“We’ll make note of that,” he said carefully. “If you have a name or address you can give us, that will be helpful.”
“Shawn Davison.” Teagan didn’t hesitate to answer.
“Thank you.” They jotted it down on their pad and then walked off toward the nurses’ station. “We’ll be in touch.”
The second the officer walked away, I turned to Teagan.
“What was he saying to her?” My voice was low but tight as hell. I was holding on by a damn thread.
“Nothing worth repeating. Bullshit, trying to manipulate her, the usual Shawn shenanigans. If he did this—” Her voice cracked, and my hands balled into fists. Before I could push for more, Noa’s nurse appeared in the hallway.
“We need you all back in the room,” she called out, and we headed back without a word. My eyes went to her as soon as Imade it through the door. She was sitting up on the bed now. The oxygen mask was gone, but her face was still flushed, and her hair was frizzy. She looked like she was trying to be strong, but her eyes told the truth.
“Is this everyone?” the ER doctor asked when everyone piled into the room behind me.
“I’m the last person,” Marci said as she closed the door.
“She’s stable,” he said. “Her oxygen levels are back up, no burns or internal damage. Bloodwork shows no signs of a lupus flare, though we’ll want her to follow up with her rheumatologist in the next week.”
I felt my shoulders relax with relief.
“She’ll likely feel some fatigue, headaches, and dizziness. That’s typical after smoke inhalation. More than that, this was a traumatic event, so don’t be surprised if she experiences some emotional aftereffects. Things like anxiety, difficulty sleeping, flashbacks. Make sure she’s surrounded by support. And rest. Lots of it. We’ll bring the discharge papers in shortly.” The doctor signed something on his chart, looked up at all of us, and gave a small nod before turning and walking out. We all sat in silence for a second. Then Teagan stepped in, pulling down Noa’s blanket.
“Let’s get you home,” she said.
“What home?” Noa asked, barely above a whisper. She didn’t look at any of us, just stared at the wall.
“My home. My doors are always open.”
“Or my place. I’ve got space.” Marci raised her hand.
Noa shook her head. “You both have apartments, and I’m not about to intrude.”
“You’re coming with me,” I said. All eyes turned to me. “My house is empty now. My sister and Ron moved out.”
Teagan’s head snapped toward me. “Hold up. You want her to stay at your place?” She didn’t look pleased.
“That’s exactly what I said.”
“Quade, this isn’t just some overnight thing. Her house burned down. She’s vulnerable. This is a big step, and y’all just got together.”
“And I’m ready for it.” I stepped closer to Noa. I understood her sister’s concerns, but Noa coming to my place was the only option I was entertaining.
“T,… I want to go with him.” Noa spoke softly, shocking me and making Teagan stare at her like she’d lost her mind. Her eyes darted between Noa and me, holding my gaze for a second.
“Okay, but you know I’m her caregiver, right? I got to check on her daily. Vitals, meds, follow-ups, I need full access,” Teagan added.
“I get that,” I said. “You can come every day if you need to. I’ll get you a key if you want it. I just want her comfortable.”
Teagan’s lips parted like she wanted to argue, but she didn’t. Instead, she nodded. “Okay.”
“We good?” Noa looked at us.
“We’re great,” I said as I moved toward her. “Let’s get you home.” I didn’t care that we’d only been together for two months. I didn’t care that I’d just gotten the house to myself. Noa didn’t have a house. She lost nearly everything. But she had me, and that was enough.
I couldn’t findQuade anywhere. He wasn’t in the kitchen. He wasn’t in the guest room, and he wasn’t on the porch. If his car wasn’t outside, I would have assumed he was gone.
“Quade!” I called his name from atop the basement stairs, but he didn’t answer. I thought about using the stair lift, but I wasn’t confident enough with it yet. I had only been staying in Quade’s house for three weeks, and he’d already made so many modifications to make it easier for me to get around. Every time I turned a corner, there was some new addition I hadn’t noticed before—a lowered shelf in the kitchen, a small ramp between the back patio and the door, a grab bar in the hallway bathroom that hadn’t been there yesterday.
