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She looked me over, tears filling her tired eyes. “You’re okay?” she cried, bringing my hands to her mouth and kissing them.
“Yeah, baby. I’m good. Just a sprained wrist. Ya know, regular fireman shit.”
She smiled through her tears and I pulled my hands out of hers to wipe her face. “You can’t ever do that again, Emily. You can’t ever run into a fire after me. I can’t worry about that, baby,” I said, wetness hitting my eyes. “I don’t know what I would do if I lost you, too.”
“I know,” she whispered, reaching up and wiping my face, too. “I’m so sorry. But I saw that fire and I panicked. Something happened to me. It was so big and I thought you were going to die in there. And I couldn’t let that happen.” She hiccupped on a sob. “I couldn’t lose you like I lost Sloane.”
Sloane? I was so confused for a moment. Who the hell was Sloane? She’d lost her husband Andrew. My mind worked overtime. The only person she’d lost other than that was her brother as far as I knew. And then it all clicked into place.
It was an accident, she’d said.
The terrified look on her face at the hospital when Parker had been in her accident and she’d seen my shirt.
Fuck.
“Oh, God, baby. Did your brother die in a fire?” I asked, my voice thick with emotion. I sat on the side of the bed next to her hip and pushed tendrils of hair from her face.
She nodded. “Yeah. It was a house fire. Electrical. Started in the attic and then eventually took out the whole house. They found me, but they didn’t find him until the fire was out. Days later.”
My gut clenched. No wonder she’d broken things off with me after the accident. She’d been in a fucking house fire that took her brother’s life. Fuck. I’d almost called her a selfish bitch. I felt sick. I was disgusted with myself.
“I’m so sorry, baby.” My voice broke as more tears poured down my face. “Fuck, I didn’t know. I’m so sorry.”
“No, no, no, West. It’s not your fault. I should have told you.” She pulled me toward her and tucked my face in her neck, hugging me hard. I hated that she smelled like smoke. I hated that she smelled like the remnants of something that terrified her beyond measure. I hated that she’d had to face it for me.
“I’m sorry, too, West,” she cried. “I should have told you the whole truth, but it’s just so hard for me to talk about. It’s too much. That night. It changed the course of my entire life. It ruined everything, that fire,” she sobbed, holding me to her like I was a lifeline. “I lost my brother and then my parents gave me away. When I met Andy I thought I’d finally found my forever. Someone who would always love me and then I lost him, too. It all started with a damn fire. And since then I just continued to lose everyone I loved.”
“And still, you ran toward it tonight. What the hell were you thinking?” I admonished her. God, I was mad at her. But I was just so happy she was okay.
She pushed me back so she could look at me. “I was thinking I couldn’t let you end up like Sloane and Andy. I was thinking that I hadn’t even said it yet. I hadn’t even told you.”
“Said what?” I asked, confused.
More tears poured down her cheeks. “I saw that fire and I thought I hadn’t even told him I love him. I’d never even said it,” she cried.
“Oh, baby,” I breathed, wrapping her in a hug, feeling like she stole my very breath. Feeling like I’d climbed a damn mountain and was standing at the peak of it, finally enjoying the amazing view. But I’d already known. I’d just needed to hear it. “I already knew. Promise me you’ll never put yourself in danger like that again. Promise me,” I begged her.
“I promise. I won’t. And I love you so much, Weston. So, so much.”
We were clutched together, hugging and crying, when we heard an, “Excuse me,” from the doorway.
We pulled apart, wiping our faces to see the doctor again. He smiled at Emily. “I see you’re awake now. I’m Dr. Mathews. I’m so glad you’ve decided to join us. If it’s okay, I’d like to do a few tests to make sure everything is fine,” he said, coming over to her.
He did a neurological medical exam on her, checking her motor function, sensory, and coordination. I was relieved when she passed everything with flying colors.
“All of your scans and blood work came back fine. I’d stay off those feet for a few days to let them heal a bit, but other than that, I think you’re fine to go home.”
“Wonderful,” Emily said, trying to sit up.
I helped her, but I could tell she was still a little woozy and so could the doctor.
“I’d stay off of any electronics for today and tomorrow, and if you get a bad headache or anything let us know, okay?” he said, heading to the door. “We’ll get you out of here soon.”
He had one foot out of the room when he turned back around, his eyes on her chart. “Oh,” he started, turning to us. “Are you aware you’re pregnant, Mrs. Davies?”
I felt like my heart stopped right in my chest. “What?” we both said simultaneously.
Instantly, fresh tears invaded my eyes.
