BRAVE DETECTIVE

Amber was about to change the channel when her eyes landed on Xavier’s hand, and she saw their wedding ring on his ring finger. The remote fell from her hand and landed on the floor. The maids turned to look at her.

"What’s wrong ma’am?" one of them asked.

"T…That’s my fiancé." She stuttered with her eyes wide open, pointing at the TV screen. 

"That’s our wedding ring. What is he doing there? Is he dead?" She whimpered. The maids looked at each other. They didn’t know how to answer Amber because they didn’t know the answer themselves. 

A group of cops ran into the pictures and started taking off the bricks that were on top of Xavier with a shovel. Amber’s heart skipped a beat as she saw his shirt. It was the shirt he wore the last time she saw him.

"X…Xavier." she said in a shaky voice, with her eyes glued to the TV, as the cops continued taking off the bricks and she spotted the hand of a woman.

"I think that’s the body of the detective, and it looks like they were hugging." One of the maids commented, because Xavier’s hand was wrapped around Diana’s waist, they were both lying on the floor with their faces down, and they were unconscious. Xavier’s face was covered with charcoal, but she could recognize him.

"Get my phone and tell me the location!" Amber declared, and the maids quickly got up from the chair and started running around in circles. 

"Uhm, Miss, where is your cell phone?" one of them inquired.

"I think it’s in my mom’s room. Hurry up!" Amber said she was watching as the cops were tapping Xavier and Diana on the floor. Hot tears streamed down her cheeks, burning her eyes. She covered her mouth with her hand, battling her lashes with utter shock. She was dumbfounded. 

"He can’t be dead, no! He can’t be! I can’t lose another family," she said to herself, gripping her hair tightly as she tried to look at the TV.

"I think they are dead," one of the cops said. She froze in place as the word repeated in her head.

"No Xavier, You can’t die. Even if I don’t want to get married to you, you can’t leave me." She whimpered, covering her eyes with her hand. The maids ran back to her, and one of them handed her the phone to her, while the other one turned off the TV.

"I have texted you the address." one of the maids said.

"How did you know where they are?" Amber asked.

"It’s all over the news. Go ma’am, you need to go and see if your fiancé is still alive." one of the maids, looking at Amber with pitiful eyes.

"Thank you, I will go to him now." Amber said, running out of the house.

"Ma'am, wait, why don’t you call someone to accompany you?" One of the maids said, but she was already out of sight.

Amber arrived at her parents' garage and went straight to her father’s car. She opened the car and got inside.

"Goddamnit! I forgot to take the keys," she said, and got out of the car with a frown. She didn’t know how to feel about the situation, but she was praying that her greatest fear didn’t come to reality. She didn’t know how she was going to handle losing two people she cared about in a day. Although Xavier was a jackass, she still cared about him because he was her first love.

******

The cops looked down at Diana and Xavier, who they turned over to see if they were still breathing. Xavier started coughing continuously. His entire body was covered with dust and dirt, including Diana. Her partner ran to her as soon as he saw her. His eyes were extremely red. He started tapping on her face.

"Wake up, Diana. I know you are a strong girl." He said to her as he saw that Xavier had already woken up and he was sitting on the floor. One of the cops handed him a bottle of water as he was wiping the dirt off his face, but he was making things worse because the charcoal was still in his face.

"You are a very strong man. You managed to survive. How did you end up in the warehouse?" One of the cops asked, looking at Xavier, who stood on his feet, with his legs wobbling. He was a little weak. He thought he was going to die. He washed the charcoal off his hand with the remaining water in the bottle, and his gaze drifted to Diana as the water dripped off his face. He squatted close to her partner and put his hand under her nose. She wasn’t breathing.

"What have I done? I have killed this innocent lady. Why did she have to come into the fire to rescue me?" he said, touching her soft face. Her partner glared at him.

"If you had stayed away from her in the first place, all this wouldn’t have happened. What will I tell her family? And her sister? That she died because of a man?" Her partner asked. Xavier could hear the hurt in his voice.

"Calm down. I know you are angry right now, but you should think before you speak. I think she will be alright. I managed to protect her when the walls collapsed on us. I was under." Xavier said, clutching his head. There was a lot of sore in his head, and it was hurting. He gritted his teeth and turned to one of the cops.

"Give me another bottle of water." Xavier said. The cops passed him another bottle. He opened it and sprinkled water on Diana’s face. Her eyes started moving, and she opened them.

"Whoo!! She is alive, thank goodness! I thought I had lost you." Her partner said in a happy tone. He was all smiles as he hugged her tightly, trying not to let go.

"I thought you had died. I already gave up. We have already announced your death." He said, clutching her head. She was suffocating in his grip.

"Let go of me. I can’t breathe." she muttered in his chest and he let go of her with his cheek turning bright red.

"I am sorry, I was just a little excited." He said, flashing her a smile, and she returned it.

"You are too much," she said and gave him her signature punch on the stomach, as she struggled to stand on her feet. Xavier was smiling at her at the thought that she was still alive. He let go of the bottle as it fell on the floor and spilled on Diana's partner body.

"Hey! Why did you do that?" he whined. Xavier ignored him and ran to Diana, hugging her passionately and smiling with delight.

"Thank goodness you are fine," he muttered. She grumbled in his grip and pushed him away. He nearly fell when she slapped him hard across the face.

"Why did you hug me without my permission?" she asked, looking at him with a serious face. 

"I…I am sorry." Xavier apologized, looking down.

"I should be the one doing that." She said and grabbed his shirt and pulled him closer to her, hugging him passionately with her hand on his back. Xavier smiled widely and moved his hand up her body. He didn’t know she was such a drama queen.

"Woohoo!!" the cops all cheered for the both of them as they hugged. The reporters started running in their direction to film the moment. The cops stopped them from coming inside.

"Stand back, you guys have broad cast enough news for today," the leader of the cops said. Xavier pulled away from the hug.

"I am glad you are alright," he said, and flashed a charming smile. She returned the smile and looked up at him. She gripped his shirt one more time. He was already embarrassed that his fresh lap was outside and his shirt had torn, but she wanted to tear it even more, he thought. 

She pulled him in for a kiss and crashed her soft lips on his. He opened his eyes wide in surprise as the reporters attempted to take pictures of them. Diana’s partner took one of their cameras and smashed it on the floor.

"Just go and tell the public that she is alive that is enough news to report than invading someone’s privacy." He said, watching Diana as she was kissing Xavier with her hand on his face forcing her tongue into his mouth, but he didn’t kiss her back. He was still shocked by what was happening.

"She looks like an aggressive kisser." one of the cops remarked and they all laughed with happiness.

What if Amber sees us like this? She will scold me for cheating on her. I don’t wanna be tagged as a cheater. Xavier thought and pushed Diana away. She opened her eyes and stared at him.

"I am sorry," she apologized as she saw that he didn’t like what she did. 

"Maybe I move a little too fast," she said under her breath.

"You were too fast, it’s a guys job to kiss you, you try to save him and he saved you, that doesn’t give you the right to orally assault him in public." her partner commented making her hit him with her shoulder.