Diary of a Girl from Seattle

Dirty Little Secret

Dear Diary,

Today was... stressful, and anxiety producing, and ultimately actually kinda great. It started off like most other days. I've been enjoying being on summer break these past two months; it's been soooooo nice to have a break and finally feel like my life is my own again haha. I've been getting up early and running with Maya most days and as much as I hate it, I really am getting faster. Then I've either been going into the station for a shift or spending mornings at the hospital and then afternoons just kinda doing whatever. I started learning Italian (thanks Andrew and Carina), have read 13 books already (Between the World and Me was my fav), and rewatched all of the Golden Girls (because Betty White is a national treasure). Oh and of course listening to Andy be pissed about Sullivan. They almost hooked up when they got back from the wildfire a few months ago and he suddenly called it off. I had already figured out that something was going on and was so relieved that I asked her about it so she could finally vent.

Anyway, that kinda sums up most of my break, and today seemed like it would be like every other. I got up and ran with Maya (12 miles today), got myself ready, and headed to Station 19 before shift started. We were sitting around eating breakfast when a call came in. There was a structure fire and we all rushed out. The flames were already shooting through a window by the time we got there; Jack theorized that there could have been some sort of explosion. They called for another team to send back up, especially if the house could explode again. We didn't see a car in the driveway, so we hoped that no one was home. The team suited up and ran in to do a sweep of the house before attacking the fire from the outside.

A few minutes later, I saw Vic and Dean carry out a girl about my age, followed by the rest of the team. I guess she was the only one in the house.  I could tell she was unconscious so I got a backboard, gurney, oxygen, and heart monitor ready. As Vic brought her closer, I stopped dead in my tracks.

"Giuls," Mattie whispered, unable to fully speak.

"What?" Vic huffed as she strapped the girl onto the backboard.

"Guils," Mattie said again, louder this time. "Her name is Giuliana Green. Where's Jas?"

"Who??" Vic looked at her clearly very confused.

"There's another victim inside!" Mattie yelled back at the team who was getting positioned to put the fire out from the outside. "A little boy, he's 11. He has autism and hides when he's scared. He umm... he likes to hide in the laundry room. Sometimes in baskets. His name is Jasper."

Jack and Dean looked back at Mattie and then sprinted back into the building. Mattie knew she should be getting Giuls on a monitor and evaluated, but Vic was handling it, and she couldn't take her eyes off the house. Two minutes later, Jack came running out with Jasper's limp body.

At that point back up had arrived and Jack brought the boy over to the other aid car. I watched as they pumped on his chest, and shocked him back to life. Thank god one shock brought him back. I heard him cough and knew that at least he was alive. They packed him into the ambulance and headed off the Grey Sloan. I turned my attention back to Giuls, who was breathing on her own but was still unconscious. Vic looked at me in amazement.

"How did you know all that?" she asked.

Mattie took a deep breath. "She's my girlfriend," she said quietly as she pushed Giuliana's hair back out of her face. The whole team turned to look at her, so confused about what she had just said. Mattie knew she would have to explain, but just then, Giuls woke up.

"What happened? Wait Mattie? What, what's going on?" Giuls asked, as she clearly didn't remember what had transpired.

"There was a fire," Mattie started.