carried her out. She had wished that it was Mason, but she later assumed that it was most likely just a firefighter. Perhaps this person was a firefighter – she had no idea. Although the situation was strange, she still felt like this person, whoever they may be, deserved her gratitude.
Fieldsofjasmine92: I don’t know who you are or how I can repay you, but thank you.
ANONYMOUS: Do not thank me. It is simply my job.
Fieldsofjasmine92: You didn’t only save me, though. I’m pregnant and you saved my baby too.
ANONYMOUS: You are pregnant?
Fieldsofjasmine92: Yes, so thank you. I am forever in your debt.
ANONYMOUS has logged offline.
She stared at her screen, wishing that her anonymous savior would log back on and give her more details. Maybe she shouldn’t have shared that much information, but she couldn’t help it – she felt thankful and wanted to share her emotions. Her heart felt broken into a million pieces, but she was safe. Her family was safe; her baby was safe. Everything was all right, and for some unknown reason, she felt as though the only reason why the world was still spinning was due to the help of her anonymous chatter.
She set her phone on the table next to her and rested her head back down on the pillow, watching the clock tick forward on the wall. The sinking feeling in her stomach appeared again when she remembered her beautiful anchor clock at The Morning Bell, which most likely burned with the rest of the café. She sighed and closed her eyes, attempting to get a small amount of sleep.
An hour passed and she still had not been able to sleep. Thankfully, Abby and Calvin returned from dinner to keep her company – and brought her something to eat as well. The two sat in chairs next to her bed and talked with her as she ate her dinner. She watched, yet pretended not to notice, when Calvin grasped Abby’s hand. She loved that they were happy together.
If any two people deserved it, they definitely did. Calvin had been through so much after losing his leg in the military. He went through hell and back, struggling with PTSD and losing job after job. She was proud that he had finally gotten his life back on track. She realized that his nightmares had mostly faded, he had a great job that he loved, and was finally dating for the first time in his life. Everything was going well. She just wished she knew where Mason was at that moment so she could feel happy too.
It was as if the universe heard her wish because, in that same moment as her thoughts collected to him, Mason entered the hospital room. His eyebrows were heavy and he looked riddled with anxiety. He made his way toward her and smiled, yet when he caught a glance at Calvin, he stopped dead in his tracks.
The shock that overcame his face was as if he had seen a ghost. His complexion went pale and he looked back, contemplating whether or not to sprint in the other direction. Jasmine raised an eyebrow at him, looking back at her brother, then raised both eyebrows when she saw that he was acting the same way. Calvin stood up and walked toward Mason. He started to speak, hesitated, and then continued.
“Matthew?”
“Matthew?” Jasmine repeated, confused.
“What are you doing here?” Calvin asked. He sounded breathless and looked visibly upset. Mason looked back and forth between the faces looking up toward him, unable to speak.
“Calvin,” she explained, “this is my boyfriend, Mason. What’s going on?”
“What?” Calvin backed up and looked directly at Jasmine. “No, this is Matthew. He was my friend in the military. He helped save me when the enemy attacked. I could have lost a lot more than my leg if it weren’t for him. I’m just not sure what is happening right now.”
“Excuse me? Mason is your friend from the military?” Her head began spinning and she placed her hands to her temples. “Explain to me what is going on,
C. J. Cherryh
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