by Tanya Jolie
She sat on the edge of the bed and felt the tears streaming down her face. No matter how many times she wiped her cheeks they just kept on coming. Her entire body shook violently and she could do nothing to stop it.
The knock on the apartment door made her jump so much that she almost tumbled off the bed. She did her best to dry her eyes as she headed for the door. Her heart stopped and her breath caught in her throat as she opened the door.
The corridor on the other side was empty of any signs of people. When she glanced down something pink caught her eye. She looked at the floor to see a pink scarf sprawled on the threshold. She recognized it immediately with its small white flowers and long tassels. It was the scarf he had brought her three years before for her twenty first birthday.
To look at it made her feel sick as she picked it up, rolled it in a ball and threw it into the bin beside the door. She slammed the door closed and locked it quickly.
Rushing back into the bedroom she grabbed her phone off the floor. She pressed the button and waited for it to light up. Nothing happened. She tried again. The phone showed no sign of life. Laura felt all hope drain from her body. She had no way to call for help.
That's when the smell hit her nostrils. She poked her head around the bedroom door to see the flames lapping at the front door across the way. Her heart pounded as she saw the living area begin to fill with smoke. The fumes blew toward her, choking the air from her lungs. There was no escape. The only exit was the front door. She turned, slammed the bedroom door behind her and ran for the window. After a few tugs the jammed thing pulled open. Cool night air poured into the room and for a few moments she could breathe.
"Help! Someone help me!" She could see people gathering in the street six stories below. There was no way she could climb out of the window and not kill herself. There seemed to be only two choices. Death by burning or death by falling.
"Look up there!" An onlooker called from the street and she saw people begin to point. She could hear the sirens in the distance but she was sure they would be too late. She could already hear the flames crackling against the door behind her.
She grabbed a cardigan off the back of her dresser chair and wrapped it again her face in an attempt to protect herself from the smoke that was seeping under the door. I’m going to die, she thought as she dropped down onto the floor and pressed herself against the wall.
“Someone help me, please.” She begged, her voice growing more pitiful as her lungs filled with smoke and she struggled to breathe. The sirens grew louder still yet Laura was sure they wouldn’t make it in time.
The flames were coming under the door now, their glow filling the dark room with light. Her heart pounded as her lungs burned. She pulled her legs up to her chest. Waiting for the flames to reach her was like watching death creep up on you.
The breeze from the window no longer reached her. The heat in the room had grown unbelievable. Laura felt sweat bead on her forehead and drip down her spine. There was nothing she could do but watch and wait for the flames to come across the carpet.
All of a sudden he was there, outlined against the flames in the doorway. Laura’s vision blurred as he came across the room, his heavy boots in her line of sight.
The fireman crouched down beside her and grabbed hold of her arm. As though she was nothing more than a feather he picked her up and placed her over his shoulder. There was no strength left in her, every limb felt as heavy as lead.
Laura’s eyes fluttered open. He was leaning over her, his hand beneath her head. She could feel the cold grass on her bare legs. The stars outlined the man’s handsome face as though he wore a halo. His hair fell in golden waves around his face and he smiled down at her as he realized she was awake.
“Are you alright miss?” when he spoke his voice was soft and smooth as honey. Laura tried to speak but she found she was unable to talk. That’s when she realized he was holding an oxygen mask to her face.
“Please don’t try to move,” he told her as he moved closer in an attempt to stop her from struggling, “The ambulance will be here shortly.” As she lay with him crouched over her she began to remember the events that came before. Her heart pounded and she felt as though she was going to throw up as she realized what had happened. This time he had gone too far. He had tried to kill her.
She wriggled away from the fireman and struggled to her feet. Her chest hurt and she struggled to breathe as she felt tears stream down her face.
“Miss you need to calm down.” He told her as she paced up and down the grass verge clutching her chest as she began to hyperventilate.
“He…he tried to kill me.” she cried out as her head began to hurt. She couldn’t believe it. How could she have let it get so out of hand?
“Who tried to kill you?” the fireman asked as he placed his hand on her shoulder, “Are you saying you know who did this?” he pointed at the apartment building behind him that was no smoldering. The smell of wet ashes hung in the air making it even harder to breathe. Laura wasn’t listening to him. In her mind’s eye she remembered the pink scarf she’d found outside her apartment door. It had to be him. There was no other explanation.
“Miss,” the fireman grabbed her by the shoulders then and forced her to stop moving, “You need to tell me exactly what you know.”
When Laura looked at him she could see nothing but the black hair, brown eyes and hard face of the man who had scared her enough to make her run. Her heart pounded as she slammed her hands into his chest and pulled away from him.
“Don’t touch me!” she screamed, “Stay away from me!” the tears grew so heavy that they blurred her vision and she could no longer see. Her knees wobbled and her legs fell out from under her. The floor came up toward her yet she never hit it. Instead she found herself in his arms. Her entire body shook as he held her to his chest. Laura clutched the front of his t-shirt and wept against his chest as he held her tight to him.
She could no longer breathe. Her lungs constricted so painfully that she felt bile rise in her throat. Her vision became fuzzy around the edges and she began to feel as though she was looking down a tunnel. The light dulled and she felt heavy headed, unable to hold herself up any longer.
“Miss? Miss?” the fireman spoke urgently to her, “Can you hear me?” she tried to speak back but she could not get her mouth to open more than a few centimeters as she tried to suck air back into her lungs.
She felt the oxygen mask return to her mouth just as her consciousness fell away from her…
Heavy darkness surrounded her. It held her every limb and she found she was unable to move. When she opened her mouth to scream and yell nothing happened. She felt choked as though the darkness was liquid filling her mouth.
“Laura.” An eerie voice came to her ears from a distance. She recognized it immediately. Her entire body shook as she tried to run. She felt as though she was falling and floating at the same time, as though she was heavy and light, living and dead. There was nothing she could do but look around her with fear growing inside her, “Laura!” the voice came again, closer this time.
He appeared before her as though by magic. His face was pale yet smiling. His black hair fell around his face in loose waves. When he looked at her his brown eyes glinted with fiery anger.
“Why did you leave me Laura?” his voice was filled with sarcastic pain, “What did I ever do for you to hurt me so bad?” Laura wanted to scream at him. She wanted to slap his face and claw his eyes out yet she still couldn’t move. Her throat was tight and she could do nothing but stare at him as he stepped forward. He lifted his hand and she tried to flinch away from him. Still she had no movement. There was nothing she could do but feel sick as he ran his fingers over her cheek to remove a strand of her hair from her eyes.
“You were always so beautiful.” He whispered almost as though he was talking to himself. His hands grabbed her shoulders and his knee came up into her stomach. Finally she moved under his hands as she choked on blood.
Cha
pter Two:
“Miss Norris?” a soft voice made her open her eyes. The light that welcomed her was so bright that she had to blink severally times before her eyes began to adjust. She stared up at a perfectly white ceiling. Her hands fisted in scratchy bed sheets as she looked around the sparse hospital room.
Stood over her was a man wearing a white coat. He held a file in a steady hand as he looked down at her. His handsome face broadened in a smile as he saw her gazing up at him.
“Please, don’t try to move.” The doctor told her as he placed a hand on her shoulder, “How are you feeling?” he asked as he glanced at the machine that was beeping beside her bed.
“My lungs hurt.” She told him and instantly began to cough. Her chest hurt so badly that she curled in on herself.
“They will hurt for a few more days just while the smoke clears out but I think that you are going to be fine.” The doctor smiled down at her as he wrote something down on the files, “I’d like to keep you in overnight just to be sure.” Laura nodded in understanding.
“I’ve got nowhere else to go.” She shrugged her shoulders and instantly regretted it. Her entire body ached and every small movement caused her pain. She felt as though she had been crushed by a ton of rock.
“There’s a man outside who’d like to speak to you if you are feeling up to it?” the doctor asked as he folded the file and placed it in the holder that hung on the end of her bed.
All Laura could do was nod. She had no idea who could have wanted to see her. For a moment she held her breath as she wondered if it was him, if it was the man she had been running from for the last few years of her life. She tried to push the thought away as she watched the doctor head toward the door. He pulled it open and waved his hand as though he was beckoning someone forward.
“Five minutes and then she needs to rest.” The doctor explained before he slipped out of the room and allowed the man inside.
Laura was shocked to find herself face to face with the man who had saved her from the fiery apartment. His face was no longer covered with ash and he looked more handsome than ever. He’d changed his fireman uniform for a plain black t-shirt and a pair of jeans. His golden hair hung around his face bouncing lushly as he walked toward the bed.
“How are you feeling?” he asked as he stopped at the end of the bed and gazed down at her with worry in his pale green eyes.
“Sore,” Laura replied as she rubbed her forehead with the palm of her hand, “What are you doing here? Do you visit everyone you save from a fire?” Laura felt a small thrill in her heart as he shook his head and smiled down at her. His teeth were perfectly white, not a stain in sight.
“I was worried about you,” he admitted with a shrug of his shoulders, “I wanted to check that you were alright.” He sounded nonchalant as though he was trying to be masculine but Laura could see the worry in his eyes.
“I’m fine.” Laura assured him as she pushed herself up into a sitting position. The man stared back at her as though he didn’t quite believe her.
“You didn’t sound it,” he sighed, “When I pulled you from the fire you were ranting and raving about someone who had tried to kill you. Who were you talking about?” Laura sighed. She had forgotten all about her raving yet as he spoke she remembered how she had paced up and down the grass verge with tears streaming down her face.
She felt the tears stinging her eyes again as she stared back at him, trying to think quickly of a reason for why she had been so crazy.
“Miss Norris,” he spoke softly as he sat down in the chair beside her bed and looked at her, “I am a government employee and that makes it my job to ensure that the public are safe. If someone is trying to kill you then I need you to tell me about it.”
Laura hated the look of sympathy in his eyes. She hated the way he was looking at her like she was a victim. It was a look she had been running from ever since she had left her first home to get away from everything that had happened to her.
She looked down and twizzled her thumbs as she sighed and finally answered his question, finally said the words for the first time, “It was my ex.” When he didn’t say anything she looked up. He was staring at her as though he was waiting for her to continue.
When she didn’t speak he asked, “Why would he be trying to kill you?” his question was one she had often asked herself ever since the first time her ex had hit her. She remembered the pain like it had been only yesterday. His fist had hit her nose so hard that it had broken and she had ended up in hospital having stitches in her cheeks.
“He’s got a screw loose.” Was the only answer she could give him. She had nothing more to give him. She didn’t even know the reason herself. There was no way to hold the tears back anymore. They began to fall down her cheeks and she sobbed uncontrollably. The man reached forward and placed his hand on top of hers. For a moment she wanted to pull away but then she felt it. There was a sudden spark of electricity that shot through her skin and down her spine. She turned her gaze to his face and found him gazing back at her.
“How do you know it was him that set the fire?” The man asked. Laura sighed and shook her head. There was no way he was going to think she had any evidence if she told him about the scarf. Instead she simply shrugged and replied, “My gut tells me it was.” His eyebrow rose as though he was going to reject her answer.
“Well if you really think he is trying to kill you then I should give you this.” He told her as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a personalized calling card. Laura took it from him and looked it over. On the card were the words ‘Bear Security’ and the name ‘Lee Pine’ along with a mobile and landline number.
“What do I need this for?” she asked as she lifted her hand to indicate the card. Lee smiled and rubbed the corner of his lips with his thumb.
“If you really think someone is trying to kill you then you should have some protection.” He explained as there was a knock on the door. Laura looked around to see the doctor’s friendly face peer around the door frame.
“Your five minutes are up,” he told Lee before he turned to Laura and added, “You should get some rest. I’ll be back in the morning to get your vitals before I discharge you.” Laura nodded.
Lee pushed himself up off the chair and nodded at the doctor before he turned back to Laura. “Think about it.” he told her before he turned back toward the door and headed out. The doctor gave her one last look as though he wanted to make sure she was alright and then he closed the door behind him.
Laura was left alone. She looked around her feeling her tears roll down her cheeks. She thought of how alone she had been for the last few years and how she had let her ex make her life a living hell. She crumpled the card in her fist as she felt anger rising inside her.
How could I let it get this bad? She asked herself not for the first time. She wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep but as she lay down she thought of the dream and suddenly she was scared to close her eyes. She could think of nothing worse than seeing his pale face again.
Chapter Three:
Laura lay awake all night, fighting the urge to sleep. Eventually she pushed back the sheets and climbed out of the bed. Her hand stung as she pulled the IV drip from her vein. Her legs were shaky as she moved toward the window. She pulled on the cord of the blinds and peered outside. The stars were growing dim as the sky began to lighten. The car park was beginning to fill with movement as staff arrived for their shifts and several ambulances brought patients to the emergency room.
The knock on the door made Laura jump. She turned as the doctor entered the room. He smiled warmly to her and looked impressed that she was up and out of bed.
“I see you are feeling a little better.” He said as he reached for the file at the end of her bed and opened it up.
Laura was glad that he didn’t see how ill she felt. She was exhausted from lack of sleep and her lungs still ached. That didn’t seem to show on her face though.
“Would you mind sitting on the bed
so that I can give you a quick check over?” he asked as he placed the file on the chair. Laura nodded and crossed the room. She perched on the edge of the bed and the doctor took her wrist between his fingers. His hands were ice cold like every doctor she ever remembered. He pressed on her wrist and looked at his watch as though he was taking her pulse.
“I spoke to one of the nurses last night,” he told her as he counted, “She’s around your size. I asked her if she’d bring in some old clothes for you when her shift starts. She should be here any minute.”
“That’s very kind of you.” Laura smiled at him as he took a small pen torch from the pocket of his white coat and flicked it on.
“Look up.” He told her as he moved to shine the torch in her eye. She did as she was told, “Look down.” Again she moved her eyes. He flicked the torch off again and then raised his finger to her.
“Follow my finger.” He ordered. Laura did as she was told as he moved his finger slowly from side to side.
“I don’t remember hitting my head.” She told him as he dropped his hand back to his side and picked up the file again to write something inside.
“I have to check everything.” The doctor smiled as he placed the file back on the chair and took his stethoscope from around his neck. “I just need to check your heart and chest and if everything is ok then you are free to go once the nurse arrives with those clothes.” He smiled as he waited for her to loosen her hospital gown.
When he placed the stethoscope to her chest it was ice cold and made her gasp. She jumped a little and he smiled, “I apologize. I always forget how cold these things are.”
“Almost as cold as your hands.” Laura laughed. The doctor frowned at her and shook his head.
“Please stop laughing and take a few deep breaths for me.” he told her. When she breathed deeply he looked as though he was concentrating hard. He moved the stethoscope along her chest and nodded every time he wanted her to breathe deeply. He did the same thing all along her ribs and on her back before he finally stepped back and nodded.