Page 21 of Fighting For You

He smiled. Then he went quiet, like he was working up to something.

"I don't know if you remember me," he said. "And it's fine if you don't. It's been a long time. But two years ago, you saved my life. You held my neck together in a parking lot until the helicopter got there. I never forgot you."

I never forgot you either.

"I was never able to thank you for that. So when I saw you the other day, I was happy to see you." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Of course, it's terrible what happened to your house — everything about it⁠—"

He stopped. He cleared his throat.

"I just wanted to come by and check on you. Make sure you're fine. And if you ever need help with anything, you can always call me."

He pulled a slip of paper from his pocket and held it out to me. I took it. His name, in neat compact handwriting, and a phone number.

"Thank you, Knox."

He held my gaze for a beat longer, then he caught himself.

"I should let you rest. You've still got a lot of recovering to do."

"Yes. Thank you for stopping by."

He walked out and closed the door behind him. Gently, like he didn't want to disturb anything.

I looked at the slip of paper in my hand.

I picked up my phone from the side table. The only thing from the fire that survived. I typed the number in and sent a message.

NORA

It was really nice to see you, Knox.

KNOX

Rest up, Nora.

I stayed five more days at the hospital. They wanted to monitor my oxygen levels, repeat the chest X-ray, make sure my lungs were clearing. I slept, filled out forms, and stared at the ceiling. Hospital time moved differently from the patient side. The hours stretched.

Knox texted me every day to ask how I was feeling, had I eaten, did I need anything. It became the thing I looked forward to most. Even though he wasn't there, it felt like I had company all day.

On the fourth day, he walked through the door with two cups of coffee because I'd mentioned the hospital's was undrinkable. He handed me one and sat in the chair beside my bed, and we talked for an hour. He told me about the station. I told him about the paperwork piling up. It was easy in a way I wasn't expecting.

On the fifth day, they discharged me.

"You're off my schedule until further notice." Josie handled the discharge herself. "I don't want to see you on that floor until you can take a full breath without thinking about it."

"Josie, I can be back in a week."

"You can be back when your lungs say you can be back." She looked at me over her glasses. "Deal with your paperwork. Deal with your house. Deal with your brother. The floor will be here when you're ready."

"Thank you. For everything."

Gracelyn offered me her couch. I told her I didn't want to impose. She told me it wasn't up for discussion, and she was right. It wasn't like I had anywhere else to go.

Her apartment was on the second floor of a building off Nellis. One bedroom, a kitchen that opened into the living room, a narrow balcony off the back. She walked me through it room by room.

"Bathroom's through there. Towels in the closet, use whichever. Kitchen's all yours. Anything in the fridge, you eat it. Don't ask, don't keep score."

She stopped in the living room. The couch was already made up with a blanket and a pillow.