Page 55 of Promises in the Dark

I’d been there, drowning my shit in bottles of whiskey, trying to numb it all. The burn of the liquor on my tongue, the haze that clouded my mind, dulled the edges of my mind, quieting the chaos, at least for a while.

It’s what kept me from going batshit crazy. No rage. No pain. No goddamn feelings.

I wouldn’t feel anything at all.

That’s how I kept my demons on a leash, and it’s what stopped them from ripping me apart.

I didn’t ask Red any questions, didn’t probe for answers. I didn’t need her to explain shit to me, because I could see it in her eyes, in the way her shoulders slumped, in the way her tears flowed like a river. And I just fucking held her.

She buried her face in the crook of my neck, her soft sobs muffled against my skin. I almost fucking flinched at the touch, the warmth of her breath against my skin, but I stood there like a statue, suppressing the urge to back off. But the longer she held on, the harder it got to pretend I didn’t care.

Damn, she was just a girl in need of a hug, and I was just being an antisocial bastard.

“Shhh, it’s alright,” I whispered as I pulled her closer.

My fingers grazed her back soothingly, tracing patterns against her skin. I didn’t have the right words to offer, no poetic bullshit to ease her suffering.

I just held her like the world was ending, and we were the only two souls left.

And maybe, that would be enough for now.

Chapter 16

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“We ended up sitting there on the cold bathroom floor, her head resting against my shoulder. Not a word was said, but the silence was louder than any conversation. My arms stayed around her, even though I wasn’t the cuddling type.

But in that moment, it didn’t feel like bullshit.

And then, she shattered the silence with her words.

“That man you met before you left the hospital, Dylan... he’s my ex-boyfriend,” she confessed, her words hesitant. “The bruises you saw were from him. He lost his shit when I tried to break things off and I ran because I needed to be far away from that psycho.”

Everything suddenly clicked into place. The mystery of her bruises, the guardedness in her eyes, it all made sense now. My blood boiled with a fiery rage, an uncontrollable anger that I struggled to keep in check.

But it was a losing battle, a battle I wasn’t sure I even wanted to win.

“Why didn’t you report that scum?” I asked, clenching my fists so tight I thought I’d snap my own bones.

Red sighed, her eyes meeting mine briefly before she looked away, her fingers tracing aimless patterns on the wet floor. “I tried but no one cared,” she replied, her voice breaking slightly. “They turned a blind eye because Dylan is a respected doctor. It was my word against his.”

“What do you mean, no one cared?” I pressed, my jaw clenched tight as I searched her eyes for answers.

She looked away and her fingers curled into a tight fist as her nails dug into her palm briefly before relaxing again.

“They said it would ruin his career, that it would bring shame to the unit so they swept it under the rug, like it was another minor inconvenience.”

Of course they did. The military had a way of protecting their own, especially the sick bastards hiding behind rank. I’d seen it, the cover-ups, the bullshit that kept the real monsters in power. As long as their reputations stayed clean, they didn’t give a damn about the people being trampled underfoot. Just more bodies to feed the machine.

Those assholes were more concerned with saving their own corrupt asses than seeking justice.

“Did you ever try to request a transfer?”

Red raised a hand to her forehead and sighed deeply. “It would never work, because Dylan is in charge of the transfer requests,” she said, letting out a bitter laugh. “He would never sign mine, just to keep me under his control.”

I let the back of my head rest against the cold bathroom wall, the chill seeping into my skull. My head was spinning, my thoughts a dizzying mess.

“That’s why you asked me to talk to my captain,” I spoke the words through clenched teeth.

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