Nebulous || Evan Buckley [1]

chapter seven

crushed

Josephine stepped out of the elevator that night where she felt sick to her stomach to come back home for the first time. She gripped onto her keys tightly while walking down the hallway to the front door. Her head leaned against it once she planted her feet in front it. Her fingers drummed onto the leg before sharply inhaling and inserting her key to unlock the door.

The second she stepped inside, there were rose petals paving a way onto the floor. She roughly sighed then followed to the dining room where two set of plates, a bouquet of her favorite flowers, champagne, and a small gift bag on the table. As she crept towards the table, footsteps approached to the room.

"I thought I should surprise you with a homemade meal for our belated Valentine's, instead of taking you out to the most expensive restaurant money could buy for your love." Bryan walked up to his fiancé with a bright grin. His hand instantly reached to caress her face. "What do you think?"

She briefly glanced at the table then back to her fiancé. "It's perfect." She forced out a smile.

The couple sat on either ends of the table during this quiet dinner. Josephine barely made a dent in her food while Bryan shifted in his seat. He attempted to make conversation, however, Josephine utter mid responses. He began to worry, assuming that she might've been nervous about their talk since he just arrived from New York earlier today.

He watched Josephine dropping her utensils and going for a sip of her champagne. She looked up, staring into his brown orbs. "Bryan, I'm only going to ask you one time and please respect me enough not to lie about it. Are you cheating on me?"

48 hours earlier

"Thanks for grabbing the cake, Athena." Josephine offered her gratitude to the older woman for bringing in the celebratory cake to welcome Chimney back from recovery. Everyone part of the 118 firehouse gathered for the special occasion. They were elated to see the man waltzing back on his two feet after the brutal accident.

After helping the woman settle down the extravagant cake, meaning a replicate of Chimney's accident with the rebar stabbed through his head, both women stepped back staring. "No problem, you really meant to take precaution with this cake on the phone." Athena enlightened, narrowing at the brunette as she folded her arms.

Josephine surrendered, uttering a slight giggle. "I wasn't the one who thought this idea. I just called in a vendor to do it. Besides, it was a miracle- a great one to overcome this life threatening situation." She gestured to the crafted cake version of the rebar.

"Damn, that's one hell of a cake." Hen interjected as she paved the way towards the duo and laughed. "Chimney is going to love it."

Bobby and Buck soon joined the women looking at the cake. "Good job on getting the cake, Josie. Who did you call to get this done in time?" Her captain questioned while checking the details.