32. Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Two
Ash
W aking up in the hospital to the sound of her mother yelling is no fun. She can hear the screech of her mother’s voice. It rattles around in her head, which already hurts. The lights in the room are bright, and she can’t see a clock anywhere, doesn’t know how long she was out for.
“Fuck,” she says, sitting up and rubbing her forehead. Her throat is sore. And then she remembers the fire. Too much smoke, too many flames. It must have had an accelerant, an accelerant everywhere. Clearly arson.
Was it the gang in town? Kids fucking around?
Whatever it was, she hopes no one lost their lives or got hurt.
Raif. Raif was there, they would have sent him in.
The last thing she remembers is knowing her tank was running out, and she got herself to a place with no current fire.
Then, nothing. She has to know what happened to the others. What happened to Raif?
She pulls off the blood pressure cuff and is trying to get the IV out of her hand when the door opens, and nurses rush in, followed by her mother.
“What are you doing? Ashley, calm down for goodness sake.”
She’s still trying to pull the IV out of her hand, adrenaline coursing through her body, when a nurse stops her with a hand covering hers.
“You’re in the hospital, everything’s fine. But if you don’t stop trying to pull your IV out, I’ll have to sedate you.”
Ash stops, lets her hands fall apart, but can’t help the sharp breaths coming in and out.
Her father is there in a moment at her other side.
“Breathe, sweetie. It’s okay, in and out. You’ve got it. That’s good, just like that.”
She didn’t realize she was spiraling towards a panic attack till her father talked her down.
“What happened? Is everyone okay?”
“I’ll let the Chief explain that,” he says, patting her shoulder.
“Dad. Was anyone hurt? Killed? I have to know.”
“No, Ash, everyone is okay. A little worse for wear but fine. No fatalities.”
She breathes out a sigh of relief. No fatalities. That means Ben is okay, and Lucas. And Raif, God, she hopes Raif is okay. She rests her head back against the pillow and closes her eyes, willing the tears away.
“How did I get out? I think I passed out, my tank had run out.”
“Raif got you. He got Ben and Lucas out, too. He saved you all.”
The tears fall freely now.
“Speaking of Raif,” her mother chimes in, having kept her distance from the bed. “He’s been waiting outside since they brought you in. When I questioned him about why he wouldn’t leave, he said, and I quote, ‘she’s my girlfriend’. Care to explain?”
Ash barks out a laugh. Only her mother could bring up a man when she’s on her hospital bed after almost dying in a fire.
Because that’s what happened. She lost consciousness with no oxygen in the worst fire she’d ever seen.
She’s not burned, all limbs intact. But she knows she has Raif to thank for that.
“I want to see him? Is he still here?”
“You want to see him and not your parents? Who raised you?”
“Come on, Julie, let the girl be. She’s fine, she just wants to see him,” her father says.
Now that she looks, Ash can see the unshed tears in her mother’s eyes and the shaking of her hands. She was scared, scared for Ash.
Her dad kisses her on her forehead and squeezes her gently. Then her mother is there, finally stepping closer to the bed.
“You can’t do this again, Ashley. I mean it. You’ll have to quit being a firefighter if you’re going to run into burning buildings like this.”
“Mama, my job is to run in burning buildings.”
“Not like this one. Ashley...promise me. I can’t go through this again.”
Her mother’s tears fall, and Ash feels her heart clench. She can’t promise she won’t run in to save another person, or even to put out a fire. Her mother knows this. But she promises anyway. Her mother pats her hand and wipes her eyes as they leave.
The moment the door opens, and they go out, Raif is in the room.
He looks wild. Hair unkempt like it’s dirty from the fire still, and he’s been running his hands through it.
He’s still in his turnout gear, pants on, and jacket undone.
He’s filthy. His gear is covered with ash, scorch marks up one side.
Ash and soot on his face, neck, and hands.
He steps close, hands out, then hovers. Like he’s not sure if he’s wanted. She opens her arms, and he falls into her.
“Ash,” he says, stroking the back of her head with one hand while the other is wrapped around her back. “I thought I lost you. I thought you were gone.”
She lets the tears fall. She can feel the weight of what he is saying, of how scared he must have been.
“I’m okay. I’m right here. You saved me, right? I’m fine.”
He’s trembling in her arms, shaking like a leaf.
“Hey, look. Raif, look at me? I’m okay, see?”
He pulls back, hand staying on her arm and rubbing her leg through the blanket.
His eyes are completely bloodshot, and she knows it’s from the smoke.
His eyes flit around her face like he’s searching for injuries.
He leans forward and kisses her forehead.
She notices the blanket and her hospital gown are now filthy from him hugging her, but she couldn't care less. Her Raif is here with her, and he’s okay too.
“Can you tell me what happened? I remember going in, the fire was everywhere and spreading fast. We split up to find the civilians. I took the right side but got closed in. When I managed to get out, my tank was low. I got to an opening where there were no flames, and that’s the last thing I remember. ”
He nods, lips in a tight line.
“There were no civilians. We don’t know where that came from because the call was anonymous. But when they got the fire out and searched the building, there were no bodies inside.”
Ash lets out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. Thank goodness no one died.
“As for the fire, Chief sent me in when you all had been out of radio for a few minutes. There was some sort of accelerant used. On the floor, the boxes and crates, on the walls, everywhere. I found Lucas and Ben. Ben was trapped under a box and has a concussion, but that’s all.
Lucas was stuck in a firewall and had lost his ax.
He was able to walk outside, just has some smoke inhalation, nothing too serious.
And you…” Raif leans over into her space, his eyes, while bloodshot, look more golden like this, and she thinks she’s never seen eyes like his before.
“I looked for you, everywhere. The fire was getting worse, and my tank was low. I found you unconscious in a cleared area. I carried you out.”
“And what happened to you?”
She looks at him again and notices the side of the material on his arm is gone, melted open. She grasps his arm, turns it towards her. She can see the skin through the large opening, but it’s unmarred, completely smooth.
“How?”
His eyes lock on hers, and he opens his mouth to speak, but doesn’t say anything.
“How did you get out? You said your tank was low? It must have been practically empty if you were moving through the warehouse for everyone. Did you switch it out?”
He shakes his head no, drops his eyes to her lap.
“I was so scared, Ash. I thought you were dead, thought I was going to have to carry your body out. Have to tell your parents I couldn’t save you. Ash...I almost lost you.”
She pulls him down, and he collapses on her chest. She doesn’t care how he saved her, just that he did.
“I’m so glad you’re okay, Raif. I couldn’t imagine losing you. I can’t lose you, okay?”
“I promise Ash, I’m not going anywhere.”
The kiss is chaste and surprises her. He tastes like soot, but she doesn’t mind. He’s here with her, and that’s all that matters.