Stone Cold (25 page)

First of all, i
t was impossible not to notice his impressive physique. He was so much physically stronger than everyone else that no one dared challenge him. He consistently set an example of what other’s strove to aspire to through his skills and dedication. He was an upstanding, all around nice guy who played by the rules.

The few
service women he’d encountered had also noticed him. They’d tried but failed to capture his attention. No one compared to the one girl who remained just outside of his grasp.

Chapter 20

The volleyball tournament was a success. Hannah was the MVP hands down and her team won the title. She was glad she was able to help them win but her heart was in a different place.

The rest of the season was long. Every day seemed like a struggle. September finally came and she was eager to start her senior year. It was always nice to see her friends again after being apart from many of them during the summer.

Josh was still a big part of her life bu
t she was somewhat relieved when he’d gone back to college after spending nearly every day of the summer together.

Breaking his heart was something that she was trying to avoid.
She’d been hoping that he would’ve met a college girl by now and initiated a breakup but that hadn’t happened. He appeared to be quite comfortable with their relationship and showed no signs of moving on.

She was feeling guilty about continuing to date him when she knew it wasn’t what she wanted. She didn’t want to keep him around as a place holder until the one she really wanted was finally in her life.

Hannah decided it was time to let Josh go and move on. She had to figure out what would be the best way to go about it – the way it would leave the least amount of collateral damage.

Everyone they knew thought they were the perfect couple including Gina. Her parents loved him and were probably secretly hoping he would be her future husband. The news was definitely going to come as a shocking blow to so many. Not only would she be breaki
ng up with him but they would have to as well.

“If only he’
d cheat on me or something it would be so much easier. The chances of that happening are highly unlikely so I’m going to have to take matters into my own hands.”

A week after school started, Hannah
planned to call Josh and tell him the bad news. She knew it was a cowardly and selfish way to end a relationship over the phone but if she waited until he was home, everyone else would get involved and she might go back on her decision. She thought it would be easier on him if he was surrounded by good friends when it happened. They could give him the support he’d need to get through it.

It was the morning of September 11, and she was as ready as she’d ever be to make the hardest phone call of her life. She was in study hall and the teacher had asked her to deliver something to the office for her.

After she made the delivery, Hannah saw this as her chance to call Josh and get it over with. He knew she was in school and would have to make it short which is exactly what she wanted it to be.

She slipped into the stairwell and after taking a few deep breaths, called his number. Her hands were shaking as she tried to hold the phone steady to her ear.

One ring, her heart was pounding out of her chest.  Two rings, she started to doubt her timing. Three rings, she was about to hang up when he answered.

“Hannah my love! I was just thinking about you! How’s my beautiful girlfriend?”

Hannah’s heart started to hurt. The doubts began flooding her brain.

Her thoughts were overwhelming.
“I can’t do this. Josh is always so happy. This is going to kill him. I can’t do this.”

“Hannah? You’
re there aren’t you? Hannah?”

His voice penetrated the swirling voice in her head.

“Yes I’m here. Sorry. I got distracted for a moment.”

Her stomach was churning and she felt lightheaded.

“Josh, there’s something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about.”

She hesitated for a split second before going on.

“Hold on a minute Hannah. There’s some kind of an important news flash that everyone in the dorm is watching. I’m listening to you, I promise, but let me find out what this is all about real quick. Hang on.”

Hannah waited for Josh to come back. He was holding the phone and she could hear people in the room with him gasping and commenting on how they couldn’t believe what had just happened.

Before he had a chance to come back, students were suddenly starting to come into the stairwell and hallways and were exiting the building like they were leaving for the day.

“What’s going on?
Why is everyone leaving?” she asked people as they rushed by.

She heard a random voice say,
“Two planes have hit the twin towers in NYC and everyone is supposed to go home because they think we’re under terrorist attack or something.”

Hannah stood there for a minute in complete shock
before returning to her phone conversation.

“Josh? Josh! Are you there? I just heard what happened. I’m guessing you’re finding out about it too.”

She’d forgotten all about the reason for her phone call.

“
Yes, I’m here. Yes, that’s exactly what I was just going to tell you about. This is awful. So awful. They told us to go to our dorms and wait and watch the news for further information.”

“Yeah, they dismissed us from school so I’m going to have to go now but I’ll call you later.”

“Wait, Hannah. I want to hear what you wanted to talk to me about. What is it?”

There was no way she could tell him she wanted to break up with him after what just happened. It all seemed so insignificant at the moment and would have to wait.

“Oh, don’t worry about that right now. It can wait. It wasn’t all that important. We can talk about it later.”

“Are you sure? You sounded like it was something you needed to get off your mind.”

“No it’s fine. I’m good. I promise we can talk about it another time. I’ve really got to go now. They’re pushing us out of the building.”

“Okay baby. Give me a call later when things have settled down. Can’t wait.”

“Me either.” She lied.

“I love you.”

“Love you too.” Another partial lie.

Hannah hung up the phone and clutched it to her chest.

She thought to herself, “The timing couldn’t have been worse. Was that fate talking? What are the odds that something so devastating would happen at the exact moment that I was trying to end things with Josh? Maybe the universe is trying to tell me he is the one for me.”

After she got home, Hannah watched the news for the rest of the day along with most America
ns and many others across the planet. It became more apparent that this was a day that would change things forever in the world and it was only the beginning.

She was mad at herself for thinking about her own problems when thousands of innocent people had just been injured or lost their lives or their loved ones.

That night lying in bed,
she sat straight up when it suddenly dawned on her that Conall had gone to school in Manhattan and he probably lived within blocks of the towers. She’d hoped that his family and he were safe. She knew he was older than her and was probably safe in a college dorm room somewhere far away from the devastation. Still, she decided a few words couldn’t hurt.

“Conall, where ever you are I’m praying that you’re safe and that we’ll see each other soon.”

As she was falling asleep, Hannah realized she’d forgotten to call Josh as planned.

Sleepily she mused,” Wonder why he didn’t call me? He usually does if I don’t call him.”

*****

The next day, the schools remained closed so she stayed in bed for a few hours longer. When she got up, it was almost noon and she still hadn’t heard from Josh. She tried to reach him on his cell phone for the rest of the day but kept getting disconnected.

“Where could he be?” she wondered.

Around 10:00 P.M.
that night, Hannah’s cell phone rang. It was Josh.

“Hey Hannah. So sorry but
this is the first time I’ve been able to get through to you. I’ve been trying since last night.”

“Where’ve you been? I’ve b
een trying to reach you all day too.”

“Ha. So after I talked to you yesterday, some of my friends decided they wanted to go to the city to see if they could be of help and I went with them. We’re in
Manhattan now and it’s unbelievable, the devastation I mean.”

“Oh my gosh I can’t believe you went there. Are you okay? How long are you going to be there? Where are you staying?”

“I’m fine and I don’t know how long I’m going to be here. We’re staying with a friend who’s from Manhattan. He lives in our dorm.”

“Please be careful Josh. From the news reports, it looks like a really dangerous place to be right now.”

“You know me. I’ll be as careful as I can be.”

“I know you will and that’s what I’m afraid of.”

“I just want to help these people. This is so wrong Hannah.”

“I know. I want to help too.
”

“I know you do but please stay there. Let me help for both of us.
This is no place for you to be, trust me.”

“I do trust you. Just no heroics okay?”

“Okay promise. I’ve got to go for now. I’ll call you again when I can but don’t worry if you don’t hear from me for awhile. I’ll be fine. Love you.”

“Love you too.”

It wasn’t as if she didn’t love Josh. She did. She just wasn’t in love with him and there was a difference. She was in love with Conall.

Hannah
meant it when she said she wanted Josh to be careful and not participate in any heroics. Even though she wasn’t in love with him she didn’t want any harm to come to him. He was known for taking chances that most people wouldn’t dream of - a daredevil of sorts, a risk taker that went beyond all reason at times. He enjoyed the adrenaline rush he’d get from doing things like base jumping off of the highest point he could find or bungee jumping. He once ran into a burning building that even the fire fighters were not entering to save a family’s dog. Luckily, he escaped unharmed and became a hero at the same time.

*****

Days passed and the world outside of Manhattan gradually returned to some sense of normalcy. Schools and businesses reopened.

Hannah hadn’t heard from Josh again since he
’d called to tell her he was there. She knew from the news reports that volunteers were putting in very long hours trying to find survivors. He was probably exhausted. Knowing him, he’d work until he’d collapse and someone would have to carry him off the site. She was concerned but knew he’d be true to his word and call her at the first chance he got.

When he finally did call two weeks later, Josh had some really big news.

“I know this is probably going to come as a shock to you but I’m just going to say it. I’ve enlisted in the Army.”

Hannah had to think for a moment before she spoke because she swore he’d
just said he’d enlisted in the Army. That couldn’t be right.

“Say that again. What did you say?”

“I said I’ve enlisted in the Army. I have to report for basic training in a month.”

She didn’t say anything for what seemed like forever.

“Say something Hannah. Are you still there?”

“I’m still here. I’m in shock but yes I’m still here. When did you decide this? When did all of this happen?”

“I don’t know Hannah. It’s, I’ve been here watching everything that’s been going on and helping wherever I can and I feel like I’ve been called into action. I want to serve my country and somehow help bring justice to the innocent people who died here.”

“What about school?”

“I can keep going. That’s not a problem. Maybe you have to be here to understand what I’m thinking. Up until now I never gave the military a thought. Now it’s all I think about.”

“I wish you’d consulted with me first. I understand what you’re saying but it would’ve been nice to have been included in your decision making process.”