Backfire (27 page)

“Mikey, there’s a lot of guys from the firehouse out in the waiting room.  Lots of prayers for you and lots of people caring.  You’ve really made an impact on a lot of them.” Eva clasped her fingers between his.  He gripped back, and though it was weak, it was noticeable.  “Are you feeling okay?”

He slowly nodded his head, but his eyes remained closed. 

“I’m gonna go see if anyone wants to come back.  I’ll be right back.” She didn’t want to eat up the visiting time.  There were many men out there who were only able to be here for a short time.  She paused at the curtain before opening it, feeling more reassured by the second.  He still had a long road ahead of him, but at least he was out of immediate danger. 

***

There was a bright light shining down, feeling like a driving nail right through his head.  Squinting, he tried to raise his arm to shield whatever it was above him.  Lifting his arm was like having weights dangling from it.  It took every ounce of his energy to raise it to his face.  His forearm aided in providing shield to the annoying glow. 

“Mikey?”

He recognized the voice and peered from underneath his arm, trying to make out who was standing over him.  Then again, where was he?  Was he still out in the woods?  Had he actually died?  He had thought that before, only for Lawton to be there. Now what was happening?  Everything was so confusing and his memory couldn’t drudge up anything recent that had happened. 

“Mikey, it’s me, Eva. I think he’s trying to wake up.”

Who was Eva trying to talk to?  He attempted to push his head off of the pillow, but it felt even heavier than his arm did.  It was as if he was top heavy, and it instantly fell back into the pillow. 

“Can you turn that light off?”  His voice echoed and he hoped that the question came out as he anticipated it to.  The shine dimmed above him, so it must have been clear enough to understand. 

“You’re finally awake.”

It was definitely Eva’s voice.  He turned to look at her, and though his vision was fuzzy, he could see her beautiful face leaning next to him.  “What?”

“You’re in Austin, in the hospital. Are you feeling okay?”

He felt her hand brush through his hair, sending an immediate relaxation effect through him.  He could go back to sleep at that very second, but wanted to find out exactly what was going on.  He remembered bits and pieces, as if it were a dream he kept waking up from, but not near enough to piece together and make sense of. 

“What is going on?” He closed his eyes.

“What’s the last thing you remember, Mikey?”

Her questions were annoying him.  He was so tired that he didn’t even want to waste any strength on thinking.  Se
arching, he tried so hard to dre
dge up anything he could.  “I don’t know.  The fire…” He groaned. Why was his side hurting so bad? He tried to move to adjust his body in a more comfortable position, but it made things worse.  He couldn’t even lift his body up enough to get it to do what he wanted.  Giving up, he closed his eyes and noticed the oxygen on his nose.  What was that for? He went to pull it off, but a hand blocked his attempt.

“Don’t take that off, Mikey. You need that.  Are you in pain?”

He nodded and wanted to scream out.  Instead, he opened his eyes again.  The si
ght of Eva and his mother had
a calming effect.  It finally hit him that he was in a hospital and away from the fire.  His memory was still sketchy in what had happened, but he remembered enough to know that he had gotten out.  Eva stepped out of the room for a second and was followed back in by a nurse with a syringe in her hand.  She inserted it into a port in his IV. 

“I’m gonna give you another dose of morphine, Michael.  You’re going a little longer between doses now, and that’s good.  How is your pain level right now?”  The nurse pushed in the medicine and it was an instant effect to how he was feeling.  It felt euphoric and drowsiness settled in.  It was so comfortable, and he felt his body settling in as all of his worries faded to the back of his mind.  “On a scale from one to ten, how was your pain before I gave you the meds?” She leaned over him and grasped a clipboard, ready to write.

He felt drunk and let out a small laugh, feeling embarrassed when the nurse’s reaction was less than amused.  “It was uhh, probably a six.”

She jotted down the note.  “You need to eat the food they bring.  You haven’t been eating enough.”  She left them alone again as she ducked under the curtain.

He could fall right back to sleep with no problem, but he wanted to stay awake and talk to Eva and his mother.  There was so much he wanted to know.  He could compare what he was feeling to drunken nights where he had blacked out and didn’t remember how he had gotten home.  There was a huge gap in his brain where he couldn’t remember a thing, regardless of how hard he had tried. 

“Can you tell me what happened?” He asked, looking at his mom and to Eva.

Eva grabbed his hand.  A small smile parted her lips.  He could tell she had been crying from how swollen and red her eyes were.  He felt so guilty for putting her through this again.  Once was enough, and it was like déjà vu with her standing over him in a hospital bed.  He told himself he had to be more careful.  This was all becoming too familiar. 

“How about you tell us what the last thing was that you remember?”

He grasped her hand and thought hard about the last few days.  It was like a dream where after he woke up, all he could remember were a few things, but not enough to place it all together.  He couldn’t place what was reality and what he had dreamed up. 

“I remember getting trapped.  Our radios wouldn’t work.  We came across a kid.  Then I got hurt and the fire started moving up on us fast.  I told Lawton to take Trevor out and leave me there.  That’s the last thing I really remember.”  He licked his lips and tasted the nasty lip moisturizer they had used.  Reaching for the cup of water on the bedside table, he groaned, but declined any help from his mom as he sucked on the straw, savori
ng the ice-cold liquid.  “How are
Trevor and Lawton?  They’re okay, right?”

Eva nodded. “Lawton is in the waiting room. He’s come in a few times since you’ve been here.  I need to go tell him you’re awake.  Trevor is fine, too.  They kept him in overnight for observation, but he just had some smoke inhalation and he wa
s dehydrated.  He got
to go home.”

Michael let out a deep sigh, well aware of the chest tube in his side.  He was no medical expert, but could tell that he had some lung issues going on.  “Thank God for that. How long have I been in here?”

“They brought you in a couple of days ago,” his mother replied, taking the empty cup from him.  “Do you want more water?”

“No thanks.”  He was so tired again.  He wanted to stay awake and talk.  He had slept enough.  It had been a couple of days and he didn’t remember a bit of it. 

“How did you get hurt, Mikey?” Eva still had hold of his hand and he could smell the sweet scent of her perfume that he had missed so much.  He lifted their hands and kissed the back of hers, running his lips down her skin.  “Do you remember how it happened?”

“Why are you so concerned with what I remember, Eva?” A floating sensation overtook him and his limbs felt heavy.  Responding to her questions became harder, and it sounded like mumbles to him, almost like he wasn’t speaking English.  He was losing the battle with his exhaustion.  Maybe next time he would decline the morphine, just so he could stay conscious for more than fifteen minutes at a time.

“Not many people have talked about it. I was just wondering.”

Michael scoffed.  He wasn’t sure why he was finding this so amusing.  “Ask Law…” He trailed off, certain that he had completely answered her.  His body had defeated his mind.  It was time to get more sleep. 

Chapter
Twenty-One

Michael woke up to the TV on.  He couldn’t make out what was on the screen, but he did take note to the fact that he was in a much more private room than the last time he had been awake.  Looking to his side, he saw Eva engrossed on whatever the show was.  He tried to stay still.  Watching her, he couldn’t help but admire the woman he had fallen in love with.  What was she thinking?  Any normal person would have fled from him after everything they had gone through, and most importantly, what he had put her through.  She had been an innocent bystander in everything, from Casey and his drugs, Viper, and now this.  How would he ever pay her back for everything?

Her elbow was on the edge of the bed and she rested her head in her hand as she watched.  There were a few times that she smirked at the show, and other times she was so engrossed in what was going on that he couldn’t help but find it amusing. 

Clearing his throat, he spoke her name.  “Eva.”

She turned quickly.  “Hey Mikey.  How you feeling?”

He was able to lift his arms easier and he didn’t feel near as heavy as he had before.  There were dull aches in his side and his headache was faint.  “Much better.”  He scratched his eyebrow.  “Where’s ma?”

“She
and Casey went back to the treatment center so she could rest some.  He said he’d bring her back here in a few hours.”

“Casey’s been here?” He asked, not sure why he found it so surprising.  Concern suddenly rose about his well-being and if he held strong through it all.  “He’s okay, right?  Nothing happened?”

Eva shook her head no and clicked the TV off, averting all of her attention right on him.  “He’s doing just fine, Mikey.  He’s been here quite a bit.  You woke up a few times, but I guess you were still so out of it that you don’t remember. You’ve had lots of visitors, especially since they’ve moved you out of ICU.  Lawton’s been in here and some of the other guys.  I don’t really remember everyone’s names.”  She pointed to a table by the window.  “You’ve gotten a lot of gifts too.  See that big bouquet?  That’s from the guys up in New York.  They send their love.”

For the first time, Michael was able to prop himself up on his elbows to get a better look around.  There were flowers, balloons, stuffed animals, and candy all lined up on the table.  It was overwhelming to see how much support had come through for him.  He didn’t feel he deserved it. 

“I’ll be damned,” he said, resting back on the pillow again.  He pushed the button to incline the bed, getting closer to Eva’s face.  He placed both hands on either side of her cheeks. She leaned in and they kissed.  He ran his hand through her hair, half expecting to wake up from the dream and still be right in the midst of the fire.  “I’m so sorry, Eva.”

She pulled away and looked at him like he was crazy.  “What in the hell are you sorry for?”

“How many people do you know that get put in the hospital like this, twice within a year?”

“A firefighter, that’s who.  It’s not like you’re going out and doing this on purpose.”

He adjusted his weight, noticing that the chest tube was now gone.  He had slept through so much.  “You shouldn’t have to go through this.  I need to be more careful.”

She cocked her head to the side.  “Don’t be ridiculous, Mikey.  You are a hero.  You saved that little boy and put him first.  You should be proud.”

“I fell through a ceiling of an old farm house.  I knew better.  The first thing I noticed was how unstable it was and I ignored it.  Look where it got me.”

Eva ran the palm of her hand down the side of his face.  The contrast of her smooth skin made him aware that his facial hair had grown in.  “You survived.  You pushed through it like you always do.  You did what you had to.  Check for civilians and get them out first.”  She tucked her hair behind her ear.  “Quit selling yourself short or I’m gonna kick your ass and make sure you never get out of that bed.” She kissed his cheek.  “I know what I’m gonna request they do next.”

“What’s that?” Mikey asked.  He felt like the luckiest man on the planet.  Without Eva and all of the support he got from her, his mother, and his brother, there was no way he’d be alive. 

“I’m gonna have them give you a shave.  I love you with a little whisker, but damn, you look like a freakin’ mountain man right now.”  She laughed and kissed him again. 

“Thanks, Eva, for everything.”  He was certain he’d pay her back for everything one day.

“Hush.” She waved her hand in front of him.

There was a light knock on the door and she went to answer it.  Michael’s heart skipped a beat when he saw Casey come through the threshold.  His first glance at his little brother worried him.  His posture was slouched and he looked like he hadn’t had a decent night’s rest in a long time.  How did he expect Casey to have a successful recovery if he continued to allow himself to get hurt like this? 

“Hey Casey,” Michael said, propping his bed up even farther.  It felt nice to actually sit up. 

“Hey Mikey.” He gave a small wave and paced at the foot of the bed.

“Come sit down. You drive me crazy when you do that.”

Eva grabbed her wallet.  “I’m gonna go down to the cafeteria and grab a bite to eat.  Either of you want anything when I get back?”

They both declined and she left them alone.  The silence was awkward at first, but just having his little brother in the room with him spoke louder than words.  Casey would flash him a look of concern and would lean forward in the chair, then look away if they held eye contact for too long.