Tarlos Short Stories

Romeo save me

Carlos was patrolling when the call came in that there was a woman that was cut open in a room in a Hotel room with hypothermia. He was the closest officer to the scene so he radioed that he would respond to it. 

"This is 363- H20 responding. We are 5 minutes out." They were the first officers on scene. He went to help Lexi stop her wound from bleeding and warm her up. When the paramedics got there he couldn't take his eyes off of the male paramedic for the 126. After they got Lexi's heart beating again, Carlos approached the male paramedic. 

"That was pretty awesome, what you did back there. I'm Carlos by the way." He thanked God that the other man was unaware that Carlos's slight Hispanic accent was from nervousness. 

"I'm TK. And it wasn't anything special, I was just doing my job as a paramedic." Carlos was almost rendered speechless when their eyes met. He could've sworn that time stood still for a moment. TK had the prettiest aqua green eyes. 

"I'll see you around Carlos." After TK's shift, he went home to get changed for his date. He had met this super nice guy on a dating app and was meeting him in person for the first time in 20 minutes. He wore a white button down with a pair of faded blue jeans. TK was nervous about it, it was his first date since breaking up with Alex. He arrived right on time and saw Mike sitting at the bar waiting for him. The last thing that TK remembered was getting up to go to a local concert with Mike. 

He woke up with extreme pain in his left side and in a bathtub full of ice with no memory of it. He saw a landline sitting on a table next to the tub and hoped it still worked. He dialed 911 and sighed in relief when he heard it ringing. On about the third ring a woman answered the phone.

Grace was just getting back to her desk after getting a cup of tea when the call came in.

"911 what's your emergency?" She could hear just how cold the man was when he spoke.

"I think someone might have taken my kidney. I am in a bathtub full of ice with severe hyperthermia." Grace was surprised by what he said and couldn't help but ask how he knew it. 

"How do you know all of that sir?"

"I'm a paramedic with the 126." She let the officers know that they were looking for the same person who took Lexi's kidney. 

Carlos was driving home from the store when he heard over the radio that the cops and Texas Rangers were chasing someone. He also heard that he was possibly the person who kidnapped TK. Carlos wanted answers about where TK was and why he was taken. They have gotten really close over the last 5 days. Carlos knew that if he went all the way through the alley he'd spit out right in front of Mike's car. Carlos also knew that his dad was chasing the guy and would be pissed at him. He quickly drove through the alley. 

He ended up right in front of a red Volvo. While Gabriel made sure that the driver didn't run, Carlos grabbed the kidney from the backseat of the car. When Carlos lifted the cooler off of the floor he noticed a receipt. He pulled his phone out and checked his last text from TK which confirmed what he thought. TK had texted that he was meeting someone at the grasshopper hotel which was where the receipt was from. 

He got back into his car and drove to the hotel. It wasn't until he got there that he realized his mistake. If TK's kidney was actually in the cooler then Carlos would need paramedics. He radioed for them before going into the hotel to look for TK. He found him shivering in a tub of ice. Carlos was about to pull TK out of the water when he noticed the staples. He now had a big problem.

If Carlos left TK in the ice water to would eventually freeze to death, but if he got TK or of the water he would bleed to death. Carlos tried to think of an option that wouldn't kill TK but was drawing a blank.

"I don't wanna die, Carlos." Carlos turned toward his radio and asked when paramedics would arrive. 

"I wish there was a way that you wouldn't but it's not looking promise right now."

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean is, if I let you stay in here you'll freeze to death, if I get you out you'll bleed to death." Carlos took a big risk and pulled TK out of the tub anyways. He stretched over a little too grab as many towels as he possibly could. Carlos pressed every towel against the wound to stop the bleeding. 

Carlos sat in the chair, replaying that moment in his head for 5 days. TK got to the hospital in time but there was a clot. Carlos was warned by TK's dad not to blame himself but he couldn't help it. Carlos was asking himself if he could've moved faster with the towels when TK's finger twitched. Carlos waited for it to happen again to make sure he wasn't imagining it. After about 30 seconds TK's finger twitched again and his eyes slowly opened this time. 

TK opened his eyes and saw a disheveled Carlos sitting next to him.

"What happened?"

"The doctors got your kidney back inside of you but a clot formed in an artery which put you in a coma." 

"How long was I out?" TK couldn't help but be curious of how long he was in a coma for.

"5 days."

"How long have you been here?"

"I got here right when you did TK." A few months later was Mike's trial and TK was nervous. TK and Carlos had gotten closer since the hospital. About 2 months before the trial they started dating. When TK got to the courthouse he saw Lexi pacing. TK and Lexi bonded over their shared experience.

"Are you okay Lexi?"

"I just heard that they're gonna try and play the desperate runaway cars when I testify. I can't handle that TK. This was a huge mistake." 

"Lexi, over the past 4 months I have gotten to know the real you. You need to show the jury the person you have been showing me for as long as we've known each other." TK walked with her to the doors and then gave her a hug. It was hard for him to believe that his nightmare would be over after this. TK would still have nightmares abou

t that night but other than that it was now over for good.