Chapter 6
6
Haley
Sitting in front of Cooper, he keeps the oxygen mask firmly to my face, while a young woman in paramedic gear looks over Roman. I keep waiting to cry, or to wake up and realize this is a nightmare. But it’s not. It’s real life. And everything is gone, except for the most important thing in my life. And he’s okay.
But I’m not.
“Haley, can you tell me what happened?”
I look up, and Cooper is wiping at my face with a damp cloth. He’s pulled the oxygen mask away to clean my lips that were most likely caked in soot. Shaking my head, I look away from him, just trying to process what has happened.
I fell asleep on the couch with my kindle after I put Roman to bed, somewhere around eight thirty. I woke up to Roman screaming from his bedroom, and I was barely awake when I noticed that our entire apartment was filled with smoke. Luckily, my cell phone was in my pocket, and I was able to use the flashlight to find my way to his room. But by the time I got to him, I was so tired I could barely do much more than cover our faces with a blanket and try to crawl out of the apartment. Thank God a firefighter was there as I pounded on our front door to try and get help.
Roman lets out another cry, and I look up to see Cooper trying to hold him steady so the paramedic can listen to his lungs. It’s that scene in front of me that breaks the bubble I’m in.
“Rome!” I cry, trying to stand and help him, tears finally beginning to cascade down my cheeks. “Is my baby okay? Please?—"
“Haley, sit down. He’s okay, let her check him out.”
“I couldn’t get to him any faster, Cooper,” I sob, watching through blurry vision as he drops to his knees in front of me, one hand stroking my hair and the other holding my hand tightly.
“I know. You did what you had to do to keep you both safe. You did so good, sweetheart. I’m proud of you, Haley girl. But you need to keep the mask on, it’ll help you breathe.”
“There was so much smoke. I couldn’t see anything, and Rome was crying for me. Why didn’t I wake up sooner? We could have died. I could have—” My frantic ramblings are cut off when Cooper tears off his jacket and pulls me into his arms, the softness of his shirt comforting, the smell of his bodywash and smoke mingling as I breathe him in.
His hand rubs circles over my back as I completely break down and begin sobbing, clawing at the back of his shirt to get comfort, to ground myself.
“Shh. You’re gonna make yourself sick. Just breathe. I got you. Your boy is okay, you’re both gonna be okay, I promise.”
Cooper holds me through every desperate sob and cry, terror still clinging to my skin as scenes from just minutes before flash through my mind. Once I’ve calmed down, I pull back swiping at the mess of my face, but Cooper just resumes wiping it with the same cloth, before pressing a soft kiss to my forehead.
“Roman is okay, Haley. His vitals look alright, but they still want to bring him in for observation, both of you.” Cooper gently places my baby back in my arms, and I’m not surprised to see him completely calmed down and gripping Cooper’s shirt in one of his fists. I nod in agreement and kiss my boy on top of his head, letting my tears slip into his hair.
“Do you have anyone you can call?” Cooper asks, and I shake my head, tears of despair starting up all over again.
“Just my cousin, but she lives in a studio apartment. It’s just us here, and everything we owned is in there. I don’t even have a bed for my baby anymore,” I hiccup, feeling so overwhelmed and lost, unsure of what to do. “I can’t even call Jensen, because he’s overseas and if he’s on a mission or in some remote place he won’t answer, and I can’t live in my car…”
“Okay, take a sec to breathe. It’s okay. How about we get you to the hospital, and then we can focus on your next steps. Who’s Jensen? Do you want me to call him for you?”
Shaking my head, I hold up my dying cell phone. “My older brother. He’s deployed right now and left on a mission a couple weeks ago, but he hasn’t checked in, so I have no clue if I could even reach him.”
Cooper nods at me. “I’ll be right back. Don’t get them loaded up yet, please?” he asks the paramedic, and she nods before settling my oxygen mask back on, my chest burning as I begin coughing again. I have no idea how long he’s gone for, but he’s back in front of me before I know it. He pulls his coat on and kneels in front of me again, his fingers gripping Roman’s legs.
“So, they’ll probably keep you both overnight for observation with how late it is. I’ll make sure they get you a phone charger. When you’re being discharged call me and I’ll come pick you guys up. Since I’m a firefighter, I can see what we can do about getting into your apartment as soon as possible to see if anything can be salvaged, okay? It sounds like the fire was on the first floor, but about six doors down from you. It spread pretty rapidly, but your apartment is still standing. Okay?”
Honestly, the only thing I really retained from everything he just said is to call him in the morning. Nodding, I hold my hand out to him which he takes and squeezes. “Thank you,” I tell him through the mask, unsure of if he understood me or not. But the small smile on his face tells me he got the gist anyway.
“It’s gonna be okay. I promise you that. And you won’t live in your car. I’ll make sure you’re both taken care of.”
I can do nothing but nod, and we sit together in silence before it’s time to get us both to the hospital. Cooper holds my hand the entire time, and before he steps away from the ambulance, he presses a soft kiss to my cheek and wraps me in another tight hug.
“I’m so glad you two are okay,” he whispers harshly in my ear, and I have to choke back a sob. Despite only having text message conversations with him daily, he’s become so important to me in such a short amount of time. If I wasn’t trying to process such a massive trauma, I’d probably be noticing that having him here has been more of a comfort than I ever could have imagined.
Roman slept most of the night, and the paramedic was correct in her assessment of him. He had only minor smoke inhalation and will be just fine. I inhaled more than him, probably because I didn’t bother trying to keep my face covered in my frantic attempts to get him out safely. My lungs are sore and tired, but for the most part, I feel okay. I’m just trying to process everything that happened. Unlike my son, I didn’t sleep at all.
Someone brought me a phone charger around midnight, and I plugged my phone in before trying to call my brother, who as expected didn’t answer. I just fought back the tears and curled up on the bed with Roman and mindlessly watched whatever was on the late-night channels while sending a text to Beth that summed up our situation in as few words as possible.
They brought us some breakfast about twenty minutes ago while they get our discharge paperwork ready, but I can’t eat. My stomach is so twisted up in knots that I don’t know how anything will ever be okay again. I’m broken from my thoughts when my phone chimes from the table next to the bed, and I lift it up to find a response from Beth.
Beth: Holy crap, are you both okay? Can I do anything? Forget work, don’t even worry. Your job will always be here for you. What do you need?
Haley: Honestly, I have no idea. I think I’m still in shock.
Beth: I wish I had enough space for you here, but I can call Mom and see if they can clean out a spare room for you.
Haley: It’s okay. I don’t want to put anyone out. I haven’t gotten in touch with JJ yet, but the nurses have been in and out all night, so I haven’t had time.
Beth: How is Roman?
Haley: Fine. All his work ups came back normal, and he’s zonked out.
Beth: How are you? And don’t you dare say fine.
Haley: I’ll get back to you on that. Medically speaking though, I’m fine.
Beth: I love you. I’ll take an early day to check on you later.
Haley: You don’t need to do that.
A knock on the door has me setting down my phone and looking up to see our nurse stepping into the room, supplies in one hand and paperwork in the other.
“I’m here to get those IV’s taken out, and your discharge papers are all set. Dr. Stewart wants you to bring home this inhaler, in case you find yourself short of breath, and any signs of anything troubling-- the inhaler not working, pain, anything new-- come right back and we’ll get you checked out, okay?”
Simply nodding, I slide off the bed so that she can get to Roman’s IV and I take that moment to send a text to Cooper.
Haley: We’re about to be discharged.
I expect him to not respond, maybe his words last night were simply said in an attempt to calm and placate me, but my phone lights up with a response almost immediately.
Cooper: I’m on my way. I’ll meet you at the emergency entrance.
Roman never stirs while the nurse carefully extracts his IV, and then she turns to help me get rid of mine. She’s throwing everything in the trash and handing over the papers when he finally starts to move around, and I carefully slide him into my arms.
“Our ride is meeting us at the emergency entrance. Is it possible you tell me how to get there?” I ask, and she just smiles at me.
“Oh honey, hospital procedure is to take you down in a wheelchair. I’ll get you down there in a jiff, no worries.”
Nodding, I settle back on the bed and Roman’s eye pop open, looking unsure of his surroundings until he locks eyes on me.
“Mama,” he whines, and I pull him close.
“Good morning, buddy.”
“I’m going to grab a wheelchair, and then we can get you guys out so you can go home.” She’s gone without another word, and I feel tears build in my eyes. Home. While our apartment may not have burned to the ground, we certainly don’t have one of those right now. Glancing down, I see dirty pink leggings and a baggy black tee, and my feet covered in standard hospital socks. I don’t even have a pair of shoes.
I just need to be strong for now. I can crumble later.
The sweet nurse comes in a few minutes later, wheelchair in front of her. “Your ride awaits, ma’am,” she jokes, and I force a halfhearted smile. She’s really kind, and one hell of a nurse, but I can’t find it in me right at the moment to go along with her attempts to cheer me up. Once I’m settled in the wheelchair with Roman settled on my lap, she unlocks the brake and begins wheeling us downstairs.
Roman enjoys the ride, babbling along and pointing at photos as we go, earning me a first full laugh since we got here that very quickly leads to a coughing fit. We take a moment to wait until I can maneuver the inhaler out of the bag, and with a couple pulls of it, I can feel the tightness in my chest clearing up.
As we come around the corner to the emergency entrance, I glance around and don’t see Cooper anywhere. I try not to think anything of it, but as she pushes us out through the door, I find a black SUV parked in the semi-circle pick up area with Cooper leaning against the side of it, hands in the front pockets of his cotton shorts.
“Poop!” Roman cheers, and we all start laughing, except for Cooper who just looks confused. Hurrying over to us, he helps me stand and pulls Roman into his arms, who just happily buries his face into his neck. God, the way my son has just taken to this man.
“Poop?” he asks, reaching out to cup my cheek.
“Yeah, well he can’t exactly say Cooper, now, can he?” I say softly, and Cooper just starts howling with laughter.
“That’s great. Just don’t go telling the guys at the station this, huh, buddy?” he asks Roman, who just gets excited and sways back and forth. Cooper swings open his back door, and it’s only then I realize that Rome needs a car seat. But before I can even open my mouth, he shocks me when I see mine sitting in the back seat. He gets Rome strapped in before turning to give me a sheepish grin.
“I’m a firefighter. I know how to open a locked window without damaging it. And I knew we’d need this.”
His simple gesture has me fighting back tears for what feels like the millionth time in less than twenty-four hours, and I reach up to squeeze his forearm. He presses a kiss to the side of my head and helps me inside his vehicle.
After making sure I’m strapped in securely, Cooper buckles his own seatbelt and starts the engine before pulling away from the curb. We drive in quiet silence before I finally find it in me to speak.
“Where are we going?”
“Well, first I thought you guys could use some real breakfast, and then we’re going to?—”
“We can’t go anywhere like this. I don’t even have shoes on,” I interrupt, panic starting to fill my veins. “And I just realized I can’t have you bring us to a hotel because I don’t have my wallet.”
Cooper reaches over to grab my hand, his thumb immediately rubbing circles over the back of my hand to soothe me. “I know. It’s okay, Hales.”
Hales? That’s a new one.
“I meant a drive through breakfast, and I’m not taking you to a hotel. You two are coming home with me.”
Wait, what? There is no way I hear him correctly.
“Your house?” I choke out, turning to face him with wide eyes.
“Yep. I have a spare bedroom and plenty of space. Plus, I have odd shifts so there will be plenty of opportunity for you two to have some alone time.”
“Cooper, that’s not necessary.”
“Please. Let me do this. It’s the least I can do, okay?”
He looks so sincere, and the walls around my heart just continue to crumble. I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve such a sweet man for a friend, but I’ll never take it for granted.
“Poop!”
Cooper laughs, then glances in the backseat. “It’s Coop, Rome.”
“Poop.”
“Coooop,” he sounds out.
“Poooop!”
Despite the mess my life has become, and the fact that we currently don’t have a home of our own for whoever knows how long, I find myself laughing with Cooper when Roman just begins chanting over and over again.
“Sorry,” I laugh, and Cooper just shakes his head, lifting my hand to press a kiss to my thumb. I understand so clearly in this moment that if given the opportunity, I could fall so in love with this man.