Soundtrack for this chapter:
Hey Brother—Avicii
Wake Me Up When September Ends—Green Day
Sign of the Times—Harry Styles

2

Theo

When my alarm started buzzing at seven, I expected to turn over and find the girl who came home with me curled up on the opposite side of my bed; I expected her to be sleeping peacefully, her brown hair having fallen into her face. But when I turned over, Jules was gone.

"Fuck." It came out low and guttural.

Before checking to see if she'd left her number somewhere, I reached my arms above my head for a long stretch, feeling the familiar pull on the left side of my torso. So much for that promise of you'll be good as new.

I swung my legs over the side of the bed, propelled myself up, and walked over to my desk. The Celtics shirt she'd worn was neatly folded on top of it, and somehow, that didn't surprise me. I looked for any sign of her having left a way for me to contact her, but there was nothing. She took her first one night stand far too literally.

With a sigh, I threw open the door and made my way down the stairs. In the kitchen, Danny was already working his way through a bowl of cereal. I set the coffee pot to brew a fresh cup and sat opposite of him. Save for the ink on my right arm, looking at him was like looking into a mirror.

"Morning," he managed out through spoonfuls of milk and whole grains.

"Morning."

He looked up at me. "What's eating you?"

"Nothing."

"Don't make me use twin telepathy."

"Dan, please. Not in the mood."

"It's that girl from Midtown, isn't it? Sour you couldn't bring her home?"

That earned him a smirk. "I did bring her here."

"And gone this morning? Hm...guess we're not identical in every way."

I shoved up from the table to grab my cup of coffee. "Fuck off, Dan."

"Listen, if you can't seal the deal—"

"What would Marnie say if she heard you talking like this?"

"Marnie's my girlfriend. I'd never talk of her like a piece of ass."

"She wasn't some piece of ass. You know I don't bring girls back like that."

"Have you considered that maybe, to her, you were?"

I didn't respond as I poured a steady stream of milk into my coffee and then rejoined him at the table.

"You gonna eat breakfast?" he asked.

"No. I need to be at the station in thirty minutes. Aiden still asleep?"

"Don't think he came back last night. Kid's still stuck in college mode. Went bar hopping after your set. I dipped out when I saw you sidle up next to that girl."

"Jules. Her name is Jules. And Aiden's only a few months out of school, Danny. Think of what you were doing then. He's the youngest of five. Going to take him a while to grow up."

"I guess. I'll only really complain if he starts bringing the parties here. We're too old for that shit."

"We're not even thirty. Besides, you're the one with a girlfriend. You and Marnie could easily get a place of your own and settle down."

"And leave you to deal with Aiden?"

"I've dealt with worse. He'll grow out of it when the hangovers start catching up with him."

Danny shrugged his shoulders and turned back to his bowl as I got up and put my cup in the dishwasher.

The stairs creaked as I walked up them to my bathroom, but I didn't mind. The house was old, but it was in good condition. It had character. Dan and I have had it for three years, and Aiden moved in a few months back when he graduated from college. I can't imagine selling it. I already know I'll be the one buying Dan out when the time comes.

I showered, ran my electric razor over my beard to keep it neat, and brushed my teeth. My hours changed every week, but Saturday day shift was normally pretty easy. It was weekend nights when the ambulances got called most frequently.

In my room, I pulled a thin long sleeved t-shirt on, then buttoned up my uniform. The only drawback to the ink on my arm was that it wasn't allowed to be visible on the job. Clearly, that made all the sense in the world; my tattoos were definitely hindering my ability to save someone's life.

After I came home from overseas, I felt this void, this hole, that since has only ever gotten even slightly smaller through jolts of adrenaline. That's the reasoning for the ink, the job, the canyon swinging excursion I went on last summer. They all help fill, bit by bit, the hole created during my twenty-second year on this earth.

As an EMT, just about every call is an adrenaline rush. Nearly every scene we arrive on gets my blood pumping. And last night, Jules had done the same.

When I sat next to her at the bar, I really was just asking to sit down. Not that she wasn't pretty; her hair had this soft wave to it, and I could just make out a smattering of freckles trying to make themselves seen. Her light brown, almost hazel eyes, held this intriguing balance of strength and reserve. I assumed she was already committed to someone.

And then we got to chatting. When she mentioned she was a counselor, I'll admit my motives became a little selfish. Not everyone would be able to handle what I've got going on in the tangle of grey matter that is my head. Not everyone would get it. But she might.

When she pressed me about my military background, I could see her wheels churning. But to give her the key to my mind the first time I met her would have undoubtedly scared her off. Though, looking back, it doesn't really seem like it would've mattered.

Sure, I knew where she worked, and, subsequently, where she lived. But it would be fucking creepy for me to stroll onto the campus looking for her. That shit may fly in romantic comedies, but here in the real world, rather than getting me the girl, all it would get me is a restraining order.

Besides, if I was anything more than a hook up for her, she would've stayed, or at least left her number. Shit, maybe it wasn't even as good as I thought it was. My only option was to leave it up to fate to allow us to cross paths again.

Yet she was something else. Eager, but nervous. Gentle, but strong. Honestly, I was kind of surprised she agreed to go home with me. She didn't seem like the kind of girl to just go home with someone. Then she left me with nothing more than confusion and a stab at my pride.

Before popping down the stairs to leave for work, I pushed open Aiden's door, and sure enough, his room was empty. On my way down the steps I sent him a text just to make sure he was okay. I knew I wouldn't likely get a response until late in the afternoon, but it gave my mind a little ease.

***

Our station had been trying out a new schedule for the last few months. We used to work twenty-four hours on, forty-eight off, but then we switched to twelve hour shifts at variable times, which meant we could sleep at home. Everyone gets better sleep at home, and you can go twelve hours without it, even when working overnight. Sometimes we were still scheduled for the old shifts, but in all honesty, I didn't care. I had a job, one that I enjoyed, paid well enough, and gave me a kick of adrenaline. I didn't have anything to complain about.

There's a gym at the station to keep busy, but we don't often have the luxury of time with the twelve hour shifts. Sure, the calls we get on weekends and nights are usually worse, but the ones we get during the day shifts are no fewer in number.

As soon as I clocked into the station, the alarms sounded off, and I hopped into my usual rig.

"Hope the ambulance is stocked and ready," I said to Mike, one of the paramedics on duty, as he strapped in beside me.

"Night shift checked everything before they left. We're good to go." He banged on the wall between us and the driver, and the engine roared to life.

Within seconds, a woman's voice came over the radio. "We've got an elderly fall victim, male, on the steps of the Art Museum in the North End. Sounds like there may be a broken bone."

"Copy. Alert Mercy Regional that we'll be there in under an hour." Mike turned down the volume on his radio and turned to me. "Good day off?"

I nodded, not wanting to get into the details. I tried to keep work as separate from my personal life as possible, but that wasn't exactly easy when I knew so many people in town. One of my greatest fears, one that I had recurring nightmares of, was getting a call, arriving on scene, and seeing one of my family members in need but being unable to help them. Pretty fucking cliché.

When we pulled up to the museum, my two worlds collided, but only slightly; I immediately recognized the man who fell. I walked up to him and knelt beside him as Mike checked out his wrist, which was hanging at an off angle.

"Father Davies, what happened?"

"Oh, Theo Bryne, I'm sure glad it was you who got the call. I haven't seen you at church in a few weeks, young man."

"Er, yes, Father, sorry. Let's save that conversation for later, okay? How did you fall?"

"Well, you see, I was walking down these here steps, and I jus—oh!" Father Davies winced in pain.

"Sorry, sir. Definitely broken your wrist here. Just trying to stabilize it." Mike gave him a sympathetic look.

I turned back to him. "Did you miss a step?"

"Yes, son. And I tried to break my fall, but it seems as though I've broken my wrist instead. Thank God it was only the wrist." He squinted up into the sky.

"Did you hit your head at all, sir?" Mike asked Father Davies as he wrapped his wrist in a splint.

"No, no. Didn't hit anything else."

Mike gave me the nod to help him get Father up and into the ambulance.

"Father, we're going to bring you to the hospital to get your wrist bandaged up, okay?"

"Only if you promise to make it to mass more often, Theo."

Mike tried to stifle a laugh, covering it up with a few coughs when I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Of course, Father. I'll go with mom and dad tomorrow morning, okay?"

"Well, I can't imagine I'll be serving that mass, but I'll pop in and look to make sure you're there. I had planned on spending my Saturday morning off checking out the new art installment, but it looks like the Lord had other plans. He must want me to check in with some patients at the hospital."

I'd give anything to have the positive outlook on life that Father Davies had. At eighty-five, he was still serving masses like he was half his age. He'd been at our parish for as long as I've been alive. He even baptized me, and he held a special mass when I was deployed. It was a great gesture, but as my experience proved, I could've used a few more prayers. We all could have.

A/N: I promise you Theo's story is not one of a former soldier who lost his best friend/fellow men while fighting in combat. That's been done too many times.

This chapter was actually really hard to write because I'm so used to being inside a British man's head. I had to go back and change things to make Theo sound less like Jude lol. I hope Theo is developing his own voice (though, I mean, far be it from me to stop you from picturing a handsome British gentleman because I do that all the time). I actually didn't even realize I'd recycled Theo's name from SE until I was already in love with him and unwilling to change it lol. Same thing kinda happened with Jules/Jude 😂

I think my chapters will be closer to 2000 words each in this novel. This way (hopefully) I'll be able to get updates to you quicker!

I'm so happy you all are enjoying this work so far; I have enormous plans in mind for this novel, and I can't wait to share them with you.

Love you all.

I'll see you Friday ❤️

-L