Chapter 25
“It wasn’t Leo, JJ.” Victoria answered quickly, her voice reassuring. “They wouldn’t give me the name, but they could confirm it wasn’t him.”
Jasmine felt a heavy thumping in her chest as if it had just started beating again.
“Winnie, it wasn’t Leo,” Jasmine yelled, unable to control the volume of her voice. Barely registering her friend whispering, “Thank God,” Jasmine felt lightheaded when the beating of her heart felt like it was going to pound clear out of her chest. The voice of her mother in the speaker started to fade and the words slurred together as if she were hearing them through a fog.
Not sure what was happening, Jasmine felt the phone fall out of her hand as her world faded to black. The sound of Winter yelling her name was the only noise she focused on as she drifted away.
“Jazz,” Winter said forcefully, causing Jasmine to furrow her brow.
What had she done to piss her roommate off so much that she felt the need to scream in her ear? Blinking her eyes to help wake herself up, she realized that not only was Winter yelling at her but also shaking her shoulder fairly hard.
“Wha—” Jasmine mumbled, unsure why she felt like she was drunk.
“Thank God, Jazz,” Winter cried, trying to smile at her when she opened her eyes. “You scared the ever-loving shit out of me.”
“What happened?” Jasmine rubbed her chest. The area felt as if she had a boa constrictor squeezing it still.
“You fucking fainted!” Winter laid a wet wash cloth on her forehead.
Jasmine grimaced at the dampness of the rag although it seemed to help her head clear a bit.
“Are you okay?” Unable to do more than nod at her friend, she watched as Winter stood up and paced the living room floor.
Jasmine cleared her throat. “I didn’t imagine that, right? Leo is ok?”
“Your mom said Leo wasn’t the man checked into the hospital. Then, you slumped over and scared the piss out of me and I’m pretty sure I gave Victoria a heart attack, but Leo’s ok.”
“I’ve never fainted before,” she mumbled, her brain trying to play catch up after checking out on her.
“I’m not gonna lie, Jazz.” Winter pointed her finger at Jasmine and frowned. “That was the scariest thing I’ve ever seen and I’ll smack you if you do it again.”
Jasmine simply stared at her friend while trying to collect herself when Winter practically swamped her with a hug.
“I’m sorry, Winne,” Jasmine mumbled, her words unclear when her face was smooshed against Winter’s shoulder as her friend squeezed her tight.
The two sat hugging for a moment before Winter pulled back and made a face. “Your parents are on their way and your mom was wigging out on the phone. The minute you passed out I may or may not have screamed. Once I picked up the phone, your mom said they were coming up whether you liked it or not. She sounded scary.”
“My mom doesn’t wig out,” Jasmine replied and smiled at Winter’s words.
“Jazz, your mom lost her shit,” Winter said, her eyes widely comical. “I’ve never heard Victoria curse before, but I could swear she said ‘Reggie, if you don’t hurry the fuck up I’m going to kill you.’ Then she made me swear I would call an ambulance if I couldn’t wake you up.”
“Jesus, I need to call her back.” Jasmine moved slowly, still feeling a little woozy.
“Here, let me do it.” Winter snatched the phone out of her hand while moving the trashcan closer to Jasmine. “You look like you’re going to barf again,” Winter warned before turning her attention back to her phone.
“Victoria? Calm down. She’s awake and other than looking white as a sheet she seems to be fine.” Winter looked over to Jasmine and said, “Your mom wants to know exactly what you’re feeling.”
“My chest feels tight and I feel sick,” Jasmine admitted before reaching for the trashcan. Barely holding back vomit, she breathed deep trying to calm herself.
As Winter relayed the information, she could hear her mother’s voice coming over the phone even though it wasn’t on speaker.
“No, I don’t want to go to the hospital,” Jasmine answered without waiting for Winter to relay her mom’s instructions.
After a little more back and forth, Winter hung up and handed her a bottle of Sprite.
“Well, I’m pretty sure your parents have broken every speed limit to get here, but they are only about twenty minutes away and are heading straight here. Your mom already said that she has her medical bag and isn’t afraid to use it, and if you’re not going to the hospital, you are going to stay with your ass planted right here until they arrive.” Winter grinned. “Her words, not mine.”
“Dear lord.” Jasmine took a sip of the cold Sprite, the cool sugary liquid making her feel better with each sip. “Did I miss anything?”
“The lady said they have the fire contained but are unable to fully extinguish it.” Winter tipped her head toward the TV where flames and smoke filled the screen. “I bet that place was full of old boxes of wallpaper and lit up faster than you could blink. Will called back and said that he was on his way home.”
“I’m sorry,” Jasmine whispered, feeling bad that Will was rushing back from a break he really needed right now.
“Don’t worry about it, bish. Those men are some of his closest friends and he knows that he wouldn’t be able to enjoy the rest of his trip worrying about them anyway. He’s still trying to figure out who on his crew was sent to the hospital.” Winter moved the trashcan farther away from them. “That smells fucking awful.”
“I know. I’m the one that had my head buried in it,” Jasmine pointed out dryly, her stomach almost fully settled.
As Winter kept watching her as if she were going to fall apart again, Jasmine reached out and linked their fingers. Giving them a squeeze, she smiled at the sister she never had. “I know I’ve asked this before, but seriously, Winter, how do you manage to deal with this every time Will’s on duty?”
Winter turned to face her fully on the couch, her face honest and open. “It’s not easy. It’s never going to be easy. Will is a firefighter. There is nothing else in the world that he would ever want to do. Hell, I can’t imagine him doing anything else either for that matter.”
“How do you not go crazy every single time the tones drop?” Jasmine prodded, needing some answer that would help her handle the craziness inside her chest at the thought of Leo answering another fire call.
“I did go a little crazy at first…it wasn’t easy. You were so busy studying for finals and being with a firefighter was so far out of my realm that I’m pretty sure I ate every pint of ice cream they had at the store.” Winter shrugged. “But then I paid more attention to how hard they train and quizzed Will on their safety procedures and it slowly came to me. This is his calling. He’s saved people’s lives, Jazz.”
Jasmine let her eyes drift back to the TV screen. “Tell me I can handle this.”
Winter slapped her leg as if she were patting her on the back. “Jazz, you can handle anything. You are one of the strongest women I know.”
“The fear of losing Leo…” Jasmine’s throat tightened at the very thought of it happening. “What about when we have kids?”
“Then, they will be just as proud and supportive of their dad as you are,” Winter answered without a blink.
“How can you be so sure?” Jasmine ran her fingers over the bottle of pop she was still holding. Nervousness making her unable to stay still.
“It’s easy.” Winter tilted her head toward the television where the reporter was filming the men standing in front of the burning building. “You love that man?”
“Of course, I do,” Jasmine replied without hesitation.
“Then you stand by him and be there for him when he comes home smelling of smoke and so tired he can’t move. And when the next call comes in, you do it all over again.”
Jasmine just blinked at her friend. Surely there had to be some other way to deal with the anxiety she felt.
“And since our men work together, be prepared to come over and eat your weight in ice cream. We can be blimps together.”
Jasmine giggled. The tightness in her chest eased the more she talked to Winter. At her chuckles, Winter started laughing as well. The sound of their laughter filled the small apartment until both women were laughing uncontrollably.
“What the hell is going on here?” Her dad’s voice startled the two women on the couch, who jumped at the deep question. Her parents had snuck into the cracked front door with no sound to alert the women.
“I’m here, JJ,” Victoria crooned, getting on her knees and reaching to check Jasmine’s pulse as Winter stared at her wide eyed as if she were an alien.
“You scared your mother to death, young lady,” Reggie admonished, his hand over his heart as if he himself were trying to recover.
“Sorry, Dad,” Jasmine mumbled as her face was being turned this way and that by her mom’s checkup.
“I’m in the twilight zone,” Winter said to herself, not taking her gaze away from the scene in front of her.
“I need a beer,” Reggie announced, walking to the kitchen, which caused Winter’s mouth to gape.
“He drinks beer?” she asked no one in particular, obviously too stunned to do much else.
Jasmine winced at the bright light her mom was shining into her eyes. “Jesus, Mom.”
“Don’t you Jesus me,” Victoria snapped, before moving the light back into her face. “Follow the light.”
Jasmine did as her mother instructed knowing that the impromptu medical exam wouldn’t stop until her mom was finished.
“Now, have you had issues with anxiety and panic attacks before?” Victoria questioned, her face showing that she expected an answer.
“No.”
“So, nausea and tightness of the chest? Any tingling in your fingers or trouble breathing?” Victoria had a stethoscope out and on her chest before she could even formulate an answer.
“When was the last time she ate, Winter?” The question was posed to her friend, the friend who was still staring at her dad as he stood in the kitchen with the fridge door open while chugging a bottle of beer.
“Winter?” Victoria prodded, snapping her fingers.
Winter shook her head, her eyes wide but now focused on Jasmine’s mom. “Sorry, ma’am. I have no idea but from the looks of it, anything she ate today came up on the carpet or into the trashcan.”
“Do you have any crackers?” Victoria nodded toward the kitchen indicating that Winter needed to get up and check.
Winter moved so fast that Jasmine almost laughed. At least she was on the verge of laughing until her mom asked another question that threw her for a loop.
“Is there any chance you’re pregnant, JJ?”
With those words barely making it out of her mom’s mouth, her father came stomping back into the room. “If she is then we are having a wedding sooner rather than later!”
“Whoa!” Jasmine held up her hands frowning at the shakiness of her fingers. “Everyone needs to calm down!”
“Oh, my God, Jazz! Are you pregnant?” Winter stood in the doorway clutching a box of crackers as though they were a life raft and she was on a sinking ship.
“No!” Jasmine frowned. At least she didn’t think she was. Looking between her parents, she quickly realized that was something she probably needed to keep to herself for the moment.
“Thank God!” Victoria looked up to the ceiling. “I know we shouldn’t expect a white wedding with the way that you and Leo look at each other, but a pregnant bride might be a little much for your father right now.”
Jasmine could only laugh at the look of horror that her father had on his face. Covering his ears, he walked back into the kitchen and jerked the fridge door open once more.
“Why are you laughing?” her mother asked, her face once more transformed into concern. “Are you hysterical? Reggie, I think she’s hysterical.”
Jasmine giggled at her father’s reaction when he waved his wife off and continued tipping the bottle back. “Mom, I’m fine. I promise. I’m not pregnant.” Jasmine crossed her fingers on that one. “It’s just funny to see this reaction from you…from both of you.”
Winter chimed in, “That’s totally fucking true.”
Jasmine pulled her mom in for a hug before she could reprimand Winter for her language. Feeling a contentment that she had only found recently in Leo’s arms, Jasmine reveled in the sense of security her mother offered.
“Now, let’s all calm down before your father gets drunk.” Pulling back from their hug, Victoria glared in the direction of the kitchen where Reggie was still standing. This time clutching an empty beer bottle.
“What?” he asked, his gaze offended. “I needed this.”
“Hell, I need one too,” Victoria admitted before putting everything back into the emergency bag her parents always carried in their car.
“Drinks for everyone!” Winter cheered, before casting a pitying glance at Jasmine. “Well, maybe not for you. You need to eat first.”
And that’s how the three of them ended up drunk on the apartment floor, laughing at themselves, while Jasmine nibbled on crackers.