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“I know.”
29
Raeann
Afirm hand squeezing mine makes my eyelids flutter like a baby bird trying to fly for the first time. They open and droop again, exhaustion pulling me under, but unless my brain is lying to me, Micah is here.
I try to say his name, but my breath comes out in a wheeze, and then I cough, spluttering and hoarse. My chest, throat, and eyes ache.
“Don’t try to talk.”
My eyes open again, and I focus on his beautiful face. Those ruggedly handsome features, dirtied with black smudges. I attempt to say hi, but it makes my throat burn, and I cough again, this time searching for a tissue as black-tinged mucus comes up.
Micah gets to his feet, walks to the other side of the hospital room, and rips a whiteboard from the wall. He uses the hem of his shirt to wipe off what could be important information and hands it to me. “Please don’t talk, baby. They want your lungs and throat to rest.”
The bright-white, monochromatic sterility of the hospital comes into focus more and more. Micah’s dirty hands, face, and hair are the only things that stand out.
I take the offered marker, nibbling on my lip, and write outAthena? Tab?
“Athena’s out. I got her just like you told me to,” Micah says, giving me his first smile.
Tears burst forth in a rush that I couldn’t hold back if I tried. The sudden release of fear like opening a dam. “I tried,” I croak. “I tried to get her out. I did.”
Micah flutters over me, his gaze assessing before grabbing my hand. “She knows.”
Questions run through my head, and focus is almost non-existent. There are so many things I want to ask. Like how did he do it? How did he know there was even a fire? He should’ve been at a meeting. Was Tab even in the apartment?
“I want to see her.” Every word hurts like a hot poker to the chest.
“She’s okay,” he tells me as he wipes the tears from my face. “She’s strong like you are. Davis took her to the vet Joey lined up. He’s sending me updates every ten minutes. The vet thinks she’s going to be fine, but she has to monitor her cough and lungs for things like pneumonia.”
I breathe a heavy sigh of relief. If anything had happened to her, I don’t know what I would do.“Thank you,”I mouth.
He runs his hand up into my hairline and then cups my cheek. I point the marker to Tab’s name on the whiteboard and look over expectantly. His lips dip into a frown, and my heart races. I watch every nuance of his face, his attempt to school his features, and then the raw honesty when he says, “I don’t know. It’s complete chaos there and no one is saying anything. I’ve got Levi and Reid stationed there, and they’re going to let me know as soon as anything is said.”
I lie back, the pillows catching my head in a soft caress. Tears leak from the corners of my eyes, trickling toward my ears.
Not Tab…I find a clock on the wall and realize it’s later than I thought. Where else would she be if not in the apartment? I clutch my chest. I should’ve tried harder. I should’ve…
“I’ll call them,” he says, moving to his feet. I reach out to grab his arm, making him stay. He stares down at me, and in an instant, a deluge of emotion hits me. Like I’ve been ripped open, everything rises to the surface. I can’t believe I ever second-guessed what we have. Just looking at him, his skin mottled with black soot… He went into a burning building and saved Athena.
“I love you,” I croak out, my throat flaring in pain.
“They wouldn’t let me go back up for you. I wanted to.” He sits back down. Bending at the waist, he rests his forehead on my hand, his shoulders shaking while wet drops fall across my skin. “I thought I’d lost you two.”
I squeeze his hand, and he squeezes back. This is what love is. I know how much it killed him to leave me in that building while he got Athena out. For so many people, she would’ve been an afterthought.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper.
His fingers dig into the sheets. “I don’t ever want to do something like that again.”
I reach out with my free hand, gently touching his hair. For so long after the tornado, I was mad at everyone and everything. I lost count of how many times I thoughtWhy me?
But here, right now, thankful tears spill. Micah and I are together. He gave up his baser instinct to save Athena over me. That kind of love is extraordinary, and the fact that I can keep on living it is a gift I don’t plan on taking for granted again.
One week later…
“They saidI have to rest, not keep me chained to the bed,” I grumble after Micah thwarts my attempts to escape the hospital bed in his living room once again.