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didn’t want to be alone. She didn’t want her family around. The one thing she wanted was impossible. She wanted Jack.

Chapter Five
     
    “Alice, did you see the news today?” Mandy sat next to her at the sandwich shop, taking a huge bite of her sandwich. She seemed like she was up to something, and though Alice got annoyed with her, it was nice to have some girl time with her friend. With all the time she had been spending with Jack, it felt like she was neglecting her pal.
    “No, I had class. Graduation is around the corner. Finals are here. Between that and Jack, I haven’t really paid attention to current events or anything.”
    “Well you should probably pay attention to this. Jack was the main attraction.”
    “What are you talking about?” Alice asked as she swirled some sugar in her tea.
    “Apparently there’s a big fire going on downtown. I think the news said a five-alarm fire. I could’ve sworn I saw him as they did one of those live feeds on a rescue. Which department does he work for?”
    Alice’s stomach churned and suddenly, the crispy fries on her plate didn’t seem that appetizing. Of course, the one TV in the place was on some daytime soap opera and she wasn’t comfortable changing the station with so many people in the place. Did she really want to see it? She wanted to live by the ‘what she didn’t know won’t kill her’ saying, but leave it to Mandy to have a big mouth.
    “He um, he works for Ladder Six. Was that one of the trucks you saw?”
    “Yep, it was front and center. Of course, they all had those turnout things they wear so I couldn’t really see their faces, but I think Turner was on one of the coats. What is it about those coats that make them so hot?” Mandy looked out the window, lost in thought. How could she be so inconsiderate to Alice’s feelings?
    Standing up, Alice put a ten-dollar bill on the table. “That should cover mine and part of the tip.”
    “Where are you going?”
    “I gotta go. Sorry to cut it so short. Rain check for sure.” Alice ran out to her car, fighting the anxiety as best as she could. Why was this bugging her? Jack had told her stories of other fires, so why this?
    She got in the car and grasped the steering wheel until her knuckles turned white. Maybe it was the recent conversation with his mother. Maybe it was her own fears coming to the surface. Taking a deep breath, she stared back at the restaurant, knowing full well that Mandy was at the window, watching her. She couldn’t start crying. The last thing she needed was another lecture about life with a firefighter.
    Putting the car into gear, she drove back to her place, lost in thought the whole way. When she got home, she turned the TV to the local news, and just as Mandy had said, the report was about an apartment complex on fire with the major part almost fifteen stories up.
    It was hard to tell who everyone was. The news was forced to stay back, but whoever was controlling the camera was getting some good shots. Right up front was Ladder Six.
    “We were just notified that there is a firefighter hanging from the side of the building. We’ll zoom and get a better look. It appears the ladder is not reaching where they need it to go.”
    Alice watched like it was a movie, telling herself to shut off the TV, but her hands didn’t move for the remote. Why was she doing this to herself? She had to know who it was hanging from the rope. Sitting closer, she stared, her pulse racing, knowing that it had to be Jack. She wasn’t sure how she knew, but her instincts were screaming at her.
    Of course, with all of the gear, everybody looked the same. The camera view was blurry, but once it finally got into focus, she got the first clear glimpse of the man performing the high-rise rescue. Bile formed in Alice’s throat. She knew it was him without even seeing the name on the turnouts.
    Jack clutched onto the victim, swinging out with nothing below them but the hard street. He had to be