Trust Me

Chapter 46

Olivia

*8 months later*

"Baby, you look so handsome," I smiled, fixing the collar of Jason's white dress shirt.

Overtop it, he wore his fancy dress uniform that I'd only gotten the pleasure to admire him in a handful of times. His long, black suit accentuated his tall, lean, and broad physique. Two rows of five gold buttons lined the shirt's front, complimenting the two golden rings that wrapped around the suit sleeve where his wrists resided. Pins adorned the right side of his chest, and his shiny black shoes and bell crown cap completed the look.

Today was a special day for Jason and his firehouse. He'd be returning to work for full duty, and his crew thought it would only be right to throw him a welcome-back party. Jason had been counting down the days to this moment for the last eight months. The recovery after the fire was tough, but even worse was Jason's agony of being unable to do what he loved.

To my demise, Jason was born to be a firefighter. No matter how much the accident shook me up, I'd have to move past it if I wanted to keep this version of him. The one I knew before the accident and the one my eyes can't seem to peel away from now. The one in between? That man was lost, broken, and angry. I had never seen that side of Jason before, not even when his dad came to the city to try to turn his life around.

Being unable to live independently like he was used to was difficult for him, to say the least. Someone constantly had to assist with the basics, like toileting and showering. Jason, being the man he was, found it dehumanizing and embarrassing. He felt as if he were becoming a burden to everyone around him, no matter many times we swore to him he was far from that. We would all do anything for him, especially his mom, Russ, and me. 

Despite that, it was still painful for everyone who loved him to watch him wither away mentally. We often went to bed, and I would wake up in the late hours of the night to the muffled sounds of him trying to hide his cries, burying all his pain into the silk fabric of his pillow instead of my shoulder, which I always left open for him. I wanted him there.

Still, he tried his best not to wake me. He tried his best not to be a so-called burden. 

In the deep pit of my stomach, I still get that churning feeling as the memories of those unbending nights come to the surface of my mind as if it was yesterday and not months ago. Nearly a year ago. 

"Thank you, sweetheart," Jason hummed as he peered into my eyes. 

I noticed the radiance that I missed so much was back. There were once again those shimmering flashes of light that bounced across his ocean-blue eyes. 

Jason was back. 

"You look beautiful yourself," He stated, twirling me around by the hand, causing my long red dress to flare at the bottom.

It took me by surprise how confident I felt in this dress. I would have typically been turned off by the color scarlet and the form-fitting style from bust to hips. My only concern was that it would be too fancy for the event, but Jason assured me everyone would dress up.

"Thank you, Jase," I smiled softly, draping my arms lightly around his neck.

As he looked down at me with bright eyes and that charming grin, his hands grasped my hips.

"I mean it, baby, you're going to have to pull this one out again when we go on our date to make up for our anniversary."

Rolling my eyes, I let out a huff and shook my head, "Jase, I told you it's fine. I loved what you did for me. It's more than enough," I promised him, fiddling with the diamond necklace that lay delicately around my neck.