Page 10 of Embers in Our Souls
I’ve had my cell in my hand, worried they would leave without me from the school. I’m kicking myself for having my phone on silent when I was in my meeting earlier; that’s why Angela got the call from the school instead of me.
I walk through the front office, and someone is waiting for me as soon as I open the door.
“Ms. Ranton, let me walk with you to the nurse’s office. The EMTs arrived and are caring for Noah. He’s in good hands. He received Benadryl and the Epi-Pen you provided us, but he is still having a reaction to the bee sting,” she’s explaining as we move.
I keep my gaze forward, my jaw clenched. He must be so scared and all I want to do is wrap my arms around him. I see commotion in front of us as we near the nurse’s office. From what I can see, Noah is already on a gurney, and I speed up.
“I’m here. Noah, Mommy’s here. Baby, I’m so sorry!” I call out as I approach. The minute I reach him, I take hold of his hand; but when I see his face, I hold in my gasp. He’s completely swollen, his eyes nearly fully shut.
I’m stunned by his appearance. I knew he was having an anaphylactic reaction to a bee sting, but I assumed it was on an extremity. This reaction is more severe than the last time he was stung.
“Noah, sweetie, I’m here. I’m so sorry,” I say, moving my hand through his hair. “Does it hurt?” I ask.
He nods his head, his eyes welled with tears. I assume the swelling is uncomfortable. I see his chin wobbling, but then he whispers, “I get to ride in an ambulance.” I can tell he’s doing everything possible to sound brave, but his voice is shaking.
“Yes, you do. I’ll be right there with you, okay?” I tell him, unsure if he can see me with all the swelling around his eyes. “I’ll make sure I’m right there with you.” I squeeze his hand reassuringly.
I look around, hoping someone will tell me what the hell happened that he looks the way he does. The gurney is being packed up with supplies and I’m hopeful we’ll start getting him loaded into the ambulance.
It isn’t until I sweep my gaze over to my right that I see blue-gray eyes staring back at me. I’ve only ever seen that exact shade once in my life.
“Ty?” I feel like the wind has been knocked out of me. This day is already draining me emotionally and now the last person I expected to see is standing in front of me.
“Indy…”
I feel my body go numb. I don’t know why I had convinced myself I would never hear his voice again. It’s silly, really, because eventually we’d have to meet up. We have a history and a mess to clean up. Yet, if the goosebumps forming on my arm are any indication, he’s throwing me off balance by simply saying my name.
My brain and my body aren’t on the same damn page. I’m supposed to hate him, remember?
I look him up and down, trying to compose myself. It’s obvious from his attire he’s one of the firefighters helping Noah. How the hell is this happening right now? He’s in my world, in a way I never expected. For years, I compartmentalized him; being so far away, never expecting him to stand so close to me again. Now he’s here, close enough I could touch him, although he feels so much further than ever before.
I don’t want little ears hearing this conversation, so I quickly whisper to Noah, “Mommy is going to find out what’s going on, but I’ll be close by.” He nods while another paramedic is caring for him.
I walk over and stare at Ty, looking him up and down, still wondering if I’m conjuring him from my imagination. This can’tbe possible that after so much time, Tyler Hunter is standing before me at my son’s school.
“Do you two know each other?” I’m startled from my thoughts by another gentleman from Tyler’s unit.
“Um, yeah, we, uh—” But I’m cut off when Ty decides to speak for us both.
“Yeah. She’s my wife,” Tyler says to his colleague. Luckily, he isn’t loud and I don’t think Noah heard him.
Tyler’s confession seems to stun his coworker, confirming that he must keep it as close to his chest as I do.
“Always full of surprises, huh, Hunter?” the firefighter says, more with a look of amusement than disappointment. I wish I could share the sentiment, meanwhile, I feel like I might see my breakfast resurface.
“River, let’s not make a big deal of this right now,” Ty says under his breath. I can see Tyler’s face is stoic, likely grinding his teeth like he did in high school. I guess some things never change.
“Hey, your secret is safe with me,” his coworker,River, says as he walks away.
I stand there for a brief moment longer, staring back at a man I thought I once knew, feeling completely exposed, but I finally snap out of it and remember where my focus belongs.
“Indy, I—” Tyler begins.
“I can’t do this right now.” There’s more bite to my words than I usually use as I straighten my spine. My thoughts float back to the past and the harshness Tyler had the last time he chose to interact with me. Too bad he never let me communicate back. Ties were severed after that.
I can see my coldness surprises him. The last time we saw each other, the Indy he remembers was light and free. It was one of the last times I felt like a person that truly lived in a worldwhere my shoulders weren’t weighed down by grief. The world was bright and full of possibilities.
My eyes stare back at the man I once loved. There’s a rigidity that begins to snake down my spine, filling me with icy strength as a way of protecting myself around Tyler Hunter. Noah is my only concern, and he needs me to be whole for him. I cannot stretch myself thin for a man who tossed me aside like the next day’s trash.
