"A Single Yellow Rose" – Chapter Forty-Two
"Geez Louise…where could they be?"
"Who knows?" Jason replied as he took his eyes off the road for a moment to peer down the side streets as he drove past them. By the time he and Mimi had gotten to the lobby of Titan Publishing and out to the parking lot, Philip and Chloe were nowhere to be found. Seeing the empty space in the still filled lot told them that they must have left in Philip's car.
"He's your best friend…where would he go if he was really pissed about something?"
"I don't know…up to the lake or maybe he just headed home." Jason quickly glanced at Mimi. "Look, maybe we're over reacting. We didn't see Chloe come back into the building so maybe the two of them worked things out and took off to be alone somewhere."
"You saw him Jason…how upset he was," Mimi replied, "do you really think he stopped long enough to let her to explain anything?"
"Yeah I know…wishful thinking I guess. I'm gonna drive by Dotcom," Jason said. "Maybe they went there."
"If not we'll check Chloe's house first and then Philip's. I still can't believe that Chloe is moving to New York City to go to school."
"I don't think she is."
Mimi's head swung around. "What do you mean?"
"She just seemed so upset back at the elevators too…if she was really going I don't think she would have been so anxious to explain things to Philip."
"Maybe she doesn't want to leave town on a bad note with him…you know…I can't believe I'm saying this…but I can't image living in Salem without Chloe Lane."
Keeping one hand on the steering wheel, Jason captured one of Mimi's with the other, a smile forming on his lips. "Well that's something you never would've said back at the beginning of the school year."
"I know…" Mimi felt the warmth of Jason's touch radiate through her as she returned his quick squeeze. "But things are so different now…between me and Chloe…we've worked really hard to become friends and we were…are…friends…things are good between the two of you guys too."
Jason nodded as he slowed his four runner to a stop at the traffic light. Turning to look at Mimi, he felt his breath catch in the back of his throat as she returned his stare. "Things are certainly different between you and me too."
"Different…as in better?" Mimi whispered.
"Much better," Jason said. Leaning towards her, he was happy to see her doing the same as they met in the middle in a sweet kiss that quickly deepened after he ran his tongue across the closed seam of her lips requesting entrance and he felt her quickly comply. Tightening his grip on her hand, he deepen the kiss, sending his tongue to seek out hers and the moment he felt her free hand gently stroke his cheek before it delved into the hair at the back of his neck pulling him even closer to her, the pressure against the fly of his dress pants increased ten fold. Slowly they ended the kiss when it became necessary to breath again but continued to share small light kisses, each of them reluctant to break away from the fragile contact they shared.
"Are you sure we have to find Philip and Chloe?" he murmured, looking up into those incredibly beautiful eyes of hers.
"I'm really worried about them," Mimi said, dropping her forehead until it rested against his and Jason noticed her breathing was as labored as his. "And you are too."
"Yeah I guess I am," he said, straightening in his seat as the light turned green he brought Mimi's hand with him, placing it on his thigh. A few minutes later he circled the outer rim of the parking lot next to Dotcom. "Nope they're not here."
"H-how…how do you know that?" Mimi asked struggling to push the question past the lump that leapt into her throat the first time she felt Jason's powerful muscles moving under her fingertips as he moved his foot between the gas and brake pedals.
"Because Philip always parks his 'stang in a just a few designated spots. He's afraid someone is going to park to close to her and she's gonna get a scratch on that beautiful candy apple red paint of hers."
Mimi smiled at his words. "Why do guys always refer to their cars as 'she's'?"
"I don't know…I guess because they require a lot of attention, upkeep and expense…just like a woman."
"Hey!"
"I'm just kidding," Jason said as he slowed the truck to a stop. "Hey…do you want to go inside for a minute and grab a hamburger? I don't know about you but I'm starved…that chicken condom blue didn't fill me up at all."
Mimi couldn't hold back her giggles at Jason's description of the dinner from this evening's ball. "That's chicken cordon blue…not condom blue."
Jason's head snapped around. "What?"
"The meal tonight…I read in the program…it was chicken cordon blue…you said condom blue."
"I did?"
"Just like a guy…always thinking with his stomach."
Jason grabbed Mimi's hand from his leg and raised it to his mouth. He gently traced the ridge of her knuckles with the tip of his tongue, never taking his eyes off her face. "Nah……..lower."
Jason's suggestive remark startled her and she was equally surprised at how her body had reacted to his soft spoken words. A fire awaken in the pit of her stomach that quickly spread throughout her body but it was mixed with embarrassment at how flustered she'd become, her lack of experience in such things displaying itself so prominently. Grateful for the dark interior of the truck, she broke away from his powerful stare, praying the darkness was enough to hide the heated blush she felt creeping up from her neck to spread over her cheeks.
But Jason had seen how quickly the engaging smile on her face disappeared. "Mimi?"
"Umm…I think we should go by Chloe's place first," her words rushed out as she looked outside, gesturing toward the windshield. "If we follow Main Street to where it intersects with Pioneer we can cut through my neighborhood and get there faster."
"Mimi…"
"And if they aren't there we can head up to 'millionaire's row' to see if they went to Castle Kiriakis. If that's a bust I guess we'll head onto the lake since it is up past Philip's. After that I don't know where to look-"
"Mimi…what is it?"
Staring out over the hood of his truck, Mimi found herself unable to look at him. God, he didn't have any idea of his effect on her…and on a lot of the other girls in Salem High, which of course made the attraction to him even more powerful. But it was her own lack of experience in this area that now filled Mimi with awkwardness. "Please Jason…let's just get going."
He waited a long moment before releasing the brake and heading out again down Main Street. Lowering her hand back to his leg, he felt her start to pull away but he refused to let her go as he clamped his hand down on hers, pressing it against his leg. "Don't go anywhere…okay?"
Surprised, Mimi turned to look at him thankful that he was concentrating on the slick, snow covered road. 'Oh boy,' she thought, 'I have no idea what I am doing!'
Jason had a powerful, masculine sexuality to him…she saw it every time she looked at him, weather he was participating in a sporting event or just walking down the hall in school. Knowing now that that sexuality was directed towards her took Mimi's breath away. She knew Jason and Jan had been intimate… did he want…expect the same thing with her? It was one thing to lie in her bed and fantasize about what it would be like to be touched by Jason's strong hands…to feel his lips on her body…and to do the same things to him…it was something entirely different when he was sitting only inches away from her.
"You know I've never done that before," Mimi suddenly blurted out.
"Huh? Done what?"
"Kiss a guy…I mean really…kiss a guy…like you kissed me that night before the Homecoming game." she confessed, dreading the words the moment they came out of her mouth.
Jason looked over at Mimi, trying to ignore the thrill that coursed through him at the thought that she'd never kissed anyone else the way she kissed him. "Are you serious?"
"Well…I do have a bad memory of a game of spin the bottle from back in the sixth grade where a boy tried to french kiss me…it was my first time and he ended up cutting his tongue on my braces."
"Ouch!"
"Yeah…I guess he was really embarrassed because he…he started yelling at me…and telling me that no boy would ever want to kiss me…or hold my hand…or want to be my boyfriend."
"Well we know he was wrong…on all three counts," Jason said. "Because I want to do all of those things…and more."
"Ummmm…Jason…I've never…well…and I know you have…and I don't know what you think or expect from me…"
"I expect you to be honest with me…about what you are feeling," Jason said quietly as he realized that he must have scared her with his innocent remark. The last thing he wanted was to make Mimi uncomfortable to be with him. They had shared such an easygoing but special growing friendship before they feelings changed and he didn't want to lose that as they explored the next step in their brand new relationship. "Honest about what you want and don't want…what you are ready for and not ready for…and I'll do the same…and the rest we'll just make up as we go along…deal?"
Mimi smiled. "Deal."
"But there is something I do want from you."
"Yeah? What's that?"
"The name of this guy that teased you…I'll kill him!" Jason growled.
Mimi smiled at his protective tone. "You don't know him."
"It wasn't my buddy Shawn was it?"
"Shawn Brady? No…of course not!"
"Well that good," he said with a good natured grin, "because I would hate to lay him out…he's taken enough of a beating lately."
"What?" Mimi cried. "What do you mean…a beating?"
'Way to go big mouth,' Jason thought cringing at the words that just fell out of his mouth as he came to a stop at another intersection "Ahhh, look…I don't suppose you would just forget I said that?"
"No way! What did you mean…are you talking about those scrapes on Shawn's face…I thought he got them from a hockey game in the park? Are you saying he was in a fight?"
Jason turned his truck onto Pioneer Drive after getting the go ahead from the green arrow. "Look, its not my place to say anything-" his words faltered as the headlights of his truck highlighted the tangled wreckage of a pickup that laid in the middle of the road. It looked intact from the back but the front end was crumbled in an accordion shape where it had slammed into a second car embedding itself into the side of it. "Holy shit!"
"Oh no!" Mimi cried, "what the hell happened?"
Jason immediately pulled over, turned off the truck's engine and hit the button for his emergency flashes. Reaching underneath the driver's seat he pulled out a small white box with a bold, red cross on the cover. "Call 911…I'm going to see if anyone is hurt."
"I'm going to," Mimi said digging her cell phone from out of her purse.
"Mimi, I think it would be better if you waited here."
"Jase...I've been a candy stripper for the last three years. I do know a thing or two about first aid."
"It could be dangerous-" Jason protested but Mimi cut him off with a wave of her hand as she quickly relayed the necessary information to the emergency operator.
"Okay…the police and ambulances are on their way…let's go," Mimi said, tossing her cell phone on the seat and opening the door.
Jason just rolled his eyes as he too got out. He was quickly learning it was useless to argue with Mimi when she set her mind to something. "Just be careful," he said coming around the front of his truck to take her hand and walking around the back of the pickup.
"Hello…can anyone hear me?" he called, his eyes roaming over the vehicle, skirting over the snow covered ground as well in case whoever was in the truck was now lying on the street.
Suddenly a scream ripped from Mimi's throat and Jason instantly pulled her close to him, burying her face into his neck as he too saw the man hanging out of the open driver's side door, his eyes wide and unblinking. Jason tightened his arms around Mimi and found himself also having to advert his eyes. Burying his face in Mimi's curls, he took in a deep, steadying breath that filled him with the clean, sweet scent that belonged to the girl he held in his arms. "Are you okay?"
Mimi nodded against his throat and Jason could feel her battling to catch her breath.
"I'm gonna see if he's still alive…wait here."
Releasing her, he waited to make sure Mimi was okay to stand as he moved over to the man, pressing his fingers against his throat, the strong, pungent odor of alcohol burning his nose.
"Is he…is he dead?"
Jason nodded as quickly took off his outer winter coat and covered the man, draping it over his chest and head. Backing away so as not disturb anything, he went back to where Mimi stood. "I'm gonna check out the other car…do you still want to come?"
"Yeah…" Mimi nodded, taking a deep breath of the cold, biting air that helps to clear her head. "I'm okay…let's go."
Making their way towards the other car Jason again called out, hoping they would hear someone who would be comforted by knowing that help was here but all they heard was silence. Suddenly, his foot slipped out from under him as he stepped on something buried in the still falling snow. "What the hell?"
Regaining his balance, he looked down and swiped his foot across a metal plate. Staring at the stamped letters and numbers he felt his stomach turn over. "Oh my god…"
"What?" Mimi turned, shocked at the look that crossed his face. "Jason …what is it?"
Bending over, Jason picked up the license plate, quickly brushing off the snow.
"K-M-A-N-S-6-9?" Mimi said, reading the plate. "I don't get it."
Lifting his eyes from the plate to the twisted pieces of metal and glass, Jason knew he never would've recognized the horrendous, contorted pieces of metal in front of him as being the pristine, vintage 1969 mustang that Philip had only owned for a few months. "It says K-Man's 69…this is Philip's car."
"Oh no…"
Racing around the end of the car, both Jason and Mimi were forced to cover their noses and mouths as an overpowering smell surrounded them.
"My god…what is that?"
"Gasoline…watch your step," Jason said, looking at the shiny liquid that was rapidly turning the freshly fallen snow to slush. "Look…there they are."
Racing to his friend's side and dropping to his knees, he gently lifted Philip's head from its prone position. "Philip! Hey bud…can you hear me?"
"Huh…what?"
"Take it easy…I've got you."
Philip squinted as he tried desperately to get his eyes to focus on the blurred image in front of him. Even closing and then opening them numerous times didn't help. The pain still radiated over every inch of his body and he could not longer feel his left shoulder as his arm laid useless at his side while his other arm was propped at a strange angle, high and off to his right.
"Philip," Jason gently tapped with his fingers against his face as he cradled it in his hands. "It's me…Jason…you still with me?"
A low groan escaped his lips as Philip gave one last effort to focus in the direction where the voice was coming from. "Jas…Jason?"
"Yeah buddy…it's me…don't worry…help's on its way. Does it hurt anywhere?"
Philip raised one side of his mouth into an attempt to smile as Jason realized what he just said. "Stupid question huh?"
Slowly nodding, Philip watched as Jason carefully ran his hands over his arms and chest, a sharp hiss escaping his mouth the moment he touched his shoulder.
"Can you move your hand?"
Philip put forth the effort but it was useless. "Nah…dislocated…I think."
"How about your legs…can you move your legs…how about your feet?"
"Jason! What in the hell are you doing asking about his legs?" Mimi cried as she crouched down next to him, immediately placing two fingers against Chloe's neck and offering a silent prayer of thanks when she felt a pulse there.
"I can't move him if he's got a injury to his spine!"
"Hello? We are sitting in a pool of gasoline…if this stuff ignites it won't much matter…for any of us!"
Jason blinked at Mimi's words, immediately realizing she was right. Bracing himself to lift Philip from behind underneath his arms, he tried hard to not jostle his shoulder. "Come Phil…this is gonna hurt like hell but I gotta move you away from the car."
"No!" Philip cried, wrenching away from him. "I can't leave Chloe!"
"Phil…it's alright…we'll get Chloe out too," Jason said soothingly, giving Mimi a questioning look and breathing a sight of relief when she nodded her head yes…Chloe was still alive.
"She won't wake up Jason…I've tried to get her to wake up but she won't…" Philip moaned, as he tried to lean back towards Chloe. "She needs me…she needs me…"
"I know that buddy but we've got to get you out of here…and Chloe too."
"She's hurt…I can't leave her…she's hurt…"
Mimi moved around to where she could really check out Chloe and she felt her breath leave her throat at the sight of her friend lying on her side in a pool of blood. A deep gash on her forehead was covered with what once was a white handkerchief and Mimi could see the monogrammed initials PK in the corner. She quickly placed her hand over Philip's cold fingers where he was still holding it in place. "It's okay Philip…I've got her."
"Mimi…"
"Yeah its me…I'll stay right here with Chloe and as soon as Jason get you out of here we'll both get Chloe out…okay?"
Philip's head started weaving back and forth. "Okay…"
"Get him out of here Jason…he's going to lose coconsciousness," Mimi said just as Philip slumped forward. "Chloe is hurt bad, she's bleeding over here…where is that damn ambulance!"
"It's probably better he's out of it," Jason said as he reached around Philip's chest from behind, "come with me…I don't want you anywhere near this car!"
Mimi reached for the first aid kit and ripped out a fresh bandage, replacing the blood soaked handkerchief. "And leave Chloe…forget it! Get him over to the sidewalk and get back here…it's gonna take the two of us to get her out of this mess."
Knowing he would be fighting a losing battle that would waste precious minutes, Jason quickly moved Philip over to the sidewalk and striped off his tuxedo jacket, covering his friend. Running back to Chloe and Mimi, he saw she too had removed her jacket to lay it over Chloe. "Do you think we can get her out of there?"
"We have to Jason…that's all there is to it. I checked her legs and feet…she is slumped over in the seat but there is room for them. I'm gonna pull back on the seat, can you slid her out of there?"
"Let's do it!"
Mimi tried to get the leverage she needed to pull back on the driver's seat as Jason reached in and wrapped his arms around Chloe ready to pull her out. The moment Mimi was able to give him a few precious inches he pulled but something was holding Chloe in place.
"She pinned by something," Jason said, "I can't get her to move-"
Without warning the wreckage rocked as flames shot up from the front end of the pickup and seemed to lick hungrily as the remains of Philip's car that was the only thing that stood between it and the fuel it needed to fill its appetite.
"Oh my god Jason!" Mimi cried, "get her out! Get her out!"
"I'm trying dammit but I can't get her to move!"
"Well try harder!"
Jason pulled with all this strength, the thought he might be causing more damage to her making him sick inside. "Wait a minute…her seatbelt!" Crawling across the driver's side floorboard he reached up, praying that he was right. He felt the metal button with his finger and the belt released. Wrapping one arm under her legs and the other under her shoulders, Jason pulled Chloe free of the wreck.
"I've got her…let's go…get away from here before she blows!"
Mimi turned and headed to where Philip laid with Jason right behind her. Lying Chloe down next to Philip, he could hear the sirens coming fast upon them. Looking up, he watched as Mimi moved to tuck his jacket closer around Philip as she leaned over him, trying to protect him from the still falling snow. Jason immediately did the same for Chloe. "It's okay…they're going to be okay…"
"What if they aren't Jason?"
He saw the tears that filled Mimi's eyes and he knew exactly what she was thinking. "Don't even think that way…the EMT's will be here any second and we'll get them to the hospital-"
"Hospital! Oh no…Dr. Wesley and Nancy…Mr. and Mrs. Kiriakis…they are still at the ball!"
"They'll be called Mimi…let's just concentrate on trying to keep them warm and dry. I doubt there is anything in the truck but I'm gonna take a look…I'll be right back okay?"
Before Mimi could answer him, a thunderous explosion rocked the street as the fire and the gasoline finally found each other and the remains of both vehicles erupted into a ball of fire. Jason instinctively pulled Mimi down over Philip and Chloe and threw himself on top her. He could feel the heat of the inferno through his dress shirt as sections of debris rained down on them.
"Jason…"
Pulling her closer underneath him, he kept his head down trying to use his six foot plus frame to shield his friends. "Don't move babe…not yet."
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah…auuugh…I'm fine," Jason lied through gritted teeth as a fiery, razor-sharp pain filled him as something pierced his skin, cutting through his shirt to lodge itself deep in his shoulder.
to be continued…