You and I are through. You made sure of it that day in the recruiter’s office. And I get it. You probably had a good laugh about it, huh? How I bought it, hook, line and sinker. You in the military? Right. Only a fool would think you could ever be cut out for that kind of brotherhood, the kind that really counts.
So I’ll never contact you again. And I’ll never ask anything of you again. Except for one last thing. If something should happen to me over here, I want you to make sure she’s okay.
I’m asking you, as a brother, to watch out for Jessie.
You do that and we’re square.
Robert
She turned and looked back at him. “He never told me any of this. He never told me you’d had a falling out. He never let on. Not once.”
Ghost nodded, not turning around.
“He told me…he told me if I ever got into trouble, if I ever needed someone while he was gone, I was to go to you. That you’d help me.”
That had him turning. And she could see that his eyes were glassy. He nodded. “You know I’ll always be there for you.”
They studied each other for a long moment. All the feelings she had for him warred within her.
He lifted his chin toward the door. “And if you walk out that door, that’s still true.”
She stood frozen. And then her legs were carrying her to the door. When she reached out for the knob, she heard his voice, gruff and thick.
“I love you, Jess.”
She paused and looked back at him. “I love you, too. That’s what makes this so hard. What you did? I lost my brother, Ghost. Because you talked him into joining.”
“You lost your brother because of a roadside IED.”
She shook her head.
“Jess.”
“I’ll call a cab.”
“Fuck. Babe. You don’t have to do that. I’ll take you anywhere you want to go.”
She shook her head again and slipped out the door.
***
When the cab pulled up to collect her, Ghost sat listening. He heard the the sound of the car door opening, then slamming, and then the tires crunching on the gravel as it pulled back down the drive. And suddenly the house felt so empty, and he felt more alone than he’d ever felt before. Maybe even more than when his mom died.
He strode out onto the terrace where he collapsed in a chair and stared at the runway lights, watching the planes land and take off in the darkness for what must have been hours. His mind going over every word they’d said. Wondering if he’d lost Jessie for good. If he’d ever see her again, ever hold her in his arms again or taste her skin or hear the breathy sound she made as he slid inside her.
He loved her, down to his soul, and to sit here imagining he’d never see her again drove an ache inside him so deep that he worried the pain might kill him.
Eventually, he heard the rumble of a set of pipes roll up the long drive. His hand automatically went to the gun he’d set down on the side table, his palm resting lightly over the cold metal. Most likely, it was a brother. But it could also be a Death Head, come to settle the score.
A dark shape moved around the side of the building.
“Ghost, you out here?”
Blood.
Not even in his top ten of who might come see him.
“Yeah,” he called out, taking his hand off his piece. He was slouched back in his chair, his fingers laced together when he looked up at his visitor.