Page 65 of Up In Flames
“Okay, then just one more quick lift and you’re out of here. Reel him up, boys.”
I closed my eyes as I was again hoisted into the air. Jonas helped me from below, steadying my ascent and helping lift my legs.
Hands gripped on to me, and my eyes flew open.
Will. Will was here. I knew he would be, but there was a difference between knowing something and seeing it with your own two eyes.
“Will.” His name came out in a sigh of relief. I wanted to sag against him but restrained myself. Will wasn’t out. Would hisfellow firefighters be able to tell how much I loved him if I let him hug me? If I took that bit of comfort that my body and soul were screaming for, would they know about us?
“Oren, are you okay?”
I nodded. Then shook my head. Then shrugged. The truth was that a spot had appeared in my vision. One that was a telltale sign that I was about to be in a lot of fucking pain. I hadn’t had a migraine in months, but the stress of the situation must have triggered it.
I wished Will would pull me into his arms. But he was at work. We were in public, and he was at work, and it wasn’t going to happen. No matter how much I needed it. No matter how much it looked to me like he wanted it. He looked like yearning had cracked him in half, and he was struggling to get his emotions under control.
“Oren.” Hal’s familiar voice penetrated my brain fog, and I found myself tugged into Hal’s embrace. “Are you okay?”
I felt Will’s gaze on me. I wished I knew what he was thinking. All we needed was ten minutes alone. Truthfully, I wanted the comfort of his arms. The safety I’d always felt there.
“Must be a Monday,” I mumbled.
“Are you hurt?” Hal asked and I shook my head.
“You should let Will have a look at you anyway. Make sure you’re okay.”
I nodded, accepting the suggestion. Hal steered me toward Will.
“How do you feel?” Will asked, his brow furrowed with concern. There was still plenty of activity going on around the elevators, but now that everyone was out, it was less urgent.
I took a deep breath and glanced at the elevator as Jonas hauled the ladder out of the shaft. Maintenance shut the doors behind him, preventing any accidents that might happen. The elevator was still stuck, but now at least the doors had been shut,and maintenance was busy taping it off with signs that it was out of service.
“I feel okay.” I didn’t want Will to worry about me, but the visual aura was turning into a dull throb in the side of my head. I had to get the hell home to where my migraine meds were. I wanted to lie down in the dark and pretend today never happened.
Will took my pulse and asked me if I was sure I didn’t have any injuries.
“I’m fine. I think I’d really just like to go home, though”
Will motioned to Hal, who returned to my side like the faithful friend he was.
“Could you give Oren a lift home? I would, but I’m on shift until tomorrow morning,” he asked Hal, keeping his voice low.
“I’ve already cleared it with Simon. We can go whenever the nice fireman with the first aid training says he’s good to go.”
Will glanced at me. “Call me if you need anything. I don’t care that I’m on shift. Okay?”
“Okay.” I knew I wouldn’t call him. There wasn’t anything he could do for me. I needed quiet and rest and to forget today ever happened.
I gave him a final lingering look. “I’ll be okay. I promise.” God, I wanted to kiss him. He was right in front of me, but he might as well have been across the universe because I couldn’t touch him the way I wanted. Couldn’t look at him for too long or everyone would be able to tell.
“Take good care of him,” Will told Hal, who ushered me away and down a different set of stairs. We took it slow down to the parking garage.
By the time I was in the passenger seat, the headache that I knew was coming had arrived in full force. I buckled myself in and rolled Hal’s window down to give me air flow and mitigatethe whole trapped-in-a-metal-box feeling before I closed my eyes and leaned against the headrest.
“You’re really pale. Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Headache. Probably the stress.” The stress. The panic. The way I’d flashed back and was trapped in that car again with my two dead friends. The smell of copper pennies and gasoline made my stomach roll.
“Do you need anything?”
