Deal With It

forty six

Chapter 46

Sprinting back to the bed, I woke Tyler up and alerted him. It took a moment for him to grasp what I had said but when he did, he jolted up, threw on a t-shirt and rushed me downstairs with him. Handing me his car keys, he said, "use the back door and walk round to my car. I'll be there in five minutes."

"Where are you going?"

"There's a fire extinguisher in the kitchen. I need to get it."

"No, no! We'll just ring 999!"

"There's no time, the fire will spread to and destroy the cabin before they arrive! I can't watch that happen. Plus, I've done this before, it's fine."

"What do you mean?"

"Just go, please. I don't want you getting hurt." He was literally pushing me out of the door.

"But—"

"Go, Arissa!"

We were both stood on either side of the threshold when he closed the door, sealing our distance and locking me out. I frowned at him before he turned his back to me and dashed off.

Once I got to the car and was seated inside, I could faintly make out Tyler's figure aiming the extinguisher at the base of the flames. It was hard to see clearly through the rising smoke and every now and then, it seemed as though he had completely disappeared, vanished into the cold night sky just like the fumes from the fire.

I was watching with my heart in my mouth, anxiously waiting for the fire to die out so Tyler could return to me. Moments later, I heard a few taps on the passenger side window and leaned across to open the door. Tyler bent over and held his hand to his chest, coughing and simultaneously trying to catch his breath. When he was more at ease, he climbed into the car and leaned back on the seat. That was when I took notice of his burnt arm.

"Your arm!" I shrieked.

He glanced down, furrowing his brow. It must not have been hurting much if he only realised now. "It's just a scratch," he sighed, resting his head and closing his eyes. Yeah, a scratch the size of the freakin' moon!

"It could have been worse! What was the need for you to act like a hero? Have you no concern for your life? You just survived a coma, dammit!"

He turned his head to the side and narrowed his eyes at me. "I wasn't trying to act like a hero but I couldn't sit there and wait for a bunch of fire fighters when I could handle it myself. I'm fine, aren't I? Don't be so over dramatic."

I scoffed in disbelief. "You can't say I'm being over dramatic. The last time you tried to save something, or rather someone, you ended up being shot."

He let out a deep sigh, combing his hair back with his fingers. "I'm sorry. This place means a hell of a lot to me and I wouldn't be able to watch it burn," he said.

"Yeah, well, you mean a hell of a lot to me. And just the thought of losing you pains me."

He smiled, not moving his eyes from my face. "Haven't you learnt that I'm not one to leave so easily? If death wants to catch me, it's going to have to try harder," he grinned.

"Don't even joke about that," I shook my head. Death was everywhere. And right now I could literally imagine the angel of death plotting with an evil grin formed, taking Tyler's words as a challenge.

Maybe it was time for me to stop watching so much fantasy.

He sat up straight, turning his body towards me and his hands made their way over mine. "Okay, I won't. I love you, okay? You're not losing me anytime soon."