Page 33 of Promises in the Dark

As we scoured the city, searching for any sign of food or water, I couldn’t help but notice how fucking quiet Red hadbecome. Her usual fire and sass had been extinguished like a candle in the wind. Her eyes held a haunted look, lost in some fucked-up thoughts that I simply couldn’t understand. But we had no time for that shit. We needed to survive, and that meant finding sustenance by any means necessary.

We hadn’t eaten shit in more than thirty hours, and the water was as scarce as my patience. We were broke as a joke, no money to our names, just a burning hunger in our guts and a thirst that could rival a desert. The city was crawling with those Taliban assholes, making it damn near impossible to find any kind of help or resources.

We had to get creative, think outside the box. I spotted a sorry excuse for a fruit stand, the sight of those ripe mangoes making my mouth water like a salivating dog. But we had no money, nothing to offer in exchange for sustenance. So, I did what I had to do.

I caught the eye of the fruit vendor, a greedy bastard with a crooked smile. My hand dipped into his basket, swift as a thief in the night. I snatched a couple of those juicy mangoes, feeling their weight in my palm. The vendor didn’t even notice, too busy chatting up with some local bitch.

I grabbed Red’s arm and dragged her out of the market, into some filthy-ass alley where we could eat in peace.

The smell of piss and garbage hit hard, but I didn’t give a shit. My stomach was doing flips, begging for food.

“Dig in,” I said, my voice low and eager.

I plopped down on the grimy ground, motioning for Red to join me. She looked at me, those pretty eyes glowing with gratitude. Her fingers deftly fumbled with the ties of her niqab and I watched as it slipped away from her face, revealing a messy bun of red hair which had been hidden beneath it.

“You always know how to find a way, don’t you?”

I smirked, ripping into one of the stolen fruits with my teeth. Juice dripped down my chin, but I couldn’t care less about manners.

“I am a man of many talents,” I stated, pride swelling in my chest.

We ate like animals, our throats swallowing every bite greedily, like it was the elixir of life. It tasted orgasmic, salvation in its purest form.

“You might be an asshole, but you sure as hell know how to find some good shit,” Red said between bites, finally cracking a smile.

I gave her a nod, my mouth too full to respond. We sat there in that dirty alley, savoring every bite, letting the taste of freedom linger on our tongues. For a brief moment, we forgot about the danger lurking around the corner. We forgot about the messed-up world we were living.

Red’s silence persisted. I could see the torment in her eyes, the weight of the world pressing down on her fragile shoulders. I didn’t want to care, didn’t want to let anyone in. I was used to being a lone wolf, a ghost who didn’t let anyone get too close. But there was something about her, something that made me want to break my own principles.

I couldn’t fucking ignore her torment anymore. “What’s troubling you?” I asked, my voice colder than an icebox.

Red avoided my gaze, staring at the ground like it had all the answers. Typical. But then, something happened that went against every instinct I had. I reached out, my thumb lifting her chin, forcing her to look at me. A small move, but it felt heavier than I fucking expected.

“Look at me, Red,” I said, my voice surprisingly gentle compared to my usual harsh tone, which pissed me off. “I need to know what’s going on in that head of yours.”

And fuck me sideways if that touch didn’t make me feel something. It was like an electric shock, coursing through my veins and setting my nerves on fire. Her skin was too soft, too vulnerable, and it dug deep into whatever part of me still gave a shit.

I hated it. Hated how her eyes held something fragile that made me feel... something.

I didn’t want to care, but there it was. She’d wormed her way into my head, and it was eating me alive.

“I’m scared, Rogue,” she finally admitted, her voice trembling. “I arrived in Afghanistan four months ago as a resident doctor. I wanted to make a difference, help those in need. But this place... it’s a nightmare. The suffering, the violence, it’s overwhelming. I don’t know if I can handle it.”

Her words hit me like a punch to the gut. She was here trying to save lives, and I was out here ending them without blinking.

She was everything I wasn’t.

I quickly pulled my hand away, my jaw clenching in frustration. This shit wasn’t supposed to happen. I wasn’t supposed tofeelanything for her. But there it was, a storm brewing in my chest.

My eyes caught sight of the bruises on her wrist, the ones that seemed too deliberate to be accidental. Doubt crept into my mind, like a plague, infecting every part of my being.

They didn’t look accidental.

“Why did you leave the medical camp?” I couldn’t help but ask her again.

Before she could answer, a blood-curdling scream pierced the air, ripping through the silence like a bullet. Our heads snapped towards the source, and we both jolted to our feet.

“Stay behind me,” I whispered to her, not taking my eyes off where the sound was coming from.

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