burning red • joe burrow

009

it's been a couple of weeks since tara's argument with joe. she started her job at midnight cafe, and it is going great.

she hasn't talked to joe since that day, although he has been reaching out. she's seen tee a couple of times, since he's over a lot along with jamar and evan.

the team has practice in the stadium today, which tara and the girls planned weeks ago that they were going to go to.

their seats weren't close, per tara's request. she didn't really want to talk to joe at the moment. practice was the same as usual.

once practice was over, the girls got up to leave. "i'm gonna go to the bathroom." tara said.

"we'll meet you at the car then." lily said. tara went to the bathroom.

she was in the bathroom longer than expected because there was a line. but once she finally used the bathroom, she realized she forgot her purse on her seat.

she went back to grab it. the stadium was empty by now, it cleared out pretty fast. she texted lily and the girls letting them know she forgot her purse.

she put her purse around her, because it was a crossbody and walked up the stairs to leave. she turned left, so that she could leave.

but a few feet down was a fire. it was everywhere. she started to panic. she turned to the right and there was fire there as well.

tara ran back inside were the seats were and went to the opposite side to see if she could leave that way, she couldn't.

the fire was growing and she was running out of options. she walked back inside to where the seats were.

the smoke was a lot, she couldn't see very well. she was coughing, the smoke was getting to her lungs.

she tripped and fell on the step. she hit her head. everything went dark.

• • •

"do you guys smell that?" sam hubbard said. they guys met up with the girls outside of the stadium. they were waiting for tara.

"it smells like smoke." lily said scrunching her nose.

joe turned around. he saw smoke coming from the stadium. and fire.

"oh my god." charlie said. the fire was only getting bigger.

almost everyone on the team and the coaches were there. zach taylor, the head coach, was already calling 911.

"tara is in there." joe said.

"joe," sam hubbard said. "you can't go in there."

the fire was growing bigger, you could see it better now. the fire blew up, it wasn't slowing down.

joe could here the sirens in the distance. it got louder and louder. he could see the flashing lights.

sam and trey were holding him back now. "sir." the police officer said. "you can't go in there."

"tara is in there." joe said. that was all he could say.

tee was comforting charlie, jamar was comforting lily, evan had his arms wrapped around rory.

everyone was standing there was blank but shocked expressions.

the firefighters were trying to put out the fire but it was too big. tara could be dead right now.

joe was able to break free from sam and trey's grasp and ran. he did not care he was running into a fire.

"tara!" joe called out. he was on the field. he couldn't see the seats very well.

he ran to one of the sides and jumped up on it. he looked up and down the rows and he couldn't find her.

all he could hear was the crackling of the fire. the smoke was too much, he couldn't see.

he went up to the higher sections, he saw a figure across the field in one of the lower sections. it had to be tara.

he ran as fast as he could. it was tara. her eyes were fluttering open. "tara." joe said once he found her.

he picked up her limp body. he didn't know what to do. how was he going to get her out?

the only way out was back through the field. he jumped down, with tara is his arms. he was in the middle of the field now.

the exit he was going to use collapsed. he ran to the other side and made it there just in time. it was closing in behind them.

"tara," joe said. "stay with me."

he made it outside. he was covered in ashes. the emts immediately rushed over to the pair.

he wouldn't let go of tara. "sir, you need to let go." the emt said prying tara away from his grasp.

joe was taken to a separate ambulance to get checked out. "i'm fine." joe said. "i need to be with tara."

"sir, i need to make sure you are ok." the emt said checking his vitals.

"i said i'm fine." joe said. joe took the blood pressure cuff off of his arm and left. he found the ambulance tara was in.

"did you get her out of there?" the emt said, joe nodded.

"i need you to come to the hospital with us." the emt said. joe got in the ambulance.

he grabbed tara's hand and rubbed it with his thumb.

the monitor was beeping. "i need you to make sure her eyes stay open." the emt said.

"why?" joe asked. the emt sighed.

"if she goes to sleep, she's going to die. her heartbeat is irregular. if she goes to sleep it's gonna stop beating." the emt said.

"tara." joe said. "i need you to stay awake for me, okay?" he said. he was trying his best to keep it together but he couldn't help it. his eyes were filling with tears.

"they're so heavy." tara said. "let me go to sleep, please."

"tara i can't do that." joe said. "stay awake for me, just for a little bit."

tara shook her head. "tara. i know you can do it. keep them open." joe said.

"talk to her, keep her responsive. whatever you have to say." the emt said.

"tara, listen." joe said, tara turned her head to face joe. "you promised me. you said you wouldn't go before me. you promised."

"i'm sorry." tara said.

"i love you tara." joe said. if this was it, he had to say it.

"i love you too joe." tara responded.

"no, i love you not as a best friend. i love you how jack loved rose in titanic, how romeo loved juliet, how tee and charlie love each other." joe said.

"i loved you since the first time we met when you sat next to me in english. we wrote poems that day. you wrote a poem about clouds. a silly little poem about clouds. and that day in your room, i meant to say it. i meant to say it. and i've kicked myself everyday since then because i didn't say it." joe said. the tears were spilling now. "but i do. i love you. i've loved you since the first day of college when i made you ride demon's destiny and six flags and you told me sometimes you get a little sea sick on rollercoasters."

"and i said, come on live a little." joe said.

"i remember." tara said limply. her eyes were still open.

"yeah. and then i puked on your shoes. and you didn't even make me feel bad about it, you said." joe said before tara interrupted him.

"no worries, i've been wanting to get rid of these shoes for a while." tara responded.

"yeah, because you outgrew them." joe said. "but the thing is, i never outgrew you. i don't really know what happens tomorrow or in two minutes when we get to the hospital, but i love you."

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

crying rn