Status: Complete :)
One Chance
Dispatch
I nod my head and immediately feel my heart begin to race again, sighing softly and looking down at my lap. I loosely fold my hands on my thighs, pursing my lips in thought. “Well… I had this dream tonight, Mr. Reed.”
“Alright,” he murmurs, watching me intently. I glance nervously up at him, meeting his gorgeous eyes.
“I dreamt that I was at this..McDonald’s, with a friend. I don’t really know who she’s supposed to be in real life, but I guess in the dream her name was Lisa. And, Lisa and I had been driving for a long time, so we stopped at this McDonald’s off the freeway for lunch. Everything was just, average, normal about the day. Nothing out of place.” He just listens to me, not questioning any of my words, just nodding here and there. I exhale a slow breath. “And, at one point, we were all laughing about something or other, and the cashier was laughing, too. And then, while still laughing, he just pulled out this gun, and…shot this woman, out of nowhere.” His face changes for a moment, a swallow visibly going down his throat.
“I just sort of…stood there, frozen. I didn’t know what to do, it was so unexpected. My friend Lisa had these gold bracelets on, I think that was supposed to be what they were after or something – to be honest, the dream didn’t make much sense. But… well, this one guy on the other side of the room came up to us, and he had a gun, too. He said, ‘yeah, this is serious,’ and then he shot two more innocent people. I just watched him, still frozen… And then he came to me, put the gun to my chest, and shot me, too.” Mr. Reed looks down at the floor, his eyes closing for a moment.
“That’s awful, Ellie,” he whispers.
“Just… wait a second, there’s a reason I’m telling you this. I promise.” He reluctantly nods his head and continues listening. “I fell on the floor, and… I just remember, first thinking that I’d be fine. That it’d be over in a minute and maybe it was a joke. But, then I realized it wasn’t a joke. I felt this, awful pain in my chest, and I knew it was real. I realized that I wasn’t going to make it.” I feel tears begin to well up in my eyes, emotion overwhelming me.
“A-And… the first thought, the first and only thought, that came to me the moment I realized that that was it… was you.” Immediately, his head moves back up and his eyes connect with mine.
“What?” he asks, his brows furrowing and his arms uncrossing. He stands up straight and I wrap my arms around my middle.
“Mr. Reed, I… All I could think was that I hadn’t yet gotten the chance to tell you how I felt. That I was going to die there and never get to tell you that I…th-that I was in love with you.” I’m barely able to get the words out with my shaking, somewhere between terrified that this was the last time he’d ever speak to me and relieved that I was finally telling him. “Because… I… I love you, Mr. Reed. I l-love you, and I woke up from that dream so afraid that I would never get the chance to tell you that…”
“Oh… my god, Ellie…” he whispers, his voice just as shaky as mine. He stands there for a minute, running the palm of his hand over the top of his head. “I-I’m your teacher, and I’m so much older…”
I feel my heart sink and I look to the floor, slowly nodding my head and letting myself slip off of the bar stool, my feet hitting the tile as I check my pockets for my keys. “I know, I’m sorry, I just… had to tell you, y’know? But I know that this can’t happen, and all, so I’m… I’m just gonna go.”
I smile sadly at him and turn, padding softly out of the kitchen. I’m only able to go about four steps, before I feel the warmth of his calloused hand enveloping my own, gently tugging me back. I stop where I am and turn, facing him and asking him a million questions with my eyes.
He answers every one of them, stepping forward and taking in a deep breath. “Our connection is r-real, Ellie…” I shake my head a little, a couple stray tears sneaking down my cheeks.
“But I’m not even eighteen…” I mumble, curling my fingers around his. He smiles a little and reaches up, his thumb lovingly brushing away each tear.
“You’re only a couple months from your birthday. And I’m more than happy to wait a hundred years for you… Because I’m in love with you, too.” I stare at him in disbelief, my breathing going ragged as numbly step forward into him.
“Wh-What?” I whisper through a quiet, shocked laugh of happiness. He joins in on the soft laughter, smiling down at me as his palm cups my cheek and holds me close, his other arm wrapping around my middle and just embracing me.
Instead of answering my question with words, he leans down just an inch, closing the gap between us and letting his lips press ever so softly to mine. I inhale a soft breath of surprise against his lips, melting like the caramel on that crème brulee as I wrap my arms around his neck and gently, lovingly kiss him back.
Beep. “Engine 13, vehicle accident, imminent danger to victims. Dispatch in communication…” I stop listening to the rest of what the dispatcher has to say as Mr. Reed pulls away from me and smiles apologetically, walking backwards to where his bunker gear is.
“I have to go… Stay here, okay? Help yourself to anything, make yourself at home… We’ll be back soon,” he tells me, turning and quickly grabbing his gear. I smile softly and watch him pull it on without the slightest effort, jumping up into the engine as his two fellow companymen climb in with him. And just like that, the engine pulls out of the garage and goes charging down the open road, full lights and sirens as they go off to rescue the victims that’ve called for their help.
“He loves me, too…” I whisper to myself, leaning back against the wall and holding my hand to my heart as the garage doors close. “He loves me, too.”
“Alright,” he murmurs, watching me intently. I glance nervously up at him, meeting his gorgeous eyes.
“I dreamt that I was at this..McDonald’s, with a friend. I don’t really know who she’s supposed to be in real life, but I guess in the dream her name was Lisa. And, Lisa and I had been driving for a long time, so we stopped at this McDonald’s off the freeway for lunch. Everything was just, average, normal about the day. Nothing out of place.” He just listens to me, not questioning any of my words, just nodding here and there. I exhale a slow breath. “And, at one point, we were all laughing about something or other, and the cashier was laughing, too. And then, while still laughing, he just pulled out this gun, and…shot this woman, out of nowhere.” His face changes for a moment, a swallow visibly going down his throat.
“I just sort of…stood there, frozen. I didn’t know what to do, it was so unexpected. My friend Lisa had these gold bracelets on, I think that was supposed to be what they were after or something – to be honest, the dream didn’t make much sense. But… well, this one guy on the other side of the room came up to us, and he had a gun, too. He said, ‘yeah, this is serious,’ and then he shot two more innocent people. I just watched him, still frozen… And then he came to me, put the gun to my chest, and shot me, too.” Mr. Reed looks down at the floor, his eyes closing for a moment.
“That’s awful, Ellie,” he whispers.
“Just… wait a second, there’s a reason I’m telling you this. I promise.” He reluctantly nods his head and continues listening. “I fell on the floor, and… I just remember, first thinking that I’d be fine. That it’d be over in a minute and maybe it was a joke. But, then I realized it wasn’t a joke. I felt this, awful pain in my chest, and I knew it was real. I realized that I wasn’t going to make it.” I feel tears begin to well up in my eyes, emotion overwhelming me.
“A-And… the first thought, the first and only thought, that came to me the moment I realized that that was it… was you.” Immediately, his head moves back up and his eyes connect with mine.
“What?” he asks, his brows furrowing and his arms uncrossing. He stands up straight and I wrap my arms around my middle.
“Mr. Reed, I… All I could think was that I hadn’t yet gotten the chance to tell you how I felt. That I was going to die there and never get to tell you that I…th-that I was in love with you.” I’m barely able to get the words out with my shaking, somewhere between terrified that this was the last time he’d ever speak to me and relieved that I was finally telling him. “Because… I… I love you, Mr. Reed. I l-love you, and I woke up from that dream so afraid that I would never get the chance to tell you that…”
“Oh… my god, Ellie…” he whispers, his voice just as shaky as mine. He stands there for a minute, running the palm of his hand over the top of his head. “I-I’m your teacher, and I’m so much older…”
I feel my heart sink and I look to the floor, slowly nodding my head and letting myself slip off of the bar stool, my feet hitting the tile as I check my pockets for my keys. “I know, I’m sorry, I just… had to tell you, y’know? But I know that this can’t happen, and all, so I’m… I’m just gonna go.”
I smile sadly at him and turn, padding softly out of the kitchen. I’m only able to go about four steps, before I feel the warmth of his calloused hand enveloping my own, gently tugging me back. I stop where I am and turn, facing him and asking him a million questions with my eyes.
He answers every one of them, stepping forward and taking in a deep breath. “Our connection is r-real, Ellie…” I shake my head a little, a couple stray tears sneaking down my cheeks.
“But I’m not even eighteen…” I mumble, curling my fingers around his. He smiles a little and reaches up, his thumb lovingly brushing away each tear.
“You’re only a couple months from your birthday. And I’m more than happy to wait a hundred years for you… Because I’m in love with you, too.” I stare at him in disbelief, my breathing going ragged as numbly step forward into him.
“Wh-What?” I whisper through a quiet, shocked laugh of happiness. He joins in on the soft laughter, smiling down at me as his palm cups my cheek and holds me close, his other arm wrapping around my middle and just embracing me.
Instead of answering my question with words, he leans down just an inch, closing the gap between us and letting his lips press ever so softly to mine. I inhale a soft breath of surprise against his lips, melting like the caramel on that crème brulee as I wrap my arms around his neck and gently, lovingly kiss him back.
Beep. “Engine 13, vehicle accident, imminent danger to victims. Dispatch in communication…” I stop listening to the rest of what the dispatcher has to say as Mr. Reed pulls away from me and smiles apologetically, walking backwards to where his bunker gear is.
“I have to go… Stay here, okay? Help yourself to anything, make yourself at home… We’ll be back soon,” he tells me, turning and quickly grabbing his gear. I smile softly and watch him pull it on without the slightest effort, jumping up into the engine as his two fellow companymen climb in with him. And just like that, the engine pulls out of the garage and goes charging down the open road, full lights and sirens as they go off to rescue the victims that’ve called for their help.
“He loves me, too…” I whisper to myself, leaning back against the wall and holding my hand to my heart as the garage doors close. “He loves me, too.”