Chapter Eight

Jordan blinked several times and then gaped at the man.

“What do you mean I saved your daughter’s life?” He asked slowly.

“During the shooting,” Noah clarified.

Jordan took a small step back and shook his head in disbelief. Instantly his thoughts went to Lucy, but no. It was impossible. He hadn’t been able to save her. He’d doomed her. That was the whole reason he was here in the first place. Besides, this man didn’t look anything like her. His daughter was probably a different girl. One that had made it into the shoe store maybe.

“I-I did?” Jordan asked, startled.

Noah opened his mouth to respond, but then he was suddenly interrupted by a briskly walking man with a cart full of heated blankets.

“No blocking the hallway,” the man shouted. “This is a hospital, not a nightclub.”

Noah turned tomato red all the way from his forehead down to his neck.

“Sorry,” he said, stepping aside to let the blanket courier pass.

Jordan put a hold on his curiosity long enough to grab Noah by the wrist and gently urge him inside. The taller man stood around awkwardly wringing his hands and looking at everything in the room, while Jordan gingerly pressed the door closed behind them. He moved very slowly, feeling Noah’s eyes on him with every grueling step, until he finally made it back to the bed. He leaned against the mattress for support but did not sit all the way down. Not yet.

“So, what’s this about your daughter?” he asked.

Noah licked his lips and nodded as if he was psyching himself up for something. He clenched his giant hands into fists and started running his thumb over his knuckles while he talked.

“I’m afraid I don’t quite know where to start,” he admitted.

“Start from the beginning,” Jordan urged.

Noah took in a deep breath.

“Well. I was taking my daughter to see Santa. She wanted to ask him for something and refused to write him a letter. So, I went with her on my only day off. We waited in line and she got up and did her thing. I just stood back and watched because I knew she’d be annoyed if I interrupted her time with Santa. She’s stubborn like that sometimes. Likes to do things all by herself. Anyway, she finished and made her way back over to me like I told her to. We were just headed toward the arcade when we heard the first gunshots.”

Noah glanced over at Jordan, but it was clear from his glazed over expression that he barely even saw him. He was too busy reliving that terrible day.

“And then what happened?”

“We were swept up in a crowd of people all running to get into different stores before the bars went down. We got separated in all the commotion. The force of people knocking into us ripped her little hand right out of mine.”

Noah’s fists were shaking now. He sounded like he wanted to cry. Jordan couldn’t blame him. Losing your kid in an emergency like that had to have been tough, but there obviously wasn’t much that Noah could have done about it. Jordan told him as much, but the man just waved off his reassurances and continued with his story.

“I kept screaming at people to let me through, that I had to get to my daughter, but they weren’t listening to me. Eventually one of the shop owners dragged me inside and locked up behind me. I had no idea what had happened to my daughter until I got out and the police reconnected us. She told me that one of Santa’s elves protected her from the bad guy. The police thought she was just exaggerating because she was scared, but I know my daughter. She was being completely serious. So, I made some calls and asked around. All the other elves that were working that day said that it wasn’t them. Eventually one of them was able to give me your name. I called the hospital to see if you were here, and well, here I am.”

“What is your daughter’s name?” Jordan asked, heart thumping wildly in his chest.

“Lucy. Lucy Andrews.”

Everything stopped for just a moment. Jordan could hear his heartbeat in his ears and the air that was circulating through the room.

“You said I saved her,” Jordan began, eyes narrowed. “How?”

Noah sighed, took hold of the visitor’s chair, and plopped down onto it. It was the most comfortable he’d looked in the twenty minutes that he’d been there.

“From what she told me, it sounds like the gunman was coming after her, but then you leapt in and wrestled him to the ground. Lucy said that you kept telling her to run, but she didn’t because she was worried about you. You must have injured him or something, because Lucy said that right after he shot you, the bad man limped away clutching his arm. He didn’t even give her a second glance. She stayed with you until the police started sweeping the building and found out that you were still alive. That’s when they brought her out to find me.”

Jordan breathed a huge sigh of relief. He still thought it was just a lucky coincidence, but he was glad that Lucy was alive. It was the brightest spot in a week full of heartbreak and misery. He nodded at Noah and sank down onto the mattress.

“She sounds like a really smart little girl.”

Noah laughed.

“Yeah, she is. Sometimes I feel like she’s smarter than me. It’s terrifying.”

Jordan didn’t quite know what to say to that. He didn’t have kids, and he never really planned to. A loaded silence fell between the two of them.

“I wanted to thank you,” Noah said finally. “For saving my daughter’s life. That’s why I came here today. People kept telling me that I should just let it go, but I think I needed to see you myself. To say it in person.”

Jordan shook his head.

“I didn’t really do much.”

“I couldn’t disagree more,” Noah said. “I talked to a whole lot of people when I was looking for you, and most of them didn’t know your name, but they all seemed to think that you’re a hero.”

“I’m no hero,” Jordan said.

“You’re Lucy’s hero. She won’t stop talking about you. She’s gonna be really happy to hear you’re alright, that is, if she’s not mad at me for coming to see you without her.”

Jordan blinked rapidly. He didn’t quite know what to do with that information. He’d never had anyone look up to him before. It was a weird feeling.

“Well tell her I said thank you for staying with me. She was very brave.”

Noah nodded.

“I will. Is there anything I can do for you in return?”

Jordan bit his lip and glanced over at his phone sitting on the side table. Normally he would have politely refused and sent this nice man on his merry way, leaving him to go back to his daughter with a clear conscience and the knowledge that he’d tried. Growing up the way he had, Jordan knew that most people who asked that question didn’t really want to help you. They wanted to make themselves feel better. It was a politeness thing. Like how when someone asks how your day is, but they’re really just saying hi. Jordan took a long hard look at Noah’s face. He seemed to be completely earnest, and as Jordan had already established many times, he was desperate. He had nothing to lose in asking, except for his pride, which was already dwindling as it was. 

“Well I did just get kicked out of my apartment,” he admitted.

Noah’s eyebrows rose in surprise.

“What? Why?”

Jordan sighed and tried not to sound too bitter.

“Because I’m temporarily disabled and can no longer work to pay my rent.”

Noah was looking at him incredulously.

“But that’s insane! How can that be legal? Doesn’t your insurance cover something like this?”

Jordan’s face felt tight and warm with embarrassment. He was just sharing all his sob story today it seemed like.

“I don’t have insurance.”

Noah visibly winced. Jordan couldn’t agree more.

“Well surely your landlord will understand if you just explain the situation to him.”

“I did explain. He doesn’t believe me. Even if he did, I don’t think he would care.”

Noah’s jaw worked. He was getting angry on his behalf, and Jordan had to admit, it was really fucking gratifying.

“And there’s no one you can stay with while you’re recovering.”

Jordan shook his head.

“Nope. My only family is my uncle and he’s one building over in the permanent care facilities. He’s got stage one prostate cancer.”

Noah just stared at him with wide eyes for several long minutes. It wasn’t the pity that he was so used to, but plain unadulterated shock.

“Okay,” he said after a while. “That’s it. You’re coming to stay with me until you’re better. Give me your phone. I’m adding my number so that you can call me when you get discharged.”

Numbly, Jordan did what he asked. Noah tapped around on the device for a few seconds and then handed it back. His fingers were surprisingly nimble for being so big.

“Okay well,” Noah said, standing and shoving his hands into his jacket pockets. “I’ve gotta go pick up Lucy from school. I guess I’ll see you soon?”

Jordan nodded. He didn’t really know what else to do. He felt dumbstruck and incredibly lucky. This was all too good to be true. It was like God or the universe or whatever knew that he couldn’t take any of this shit anymore and promptly sent him some help in the form of a caring, nerdy man. It was truly uncanny. Noah gave him a bright toothy grin that confirmed it, and then saw himself out.

Afterward, Jordan laid back down on the bed and stared up at the Christmas lights on the ceiling. Things were finally looking up.