth apart right then.

Seeing my aggressive stance, she sheepishly took a step back.

Mayor Thompson quickly came forward to intervene, "Alright, alright, Alex, don't bother with him. That's just how he talks."

"Now, just focus on making arrangements for your parents. As for a place to stay, you can come to my place. I can't let you be homeless in town."

Liam, having composed himself, tugged at my sleeve and spoke softly.

"Alex, why don't you stay at my place? No matter what, this is my fault, so consider it my way of making it up to you. You can treat my home as your own, okay?"

"My parents can be your parents, alright?"

I stared at him silently, but his eyes darted away, unable to meet my gaze directly.

I'd found it strange today when he was setting off fireworks. Why so many? And quite a few of the handheld ones were pointed directly at my house.

My face was tense. I stared intently at him, trying to catch any hint of something off.

Seeing this, Mayor Thompson continued to play the peacemaker, but every word he said was in Liam's defense.

"Alright, Alex, let bygones be bygones. Don't hold this against Liam. He didn't mean for this to happen. If you don't forgive him, he'll feel terrible too."

"Let's just take your parents' bodies to the funeral home for cremation before dawn."

After speaking, he called for people to come and move the bodies.

I smiled, speaking each word slowly and clearly.

"But Mayor, my parents never came back for the holidays this year. These two bodies can't be my parents'."

"I think we should call the police and let them determine whose bodies these are."

Everyone's movements froze. Their faces showed disbelief.

Liam had the biggest reaction. He immediately stood up, pointing at the two bodies emotionally.

"Impossible! How can they not be your parents'?"

"They died in your house! Who else could they be but your parents?"

"At the end of the day, you're just saying this because you still want to call the police, aren't you?"

"Alex! Can't you be a little more sensible? Is your parents' death more important than our town getting this community award? Can you not see the bigger picture?"

The bigger picture?

I couldn't believe those words came from his mouth.

Even more unbelievable was that no one in the entire town objected. Instead, they looked at me with a hint of blame, as if I was making trouble.

A knot of anger lodged itself in my chest, neither rising nor falling.

Mayor Thompson frowned and stepped forward, his words laced with a warning.

"Alex, I know you're grieving the loss of your parents right now, but you can't make things difficult for us."

"If you make things difficult, who in town will help with your parents' funeral arrangements?"

"You're a man; do you have the ability to ensure they rest in peace?"

"This matter ends here. It's already light out; let's just bury your parents directly."

Saying this, he immediately called for a few men to move the bodies.

But it was the holiday season, and everyone felt it was a bad omen. No one wanted to be the first to move.

Liam pursed his lips and pushed me.

"Alex, what are you waiting for? Give these men some money! You know you have to pay for things to get done, right?"

"You've been working outside for years; how can you not understand how things work around here? I've stayed in this town, I know what I'm talking about."

"Everyone needs at least a thousand dollars, you know?"

He urged me while signaling to the men to show their payment app QR codes.

"Go on, pay up. After all, these are your parents' bodies. No matter what, you need to show respect."

A thousand dollars per person?

To hell with their "how things work." This was practically robbery.

When no money was offered, no one wanted to touch them. But as soon as "a thousand dollars" was mentioned, over ten men immediately sprang forward.

That would easily be ten thousand dollars.

I didn't move, suppressing my impatience and raising my voice.

"I've already told you, these aren't my parents' bodies. My parents didn't come back for the holidays this year."

"I don't know who these two people are!"

Liam's expression stiffened.

A cold scoff echoed from the crowd. The woman who had previously defended Liam stepped forward again.

"Stop bluffing! I saw your parents around eight last night! I even said hello to them!"

"You need to come up with a better lie, and plenty of other people saw your parents too!"

A few people next to her also spoke up in agreement.

"I saw them too. We were sitting by the town entrance, chatting, and we all saw your parents. We have no reason to lie to you."

"Exactly. We also saw them. Nobody lies about dead people; it's bad luck. We're not that bored."

Their back-and-forth chatter gave me a headache, but my parents really hadn't come back for the holidays.

My scrutinizing gaze fell on them, but their confident expressions didn't seem fake.

A sudden, unbidden dread began to creep into my heart.

Liam subconsciously let out a sigh of relief, patting my shoulder to comfort me.

"Alex, I know you might have trouble accepting this right now, but everyone has no reason to lie to you, right?"

"If you don't believe it, just make a call. Then you can confirm whether your parents are home or not."

My body began to tremble uncontrollably. Someone in the crowd held out a phone to me.

It displayed a surveillance video from the town entrance. The footage clearly showed my parents appearing in the video, greeting people.

Now I truly panicked. I quickly pulled out my own phone, trembling as I called my dad.

But the phone was off.

A suffocating feeling swelled in my chest, my heart pounding.

My dad's phone was unreachable, so I immediately called my mom, but her phone still went unanswered.

I called five times in a row, but no one picked up.

I took a breath, trying to calm myself, then immediately turned to call my brother, Ben, for one last confirmation.

The phone rang once, then was answered. Ben's voice came through.

"Alex, anything wrong with calling so early?"

I rubbed my stinging eyes, my voice a little hoarse as I asked,

"Ben, did Mom and Dad go back to their old house last night?"

My brother chuckled on the other end, complaining slightly.

"Yeah, last night Dad insisted on going home for some reasonhe had a special plan for dinner at home. So, Chloe and I had to drive them back."

"Why? What's up?"

I opened my mouth, but my throat felt like it was stuffed with cotton. The words wouldn't come out.

I quickly wiped my eyes. My little nephew, Leo, was crying in the background, and my brother had already hung up.

Looking at the two bodies, my legs suddenly felt weak.

Liam quickly supported me, comforting me while urging me to pay.

"Alex, it's come to this. It's right to let your parents rest in peace. Don't be too sad."

"How about we pay the men so they can bury your parents, and then we'll talk? It's getting late, and everyone's been up all night with you."

I was trembling with rage. I shoved Liam's hand away and knelt before my parents' bodies.

Staring at the charred corpses, I took several deep breaths before finally pulling back the white sheet covering them, examining them closely to confirm.

I refused to believe they were my parents, but their burnt figures were so indistinct that I couldn't even tell their gender.

I bit down hard on my teeth, struggling to control my emotions. Behind me, Liam's lips curved into a smile, then he put on a facade of false concern.

"There, there, Alex, don't be sad. It's all over now."

Over?

How could it be over? If it weren't for him, how would my house have caught fire? How would my parents have died?

I let out a deep, shaky breath, my hand trembling as I pulled out my phone to call the police.

Liam slapped my phone out of my hand, annoyance in his voice.

"Didn't I say not to call the police? Don't you understand that this matter is closed?"

I rubbed my throbbing temples, ignoring him, and reached down to pick up my phone from the ground. Liam instantly kicked my phone three feet away.

I was so angry I gritted my back teeth, standing up to confront him.

Suddenly, a familiar voice sounded behind me.

"Alex, what's everyone gathered here for so early?"

I whirled around. The speakers were my parents. David and Sarah.

So whose bodies were those on the ground?