CHAPTER 2

APOV

I woke up screaming. "No, no, put the fire out! Please, somebody save me!"

I sat up on the bed, moving my arms around me, trying to put out the fire. I could still feel the flames licking my body, eating my flesh away. The pain was unbearable.

"Please, somebody, stop the pain…" I fell on my bed again, breathless, tears pouring down my face.

A pair of strong arms snaked around me, and I felt a kiss gently whisper across my forehead.

"Alice, sweetheart, don't cry", he said with a soft velvety voice. "Everything is ok now. It was just a bad dream. I am here," he cooed. "I won't let anything bad happen to you again."

But I kept crying, although I felt somehow safe in his arms. I cried for the fire, the pain I was feeling, my scarred body. But, mostly, I cried because I was completely alone.

I had nobody loving me enough to be here, in my time of need. And who would want me now, I chuckled darkly through my tears, the hideous ugly midget?

I pressed myself closer to the man holding me. "God, I am pathetic…" I thought. I was so lonely that I was relying on strangers for some closeness.

I didn't know who this man holding me was, but, at this moment I was grateful for his kindness. In all likelihood he was a social worker or a volunteer at the hospital, keeping company to the poor freak pixie. And with that last thought, the tears came harder.

I don't remember how long I cried, but finally my eyes ran dry. His shirt was soaked from my tears and I was suddenly embarrassed for my emotional outburst.

I started pulling away, smiling weakly. "Thank you. I am sorry for your shirt. I owe you a new one." He carefully laid me on the bed and stood up. I looked up to his face and I froze.

It can't be him. The blond god I had seen outside my room. The man Angela said was keeping me company all those days I was unconscious.

He was very tall, at least 6 feet, wearing a blue fitting uniform with a CFD badge. He was watching me, waiting to see my reaction. His eyes were smoldering, with many emotions flashing behind them.

"Who are you?" I asked him wearily.

"Miss Brandon, my name is Jasper Whitlock and I work for the Chicago Fire Department. I was in the team that responded to the incident at your house," he answered in a honeyed voice, pausing suddenly when I flinched at the mention of the fire.

"I am sorry, miss, I don't want to remind you of such horrific events," he added quickly.

I tried to calm myself. "No, it's alright. I am sorry for being such a baby, crying all over your shirt." I answered.

He frowned. "I don't consider someone who went through such an ordeal to be a baby. You nearly died, do you understand? You are entitled to your tears."

"Hey", he continued, visibly emotional, "I was crying, too, you know? After I got you out of the burning house, you were unconscious and wouldn't come out of it."

He stopped, realizing the words that had just slipped from his lips. My eyes were open wide, not believing what I had just heard.

"You were the one who saved me from the fire?" I whispered. He nodded. "And you came every day to see me?" I continued. He nodded again, staring shyly to his feet.

So, Angela was telling me the truth about this. Is everything else Angela told me about him true, too? I sighed tiredly.

His eyes shot up quickly, full of worry. "Are you in pain? Should I call a nurse?" he asked. I declined his offer.

"Jasper", I said, without taking my eyes off him, "how long was I unconscious?"

He seemed lost in his thoughts for some time, when suddenly he started talking.

"Alice, you were in a coma for about a month. At first, they thought you wouldn't make it. But I told them you would. You are a fighter." He paused for a second, then he heatedly continued.

"When I first saw you inside the burning house, you were trapped under fallen debris, badly injured, but still trying to push it away. You were crying and screaming for someone to help you, to save you. I ran in and managed to pull you free", he chuckled darkly.

I frowned. "What is so funny?" He shook his head.

"You were in pain and exhausted. But, when I picked you in my arms to get you out of the house, you said something funny." For a moment, he was lost in his memories, before his eyes were again burning my soul.

"You looked at me and stopped crying. Then you smiled and said "You kept me waiting for a long time" ".

I was amazed. I couldn't believe what he had just told me. "I..I don't..remember…" I trailed off. He slowly moved closer, pleading with me.

"Please, Alice…try to remember…what I said…please, angel..."

I frowned, trying to bring back the forgotten memories. I turned to him, and found myself swimming in the deep blue sea of his eyes. At that moment, I was feeling calm and relaxed, so I closed my eyes, only to snap them open immediately from the flooding images. I started to tremble.

"You held me closer and apologized like a true southern gentleman…You saved me, Jasper…I am forever grateful to you. But..why?'' I asked quietly.

He was caught by surprise, raising one eyebrow. "It is my job description to save people from burning buildings," he half-smiled. I interrupted him.

"No, Jasper. I mean, why are you here? Do you keep company to every person you save from fire?"

He gazed intensely at me and then, the unbelievable happened: he blushed! He blushed a crimson red and turned his eyes to his hands. After a while, he was calm enough to answer.

"I don't know. I can't explain it reasonably. My team was the first to arrive at the scene, where we were informed about a female trapped inside. I am always very perceptive of other people's emotions, and at that moment I could feel the team's anxiety too well."

"But, all of a sudden, I felt a strange pull towards the house and heard an eerie voice inside my head "Please, come!! Get inside!! Save me!!!" I pushed everyone aside and ran inside."

He paused, agitated by the memories. "Alice…I don't know why, but ever since I saw you inside that burning house, so lost but still fighting for your life, all I could think was "Please, God, help me save her! I can't lose her!""

"You opened your eyes and I was yours. I knew it was your soul that had called me to save you, my missing piece, my other half, my soul mate…" he was whispering now, but I heard every word he said.

He glanced at me, afraid I would start screaming, but kept on talking. "I told you earlier that you passed out by the time I took out of the house. The paramedics got you immediately but you were still unconscious."

"I was worried about you. I wanted…no, I needed to come here, to see you, to make sure you were ok. I feel very…protective of…you", he paused, as if suddenly realizing what he was about to say.

"I am not crazy, Alice, I swear it's the truth! Please, believe me! The bond between us is unbreakable," he finished and sat down, exhausted.

I was speechless. What was he saying? I did feel safe when he was near me. Is it because he saved me from a deadly fire, I asked myself. He must be crazy, these things never happened.

I lowered my head, my hands playing with the bed sheets. What can I say to him? "Yes, you are right but we are both crazy and I want you to leave me alone?"

My heart suddenly ached. I don't want him to leave, I want him to stay. That's great, Alice. A handsome man who saved your life says that he cares for you, and you are ready to call him crazy, I chided myself.

But he doesn't love me, does he? He can't love me! He just feels sorry for me, lonely ugly me. I can barely look at me. How can he look at me with so much…love? No, it can't be love, he only pities me. Well, I don't want his pity.

I took a deep breath. This is going to be hard for both of us. "Jasper, I really am sorry, but I can't. I can't believe any of this. You don't know me, you can't feel anything for me but pity. And I don't need it!!" I screamed.