Smoke and Fire (Surrender to Them 1)

I woke up in the hospital with fuzzy vision and a pounding headache. It took me a couple of seconds to focus on my surroundings, but then I realized I was in a hospital. I heard a noise and turned to see a man standing in my doorway. I couldn’t make him out very well, but he was tall and practically filled the entire door frame. I blinked a couple of times and tried to focus my vision as he walked into my room, but the lights were dim. My mind raced as I thought about the night before. It wasn’t a dream. I really did set my apartment on fire, and the last thing I really remembered was laying on a stretcher outside looking up at someone—someone that looked a lot like the man approaching my bed.

“You look familiar.” My voice was hoarse, and my words got tangled in my throat before I started to cough.

“Hi, Kayla.” He walked closer with a gentle smile on his face.

“You were there last night, right?” I narrowed my eyes. “I can’t see very well without my contacts.”

“I was.” He nodded and stopped when he got to the edge of my bed. “My name is Trent Ward. I was one of the firefighters that responded to the fire at your apartment building.”

“You’re the one that carried me out?” I tilted my head to the side as more memories returned as flashes in my head.

“I was, yes ma’am.” He nodded again. “I’m glad to see that you’re okay.”

“Well, I woke up in the hospital so I’m not too sure about that.” A weak smile formed on my lips.

“They won’t keep you long. It’s just a precaution.” He reached over and lightly patted my hand. “Do you have any family or anyone you would like for me to call?”

“No, I don’t have any family in Chicago. How bad was the fire? Was anyone hurt?” I felt fear inside and my face twisted to a look of concern.

“It wasn’t bad and you’re the only one that had to be taken to the hospital. I don’t think you’ll be staying in your apartment anytime soon, though.” He grimaced and shook his head.

/> “Great.” I leaned back against the pillow and sighed. “I’m homeless. At least nobody was hurt.”

“You sure there isn’t anyone I can call for you?” He patted my hand again.

“Nah, I’ll figure it out. I appreciate you stopping by to check on me, though. That’s really sweet of you.” The weak smile returned to my lips.

“No problem at all. I’m just glad you’re okay. Here, let me give you my number in case anything comes up.” He leaned over and quickly jotted his number down on a notepad next to my bed.

“Thank you.” I nodded and felt my throat getting dry again, which led to another round of coughing.

“Here, drink some water.” Trent poured some water into a cup and handed it to me.

“That’s a little better.” I tested my voice after I had a drink of water and found that it wasn’t quite as difficult to speak.

“You should rest your voice, but give me a call if you need anything—I mean that.” He patted my hand again and walked towards the door.

My throat didn’t hurt quite as bad, but my head was still spinning after the firefighter left my hospital room. A nurse visited and checked my vitals, which didn’t appear to raise any alarm bells. She said the doctor gave me some sort of sedative when I arrived, which was still making it hard to focus. I remembered coming home, drinking, and stupidly lighting up the cigarette I took from Anna. The next thing I remembered was waking up with my apartment on fire, so it was easy to connect the dots. The fire was my fault, and I was lucky that I didn’t end up killing myself in the process. I felt sick to my stomach when I thought about it. To make matters worse, I had managed to ruin the weekend for everyone in the building. I was thankful that nobody was hurt, but I was sure that they would all hate me when they found out what really caused the fire.

I’m supposed to be the responsible one. This is a situation Anna would find herself in, while I scolded her for being such an idiot.

I drifted off to sleep again thanks to the sedative and it was mid-afternoon before I woke up for the second time. It took me a moment to remember where I wasb, but I felt less groggy. A few minutes later, the nurse walked into my room and let me know I was being discharged. After she got the IV out of my arm, I realized that I had nothing to wear. The nurse didn’t know what happened to the pajamas I was wearing when they brought me in, but she was pretty sure the emergency room crew would have tossed them if they smelled as bad as my hair did. I didn’t have my purse or cell phone, and the phone next to my bed was useless since I didn’t have Anna’s number memorized. As embarrassing as it was, the only number I had belonged to the firefighter that rescued me, so I swallowed my pride and dialed his number.

“Hi, Trent? This is Kayla.” I held the phone up to my ear as I spoke. “So, they’ve discharged me from the hospital, but I have a couple of problems…”

I planned to ask Trent if he could go to Anna’s apartment and let her know that I needed her to come to the hospital, but he surprised me by offering to bring some clothes and give me a ride. I normally wasn’t one for charity, but it was hard to turn down his offer. Anna would likely be hungover and take forever to show up.

At least he was reliable. An hour later, he showed up with a Chicago Fire Department t-shirt, a pair of jogging pants that barely stayed on my hips with the cord pulled tight, and some slippers that were comically large on my feet. I dressed in the bathroom and stared at myself in the mirror. My hair was a disaster and my makeup was a distant memory. There was no way to fix either of them, so I walked out of the bathroom feeling like a disheveled homeless person, but fully clothed.

“Ready to go?” He opened my hospital room door and motioned for me to exit.

“Yeah, I guess so.” I sighed and stepped out into the hallway.

I really hadn’t been able to see Trent very well in the dim light of my hospital room the first time he visited me, especially without my contacts, but once I was up close I saw how incredibly handsome he was. His chiseled jaw, sexy smile, and mesmerizing sky-blue eyes were just the beginning. He had large shoulders and muscles that pressed against every inch of the fabric on his t-shirt. It would be my luck that I would meet someone as attractive as him, who was also the heroic firefighter that saved my life, while looking my absolute worst. I was certainly no vision of loveliness sprawled out on my living room floor in baggy pajamas, but even those looked better than what I was wearing when I walked out of the hospital.

He led me to a large Chevy truck and helped me climb up into the passenger side before pushing the door closed.

This will definitely take the top spot for worst first impressions.