54. The Fall
FIFTY-FOUR
The Fall
TARA
Tara woke up in a horrendous mood after not seeing Steve the day before. Of course, she had no one to blame but herself, since she had been the one who told him to go. She just didn’t expect him to listen. She hadn’t even seen his motorcycle since they’d fought over the weekend, though she’d heard it a time or two.
She hated that she snapped at him, but Ethan was her problem, not his. She still couldn’t believe he’d thrown punches at her ex; though, in all honesty, it was nice knowing Ethan had gotten a little comeuppance. And seeing him hit the ground? Twice? Well, that still brought a smile to Tara’s face.
Steve was on shift today, so she already knew she wouldn’t see him. She figured he’d at least respond to her texts. She hoped they were just on calls since they normally didn’t take their phones out of the station when one came in.
She debated whether to stop by the station to talk to him, but she didn’t want to interrupt him during a workday for something so personal for both of them. Whatever happened, she was in no mood to air it in front of others.
Tara’s head was not in the game, so she spent as much of the day as she could working in the office. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much to do, and a steady stream of customers meant getting out into the store to help. Fortunately, it also made the day pass quickly.
When seven p.m. rolled around, Tara wished Lydia a goodnight then lazily flipped the store sign to closed and locked the front door. She was left alone in the shop where she could close up and be alone with her own thoughts. She turned off the lights in front and drifted back to the office, placing the cash drawer in the safe and taking a final look at the week’s numbers. Sales were up over this time last year. She smiled, knowing how happy the positive changes would make her parents.
She had just readied the deposit for the next morning when a loud pounding on the front door drew her attention.
“What the…” Tara stepped outside the office and squinted at the front door, catching sight of a determined Celeste banging her fists against the locked glass door to the shop.
“TARA! OPEN THE DOOR!”
Tara rounded the sales counter and hurried over to unlock the door. “What’s wrong, Cel?”
Out of breath, Celeste lifted her phone. “Kiro just called.” Her breaths were heavy from having sprinted over from across the square. “There was a fire.”
Tara didn’t understand the need for alarm. They were firefighters, after all. Of course, there were fires.
“They were inside, and the floor collapsed...”
Tara’s face blanched.
“Kiro said they had to take Steve to the hospital.”
Tara's stomach dropped. “WHAT?” Tara’s hand flew up to her tightening chest. “Is he okay? He’s okay, right?”
“I don’t know,” Celeste said. “Come on. Grab your bag. I’ll drive.”
Tara dashed to the back to grab her jacket and bag, then rushed back to Celeste. Her hands shook as she locked the shop door. “Tell me he’s okay.”
"I don't know anything more.”
"Hurry!"
After what seemed like hours but was only minutes, Tara jumped out of the car and ran into the Emergency Center entrance of Grady Memorial Hospital in Delaware, Ohio. Worried sick, she stopped at the counter and blurted out Steve’s name to the first nurse who made eye contact with her. Her chest heaved up and down as she worked to catch her breath.
“Are you his family?” The round-faced woman gave Tara an unreadable look.
“Girlfriend.” Her heart raced, hoping that was still true.
“I’m sorry. We can’t share patient information with non-family.” The nurse tapped something on a tablet and turned to consult with a doctor.
Damn. Should have lied.
Tara turned to Celeste, tears welling in her eyes. “Cel. What am I going to do? I have to know if he’s alright.”
“Tara?”
Tara’s head snapped around. “Kiro?” She rushed toward him.
Kiro accepted a clipboard from the nurse behind the counter and nodded to Derek, who wheeled the gurney through the sliding doors.
“Celeste said you brought Steve in.”
“Yeah. We did. Doctors are looking at him now.”
“What happened?” Tara wiped a tear off her cheek. “Is he going to be okay?”
Kiro pulled a pen from his pocket. “He’s gonna be fine.”
Tara closed her eyes and let out a slow exhale. “Thank god.”
Kiro pulled her into a hug and steered her away from the counter. He grabbed her shoulders. “Tara, if it were serious, we’d have taken him to OSU Med or Grant,” Kiro said, referring to two of the Level 1 trauma centers in central Ohio where they usually took serious burn and other critically-injured patients. “We brought him in for smoke inhalation, a few cuts and scrapes, and maybe a broken wrist. He’s probably going to be in there for a while, but he’s going to be fine.”
“Can I see him?”
“Don’t know, but I can go check for you,” Kiro filled out the paperwork attached to the clipboard, signed it, and handed it back to the nurse behind the counter.
Tara sniffed and wiped another tear from her cheek. “Can you let him know I’m here?”
“Sure.” Kiro smiled as Celeste put her arm around Tara’s waist. He leaned in and kissed Celeste on the cheek. “Hey, baby. Stay with Tara. I’ll be right back.”