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My time with Ruthgina was… different. It didn’t feel how I remembered. Memories with her of fondness and fun. When she entered my room, she’d seemed hesitant and reserved. That wasn’t how I wanted my fiancé to be when she saw me. She kept looking at my bandages and asking if I would heal completely. I remembered how superficial she could be, but I’d hoped that she’d love me after all this. Still want me. Had things really changed that much? Or were my injuries that bad?
Mom told me we weren’t together anymore. That I was with someone else. The woman that made my thoughts race. Anise. There was something about her that made everything fire at once. I wanted to touch her at the same time that something told me to stay away from her. Was she trouble? I had more questions than answers. Was she who I needed? Were we happy? How long had we been together? Why weren’t we married?
Dad told me she needed to stay away until we could figure out why she triggered my seizures. I wanted something. Anything that would tell me who she was.
When Ruthgina was here, she’d made me think of something. When she’d gotten a call, she’d excused herself and said that she’d check on me later. It made me wonder where my phone was. There had to be answers there. My mother told me I probably lost it in the accident. She’d promised to bring it when she came in today.
My arm itched, and I struggled not to scratch it. I didn't want to injure it more than it was. The TV held no appeal. I wanted to go outside and see the sun.
There was a knock before Sava came inside. She smiled her normal, warm, welcoming smile before she walked over to me.
“I wanted to stop in and see how you were feeling. It’s about time that we gave you your eleven a.m. medication as well.”
I grunted at her, and she giggled. We went through this every time.
“Your mother also dropped off a present for you.” Sava handed me a brand new phone, complete with a plastic covering. “She needed to take Anise into town, but she promised to come back right after.”
I looked down at the screen. Was I ready?
“I’ll give you a second alone and then I’ll come back for our rendezvous.”
I took the plastic off, touched the screen, and it lit up looking for a code. I did not know what it was. At the bottom of the screen, it gave me a thumbprint option that I used. And just like that, we were back in business.
I scrolled through contacts, calls, and email notifications, looking for clues. The last place I went was my messages. There was a pinned thread of messages to a “Mrs. Dubois”. The first message I read was unsettling.
Mrs. Dubois: Please tell me it’s not really your flight and that the call I just received is a bad dream. I just got you back. I’m not ready to lose you all over again.
Images of flames destroying everything around me flashed through my mind. And just as quickly as it came, it vanished, leaving me struggling to breathe. I could still hear the screams scratching at my eardrums.
“Mr. Dubois? Raphael?” A voice called to me.
I heard her, but couldn’t seem to focus on anything outside of my breathing. Hot. Boiling. Screams.
“Easy there. Breathe. Breathe. Nice and easy. You’re here. Hospital room. Safe. Very safe.”
Safe.
"It's going to blow!"
“Breathe, Raphael. Easy. Deep. Breathe.”
Easy. Breathe.
Bright lights.
“That’s it. Slow. Deep. Safe.”
Safe. Slow. Breathe.
Clouds of thick smoke.
“It’s alright, Raphael. We’re going to get you through this. More deep breaths."
Deep. Breaths. More.
Flames. Burning. Smell.
"In… Out… Breathe in… Out…"
