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This made no sense. I had been around him for scarcely two weeks, and before that it had been eight years. But my heart was shouting, screaming for him, and that was a truth that I could never deny again.
“Jack…” I whispered as tears ran down my cheeks. “Please be okay. I’ll never take you for granted again. I’ll apologize. I’ll do anything, just please be all right.”
I didn’t know how long I waited. It was probably only a few minutes, but it felt like hours. My camera was on the ground across the street. I didn’t care. It didn’t matter. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the building that currently held three men, who each held a part of my heart.
“Goddamnit,” the guy with the radio said, slumping against one of the fire engines. My heart sank, and I held my breath.
No.
He raised the radio to his mouth. “You nearly gave me a heart attack, Franco. The next time you decide to fall through the floor, I’m sending you a stress-related hospital bill.”
He was laughing. Other firefighters were slumping with relief, too. That’s when I saw them. Three firefighters stumbling out of the front of the apartment building, one helped along by the other two. When they reached the grassy lawn a safe distance away, they lowered the middle man to the ground and rolled him onto his back.
Jack!
I was running then, legs pumping faster than they ever had in my life. The firefighter who had escorted me away put up an arm to stop me, but I ducked under it and kept going until I reached the man on the ground.
“Injured left ankle,” Liam said, ripping off his own helmet and respirator. “And burns on his legs.”
Mateo removed Jack’s helmet. His face was a splotchy mess of red skin and black soot. “It’s… not… bad,” Jack managed to grit out. His teeth were white, too clean compared to the rest of his face. “Oh. Alyssa.”
Liam and Mateo both flinched when they noticed me. “What are you doing here?” Liam asked.
I was blubbering like an idiot then, my tears falling onto Jack’s firefighter jacket and carving little rivulets into the layer of soot. Jack blinked slowly, but his eyes were locked onto me now.
“I’m an idiot,” Jack muttered to me. “It’s all my fault.”
“You had no way to know the floor would collapse,” Mateo said.
Jack shook his head while continuing to stare at me. “I was wrong. I was an idiot teenager. I was just trying to get your attention all those years. I should… I should have…”
“It’s my fault,” I interrupted. “I had a crush on you, and I never did anything about it. But it doesn’t matter, now. Just relax. I understand now, Jack. For the first time in my life, my head is clear and I understand.”
He gave a weak little grin. “I promise. Not to let you go. Without a fight. This time.” He reached up and cupped my cheek. I felt black soot smear against my skin, but I held my hand over his, not wanting to end his touch.
“I promise,” he said one more time, before they took him away.
35
Alyssa
I waited in the hospital lobby for three hours. Three long hours. I knew Jack was okay, that he had survived and wasn’t in any real danger now. But that knowledge didn’t exactly help me relax.
Finally, Liam popped his head in the waiting room. “Alyssa? Come on. You can see him now.”
“Is he all right?” I asked while following him deeper into the hospital.
“Oh, yeah. Right as rain. It was a close one there for a minute, when he was trapped inside…” He trailed off as we walked, staring expressionless. Then he shook his head and smiled. “Whelp, no use dwelling on it now. He’s all right.”
He put an arm around me, guiding me down the hall. I was grateful for the support.
Jack was held in a private hospital room. Mateo, who was standing just inside, gave me a welcoming smile. He looked exhausted, with deep bags under his eyes. When he hugged me, I could still smell smoke in his hair.
A groan came from the bed. “How’d they sneak you in?” Jack asked.
I threw my hands across his body and buried my face into his chest, ignoring the paper gown that crackled. “Oh, Jack!”
“Nurse won’t be back for a while,” Liam explained. “He’s technically not allowed to have visitors, but…”
