Page 59 of The Caress

"Isla," I call out, crouching down and trying to squint through the smoke. "Isla? Are you in here?"

As soon as I open the bedroom door, I see her. She’s just a little lump in the middle of the bed, her face buried in the twisted, rumpled sheets.

I scoop her into my arms, turning back toward the door and running right into Keir’s broad, muscular chest. "I have her," I shout. "Help me get her out of here."

I’m feeling lightheaded and everything is a blur. I can’t breathe and can hardly see more than two or three feet in front of me, but I’m trusting Keir and my own legs to get me out of here.

"This way," Keir directs me down the corridor until we reach the staircase. "Here, I’ll take her." He lifts Isla out of my arms so we can move faster. "We have to hurry. I don’t know if she’s breathing."

I’m too shocked and scared to cry, too numb and disoriented to do anything but place one foot in front of the other, following right behind Keir until we’re finally down the stairs and out the front door.

A coughing fit overtakes me as my lungs start to fill with air, but at least I can sort of see again. Keir still has Isla cradled in his arms. He's sprinting toward an ambulance. I try to follow but get intercepted by Saffron.

"Isla," I croak, my throat sore from inhaling so much smoke. "I have to check on Isla."

She follows my gaze until she spots Keir, then takes my hand and helps me run across the lawn toward him.

By the time we get to the ambulance, two emergency workers are giving her mouth-to-mouth and doing chest compressions. She looks so tiny and helpless on the gurney. All I can do is stand still and pray that she’s going to be okay.

After the third round of breathing and compressions, her small body convulses into a coughing fit that’s mixed with a loud wail.

"She’s alive," I say, happy tears streaming down my cheeks. "Thank God she’s alive."

"Thanks to you," Keir says, kneeling down to hold her hand as she sputters and sniffles and looks around with unfocused, glassy eyes. "Can you hear me, sweetheart?"

"Is Ella here?" Her tiny voice cracks as she scans all the faces around her, finally landing on mine.

"Right here, sweetie," I say as I crouch down next to her father, dashing at the tears. "We found you in my old room. Do you feel okay? Does anything hurt?"

She shakes her head, then nods. "My head hurts. And my throat."

The EMT looks over at Keir and gives him a reassuring smile. "She’s inhaled quite a bit of smoke, but it’s good that she’s coherent and talking. We should still probably take her to the hospital so the doctor can keep her under observation, though."

"Of course," Keir says, nodding. "Whatever we need to do." Turning back to Isla, he smiles, his own eyes bright with emotion. "We’re just going to make sure you’re okay on the inside, sweetheart. I’ll be right there with you the whole time."

She looks over at me. "Will you be there, too, Ella?"

A pained look crosses her face as I shake my head. "I don’t think there’s enough room for me in that ambulance, kiddo."

She doesn’t say anything else as the EMTs lift her into the back of the ambulance. Keir stands up and moves next to me, giving them more room to do their jobs. "You’re welcome to follow us to the hospital if you’d like."

"I would like to," I admit. "But that’ll just make saying goodbye even harder. Will you call and give us an update later, though? Once the doctors have had a chance to take a look at her?"

"I will." He glances over at Saffron, who belatedly takes a few steps back, giving us some privacy. "Thank you, Ella. I don’t know what I’d do if you hadn’t shown up when you did. You knew exactly where to go. It was like a miracle. "I," he pauses, choking on the final word. "I’m sorry. I thought I’d lost her. I thought I’d lost both of you. It was the worst fucking feeling in the world."

My heart hurts for him, but I’ve cried so much over the past several days that I don’t have any tears left in my body. "She’s going to be okay, though. That’s the important part." I force a smile because this isn’t about me or him. This is about Isla. "You didn’t lose her."

He nods, then slowly exhales. "But I’ve still lost you, haven’t I?"

God, he’s killing me. I have to stay strong, though. I owe it to myself to start putting our relationship behind me. "Tonight hasn’t changed anything between us. I’m just glad the two of you are okay."

"Can I take you to lunch tomorrow, at least? Just as a way of saying thank you?"

I shake my head. "I have to catch a flight back to New York in a few hours. I’m sorry, Keir." I look back over my shoulder to where Saffron is waiting. "I should go."

Without saying anything else, he turns back to Isla and I turn to Saffron.

And just like that, it’s over.

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