Parallel Lives

Chapter 15: Together at Last - Jacob

   (This one is gonna be happier. I hope you guys will enjoy this)!

   It's been a week since everything happened. I still find everything surreal. I had to stop searching at the site. My breathing became worse every time I went there. I wasn't the only one. Many other firefighters got checked out and it turns out that they, including myself, have lost 12 years of lung function. I felt miserable. Not just because of my breathing, but because I haven't found Daniel. He was still missing. So far, only three members of his unit have been found. But Daniel and the rest still remain missing.

   Currently, I was at the firehouse. Everyone had just gotten back from the pile, so it had just turned dark. We all had regular duties, even after tragedy, so I instructed Tommy to take out the trash. He went outside as we watched TV. He came back a few minutes later, which I realized was a bit of a long time to take the trash out.

   "Look who's here." Tommy announced. He moved aside to reveal Sabrina, who stood there with her wolf plushie in her arms. "Bri?! What are you doing here?!" I asked, rushing over to hug her. "I got discharged. They said I'm doing fine. My collapsed lung healed already and my heart is fine. My breathing is better but they diagnosed me with asthma. My ribs need to heal in two more weeks and they said they can heal at home." Sabrina explained. I nodded, grateful she was alright.

   "She was waiting outside just sitting there." Tommy added. "Why didn't you come in?" Eddie asked. "I felt weird." Sabrina answered. "Dude you literally busted in here last week without a care in the world! What's the difference now?" Jimmy exclaimed. Sabrina giggled, shrugging her shoulders.

   "You should be heading home though. Do you need a ride?" I asked. Sabrina shook her head. "I'm ok. I just wanted to say hi." Sabrina shared. I then noticed that she was wearing her junior firefighter uniform. "Did they wash your uniform?" I asked, panicked. "No they just gave it back to me covered in debris to further fuck up my ribs and lungs." Sabrina answered sarcastically, rolling her eyes at me. The others laughed loudly. I knew they were happy to see her being sarcastic, and for once, so was I.

   Sabrina looked exhausted, as her eyes were hooded a little and she kept yawning. "Are you tired?" I asked. Sabrina nodded. This was unusual for her. It was 7:30 PM. Sabrina was usually never tired at this time, except for when she had just woken up from a nap after school. "Wanna sleep over here?" Tommy asked. "I don't wanna disturb you guys though." Sabrina hesitated. We all gave her a look that said "seriously?"

   "You're not disturbing us, dude. In fact, we miss having you around. Come on, we're about to cook dinner." Eddie expressed. Sabrina stood there for a moment before smiling and nodding. We all cheered as some of us went to the kitchen. "Wanna help, kid?" Donny, one of my guys, asked. "Sure!" Sabrina replied, heading to the kitchen. When Tommy first started, he would clean the kitchen and make coffee as Sabrina helped him. It was good to see her doing that again.

   As I watched TV, I kept hearing Sabrina's giggles as she helped. It nearly brought tears to my eyes hearing it. I thought I lost her that day when the North Tower fell. At one point, I even thought she was gonna die at the hospital. I hated saying that but I genuinely thought that. She had a heart attack and cardiac arrest. I for sure thought that her heart would give out. I thought I'd never hear her giggles again. But now here she is. Alive and well.

   "Jakey! Set up the dinner table!" Sabrina ordered. "And if I don't?" I taunted her. Sabrina smirked at Tommy and Donny and held up a spatula as they held up a knife and spoon, respectively. "Ok, ok! Chill!" I exclaimed, holding my hands up in defeat. I could hear Jimmy and Eddie laughing. I set up the table and the rest came piling in with the food. By the smell, I knew exactly what it was. It was my favorite food. Lasagna.

   Chief Peterson came down with Captain Thomas, who had a look of shock on their faces. "What are you doing here?!" Captain Thomas asked. Sabrina began explaining everything again. "I'm so glad you're here, kiddo. It was getting pretty empty without you here." Chief expressed. Everyone muttered out words of agreement. We sat down at the dinner table and began to serve ourselves lasagna.

   "Thank you guys for making my favorite." I voiced. "Don't thank us, dude. It was Sabrina's idea." Tommy revealed. I gazed at Sabrina with a look of surprise on my face. She smiled, looking down shyly. "I told them to make it for you because I wanted to see you smiling and enjoying yourself." Sabrina uttered. I teared up a little, thankful for her thoughtful gesture.

   "Well guys, I can for sure enjoy this meal tonight." Captain Thomas shared. "How come?" Donny asked. "Because we're all here. Nobody's missing." Captain answered. "Indeed. We haven't lost any of you. We haven't had a good time at the dinner table these days, because some of us were working and our amazing and brave junior firefighter was in the hospital. But now, we are together. Together at last." Chief chimed in.

   "Let's raise a toast!" Sabrina announced, holding up her glass of apple juice. "What do we say?" I asked, holding up my glass of soda. We all decided not to drink alcohol for a few months after everything occured, so none of us could develop alcoholism. "To us?" Sabrina wondered aloud. "So cheesy, Bri. But hey, it works right?" I joked. "Hell yeah. To us!" Eddie yelled. "To us!" We cheered simultaneously, clinking our glasses of water, soda, and juice together. For the remainder of the night, we all forgot our troubles and just enjoyed each other's company at the dinner table. For the night, we were free from our demons.

   (Pretty happy chapter for y'all before the sadness comes back. Yup, stay tuned for that. I hope y'all enjoyed! See you soon)!