That was my thought. Over and over. Plus an extra,God, this sucked.
I waited there, fighting the urge to cough. And all too soon, I felt cold on the sheets, cold in my bed, and cold without Ellie to touch. I desperately wanted to reassure myself that she was okay. It was ridiculous. I knew she was fine. She’d been discharged from the hospital long before they’d let me go. I’d seen the news clips of her leaving with Rachel, her parents by her side.
She’d been safe, calm, and held in the warm support of her family.
I’d watched the clip a hundred times, grateful beyond measure that she had their support. I was also jealous, because my family was back in Indianapolis. And even if they had been here, neither my father nor my brother would wrap their arms around me the way Ellie’s mom had held her. We kept a manly distance from one another. And as for the feminine influences in my life, they were long gone. I hadn’t heard from either my mother or sister in years.
Fortunately, the Bobcats were on the ball. They’d arranged for me to get this room in a hotel near the hospital. Someone was supposed to come by this morning to bring me fresh clothes, since everything I’d brought to Chicago was now ash.
I climbed out of bed and headed for the shower. I’d taken one last night, but I needed something to wash away the nightmare. Even though I knew I’d never forget the echoing sound of Ellie’s scream. I’d hear that until I died. But at least I could remind myself that it was just a dream. When the pressure was on, I’d come through. That gave me such a sense of relief that I nearly stumbled when I stepped into the shower.
I hadn’t failed her. So I closed my eyes, lifted my head to the spray, and let the water beat the fear from me.
I came out only when I heard someone banging on my door. The pounding was loud and furious, which was the only reason I’d heard it. I slammed off the water, bit back a cough, and then bellowed as loud as I could.
“One sec!”
Only my bellow didn’t have the strength it used to. Not with pain lancing through my side. So I wrapped a robe around me and moved to the door. I wasn’t fast, but at least I made it. But I was not prepared for what greeted me on the other side.
Gia stood there. And she looked frightened and pissed. She gripped clothing in one hand along with a plastic bag of amenities. Her phone was held in the other, and her expression kept changing from anger to worry back to frustration as she scanned me from head to toe.
“Good morning—” I rasped.
“How are you feeling? Are you okay?”
I cleared my throat. “Yeah, I’m fine.” The lie rolled off my tongue easily. In truth, I was still pretty shaky, and I hated that I couldn’t breathe deeply without coughing, but she was the media and so I put on my brave face. Sure, she worked for the Bobcats, but in my mind, they were all reporters who could nail me at any given moment.
“Are those for me?” I asked, as I pointed to the plain team jersey and khakis.
She shoved them forward. “Yeah. Underwear and socks are in the bag. I hope you’re a boxer guy.”
I wasn’t, but I could adjust.
Meanwhile, she kept peering at me in a concerned-mother way. Which was weird considering she was my age and only came up to my chin. “Seriously, Jake, how do you feel?”
“Like I’m standing here in a bathrobe with wet hair. Can you give me a minute?”
She nodded, already looking back at her phone. “Sure. Don’t take too long, though. You’ve got the press waiting downstairs.”
I winced. That was the best reason yet for taking a long damn time in the bathroom. “Can’t you handle it?” I asked as I walked away. The bathroom tile was reassuringly cold on my bare feet. “I’m fine. I’ll be fine. It was just a fire.”
“It was just a fire where you were seen leaping from a burning balcony with a kid in your arms. And then, just to be sure everyone knows you’re the ultimate hero, you caught a hot woman as she was falling to her death.”
Gia was being complimentary. She was. But her words sent every moment of my nightmare back. It rushed at me from nowhere and I gripped the sides of the sink just to keep standing. Thank God, I was out of sight. But I must have made a noise because Gia called out sharply.
“Jake? You okay?”
“Yeah!” I growled. Then I kicked the bathroom door shut as I whispered to myself, over and over, “She’s safe. You caught her. You didn’t drop her. She’s safe.”
It took me at least a minute before I believed my own words. And then I realized I’d been hanging out in the bathroom far too long. So I flushed the toilet for an explanation while I wet my face with cold water. Two minutes and a dozen lancing pains later, I was dressed and had casually ruffled hair. That was my go-to style since my older sister had taught me how to do it when I was thirteen. She’d said it made me look hot.
I stepped out to find Gia waiting for me and somehow, her expression had changed from that of an overprotective mother to an evil Mother Superior. Her arms were crossed, her expression was stern, and—big clue—she’d put her phone down. Gia never did that unless it was something important.
“Gia?”
“You sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah, I’m f—”
