"Oh, I almost forgot to mention," she continued, her voice syrupy sweet. "Your divorce papers arrived this morning. Such a shame they were delivered to your car. All that paperwork... up in flames."
The realization hit me hard. Without those papers, I'd have to wait another year before filing again.
"You can't keep me here," I shouted over the roar of the fire.
"Can't I?" Tara challenged. She pointed toward the burning car. "If you're so desperate, why don't you check? Maybe something survived."
Without thinking, I ran toward the car, pulling at the door handle. To my surprise, it opened and I leaned in searching through the smoke filled interior.
Suddenly, the door slammed behind me. I felt hands push me further in and spun around to see Tara's triumphant face through the window as she locked me in.
"What are you doing?" I screamed, pulling at the handle. "Let me out!"
The smoke began filling the car and it burned my lungs. I'd been tricked. I pounded on the windows and gasped for breath.
"Bye-bye, Hazel. Enjoy your cremation." She blew me a kiss.
"Tara!" a voice shouted from a distance. Derek was coming.