The Fighter

Chapter 25

John and I got to the station on time to make the second truck with Ray. Another guy, (actually John's dad) Bill got in the ambulance and followed us. We got to the scene and it looked pretty bad. Head on collision, two cars which means more than one person and probably hurt really bad, if not dead. I jumped out before John did and ran over to Kyle and Jet. They were grabbing a tarp. Kyle looked at me and grinned. "Don't say a word." I warned and grabbed the other tarp. "I wasn't going to." He laughed and grabbed the spreaders. "Mickie, you and Kyle go over to that car." Harry pointed to the car on the right. "Jet and John, you two go to the other one." He pointed to the other one. Kyle and I walked over to the car. We opened it up and Ray came over. He's both a firefighter and a paramedic. He works for an ambulance company.

"She's alive." He sighed, but he still looked concerned. He went over to the other car. "So, you didn't go home last night." Kyle spoke up. "We are not talking about this right now, Ky!" I said quietly. "All I want to know is, are you and John back together?" "No, whatever happened last night happened because I was hurt and drunk." "Okay. Wait, what happened last night?" he asked and then he realized. "Mickie, you didn't!" "Shut up Kyle!" "You did!" "Shut up Kyle!" "Oh, my God." He laughed and I punched his arm.

I finally got home around 3:30pm. Gavin was watching a movie with Julie and Avery. "Hey!" I smiled to them as I walked in. "Mick!!!!" Avery jumped up and hugged me. "Hi, you! I've missed you so much!" I hugged her tightly. "How are you doing?" Gavin got up and hugged me. I cried. "I hurt so bad Gav, and I don't understand! I don't understand how he could do this to me!" "Mickie, it's okay. It's going to be tough for a while. But, we are here for you. We are here to help you get through this and anything you need, we are here to help." Julie hugged me too. I have never felt as close to my family as I do right now. Like, we actually feel like a family and not just people we live and love together. "Thank you guys. I really appreciate it." I smiled and hugged them back.

"Wait, aren't you two supposed to be at your apartment?" I asked realizing. "Yeah, we were waiting for you. We had a question." Julie smiled. "Oh, boy." I laughed and wiped my eyes. "We were wondering if we could take Avery for a couple of days." Gavin asked. "It was my idea. I figured that you could have a little break and you could relax. This could help you out a little bit, especially now. You can go hang out with your friends and do stuff to get your mind off of... this." Julie looked nervous to ask me. I thought about it for a second and then spoke "Yeah, that's fine. Just make sure that she calls me before bed and stuff." "We're going to have so much fun!" Avery laughed. She was really excited about staying with them.

Avery, Julie, and Gavin left and I decided to call John and see what he was up to. He wasn't doing anything, so I went back over to his apartment. "Hey." He smiled and hugged me when I came in. "Hi! Long time no see." I laughed. "Yeah, I know it. Is Kyle out with Tessa?" "I have no idea. I called you and only you." "Aw how sweet, and I lied I have dinner with my parents tonight, but I thought that you could come with me. They miss you." He smiled innocently. "Are they back together?" "They're getting there. But will you be my date to dinner tonight?" "Sure, why not. But it's not a date!" "Sure, it's not." "John, it's not!" I laughed. "Seriously, it could be." "I just got out of a relationship, like yesterday. You can't be my rebound." "I was already your rebound last night, so what's the difference?" "Yeah, that's right. But hopping into another relationship right now, is that a good thing?" "It's not a bad thing. It would probably help. I'm just saying think about it." He smiled. "Okay, I will."

We went to dinner with his Dad, Bill and his mom Penny. We went to a restaurant in Ucca Flatts. That's only twenty minutes from Clarksville. "Mickie, nice to see you." Penny smiled and hugged me. "Nice to see you again." Bill laughed and hugged me too. "Are you still in the department?" Penny asked as we all sat down. "Yeah, I have to keep my boys in line." I laughed. "She does a great job. I think that Jet, John, and Kyle are afraid of her sometimes." Bill laughed. "We are." John spoke up. "Well good! Someone has to keep an eye on you boys! Are you still taking care of your sister?" Penny laughed along with us. "Yeah, my brother is back now and he and his girlfriend are spending some time with her." "That's nice!" she smiled. I went to the bathroom to pee and call Gavin and see how Avvy was. Penny came with me. "So, are you and John back together?" she asked after I hung up the phone. "Not at the moment, but maybe if things keep going the way they're going." "That would be nice. He loves you. He's never stopped loving you. He just seems so much happier now that you're here with him." "I know, he's been there for me a lot in the last few months and I am very grateful and thankful for him." I smiled. I think that John told her about our conversation earlier, and she's trying to get me to go for it, and it kind of worked. It made me think about it more seriously.

We got home and put in a movie. "Dinner was nice, thanks for bringing me." I smiled sitting next to him. "Thanks for going with me. My parents were very happy that you came." "I know, your mom was really happy to see me." "Yeah, she was excited when I called her and asked if they minded if you came." "She asked if you and I were back together. I told her maybe, we will have to see." "Have you thought about it?" "Yeah, a little bit, but I'm still not sure." "I know you're not. Are you comparing it to what we were almost a year ago?" "Yeah." "Yeah, I knew you were. Things are different now than they were back then." "People don't really change John!" "Well, I did! I am a better person than I was!" "Really? Could you really handle me right now? I am a broken mess because of some kid, whom I loved, but I barely knew! I am the guardian of my almost six year old sister and I have this brother who is being really nice to me, but still thinks that I should give up my sister! I have a ton of baggage, a lot more then I had the last time we dated!" "Yes, I can handle you. You know me, you know every part of me. I love you and I love your sister. I can handle you raising her. I can handle your baggage. Your brother will not take Avery from you and I will make sure of that. I can help you get passed stupid Greg. He didn't know what he was doing, he didn't know who he was messing with. I've been here for you for a while, and I will always be here for you! No matter what happens between us. I can promise you, that I won't hurt you, not this time or ever again." He made his point. I leaned my head on his shoulder. "I'll give us one more chance. But that's it." "I won't screw this up." "You better not."