back. He was wearing the uniform the EMTs wore. He knew Alys, so he must’ve known Kenna.
“B-Brian?” Alys stuttered, stunned.
The guy came up to us.
Brian? The Brian? As in, friends-with-benefits Brian?
Fuck, my heart was going numb again. Don’t you fuckin’ leave me, woman! Don’t you ever try to fuckin’ leave me again! If you do, I’m fuckin’ followin’ you!
I could only just feel her.
“She’s alive,” said Friends-with-Benefits.
“Oh, thank God!” Alys wailed.
I was about to lose it again. I couldn’t feel her!
Friends-with-Benefits stared at me, looking as though he’d been slapped. “You’re her Phil?”
I rubbed her tattoo, trying to feel her. “Yes.”
Where are you, Kenna? Don’t give up on me, woman!
“My unit was the first on the scene. We got to them within minutes of the final explosion. She and Gavin got out in time—”
Relief was overwhelming. I couldn’t fuckin’ stand anymore. My knees folded under me, and Jason and X propped themselves up under my massive ass, holding me upright. Brian braced me with his hands on my chest.
I looked into this man’s eyes, this fucker who knew my Baby Girl, who loved my Baby Girl. And I found that I couldn’t blame him. I couldn’t hate him. He was in hell himself. He’d had her and lost her once already, and he was now going through all of this with us.
“Let’s grab you a seat before you go down,” he said softly.
“I’m fine!” I snapped. Maybe I could hate him a little after all. “What the fuck is goin’ on with Kenna?”
But Jason and X dragged me to the seats, dropping me into the closest one.
Brian squatted down in front of me. “She got out, but the biggest of the blasts was from a gas main blowing. People said they saw her and Gavin dragging someone else with them, that they were halfway across the street when they were thrown from the blast. She was unconscious up until a few minutes ago, and she woke up on her own, which is a really good sign—”
That’s when I felt you come back. You woke up. You let me know you were still with me.
“The doctors had to put her under heavy sedation. She was confused and fighting when she came to. They need to run tests and scans to check her for internal injuries. I won’t lie, man. She’s banged up pretty bad, but as far as we could tell, nothing was broken.”
My head dropped into my hands, and I started sobbing like a little bitch.
“Oh, Baby Girl…” I said. “Oh, thank fuck…”
Brian pulled on my wrist. He was a brave motherfucker. I’d give him that.
“This was on her when I put her in the ambulance,” he said, his voice sounding strange. He pressed it into my hand. “I didn’t want them to lose it. They’d have taken it off her when she went in for scans.”
Her engagement ring. She never took it off if she could help it. She had been wearing it. It hadn’t been in her pocket. My hand tightly closed over it.
“I have her bag, too. It was on her.”
“Thank you,” I told him, meaning it.
“She asked for you when she woke up.”
Aaannnd that was it. I was done. I started to howl, rocking back and forth with the force of it.
Oh, Kenna. My precious Baby Girl. Thank all your gods. Thank the fuckin’ universe. You’re so strong, my other half, my only love.
I could see the colors again. They were coming back.
You’re coming home to me.
Kenna
Sunlight pours down on me as I sit in lotus pose. It’s wonderfully warm here, and I can smell the freshly cut grass. I love that smell, and the air is sweet with it.
“How are you feeling, my little Zephyr?”
I open my eyes to the dazzling sight of my beautiful mother. Her long dark brown hair is free, loose about her shoulders, lifting with the breeze. Her mahogany eyes are full of warmth, love, and joy.
I smile at her. “Confused.”
“About what?”
“Where I am. What’s real. Why I’m here. Where is here?” I breathe in deep. “Am I dead?”
She smiles. “Would it be so bad if you were?”
I think about this for a few minutes and reply with, “It depends.”
“On what?”
“What’s real,” I say.
“How do you mean?”
“Is Phil…is he real?”
“Yes. You know he is.”
“Is our relationship real? Or did my head make all of it up?”
Mom’s laughter lifts my spirits. “I see. Yes, it’s real—your relationship, your love for each other. And no, you’re not dead. Just visiting.”
I grin. “Just like