My Hot Firefighter Ex-Boyfriend is a hilarious and heartwarming short drama filled with romantic misunderstandings, second chances, and irresistible chemistry. After accidentally handcuffing herself to her bed, a young woman calls 911 expecting a locksmith. Instead, her firefighter ex-boyfriend bursts through the door, convinced another man has taken advantage of her. One awkward confession sparks jealousy, chaos, and feelings neither of them ever truly left behind. Watch the full episode packed with laugh-out-loud moments, emotional twists, and unforgettable romance.
#MyHotFirefighterExBoyfriend #FirefighterRomance #ExLovers #SecondChanceRomance #RomCom #DramaSeries #ShortDrama #FullEP #ENGSUB
Welcome to our world of addictive short dramas and emotional storytelling.
Here you’ll find viral micro dramas, romantic love stories, revenge series, dramatic plot twists, and binge-worthy vertical dramas designed for mobile viewers.
From billionaire romance and toxic relationships to heartbreak, betrayal, and unexpected endings — every episode is crafted to keep you hooked.
New short drama episodes uploaded regularly.
Watch anytime, anywhere, and enjoy cinematic storytelling in minutes.
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#ShortDrama #MicroDrama #VerticalDrama #MiniSeries #RomanceDrama #RevengeDrama
#MyHotFirefighterExBoyfriend #FirefighterRomance #ExLovers #SecondChanceRomance #RomCom #DramaSeries #ShortDrama #FullEP #ENGSUB
Welcome to our world of addictive short dramas and emotional storytelling.
Here you’ll find viral micro dramas, romantic love stories, revenge series, dramatic plot twists, and binge-worthy vertical dramas designed for mobile viewers.
From billionaire romance and toxic relationships to heartbreak, betrayal, and unexpected endings — every episode is crafted to keep you hooked.
New short drama episodes uploaded regularly.
Watch anytime, anywhere, and enjoy cinematic storytelling in minutes.
Subscribe now for daily short dramas, trending micro drama series, and emotional love stories.
#ShortDrama #MicroDrama #VerticalDrama #MiniSeries #RomanceDrama #RevengeDrama
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Short filmTranscript
00:00So my ex just kicked down my bedroom door. I'm handcuffed to my own bed frame, wearing a black
00:06lease slip that barely covers my ass. Three firefighters are staring at me. Let me back up
00:1230 minutes. I bought pink fluffy handcuffs off Amazon last Tuesday. Don't judge me. I'm 26 and
00:17single. A girl gets curious. Tonight was supposed to be wine, candles, and a little me time.
00:30Then the little release pin slipped through the crack between my mattress and the wall.
00:35I tried for 20 straight minutes. My fingers couldn't reach the gap. My wrists were turning
00:40purple. Looked cute on TikTok. Turns out the fluffy part hides actual steel. Like real steel. I scooted
00:46my phone over with my chin and hit speaker. 911, what's your emergency? I panicked. I'm chained up.
00:54I can't get out. My hands are going numb. I think I'm losing circulation. Please send
00:59somebody. Ma'am, I'm dispatching fire rest to your location. Stay on the line.
01:05I should have explained it was a sex toy situation. I was hyperventilating. My hands were turning
01:11blue. I was hoping a narcloth would show up. Then I heard the sirens. They got louder. Then
01:17they were right outside my window. I heard boots running up the stairs. One kick and my front
01:23door was open. Fire rescue. Anyone home? Three guys in full turno gear flooded down my hallway.
01:30I tried to scream stop. Nothing came out. They burst into my bedroom. The captain pushed to the front.
01:37I stopped breathing. It was Liam, my ex-boyfriend. The man I broke up with three years ago.
01:45He was standing in my bedroom, staring at me. And I was just laying there. Dress up. Hands up.
01:51Everything. Knees apart because that was the only way the cuffs didn't pull.
01:59The rookie behind him made a strangled sound. He spun toward the wall so fast his helmet almost
02:05flew off. Oh god. Oh god. Captain, I'm sorry. I didn't, uh... Sir, these are novelty cuffs.
02:11There's no keyhole. We're gonna need the heavy-duty bolt cutters from the rig.
02:14Liam didn't acknowledge him. Liam didn't even blink. He just kept staring at me. Like he was
02:20trying to figure out what he was looking at. Three years ago, he used to look at me like I
02:24was his
02:24whole world. Right now, he looked pissed. Like, really pissed. Everyone out. His voice came out low
02:32and flat. The rookie froze. Sir, protocol says we maintain a two-person... Tyler. Out.
02:37Out. Nobody argued. Tyler practically ran. The other two followed with their eyes glued to the
02:42floor. The bedroom door clicked shut. And then it was just us. My heartbeat was so loud I could
02:47feel it in my teeth. Liam pulled the bolt cutters off his belt. He set them down on my nightstand.
02:52He didn't move toward my wrists. He put one knee on the mattress instead. The bed sank. I literally
02:58slid toward him. My strap fell off my shoulder. I tried to shrug it back up. Couldn't. The cusses held
03:05my
03:05arms in place. His eyes tracked the strap. Then my collarbone. Then lower. He didn't reach for the
03:12cusses. He reached for me. Then he looked at my thighs and I felt it. Physically. Like he'd touched
03:20me. His hand wrapped around my ankle. His hand was so hot. And rough. Firefighter hands, you know?
03:29I got goosebumps everywhere. Like everywhere. My thighs clenched together on instinct.
03:36Because I knew that hand. I knew exactly what that hand could do. That hand used to be on me
03:42every
03:43single night. My body reacted before my brain even processed it. He felt it. His thumb dragged a slow
03:49circle on the bone of my ankle. My breath hitched. Out loud. The corner of his mouth twitched. He heard
03:57it.
03:59Liam. Liam. What are you doing? He didn't answer. He leaned over me. His mouth went to my ear.
04:06His chest brushed mine through the lace. My back arched off the mattress without my permission.
04:12Then his hand started sliding up my calf. Up the inside of my knee. He stopped right above my knee
04:19and just left his hand there. Burning a hole through me.
04:23So where is he? His voice scraped against my eardrum. Your hookup? Tinder match? Whatever.
04:34He chained you up and bounced? Real stand-up dude. I'd love to meet him.
04:40Every word hurt. I wasn't scared of him. I was guilty. So guilty I couldn't speak.
04:48He thought there was another man. And I had no idea how to tell him the truth.
04:54Liam picked the bolt cutters back up. Cold steel pressed against the soft skin on the inside of
04:59my wrist. I sucked in a breath. His hands were rock steady. This guy pulls people out of car
05:07crashes for a living. He talked a jumper down off the 17th floor last spring. His hands don't shake.
05:13He was clenching his jaw so hard it looked like it hurt.
05:15I asked you a question, Chloe. His voice was dead quiet.
05:19Did you use protection? My brain stalled. Protection? Like a safety release on the cuffs?
05:24Did Amazon sell something I missed? I was panicking. I spit out the truth. No, I didn't.
05:30Wrong answer. Wrong, wrong, wrong answer. Liam froze. Completely froze. His knuckles went white
05:36around the bolt cutters. Then he snapped the chain. The metal cracked so loud it made my ears ring.
05:42A piece of the broken link ricocheted and sliced across his knuckle. Blood started dripping down
05:48his fingers onto my sheets. Liam, you're bleeding. Your hand. Don't.
05:53He threw the bolt cutters on the floor with a thud. My wrists were finally free.
06:00I scrambled back against the headboard and yanked the duvet up to my chin.
06:04Okay, thank you for the rescue. You can leave now.
06:07My voice was somewhere between a squeak and a sob.
06:09I really appreciate the response time. Tell the department I said thanks. Bye.
06:14Liam didn't move. He stood up. He turned his back to me. And he started unbuckling his turno coat.
06:23What are you doing, Liam? Hello?
06:25The heavy coat dropped off his shoulders. He had on a black compression shirt soaked through
06:29with sweat. You could see every muscle in his back. I just stopped. Like, brain stopped.
06:34He grabbed the chair from my vanity, walked it across the room, wedged it under the doorknob.
06:38He sat down, knees wide, elbows on his thighs, bloody hand dripping onto my floor. He didn't
06:43even look at it. I have to file an incident report. His tone was pure venom. So walk me
06:49through it, ma'am. Start to finish. When did he get here? How long was he here? What position
06:55were you in when he left? Take your time. Be specific. My nails dug into my palms. This
07:01was revenge. He'd been holding this in a long time and now I was going to pay for all of
07:05it.
07:05He didn't bandage his hand. He didn't even glance at it. He was 100% locked in on me. I
07:10snapped.
07:11Are you insane? I sat up with the dupe still wrapped around me and screamed it at him.
07:16There is no guy! There was never a guy! Get the hell out of my apartment! This is my house,
07:23Liam! You don't get to do this! He didn't flinch. His mouth pulled into a slow smile with no warmth
07:29in
07:29it. No guy. So you cuffed yourself. To your own bed. Dressed like that. And then he stood
07:38up and started searching my room. I opened my mouth. I closed it. What was I supposed to
07:45say? That I bought sex toys to feel something? That this was my Saturday night, Liam? This
07:50is who I am now? He ripped my closet open. Hangers screeched across the bar. Scanning for anything
07:56male. Nothing. He kicked the storage bins out from under my bed. Flipped one open. Just
08:01my shoes. He yanked back my balcony curtains so hard the rod rattled. Empty. His eyebrows
08:07pulled together harder with every drawer. There was nothing in this apartment except me. There
08:11never had been. Then his eyes landed on my vanity. My heart stopped. Don't go over there.
08:17Please don't open it. He started walking. I jumped off the bed so fast the dupe fell.
08:23I sprinted across the room and threw myself in front of the vanity with my arms spread wide.
08:27Stop! You can't open this one!
08:30My voice came out shrill and wet. He looked down at me. I'm 5'4". In a slip. Trying to
08:37block a
08:37six-foot fire captain. Yeah. It was not going to work.
08:41Move, Chloe.
08:42No.
08:43I'm not asking twice.
08:45No!
08:46He didn't repeat himself a third time. His arm went around my waist and he picked me
08:50up like I weighed nothing. He set me down against the wall and held me there with one
08:54hand on my hip. With his other hand, the bloody one, he pulled open the bottom drawer.
09:01There were no men's things inside. Just a brown Amazon box. Sealed and resealed with packing
09:06tape so many times the cardboard had gone soft. He sliced the tape with his thumbnail. The box
09:12flopped open. A photograph fluttered out and landed face up on the floor.
09:17Us. Summer. Three years ago. Outside station 12. He was in his navy duty uniform. I was
09:24up on my toes holding a Gatorade above his head, laughing because he was reaching for
09:28it. We looked stupid happy. Next to the photo was a leather journal. Forest green. The spine
09:34was cracked from being open so many times. Liam crouched down. He picked up the photo first.
09:39His thumb dragged across my face on the paper. Real slow. Then he picked up the journal.
09:45No! Don't! Liam, don't!
09:47I lunged at him. I clawed at his arm. I grabbed at the cover. He held it straight up over
09:52his head.
09:53I jumped. He stepped back. I jumped again. He stepped back again. The world's most humiliating
09:59game of kippawa. My bare foot caught the edge of the photograph and slipped. I fell forward.
10:04His arm caught my waist before I hit the floor. He never lowered the journal. He sat me down on
10:10the edge of the bed. Like a kid in timeout. He backed up two steps. Out of my reach. He
10:17opened the
10:18cover. First page. The day I dumped him. His pupils flinched. He flipped through the pages faster and
10:26faster. His hands started to shake. He stopped dead on the last entry. Yesterday's date. And then he
10:31read it out loud. His voice was already breaking before he got the first word out.
10:36Day 1023. They changed the sign tone at the firehouse down the block. Took me three days to
10:43get used to the new one. The old one was the siren Liam used to roll out on. I used
10:49to count seconds
10:50until the trucks came back. He kept reading. Walked past a guy at the mall today. Smoking Marlboro Reds.
10:56Liam used to smoke Marlboro Reds. I stopped in the middle of the food tort. I couldn't move.
11:01People were staring at me. I told myself I was just waiting for someone. I was actually waiting
11:06for my eyes to stop watering so I could keep walking. And then the last line. The one I wrote
11:11last night. Drunk on cheap wine. His voice cracked all the way through. Why does the smell of cigarettes
11:18still make me want to cry? The journal dropped from his hand and hung at his side. His knuckles were
11:24bone white around the spine. And then his whole face changed.
11:30His eyes were bloodshot. Like he hadn't slept in a week. The bedroom was completely silent. He looked
11:35down at the pink fluffy cusses on the floor. The anger drained out of him. The cruel smile was gone.
11:40What was left Sussam never seen on his face before. Grief. He'd figured it out. There was no guy.
11:46There was no hiccup who ran. There was just me. Three years of just me. Sleeping with his photo in
11:54a
11:54drawer. Writing his name in a book I never let anyone read. Even the sex toys were mine. There's
12:00been nobody else. I slid off the bed onto the floor and put my face in my knees. My shoulders
12:06were
12:06shaking. This was officially the worst moment of my entire adult life. I looked up and gave him the
12:12most pathetic smile I've ever produced. There. Happy now, Captain? Mystery solved. Chloe Park, 26,
12:20certified loser. Can't get over her ex three years later. Buys sex toys to cope. You can put that in
12:27your incident report. Have a great night. I pointed at the door. Get out. Just leave me a little bit
12:32of
12:32dignity. Please. He didn't move. He should have left. I had ghosted him. I had blocked his number and
12:41ignored 137 phone calls. That's what a normal person would do. Instead, I heard the journal hit
12:48the rug. Soft. Then footsteps. Coming closer. Close enough that I could smell him. Smoke. Sweat. Iron from
12:58his blood. His hand came up under my chin and lifted my face. His palm was rough and warm. His
13:04fingertips
13:04were trembling against my jaw. I had to look at him. His eyes were wet. Red rimmed. He looked like
13:11he was
13:11barely holding it together. He dropped to one knee in front of me. This is the guy who rips car
13:17doors
13:17open with his bare hands. He carried two kids out of a 15th floor fire last year. And I'm the
13:24idiot who
13:24walked away from him. If you missed me this bad. His voice was barely working. His thumb wiped the tears
13:32off my cheek. He reached for the duty belt at his hip. The buckle came undone with a metallic clink
13:38that I felt in my stomach. He leaned in and pressed his forehead against mine. Nose to nose.
13:44Why are you using plastic toys, baby? Use me. I couldn't speak. He kissed me. Hard. Like everything
13:52he'd swallowed for years coming out at once. The back of my head bumped against the side of the bed.
13:57His palm shot up to cradle it before I felt it. His other hand grabbed my waist and hauled me
14:03onto
14:03the mattress. He climbed on top of me. And then my brain finally caught up to what was happening.
14:11I shoved both hands against his chest. I bit down on his bottom lip until I tasted iron.
14:16He didn't pull back. He didn't slow down. He kissed me deeper. I beat my fists against his shoulders.
14:22He didn't move. At all. I twisted my head sideways and screamed.
14:26Who the hell do you think you are? You don't get to disappear for three years and then just show
14:33up and kiss me. What am I to you, Liam? He braced himself over me on his elbows. His chest
14:40was heaving.
14:41He licked the blood off his bottom lip and looked down at me. I disappeared? His voice dropped to a
14:47whisper. Chloe, you have some nerve. His right hand caught my wrist. He laced his fingers between mine and
14:55squeezed until my knuckles popped. Three years ago, you're the one who left me. And just like that, I was
15:02sobbing. Because he was right. Three years of running. Now we're left to run. Because... My voice cracked.
15:10Because I was terrified you were going to die in a fire. Liam went completely still on top of me.
15:15His breathing
15:16stopped. Then it came back fast and unseaven, hot against my collarbone. I looked at him through
15:22tears. His face had gone white under the soot. It was pure terror. What did you just say? His voice
15:29was barely a thread. I lifted my hands. The cuffs had left thick red welds around both my wrists.
15:37I cupped his face anyway. My turn. Every time I hear a siren downtown, I start counting seconds. I never
15:43stopped. Every fire on the news. I scroll the comments. I look for your name. Two years ago,
15:48a firefighter died at a building collapse over on 6th Avenue. I locked myself in my office bathroom
15:54and threw up for an hour. When I found out it wasn't you, I sat on the bathroom floor and
15:59laughed
15:59until I cried. Like a literal crazy person. My thumb brushed the old scar under his cheekbone.
16:05The one from the collapse he survived two summers ago. Liam, I never stopped loving you.
16:10I loved you too much to sit around waiting for that phone call. I'd rather lose you on my terms
16:16than lose you to a fire. At least this way I got to choose. At least this way I could
16:21lie to myself
16:22and say I left you. Liam's eyes spilled over. He couldn't get a word out. He buried his face in
16:28the cook of my neck. I could feel his heart slamming through his shirt. He held onto me like if
16:33he let
16:34go I'd evaporate. I pushed my fingers into his sweaty hair. I cried so hard I couldn't get a full
16:40breath. And then his breathing started to change. It got hotter. Heavier. His mouth moved up the side
16:50of my neck. Under my jaw. To the corner of my mouth. My fingers fisted in his hair. My back
16:57arched up off
16:57the mattress. Then a radio shrieked. We both froze. The radio on the chest of his coat. The red
17:04transmit light was blinking. All units. All units. Multiple explosions reported at Sinclair Chemical
17:09on the east side. Active fire. Structural failure. Engine 12. Respond code 3. Liam's eyes changed
17:14instantly. Heat gone. Hesitation gone. Pure work mode. He pushed off me so fast my fingers ripped out
17:20of his hair. He swiped his coat off the floor. Shrugged into it. Snapped every buckle in under 15
17:25seconds. Belt back on. Rodeo on his shoulder. Helmet under his arm. He stopped at my bedroom
17:31door with his hand on the knob. He looked back at me. His face was calm. Almost flat. Lock the
17:36door
17:36behind me. If I make it back. The corner of his mouth lifted into that same crooked half smile.
17:43We're not done. The door closed. His boots pounded down my hallway. The fire engine roared to life on the
17:49street below. The siren screamed past my window and faded into the distance. And I was alone again.
17:55Counting seconds. Just like three years ago. I sat on the bed in the dark. The only thing in the
18:03room
18:03was the broken pink cuffs on the rug. I pulled my knees up to my chest and started shaking. Chemical
18:09fire. Multiple explosions. Active structural failure. Every nightmare I'd ever had was happening
18:14tonight. I scrambled for my phone and opened the news app. The top story was already live aerial
18:20footage. The eastern sky over the city was orange. Black smoke pumping into the air. The fire glow
18:25lighting up half the skyline. The anchor was talking fast. 27 units on scene. Heavy rescue is now pushing
18:32into the interior of the second structure. Liam. Come back. Please come back. And just like that I was
18:38right back where I'd been three years ago. Back then I lived two blocks from his firehouse. The second the
18:43siren faded. The waiting would start. The longest he was ever gone was almost two hours. When he finally
18:49walked back in, his left eyebrow was singed off. He poured himself a glass of water in my kitchen
18:56and drank it without saying a word. That night I cried into my pillow until three in the morning.
19:01The next day I told him it was over. And now here I was. Same fire glow. Same silence. Same
19:09fear.
19:11I watched the news for two hours. The fire was getting bigger. The first explosion had set off a
19:17chain reaction. The storage tanks were going one after another. The comments under the live stream went
19:23from praying for the crews to any casualties yet in real time. The aerial footage went from full dark
19:28to gray dawn to actual sunrise. The fire was still burning. By hour 10 I'd stopped crying. My eyes were
19:34swollen shut. Hour 11 a push notification dropped onto my lock screen. Breaking. Secondary collapse
19:40at east side chemical fire. Two firefighters reported critical. Identities pending family
19:45notification. My phone hit the floor and the screen shattered. There was a high ringing sound in my
19:50ears. I don't remember putting on shoes. I don't remember leaving my apartment. Uber wouldn't load.
19:56I started running down the sidewalk in my pajamas. One of my converse came off around the third block.
20:01I kept running with one bare foot. A cab pulled over for me eventually. The driver took one look at
20:08me
20:08and fluttered it across town. The ER doors were propped open. Wall of noise. People crying. Doctors
20:14yelling. Radios crackling. The hallway was packed. Hospital gowns. Sochford turnout coats. Family members
20:20with red eyes. I pushed through. I checked every face. I must have looked at 20 firefighters. None of
20:26them was Liam. At the end of the corridor. I spotted Tyler. The rookie. Curled up in a plastic
20:34chair like he wanted to disappear into it. His turnout coat had melted holes in it. The right
20:39side of his face was wrapped in gauze. He was sobbing into his fire gloves. I crossed the hallway
20:44in three steps and grabbed his collar. Tyler. Where is he? Where is Liam? Tyler looked up.
20:51He saw me and his face crumpled. Oh ma'am. Oh god ma'am. The captain. He pushed us out
20:58first. He
20:58stayed in the front so we could get clear. And then the wall came down right on top. I didn't
21:03hear the
21:03rest. My knees folded and I dropped onto the line emolium. I couldn't breathe. Like physically
21:08couldn't breathe. I crawled across the floor to the trauma room doors. The red light above them
21:13was on. In procedure. I bought handcuffs. I played with them alone in my bedroom. He came in to save
21:19me. Now he was on a table behind those doors and he wasn't coming out. The light over the doors
21:25clicked off. The doors swung open. A white sheet was pulled all the way up over the body. The corner
21:30hung off, swaying as the orderly pushed it. I lost it. I crawled to the gurney. My knees hit the
21:37metal
21:37frame and I didn't feel it. I grabbed a fistful of the sheet. I was crying so hard I didn't
21:44even
21:44sound like myself. Liam. Liam! You son of a bitch! You do not get to die on me! I swear
21:54to god if you
21:54die I'm going on Tinder tonight. I'm going on Hinnage. I'm gonna date a hundred guys. Do you hear me?
21:59The orderly froze with his hands on the gurney rails. The nurse just stared. The whole ER was
22:04watching. I did not care. The only thing in the world was the white sheet. And then, from behind
22:09me, a voice. Tired. Horsey. A little amused. Hi. Looking for me? My spine locked up.
22:20I'm not dead yet, sweetheart. I didn't dare move. I was still gripping the sheet. If I turned around
22:28and he wasn't there, I was gonna die right on this floor. Chloe. He said my name again. Closer
22:34now. Weak. Smiling. I turned around so slowly. Liam was heening against the wall at the end
22:39of the hallway. His termout coat was bunched around his waist. There was a thick wad of
22:43gauze taped to his left shoulder. His left arm was in a temporary cast in a sling. His face
22:48was streaked with soap and blood. His bottom lip was split. His left eyebrow was scorched off
22:52again. He was upright. He was breathing. He was smiling crooked at me. The doctor walked
23:00up and pushed his glasses up his nose. Ma'am, there's been a misunderstanding. The patient
23:04under the sheet is one of the chemical plant employees. He didn't make it. Captain Reyes
23:07here walked into the ER on his own two feet. He refused the wheelchair, refused the gurney,
23:11refused the elevator. The doctor looked at Liam. He's a pain in my ass, frankly. I stood up
23:16off the floor. My legs were jelly. One barefoot. One sock. I walked across the hallway in slow
23:21motion, and then I ran the last two steps and threw myself at his chest. He grunt hard.
23:26His back slammed into the wall. His cast banged against the doorbrain, and he sucked in a sharp
23:30breath. He didn't push me away. His good arm wrapped tight around my waist. I shoved my face
23:36into his shirt and started screaming. He patted my back. Real awkward.
23:40Hey. Hey. What's all this? His voice was scratchy and warm.
23:46You know what they say. Bad guys never die. And I still owe you a real night, baby.
23:52I'm not going to miss that for a fire. His mouth dropped to my ear, to a whisper
23:56only I could hear. I cried harder and hit his chest with my fist. The nurses started laughing.
24:02Tyler was wiping his eyes and laughing, too. A few bandaged-up firefighters poked their heads
24:06out of the next room. One of them whistled. Get it, Captain!
24:12Liam flipped them off over my head. The tips of his ears went red.
24:21Three days later, Liam signed himself out AMA. He said the hospital bed was too hard and
24:27the food was an insult. He moved into my apartment with a paper bag full of prescriptions and zero
24:33discussion about it. He was propped up against my headboard, with his clasped arm on a pillow,
24:39flipping channels with his good hand. Water.
24:46I brought him water.
24:48Babe, peel me an apple.
24:50I peeled an apple.
24:51Did you peel this with a chainsaw? The skin is still on half of it.
24:56I took a deep breath. I owed him three years. I could take this. He took a bite and talked
25:01with his mouth full.
25:03There's chicken soup in the fridge. Heat it up. I'm dying over here.
25:07I started walking toward the kitchen.
25:09Hey! Hey, hold up!
25:12I turned around. His good hand came out of his pocket holding the broken pink cuffs.
25:18You kept those? When did you even pick those up? You were on a call!
25:22He held them up to the light and examined them like an antique.
25:27Stuffed them in my coat pocket before I rolled out.
25:30He said it like it was the most natural thing in the world.
25:33I lunged at him.
25:34He held the cuffs up over his head,
25:37way out of my reach.
25:38I climbed onto the bed and tried to push up on my knees.
25:41I could not get close.
25:43Liam,
25:44give them back, right now.
25:47Nope.
25:49You are literally a 30-year-old man.
25:54Yep.
25:56And then I lost my balance and tipped forward.
26:01He laughed under his breath.
26:03His good arm caught me around the waist and pulled me down against his chest.
26:06The cuffs landed on the pillow somewhere.
26:08I ended up straddling his lap with his good hand splayed on my lower back.
26:12Our faces were two inches apart.
26:14I could smell antiseptic on his bandage.
26:16His good hand slid down past my hip and gripped my thigh.
26:20Hard.
26:21My breath caught.
26:22He stopped smiling.
26:23His eyes went serious.
26:25Chloe.
26:25He said my name really quiet.
26:28Really careful.
26:29In the hospital.
26:31I didn't get to finish what I was saying.
26:34When you broke up with me three years ago,
26:36I already knew why.
26:40I stopped breathing.
26:42After you moved out, I went to your old landlord, Mr. Henderson.
26:47He told me you'd been calling him at three in the morning, every week.
26:52Asking him if he'd heard whether any firefighters got hurt that night.
26:56You thought you got out clean.
26:58You did not.
26:59You weren't as careful as you thought, baby.
27:03He tipped his forehead down against mine.
27:06I knew you still loved me.
27:08I knew you were scared.
27:11I didn't come after you.
27:13Because you were scared I was going to die.
27:15And I was scared of that too.
27:18I'd go down in a fire one day and you'd be a 23-year-old widow getting a folded flag.
27:23I couldn't do that to you.
27:27His good hand slid up into my hair.
27:29So I let you go.
27:31I figured you deserved a clean break.
27:34I thought you'd meet some accountant.
27:36A nice guy with a 9-to-5.
27:38Who came home every night at 6.
27:41That was the plan.
27:42His voice dropped soft.
27:46Then I read your journal tonight, baby.
27:49A thousand and twenty-three days.
27:52You weren't free for a single one of them.
27:56He looked up at me.
27:57I'm done hiding.
27:59I'm done being noble.
28:01I'm still going to do the job.
28:02I'm still going to run into the building.
28:04That part isn't changing.
28:05You're mine.
28:06You don't get to leave again.
28:08A tear ran off my chin and landed on his bottom lip.
28:10He didn't wipe it off.
28:12I leaned down and kissed it off him.
28:14This kiss was different from the one in my bedroom.
28:18This one was slow.
28:19His cracked lips.
28:21The bitter taste of iodine off his bandage.
28:23His fingers tightened in my hair.
28:26He was holding back.
28:27I straddled him with both palms flat against his chest.
28:31I could feel his heart murmuring through his t-shirt.
28:35The kiss moved off my lips.
28:38Across my jaw.
28:40Down to the side of my throat.
28:42His good hand slid down the length of my spine.
28:45Slow.
28:46When his palm hit the small of my back, I shivered.
28:49My tank strap slid off my shoulder.
28:51His mouth moved down to my collarbone.
28:53He bit me there.
28:54Soft.
28:55And then he froze.
28:59His thumb had pressed into the bruise on the inside of my wrist.
29:02I winked.
29:02He stopped instantly.
29:04He pulled my wrist into the light of the bedside lamp.
29:06The marks the cuffs left behind had bloomed into ugly purple bruises.
29:10Chloe.
29:11Why didn't you put anything on these?
29:13His voice went sharp.
29:14This is bruising plus surface abrasion.
29:16You're going to get a skin infection.
29:17What is wrong with you?
29:18I forgot.
29:19He glared at me.
29:20He used his one good arm to physically lift me off his lap and sit me down on the mattress.
29:24He stood up and immediately started walking weird.
29:27His good leg and his casted arm tried to swing at the same time.
29:31He had to stop and reset.
29:34On his way out the bedroom door, his shoulder banged the door fame.
29:38I laughed out loud.
29:39From the hallway, I heard a very loud...
29:41Shut up, Chloe!
29:42He came back with the first aid kits tucked under his good arm.
29:44He dropped down on one knee next to the bed and pulled my wrist into his good hand.
29:48Everything about him got gentle.
29:49He squeezed a little neocabine onto his fingerfip and rubbed it in.
29:52Slow, careful circles.
29:54His fingers were rough with calluses.
29:56His touch was almost too soft.
29:57Another one.
29:58I held out my left wrist.
29:59The bruise was darker.
30:00His jaw clenched.
30:01He rubbed in more knee-openon and blew a slow breath across my pulse.
30:04He capped the tube and put it back in the kit.
30:07He stood up and looked at me.
30:08His eyes dropped straight from my wrist to my mouth.
30:10And then he did the last thing I expected.
30:14He leaned down and kissed me on the forehead.
30:17He grabbed my comforter with his good hand and pulled it up over me.
30:21One corner was way too high.
30:23The other was on the floor.
30:25It looked like a disaster.
30:27He nodded at it like it was a job well done.
30:30Okay.
30:31Medicine's on.
30:32Get some sleep.
30:33I'll make you breakfast in the morning.
30:38He turned and headed for the door.
30:41Two steps in, he stopped and looked back.
30:44His face was dead serious.
30:47One more thing.
30:48His ears went red again.
30:50No more playing with weird stuff by yourself, okay?
30:55You've got me now.
30:58He turned around and his shoulder hit the doorframe a second time on his way out.
31:02I heard a muttered,
31:04God damn it, from the hallway.
31:05Then the couch creaked as he laid down on it.
31:08I lay there in the dark, smiling like an idiot.
31:11Crying the good kind.
31:13One thousand and twenty-three days.
31:15I waited.
31:16He came home.
31:22I curled up under the lopsided comfort.
31:24I listened to him breathing on my couch in the living room.
31:27I whispered to him through the wall.
31:30Okay, Liam.
31:31From now on every single day.
31:33Sirens or no sirens.
31:35I'll be right here waiting.
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