Blazing Tears
~~ Omg...kay, here's the oober long chapter to explain the rest of that cliff hanger. Lets hope i can update without accidentally x-ing out again lol Enjoy! :)~~
“ Mike, where the hell are we going in such a hurry?” Chester demanded with panic, watching the fear rise within his best friend’s dark eyes.
Mike stared out the window and gripped onto the dashboard for dear life, feeling a numbing sensation of fear pumping through his blood.
“ Are you fucking blind? Do you not see that house up in flames up there?” he nearly screamed, feeling the sweat dotting his tanned brow. Chester squinted through the darkness and frowned a little…then his eyes slowly became wide at the sight he saw at the top of the hill.
The image of the house was all too familiar in his mind as he stared at it with intense anxiety, all the while pressing harder on the gas pedal.
“ Oh my fucking God…” Mike muttered with a small whimper, watching the flames growing larger and larger as they approached. Chester stopped the truck on the other side of the street with a jolt and stared up at the black smoke, billowing up into the murky skies. Why someone hadn’t phoned the fire department was beyond him.
“ Holy Christ…” he breathed in disbelief, as one of the upper windows crashed out and exploded in flames.
The whole scene in front of them looked absolutely horrific and chaotic. Flames ate and twisted at the wood around the house, causing the block to light up with a hazy orange glow. The grass on the front lawn was already being singed as the flames became hotter and more intense with each passing second. Looking at the hellish image before him, Chester could only think: How did this happen? Why did this happen? When did this happen? And then the true horror of the situation hit him like the intense heat of the blaze.
Anna, Laura and Xander were still in there, hence the vehicle still in the driveway. Before he even had a chance to react, he saw Mike already running towards the burning building like a bat out of hell. Chester instantly realized the danger they were in and slammed himself out of the vehicle, running towards Mike as fast as he could to stop him. With a firm hand, Chester grabbed Mike by the jacket and whirled him around away from the house.
“ Mike, stop! What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
Mike stared at him with such burning fear, he felt like his heart was on fire, just like the house.
“ Chester why hasn’t anyone phone the fire department? Why are they burning in there?” he demanded.
“ I’ll phone, you stay here-.”
“ –And what? Watch? No fucking way, I’m going in there!” He shouted irrationally and turned towards the house, only to be stopped by Chester once again.
“ Mike listen to yourself! You’re acting like a lunatic! Stay here and I’ll phone 911!” Chester shouted at him with a hot face, watching the scowl on Mike’s brow deepen with anger and impatience.
Somehow he knew Mike wasn’t going to listen to him and that this night would be a total disaster filled with crying, screaming and burning flesh. Of course Mike wasn’t thinking about all of that because he was only set on one thing…the one thing his maternal instinct was driving him to accomplish. He needed to go in there and get them out…and Chester knew he’d do it even though it was clearly a death wish. For all they knew, Anna and the kids were already burnt flesh in their beds with no hope for survival.
“ No, how about this Chester. You phone, I go in…” The Asian man stated through his teeth with warning, indicating that he’d do anything to get to his family.
“ Mike you stay fucking here, you got it? Besides, there’s a restraining order against you and even if you do happen to save them, you’ll go to jail!” Chester shouted and pulled out his phone, beginning to dial the number.
“ Fuck the restraining order, its better than watching them burn to death!”
“ Mike you can’t do this! You’ll kill yourself, and for what? A burned and lifeless ex-wife…a pile of ash in the basement and a bloodied up mound of twisted flesh in the upstairs bedroom? They’re dead Mike…look at those flames! Don’t stand here and scream at me that you can save them because you CAN’T! You are not that strong, no one is that strong! I want you to sit here and wait for the firemen to come so that at least the houses around this one can be saved!”
Mike stared at him silently as the flames continued to crackle and growl behind him, devouring the house with impeccable speed. He could save them…he knew he could. They were still alive…they had to be. This couldn’t be the end of everything they’d been going through. This couldn’t be the end of everything he had.
“ Let me save them-.”
“ –There’s nothing to fucking save!” Chester screamed, pointing towards the house as he held the phone to his ear.
“ 911, what’s your emergency?”
Mike grabbed Chester’s cell phone and pressed it against his ear, feeling the bubbling heat of anger and frustration burning his cheeks.
“ WHAT’S MY FUCKING EMERGENCY? I’LL TELL YOU LADY! MY FUCKING FAMILY IS BURNING IN THEIR HOUSE AND NO ONE HAS BOTHERED TO FUCKING MOVE THEIR LAZY ASSES OUT OF THE FUCKING FIRESTATION TO HELP THEM! YOU CAN FUCKING SEE THE FIRE FROM THE FUCKING HILL FOR CHRIST’S SAKE!” He screamed at the top of his lungs, feeling the tears burning his eyes.
“ Sir, I need you to calm down-.”
“ –FUCK YOU LADY!”
“ Sir, we are lacking the necessary busses in your area. You need to wait for one to become avail-.”
“ –GET ME A FUCKING FIRE TRUCK OUT HERE BEFORE I FUCKING SUE YOUR ASSES OFF!” Chester looked around as a swarm of people began emerging from their houses, gasping suddenly at the sight before them.
“ Sir, please calm down and wait for a bus to become available-.”
“ –I’M NOT FUCKING WAITING!”
With that, Mike threw the phone back at Chester and began running towards the house, with all eyes on him. Chester dropped the phone and ran after him and grabbed his jacket with such force it nearly catapulted Mike onto the ground.
“ Mike, you can’t go in there! There’s nothing you can do!”
“ THAT’S MY FUCKING FAMILY IN THERE!” He cried out suddenly, lashing out at Chester with everything he had in an attempt to make his way towards the house.
“ Mike stop, they’re gone…” Chester stated, holding Mike back with all his strength.
“ No…no…NO!” He cried, gripping Chester’s shirt tightly, soaking it with tears. The entire block watched in silent shock at the grieving father who was trying to reach his family before the house collapsed in on itself.
“ They’re still alive…I know they are…p-please…” he sobbed, gripping onto his best friend for dear life as the flames began to heat up his neck.
“ I’m sorry…” Chester whispered, staring up at the house, completely engulfed in a large orange blaze. As he stared into the inferno, something moving briefly caught his eye. He blinked quickly, listening to Mike’s weeping and stared up at the window where he had seen the movement. Perhaps the fire was playing tricks on him…but as he continued to watch the window, his eyes slowly widened as a pink form slammed against it, vibrating the glass.
It was a hand, desperately trying to escape the flames…even if it meant jumping through the window.
“ Oh shit…Christ…”
Mike looked at Chester suddenly, seeing his shocked and horrified expression and turned his vision towards the upstairs bedroom, watching the same thing Chester was with wide eyes.
“ M-Mike…do you see what I see?” he asked with trembling lips.
Mike blinked the heat away from his eyes and watched in absolute terror as the hand continued to bang on the window helplessly.
“ ANNA!” He screamed suddenly and pulled away from Chester, who was still in shock and therefore couldn’t do anything to stop him. Mike jumped up the concrete steps towards the front door and grabbed the hot doorknob, burning his hand slightly. Luckily, pain was not the first thing on his mind and he ignored it, bashing the door open with such force he could swear he popped his shoulder out of place.
The first thing he noticed when he entered the house was not the smoke but the superheated air, quickly burning his lungs. He couldn’t even open his eyes, due to the heat and stumbled around the front hallway, coughing through the billowing blackness. Thankfully, he knew his way around the house and began feeling his way towards the staircase, stumbling occasionally over pieces of debris and dirt.
Finally, he gripped something that seemed sturdy, but quickly realized that it was crumbling within his grip. The banister to the stairs had long ago been eaten up by the fire and was now cracking and crumbling to the steps that were now filled with small flames, leading upstairs. Mike opened his eyes briefly and looked up, seeing the blaze eating the ceiling with a blanket of flames. He felt like he was in the middle of Hell. Slowly, he tested the first step with his foot, pressing down on it carefully to make sure it wouldn’t break away beneath him.
When he was certain it was sturdy enough to hold his weight, he lifted himself up onto the second step, and then the third until finally he was moving rather quickly up the staircase towards the upstairs hallway. Mike coughed hard, feeling his lungs burning through the smoke and he waved his hand in front of his face in an attempt to give himself some air.
As he clumsily stepped towards the master bedroom, he could feel the intense heat of the fire burning his cheeks to an unwanted level of discomfort. If he wasn’t quick enough, he’d burn his face off before he could save anyone. Suddenly, he banged into something hard…the door…and his confidence began swelling as he gripped the knob. With a hiss, he let go of it and shook his hand through the burning pain. This was going to be more difficult than he had anticipated.
Quickly, he pulled his sleeve down over his hand and created a leather glove from it and grabbed the doorknob once again, not feeling as much of the intense heat from before. With a steady push, he knocked the door open and was met with a large heated breeze and immediately sunk back into the hall to cover his face from the flames that escaped the room. He cursed under his wheezing breath and opened his eyes to see the flames from the room bending upwards to meet those on the ceiling.
Not once in his life had he ever been so terrified…not just for the lives of his family…but for his own life as well. Chester had been right…he was not strong enough and this was definitely going to be an act of suicide if he continued. Just as his fears began to consume him, he heard a loud thud near the door, causing him to looked down at the twitching form.
“ A-Anna…” he coughed, quickly losing his voice through the haze of smoke. It was evident that after trying to bang through the window, she had suddenly realized that her son and daughter were probably still asleep in the house, thus causing her to attempt to crawl into the hallway. Mike rushed over to her and bent down, feeling her neck for a pulse.
He gave a small sigh of relief to find that it was still as strong as ever.
“ Anna…c-come on sweetie…get up…” he wheezed with a whisper, grabbing her arms. Her ears instantly perked as she heard the familiar deep voice ringing through the fog.
“ M-Michael…” he muttered, giving a heavy, labored cough.
“ Up Anna.” He ordered sternly, getting a good grip on her waist. Quickly, he helped her to her feet and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her towards the stairs.
“ Xander…L-Laura-.”
“ –I’ll get them…hold on tight.” He replied through heavy wheezing and began dragging her down the stairs. Then a loud crack entered their ears and they sunk down a few inches. Mike’s eyes widened in horror as he realized that the house was slowly caving in on itself. They stood there completely still for a long moment, breathing erratically through the thick smoke and waited for the house to stop moaning and groaning.
“ M-Mike…” She coughed with warning.
He nodded and pulled her closer in response and continued their journey down the rest of the steps until finally they reached the bottom. As they marched towards the front door, Anna gave a sharp scream as one of the rafters from the roof came tumbling down, crashing against the floor only a few inches away from them. Mike stared down at the long piece of wood enveloped in flames and watched as the floor around it began collapsing.
“ Okay out…” he muttered, grabbing Anna away from the rising flames. Chester waited outside with impatience as Mike finally emerged with a very frightened and shocked looking Anna; their faces both blackened with soot and ashes. Chester reached out for her arm, but frowned when she didn’t loosen her grip on Mike’s jacket.
“ A-Anna…let Chester sit you down away from the house…” Mike coughed, with a soft voice.
“ L-Laura…Xander…They’re s-still in there-.”
“ –I know…I’m gonna go get them.” Mike replied.
Anna stared up into Mike’s eyes for a short moment and he clearly saw the doubt etched across her brow.
“ Trust me…” he whispered.
And it was in that moment that Anna had never trusted him so much in her entire life. Reluctantly, she let go of him and allowed Chester to pull her onto the neighbor’s lawn away from the flames and smoke. She watched with a new burning sense of hope as Mike disappeared back into the flames and smoke to retrieve his children. It was that one selfless act…that one instinct to protect his children, the one act that could perhaps end his own life, which gave her a newfound respect for him.
Respect she never thought she’d ever have.
Fire, intense heat, gushing wind, blinding smoke…all of that clouded around Mike until he became dizzy with confusion and pain. All of this seemed hopeless because he could already feel the floors vibrating as the walls began cracking and splitting. He knew deep down inside that this house was not going to remain standing for much longer, which only increased his fears. He winced as the wall beside him erupted in flames and began burning his cheeks and neck until he could no longer near the heat.
With a short cry, he leaped away from the wall and stumbled to the ground, feeling the heat now soaking his back. The smoke filled his lungs as he heaved for breath from the fall and he couldn’t help but cough violently in response. He continued to lay there, watching the flames eating the ceiling above him and feeling the wood crumbling on top of his chest. This was it…this was how he was going to die. He couldn’t reach his children and he couldn’t get up because of the searing pain in his lungs.
“ And how exactly am I supposed to cope with all of this? How am I supposed to get through this pain?”
“ You’ve never given up…”
Mike stared blankly into the smoke as he remembered the conversation he and Chester had had four years ago concerning Laura’s death. Mike had been a complete wreck and didn’t think he’d be able to get through the difficulty of losing a child. But what Chester had said to him had given him a new sense of strength knowing that even his best friend had the absolute knowledge that he never gave up when the going got tough. Mike frowned and wheezed heavily through the hot smoke, sitting up slowly and attempted to get the burning air out of his lungs. Why give up now? He’d rather die saving his children than die with them in a heap of wood and fire.
Carefully, he stood up and got his bearings before proceeding towards the basement door where Laura’s room was located. He shook his head out of the fog and gripped the door handle and to his amazement, it was cool…not like Anna’s had been. This only meant one thing…the fire had not reached downstairs yet. Mike turned the handle with his bare hand and pushed the door open, receiving a gush of smoke in his face.
Okay, no fire…but enough smoke to kill you with one breath…which didn’t make the situation all that much better. Mike coughed heavily and closed his eyes, pulling himself down the stairs and into the smoke filled bedroom. He cupped his sleeve covered hand over his mouth and nose, staring around the dark room. He coughed slightly and stared down at the bed to see Laura huddled beneath the blankets, breathing heavily and raggedly. Obviously she was having trouble breathing. Mike bent down and ripped her covers off of her and shook her furiously.
“ L-Laura…” he coughed.
“ Get up.”
With a jolt, she opened her eyes and pulled away from him in fear. Imagine waking up to a dark figure looming over you through smoke…creepy ain’t it?
“ Its okay, its me…” he wheezed, reaching out his hand slowly. She stared up at him with confusion…and began coughing violently, finally realizing how badly she needed fresh air…or at leased any air at all.
Mike frowned and suddenly pulled her out of bed, not having time for her sudden shock of the situation, and lifted her up into his arms where she continued to heave and cough. He cupped his hand around her nose and mouth, protecting her from the smoke and quickly carried her upstairs. She gripped onto him so tightly she thought she was causing him pain but the reality was, he couldn’t feel anything but adrenaline pumping through his veins. Right now, the adrenaline was the only thing keeping him from freaking out and cowering in a corner to let the fire do it’s job.
Laura dug her face into his chest and could actually feel his heart pounding against her as he held her, plotting his way out of the house without burning them. Mike’s dark Asian eyes scanned the room which was up in flames…and he couldn’t help but wonder how the hell he was going to get out of there. The front door was nearly blocked with burning debris and getting through it would take a lot of mental and physical strength.
“ M-Mike…” Laura called out in fear as the room began feeling like an overheated oven. Mike stroked her damp hair gently and stared at the semi blocked front door.
“ Its okay baby…hold on…” he muttered calmly, stepping forward. Suddenly he stopped and felt his heart beating with relief as the sounds of sirens began echoing through the walls of the house. Finally…its about time.
“ Okay here we go…don’t let go…” he coughed, feeling her gripping him even tighter than before. Mike closed his eyes and gathered his strength, deciding to run through the small flames as fast as possible in hopes of only receiving a few first degree burns. He hugged Laura tightly and covered her face with his arm, running through the debris and out onto the front steps, feeling a few burns against his legs.
He then heard people shouting and water spraying, knowing that the firemen were now readying their hoses. He glanced down at his burning legs to make sure they weren’t on fire. With a small sigh of relief and a few coughs, he carried Laura over towards where Chester and Anna were sitting and placed her down onto the damp grass. Anna grabbed Laura quickly away from Mike and hugged her closely, watching her eyes become full of tears. Mike panted heavily and coughed a few more times before feeling his heart freeze. The spraying of water had stopped…and the firemen were now pulling away from the burning building.
Mike turned around and stared at them in disbelief as they just stood there and watched the house crumble and growl. As Mike listened to Laura’s sobbing and Anna’s cries, he stood up slowly with a glare and began slowly walking towards the firemen. Chester stood up quickly, realizing what Mike was going to do and followed him.
“ Mike, stop…”
“ They’re not fucking doing anything. Xander’s still in there…” he warned with a shaky voice with was beginning to crack with the stress and sorrow of the pending danger.
“ Mike, there’s nothing left they can do. It’s too late…the house is going to collapse!” Chester shouted, attempting to pull Mike away from the firemen.
“ What the hell do you people think you’re doing? Don’t just stand there, do something!” Mike yelled, seeing the sad faces of the firemen.
“ I’m sorry sir, but you’re going to have to back away from the scene and let the fire do it’s job…” one of them, obviously the captain, explained.
“ Let the fire do it’s job? No…you can’t let that happen-.”
“ –Sir, I insist…back off and stay with the people on the grass-.”
“ –No you don’t understand, my son is still in there!” He shouted with a deep glare.
“ I’m sorry but there’s nothing more we can do.”
Mike stared at them all in disbelief with pleading eyes of anger. How could they just stand there and let this happen? How could they just let an innocent four year old burn to death?
“ No…NO MY FUCKING SON IS STILL IN THERE! YOU HAVE TO DO SOMETHING! PLEASE…P-PLEASE DO SOMETHING!” He screamed, feeling Chester pulling him back. Laura and Anna watched the scene unfold with sorrowful eyes.
They had never seen Mike so upset or stuck on something in their entire lives.
“ Sir, I’m sorry for your loss-.”
“ –DON’T YOU FUCKING TALK TO ME LIKE HE’S DEAD! HE’S STILL ALIVE UP THERE DAMMIT!” The captain stared at Mike for a long moment, watching the tears rimming his Asian eyes to the point of flooding.
“ I’m sorry…” he whispered.
Mike shook his head and took a few steps back against Chester, ripping his arms away from him.
“ Mike…don’t do something stupid…” He warned quietly.
“ Fucking pricks…leaving my son up there to die…” he panted through his tears, continuing to back up.
“ Mike there’s nothing they can do…” Chester whispered, attempting to calm him down which of course wasn’t going to work anytime soon. Suddenly, a loud band and crash echoed throughout the block and caused everyone to turn their heads towards the house which was now beginning to crack and collapse with the flames. Mike stared up at the crumbling chimney and watched as the bricks fell to the ground, each with their own loud thud against the grass. He couldn’t let Xander die up there…he just couldn’t.
“ Xander…” he whispered and began moving slowly towards the house.
“ Xander…” he said a little louder as his pace quickened, throwing Chester away from him.
“ Someone stop him!” One of the female firefighters yelled. The captain of the squad ran up in front of Mike before he could reach the house and pulled him away with intense force. Mike cried out and screamed at him to let him go, but failed as he was slowly being ripped away from the burning building.
“ MY SON IS STILL UP THERE! I NEED TO GET TO HIM. PLEASE LET ME GET HIM!”
“ Sir, stand back.”
“ NO…NO DON’T LET THIS HAPPEN! HE’S FOUR YEARS OLD FOR CHRIST’S SAKE! HE DOESN’T DESERVE TO DIE…PLEASE LET ME GET HIM! HE NEEDS ME…HE NEEDS ME!”
Anna watched Mike completely break down in hysterics as he gripped onto the firefighter for dear life, continuing to stare at the burning house.
“ Mike come on…let him go…” Chester stated calmly, and helped the captain pull Mike back away from the house.
“ NO…NO…NO DON’T DO THIS TO ME. DON’T KEEP ME AWAY FROM HIM! PLEASE…I KNOW HE’S STILL ALIVE. PLEASE, I’M BEGGING YOU, LET ME IN THERE! I CAN SAVE HIM!”
“ Sir…I’m sorry…” The captain whispered as Mike finally stopped trying to struggle. He just stood there in complete disbelief and shock as the building continued to crumble down in heaps of wood and brick. Anna felt the tears running down her cheeks as she held Laura tightly, listening to Mike cry and scream with word NO over and over again.
“ Mike, come on…sit down with Anna and Laura…” Chester whispered calmly.
“ No…no…no…h-he’s still in there…I-I can hear him crying…” he mumbled through the steady stream of tears which were staining his blackened face.
“ Mike…there’s nothing there but the sounds of the fire. You just want to hear him because you’re panicking…” Chester explained quietly.
“ NO…I CAN HEAR HIM…HE NEEDS ME. PLEASE LET ME GET TO HIM!”
Chester glanced back at Anna helplessly. There was no way in calming Mike down unless he was sedated and everyone knew that. He was going to continue screaming and crying until he got over the fact that Xander was dead.
“ I CAN HEAR HIM CRYING…”
“ Mike…he’s not crying. Your mind is making you think he’s still alive but he’s not. Its your instincts that are causing you to hear that.” Chester stated shakily, wanting so desperately for Mike to calm down before he passed out from stress. Chester suddenly froze in realization. Maybe it was the exact opposite of that. Perhaps his instincts were heightening his hearing, allowing him to hear the crying child.
After all, parents could do amazing things to save the life of their child.
“ I can hear him crying…” Mike sobbed desperately, lowering his head. Suddenly, the entire block became silent, aside from the burning house, still moaning and groaning through the flames.
Mike lifted his head slowly and stared at the building, sniffing and coughing violently.
“ H-he needs me…”
And that’s when they heard it.
A long wail, barely audible to one’s ears…yet perfectly human. It was the sound of a child’s scream.
“ Oh Christ…he’s still alive…” Chester breathed, staring at Mike with amazement, not able to believe he had actually heard his son through the sirens and voices.
“ XANDER!” Mike screamed suddenly, lunging forward but was stopped by the captain yet again.
“ Someone go up there and get that kid!’ he shouted to his team, watching them instantly dodge towards the crumbling building without another thought. They knew it was dangerous…but they couldn’t just let the four year old boy burn to death.
“ HE NEEDS ME…LET ME UP THERE!” Mike screamed desperately, feeling Chester tugging him back once again.
“ Mike, they’re gonna go get him…calm down…” he whispered, holding his best friend back.
“ C-Chester…he’s still up there…” he cried, leaning his head into his best friend’s chest.
“ I know Mike…they’re going to get him and bring him down. Then he’ll be safe…okay?” Chester asked softly.
“ N-no…no its not okay. He could be h-hurt…” he sobbed, soaking Chester’s shirt with his tears.
“ Shh…Mike, everything’s going to be alright…” he whispered soothingly and rubbed his back. After what seemed like a fricken eternity, applause and cheers began erupting from the crowd of people around the block as a female firefighter came out holding the small, shaking boy in her arms wrapped in a blanket. Mike lifted his head and looked in her direction with intense relief but flinched as a loud boom followed by a few more crashes echoed through the night. Everyone watched silently as the house caved in on itself…and basically imploded into a giant hill of blazing debris. Anna and Laura stood up as the firemen ushered them towards the paramedics where they were forced to wear masks to begin treating their smoke inhalation.
Xander was immediately taken to the hospital, along with Laura where they would be treated for severe smoke inhalation and perhaps first degree and second degree burns for Xander. One of the paramedics sat Mike down on a gurney and snapped a mask around his face, pressing it against his nose and mouth.
“ I don’t need this fucking thing, I’m fine.” He growled with a glare and struggled to take it off.
“ Sir, your lungs are burned and you have severe smoke inhalation. If I don’t start treating you now, you’ll suffocate.” She explained.
“ Then let me suffocate. I want to drive to the hospital in my own vehicle to see my son, whom you people wouldn’t let me save.” He snarled back.
“ Michael, stop being so fucking stubborn and let her treat you.”
Mike turned his head as Anna walked up to him with a stern look of anger and annoyance plastered across her face.
“ I would have thought you’d be at the hospital with your children.” He muttered, giving a dirty glance to the paramedic who was still trying to attach the mask around his face.
Anna crossed her arms in the chilly night and frowned a little, shaking her head. “ Chester’s with them. Besides, I’m here to help the paramedics sedate you if necessary.” She replied, receiving a small smile from the paramedic who had completely given up on Mike.
“ What about the restraining order?” he asked as the paramedic jumped into the back of the ambulance to give them some space. Anna jumped up onto the gurney beside him and grabbed his mask, holding it tightly within her grasp.
“ What about it?”
“ I’m going to go to fucking jail now that I saved all your lives. I find that a bit ironic, don’t you?” he muttered with a heavy wheeze.
She gave a weak smile and nodded a little, examining the small holes inside the plastic mask.
“ Well at leased you’ll be in the minimum secure unit…”
“ You know what Anna? Fuck you! I can’t take this shit anymore! I do one good thing…one AMAZINGLY good thing and I get crapped on and told I have to go back to pr-.”
He stopped suddenly as her lips pressed against his softly, pulling him into a passionate kiss. She wrapped her arms around him slowly and stroked through his soft black hair as the kiss deepened. After a few more heated moments, Anna pulled away slowly, allowing Mike air to breathe. He opened his eyes a little and stared at her silently, becoming instantly confused in the hazy moment. Did she just kiss him? Then the flooding questions of why, how and what began coursing through his mind.
Anna gave a small smile as his black cheeks turned a bright crimson and she grabbed his hand gently with one hand and softly stroked through his hair with the other.
“ You okay baby?” she asked with a small giggle.
“ I’m going to Hell…” he whined and lowered his head pathetically.
“ Michael, you’re not going to Hell…” she laughed.
“ Yes I am. We just kissed…I’m sure that violates some kind of condition in that restraining order.” He whimpered helplessly, feeling even more in trouble than before.
“ Ah hell, fuck the restraining order…” she muttered casually in thought.
He lifted his head suddenly and frowned, watching her blue eyes sparkle compassionately.
“ Fuck the what now?” he demanded with a furrowed brow, not entirely sure if he had heard her correctly.
“ Fuck…The…Restraining…Order…” she replied slowly, putting heavy emphasis on each word. He stared at her silently for a long moment, taking in her words until suddenly he erupted in violent coughs. Anna watched him squeeze his tiny little eyes shut as he continued to have a cough attack. She then snapped the mask on around his mouth and nose, putting her arm around him comfortingly so she could gently smack his back in an effort to ease his coughing.
“ Take deep breaths…” she said soothingly while rubbing his back. He lowered his head and wheezed heavily into the mask, still trying to comprehend what she had just told him. After about ten minutes, he slowly calmed down and the coughing ceased, allowing him time to breathe.
He hadn’t actually realized how badly burned his lungs were until he tried breathing in after the cough attacks. Now his body was the one telling him to take it easy instead of the paramedics.
“ You okay now?” she asked with concern, staring into his red, irritated eyes. He gave a small nod and gave a final, shallow cough, taking off the mask.
“ What about the divorce?” he breathed, swallowing hard. Anna glanced at the rubble that used to be her home and watched as the firefighters began putting out the rest of the flames.
“ I haven’t had it finalized yet.”
“ Why not?” he demanded with a frown.
“ Because I didn’t send in the papers…”
“ Why…not?” he asked suspiciously with an arched brow.
“ Because…I haven’t…uh…signed them…yet…” she replied cautiously with a sheepish looking grin.
Mike stared at her for what seemed like the longest time until finally responding.
“ You didn’t sign the papers? Anna, you’ve had two weeks to sign the papers.”
“ I know…I know. I guess I just haven’t had the time and now they’re all burned up…” she explained quietly, staring at her knees.
Mike frowned a little and eyed her left hand…staring at the shining object on her ring finger.
“ Anna?”
“ Yeah?”
“ You’re wearing the ring…”
“ So?” she asked with an arched brow, but didn’t have the strength to look at him.
“ So…I told you to sell it…”
“ But I don’t wanna sell it…” she replied quietly.
Mike stared at her as she attempted to hide her nerves from him. Obviously whatever she was hiding was either bad or shameful.
“ Why the hell not?”
“ Because I love you and I want you to come home and I was the one who burned the divorce papers and threw them into the fireplace but I didn’t wait until the fire went out before I went to bed so the fire got out of control and burnt down the house…”
Silence fell between them and Anna closed her eyes, wincing slightly.
“ Please be gentle…” she whispered, knowing that she had just burnt down her house because of the divorce papers.
Suddenly, to her surprise, Mike burst out laughing and couldn’t stop, therefore aggravating his lungs even further. Anna looked up from her legs and eyed him curiously as he wiped the tears from his eyes and nearly fell off the gurney.
“ Y-you burned down the house b-because…” he stopped as the laughter and giggled overcame him again before continuing.
“ Because you d-didn’t want to g-get divorced?”
Anna lowered her eyes as he continued to laugh and cough at the same time, shaking his head in disbelief.
“ Oh God, this is too good…” he giggled, wiping his red eyes again.
“ I’m glad you find this so amusing. Your children almost got killed.” She stated, quickly ending his laughter.
They stared at each other for a long moment and Mike slowly frowned, looking away from her.
“ Okay…I’m stupid…”
“ Yeah well so am I. I guess we make a perfect couple of retards huh?” she asked, gripping his hand and leaning her head against his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around her and gave a weak smile, kissing her gently on the forehead for comfort.
“ Its okay Anna. It wasn’t your fault the house burnt down. It’s the divorce’s fault.” He muttered, eliciting a small smile from her.
“ Actually…I filed for a divorce because I hated you and you were a danger to our children. So in reality…this is YOUR fault.” She explained.
Mike lowered his eyes and listened to Anna break out into giggles.
“ Aw Mikey, I love you…”
He looked down at her and couldn’t help but smile as he watched the love grow within her sparkling eyes.
“ Do you know how long I’ve been waiting to hear you say that?”
“ Long enough…” she replied and kissed him again…hard.
~~ *dies from exhaustion*...Okay, please review or i'm not finishing this fic...because honestly Im losing my inspiration..-_-...anywhoo, hope you enjoyed it...LOL JUST KIDDING ABOUT THE WHOLE...REVIEWS OR IM NOT FINISHING THING LOL..HAHA..APRIL FOOLS..HAH..not funny.. *cough* anyways, let me know what you thougth about this chapter, and more to come soon..THEN THE END HA. Hehe thankees for reading lol :)~~
Promise Of A Lifetime
~~ YAY THIS IS THE END!!..*tear*... But before you read, I just wanna say thanks to all who reviewed and read...even if I don't know your name, i am eternally grateful for your interest in this story. So Thanks go out to: Robbourdon/mike, driftingawaylp, shin0daluver, Jackster, Vixenla, Reiku, Silent, Ash, Irisraine, DisturbedAngel, RaeRae, Linkinpark_fan, Alyson, Misha, 007 openstar, Sara, Manda_Panda, Bennington_lp, dontxforgetxme and Principessa. Okay so if I forgot any of you, VERY SORRY..and if I spelled ur name wrong..SUPER SORRY!. And now for the end...ps: its kinda short... ENJOY! :)~~
“ You know, you’re lucky you’re alive. Going in there like that might have seriously burned your lungs beyond usage.” Chester explained as he watched Mike washing his face from the soot over a hospital sink.
He glanced at his best friend through the mirror and patted his face with a few pieces of toilet paper and frowned.
“ Did you know you’re the fifth person to say that to me in the past four hours?” he replied with annoyance.
“ Well someone should say that to you because it was idiotic. You could have been killed.” Chester stated with a furrowed brow.
“ Why do you care? You wanted to throw me out of your house.”
“ I care because you’re my best friend. Why the hell does everyone in your family have to almost die before I become completely fed up with it?” he demanded.
“ You’re fed up about caring about me?” Mike asked with a fake whimper and big eyes. Chester lowered his eyes with irritation as Mike turned around and wrapped his arms around him, giving him a big kiss on the cheek.
“ How could you be fed up with being my friend? We’re buddies!” he shouted with a smile.
Chester sighed loudly and pushed Mike off, wiping his cheek vigorously while eyeing him with annoyance.
“ Could you please stop being an ass?”
“ Sorry, it’s my most endearing quality.” Mike chuckled, drying off the rest of his face.
“ Why the hell are you so happy? You almost died…your family almost died. I was worried beyond belief!” Chester explained with confusion.
Mike gave a crooked smile and stared into the mirror while ruffling his messy hair into neat spikes.
“ I’m happy because I get to come home…well…a new home I guess since the last one was destroyed.” He muttered.
“ Anna took you back…” Chester stated in disbelief with a frown of doubt.
“ Yup…” Mike replied, eyeing his hair adoringly.
“ Are you kidding me? After all you’ve done?”
“ Well…I almost killed them…then I saved their lives. I think it kind of equals out don’t you?” Mike answered, turning around to face him.
They suddenly heard a knock at the door, and glanced at it to see Anna peeking her head into the washroom with a small smile.
“ You boys finished up in here?”
“ Why, you need to use the toilet?” Chester asked with an arched brow.
She lowered her eyes with a small chuckle and shook her head. “ No…there’s a little boy in exam room three who wishes to see his father.”
“ Who?” Chester asked with visible confusion.
“ I’ll give you two guess, but you’re only going to need one.” Anna breathed with a frown.
“ That’s me DUMBASS.” Mike stated and threw the wad of toilet paper at Chester’s head.
“ Well excuse me but I’ve been kind of stressed today. I can’t keep track of all these events…” he whined.
“ We forgive you Chester. Come on Mike…” Anna giggled, and grabbed Mike’s hand tightly, pulling him out of the bathroom. The walk down the corridor seemed to have been taking forever and Mike’s anxiousness of seeing his son was growing with each step.
Slowly, they rounded the corner, passing a few patients who were walking around hooked up to their machines and finally made their way into exam room three where they were greeted by a wide smiled little boy.
“ DADDY!” He nearly screamed and reached out his hands, gripping the air expectantly for a hug. Mike’s eyes lit up, along with his dimpled smile and he bent down to pulled his son into a tight bear hug.
“ Hey Xander, what’s up buddy?” he chuckled, feeling his son’s finger nails digging into his shirt. Xander pulled away slightly with a smile and held up the small oxygen mask that was taken off only moments ago.
“ I gotta mask!”
“ Wow…looks cool!” Mike exclaimed, sitting down beside him on the bed.
“ Did you get a mask too?” he asked, poking at the plastic.
Mike nodded a little and glanced at Anna who was standing by the door, watching with a smile.
“ Yeah I did. Except, mine was a lot bigger.” He explained.
“ That’s cuz you’re big.” Xander muttered happily, poking his face with a giggle. Mike chuckled and ruffled his soft black hair between his fingers, almost feeling his heart bursting with joy now that he could actually physically be close to his son who he hadn’t seen in what felt like ages. Before he even knew what was going on, Xander pulled away from his hand and pounced on him, wrapping his arms around his neck in a tight hug, causing Mike to joke out a small laugh.
“ Miss me much?” he asked, sensing Anna’s muffled laughter in the corner.
“ I missed you a lot!” he shouted, right in his ear as Mike winced from the volume.
“ I can tell…” he chuckled in response.
Slowly, Xander slid away from his neck and came to rest on the bed, gripping Mike’s arm tightly in a sort of hugging grasp. Mike smiled down at him, feeling his cheeks growing hot from an overwhelming sense of love.
“ I missed you so much Xander…” he stated quietly, running his hand through the boy’s hair.
“ I love you Daddy…” he mumbled into his arm.
Mike nearly erupted into tears when he heard this because it seemed like so long since he had heard his son say those four simple words. He literally thought he wouldn’t be able to reply back since the lump in his throat had grown to a painful size. But somehow, he had managed to choke out his response with a soft voice.
“ I love you too Xander…”
“ Daddy…can you come home NOW?” he demanded with that small adorable frown that just made Mike’s heart melt.
He looked up at Anna who could barely keep a straight face. “ Please Mommy, can I come home?” Mike pouted, watching her nearly burst into laughs. Slowly, she walked over to him and gave him a soft kiss on the lips, stroking through his hair.
“ YUCKY!” Xander squealed, hiding his head inside Mike’s arm.
They both chuckled at his reaction and stared at each other…and Mike was still waiting for his answer.
“ Hmmm, let me think about it…” she muttered in thought.
“ You’ve had four hours to think about it.” He warned quietly with a smile as Xander stared at them with interest.
“ Well…let’s ask the expert. Xander…should Daddy come home?”
“ NO.”
All three of them looked towards the door as Laura walked in with crossed arms and a small glare.
“ Is your name Xander?” Mike demanded.
“ Don’t you have a ride back to Chester’s house?” she answered back bitterly.
“ Don’t you have a mouth to shut?” he asked back.
“ DADDY’S COMING HOME.” Xander stated loudly with an impatient grunt, making sure everyone in the room heard him.
“ Three against one Laura and it looks like the odds are against you.” Mike explained with a frown.
She stared at him for a long moment, watching his dark eyes scanning hers intently. God she missed him-wait, what? She couldn’t possibly have been consciously thinking that…could she?
“ I don’t care who’s against me. You are NOT coming home.” She stated with finality.
Mike gave a sideways smile and stood up, walking towards her.
“ Yes I am. Besides, you want me to come home.”
“ No I don’t.”
“ Yes you do.”
“ No I DON’T.”
“ Yes you DO.” They both argued back and forth.
Anna rolled her eyes and sat down beside Xander and he sighed out loudly, wanting the argument to be over just as much as she did. The arguments between the father and daughter in this family were often loud and irritating…but usually ended quickly. Both Anna and Xander were grateful for that fact.
“ You want me to come home so badly you can’t even stand it anymore.” Mike muttered with a growing smile, watching her lower her head so she didn’t have to stare at that contagious grin.
“ Fuck you Mike.”
“ Mhm…you don’t mean that. I can tell…you wanna know why?” he asked with a chuckle.
“ Not really.” She hissed back, avoiding all eye contact with him because she knew that if she didn’t, she’d be breaking in no time.
“ Well I’m going to tell you anyway. You don’t mean that because I can already see that smile coming. I know you can feel it…we all know it’s there so just give it up.” He explained softly, lowering his head to get a better view of her face.
She lowered her head even further out of his eyesight and growled into her chest, backing up a little. “ Go away Mike.”
“ Nuhuh, that smile is coming! I can see it! There it is, right in the corner there!” he exclaimed, pointing to her trembling lips. She tightened her lips together firmly and swallowed hard, clenching her jaw with annoyance.
He was good…damn good.
“ Stop it…” she whispered stressfully.
“ Oh, here it comes! Right there!” he shouted, wrapping his arms around her. She lowered her head onto his chest and growled loudly, hiding her…you guess it, SMILE.
“ Damn you Mike!” she screeched, the sound muffling into his shirt. He chuckled and squeezed her into a tight hug, feeling a sense of accomplishment.
“ There, see! I knew you had it in you!” He exclaimed happily.
“ It was forced.” She muttered, lifting her head so he could see her dark brown eyes.
“ Sure it was…” he laughed.
“ It WAS!” she shouted with a frown.
“ Nuhuh it wasn’t forced! You’re so happy to see me, you little shit.” He stated with a large smile.
“ Says you…” she replied through her teeth with an irritated frown.
“ Aw, MY LITTLE BABY GIRL IS HAPPY TO SEE ME!” He shouted, hugging her again.
“ Christ, don’t start with this Mike…” she breathed.
“ AW I LOVE YOU SO MUCH LAURA AND I’M SO GLAD I GET TO COME HOME AND SPEND TIME WITH MY ADORABLE LITTLE DAUGHTER!” He shouted while kissing her on the forehead and cheeks, causing her to groan with discomfort.
“ No, STOP!” She mumbled loudly, squeezing her eyes shut tightly as he continued to attack her with kisses and hugs.
“ NO I AIN’T STOPPING CUZ YOU’RE TOO DAMN CUTE!” He smiled, hearing her growl angrily with annoyance.
“ Dad knock it off!” She shouted finally, stopping the attacks of hugs and kisses.
He stared down at her with the biggest smile she had ever seen on anyone and stroked through her hair lovingly.
“ You called me Dad.” He stated.
Laura stared at him nervously and swallowed hard, not believing she had actually said that. “ Nuhuh…”
“ Yahuh…”
“ NUHUH!”
“ YAHUH!”
“ It slipped!”
“ Did not!”
“ Did too!”
“ DID NOT!”
"DID TOO!”
“ SHUT UP!” Xander shouted, covering his ears. Laura and Mike stared at each other for a long moment in silence, catching their breath from the loud and obnoxious argument, which had probably been heard throughout the entire wing of the hospital.
Suddenly, Laura’s eyes narrowed as Mike’s smile grew once more…and she instantly knew what was coming next.
“ Don’t say it.” She warned.
“ Laura…” he sang, gripping her hands gently.
“ I’m warning you…”
“ I love you…” he stated softly, stroking her cheek with so much gentleness, it was causing her to blush. In reality, how could she hate the fact that he loved her? He had saved her life four hours ago without even the briefest consideration of his own life. Perhaps that was the one thing that made it all the more easier for her to reply.
“ I love you too Dad…” she answered quietly, burying her head in his chest again with her arms wrapped around him.
He smiled as he held her tightly, never wanting to let her out of his sight ever again. If he had learned one thing during all these events…it was to never take the things and people you love the most for granted because you may never see them again, which had almost happened to him. He almost felt a deeper connection and love towards his family that he had never felt before and couldn’t wait to return home…their new home…to start over again.
“ Is the fighting done yet?” Xander asked quietly, pulling his hands down from his ears. Anna smiled and picked him up into her arms and walked towards Mike and Laura.
“ Yeah…they’re done now.”
“ Good! My head started hurting…” he muttered, eliciting a small laugh from Laura.
“ Alright…well, let’s go home…” Anna glanced at Mike and gave a weak smile.
“ All of us…”
“ About time…” Laura muttered with irritation, gripping her father tightly on the arm.
“ I thought you didn’t want me to come home.” He stated with an arched brow of confusion.
“ I changed my mind.” She replied quickly with a smile.
“ So…what kind of house are we getting anyway?” Anna asked.
“ OH! Can we get a pool?” Laura gasped, tugging at Mike’s sleeve expectantly.
“ Uh-.”
“ –I wanna pool!” Xander interrupted with an excited squeal.
“ But-.”
“ –We need a bigger space…bigger yard. While we’re at it, we might as well make everything big.” Anna added.
“ Does this mean we can finally get that Hummer?” Laura asked with a smile.
Mike stared at them as the dizzying array of questions began bombarding around him. Pools, better furniture, big screen TV’s, stereos, massive kitchen, massive bedrooms, massive everything! Did they think he was made out of money? Finally he raised his hand and stopped the flow of demands, causing silence to deafen the room. He stared at each and every one of their faces, examined the colors in their eyes and the pink in their cheeks.
Finally…he was home…and it warmed his heart beyond belief.
Finally, with a heavy sigh of relief…he replied.
“ God, I missed this!”
Laura, Xander and Anna watched in silence as he left the room and began walking down the hall. All three of them exchanged confused frowns and ran out into the hall after him, catching up with him.
“ Do you always walk out of a room when you’re being spoken to?” Anna asked.
“ You guys weren’t speaking. You were demanding and begging.” Mike replied, continuing to walk down the hall with them.
“ Well we need to plan this. We lost our house…all of our belongings…how much money do you have left in your account?” she asked with interest, putting Xander back down on the floor and handing the car keys to Laura.
“ Enough…” he answered with a smile as Laura ran outside, followed closely by Xander.
“ That’s not an answer Mike. Come on, seriously, how much?” Anna demanded with a frown of interest.
Mike wrapped his arms around her and leaned his forehead against hers, smiling softly. “ Well, I was thinking about buying that house on the hill in Regency Heights.” He muttered.
“ You mean the mansion with the swimming pool overlooking the hills?” she asked with excited eyes as Laura and Xander began arguing about something inside the vehicle.
“ Yup…what do you think?” he asked with interest.
“ Mm, I love it.” She smiled and kissed him.
“ DAD, XANDER’S PUNCHING ME!”
“ WAS NOT!”
“ WAS TOO!”
“ NUHUH!”
“ YAHUH!”
“ GO AWAY LAURA!”
“ PISS OFF BRAT!”
Mike lifted his head and growled with annoyance as Anna chuckled, staring out at the vehicle where the two children were practically killing each other in the backseat.
“ The demons are calling…” she stated.
“ Okay…why did I come back?” Mike asked, then coughed out a small laugh as Anna jabbed him in the side with her elbow.
“ Oh right…that whole love thing…” he muttered with a sideways smile, then entered the driver’s side while Anna hopped into the passenger side. Mike looked into the rear view mirror and frowned as he watched Laura and Xander swatting and smacking at each other.
“ HEY!” He yelled, causing them both to freeze in their seats.
“ If you two don’t knock it off, I’m going to make you both move in with Chester. Understand?” he demanded.
Laura and Xander stared at him with wide eyes, nodding slowly.
“ Yup…”
“ We’ll be good…”
“ Good…” Mike smiled and started the engine. Anna shook her head with a small smile and stared out the window.
“ Michael, was that really necessary?”
“ Oh it was. One night at Chester’s house with the beer and loud nature documentaries, and you’d go insane.” He muttered.
Anna looked into the backseat at the silent brother and sister…then raised her eyes, amazed how that actually worked.
“ Wow, they’re quiet. I’m impressed.”
Mike chuckled and nodded. “ Yeah well it’s about to get a whole lot louder…” Xander and Laura smiled as Mike turned the volume on the radio up all the way. Finally…the family was back together…
I have fallen to my knees
As I sing a lullaby of pain
I'm feeling broken in my melody
As I sing to help the tears go away
Then I remember the pledge you made to me
I know you're always there
To hear my every prayer inside I'm clinging to
The promise of a lifetime
I hear the words you say
To never walk away from me and leave behind
The promise of a lifetime
Will you help me fall apart
Pick me up, take me in your arms
Find my way back from the storm
And you show me how to grow through the change
I still remember the pledge you made to me
I know you're always there
To hear my every prayer inside I'm clinging to
The promise of a lifetime
I hear the words you say
To never walk away from me and leave behind
The promise of a lifetime
I am holding on to the hope I have inside
With you I will stay through every day
Putting my understanding aside
I am comforted
To know you're always there
To hear my every prayer inside I'm clinging to
The promise of a lifetime
I hear the words you say
To never walk away from me and leave behind
The promise of a lifetime
I know you're always there
To hear my every prayer inside I'm clinging to
The promise of a lifetime
Looking back at me
I know that you can see my heart is holding to
The promise of a lifetime
{Song: Promise Of A Lifetime}
{Artist: Kutless}
~~ GASP THATS THE END! So...I wasn't really thinking about writing an epilogue...but...if a few ppl were to complain for one than maybe i'll write one because I don't really feel like I ended this the way I wanted to. Plus it was kinda short. Anyways, there you have it! THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR READING AND REVIEWING..*cough* which might not be such a bad thing to do at the moment *cough*...HEHE..*waves* BYE BYE! :)~~
