Page 3 of Irons

Creed played us all for the first part of our friendship. We thought he was like the rest of us, but he never talked much about his life prior to Delta Force. When we returned from what was supposed to be our last high value mission, Creed confessed that he was the heir of a billionaire. I can’t remember a time where I laughed so hard. There was no way my buddy, the one I served countless missions with was a billionaire. He went on to propose we should all separate from the military when it was our time, and he would make sure we had work and a place to live. Creed was in his last month before re-up, but I still had a few months left. I thought he was insane, but we were all onleave and decided to escort Magnus home to spend time with his dying mother. I hate to admit it, but I had a damn hard time believing Creed. We spent too much time together and never once suspected he was anything but just our buddy. He wasn’t flashy and didn’t buy anything expensive. Hell, him and Axton lived in a shit hole apartment together.

Magnus was in a shitty situation at the time. As a high school senior, he was falsely accused of rape. It ruined his life, and he even lost his scholarships. Of course, the fucking bitch was busted for lying but it was too late for Magnus. His life was already ruined, and a few years after his enlistment his mom was diagnosed with cancer. He was from a small town and the whole family still lived under the shadow of the rape accusation. Even though it was proven without a doubt that he was innocent, the entire family still faced shame. All the while, she was still fighting cancer and dealing with the shame. It was when we came home from Afghanistan that we all decided to go to Cold Springs to support him. He needed to spend time with his mom.

It was while we were in Cold Springs that Creed’s story panned out. That fucker went out and bought thousands of acres of land, and that’s when Creed’s Lake was born.

He asked all of us to be partners and I figured why the hell not. I didn’t have anything else waiting for me when I got out. While Granger, Axton, Drakos and I went for our last mission, the rest stayed behind and started building.

Then that lucky son of a bitch Creed kept more secrets. He was called back up by the military, not once, but twice. We knew about the first one but not the last one. The poor guy went and knocked up the most gorgeous woman in Hollywood then got deployed. We were unofficially told he was dead, and then we were told that he was mortally injured and Axton had to gopull the plug on his ventilator in Germany. Then the next I knew, we were on a jet to go rescue him from fucking Isis, well a small rogue cell that still fought under their beliefs. He took down one terrorist cell only to be captured by another.

I sat back with my buddies and watched as Creed danced with his new wife. Morgan was aware of the crazed fan sending notes to her old house in California, but none of us had the heart to tell them about the threats against Magnus. At least not yet since Creed just arrived home the prior night and he was on cloud nine.

Not long after Creed left for Jordan was when the first note was found on Magnus’s bike. It accused him of being involved with Morgan and the threats were written with such anger it was honestly creepy. There had only been the one because Magnus hadn’t left the community more than twice since lockdown started. Morgan became one of us along the way and we were all protective of her. Never in a million years did I think someone as beautiful and famous as her would live at Creed’s Lake.

Creed’s troubles weren’t over yet. His bitch of a mom was sick, he was trying to straighten out his two younger brothers, Morgan’s fame was a huge fucking issue, and he just filed to adopt a little girl. Oh, and Morgan was pregnant with twins.

If I went back and time and told my teenage self that I’d someday meet and become friends with Morgan Rossi, my younger self would laugh at me. I think just about every guy in my age group jacked off to her image. She was like a phenomenon to all of us. Back then she was on a television series playing a wild and out of control surfer chick. Then she went on to become the biggest actress in the world. She made a lot of movies and not to brag, but I saw those gorgeous tits and assquite a few times in some steamy movie scenes. Yep, Creed was marrying a real life wet dream.

Their story confused the hell out of a few of us, but not me. I knew a girl once that made me feel like lightning bolts flowed through my veins when she was around. At the time I was just a kid that had no business caring so much for a girl. I started losing her friendship before they even buried my uncle. I had just lost the only adult that cared much about me. I barely knew my parents and his house was the closest thing I had to a stable home.

Fifteen Years Ago

I sat in a chair and looked down at the floor as my parents and grandparents shook people’s hands. There were police in uniforms standing in a line to say their last goodbyes to the most important man in the world to me. I could hear the whispers around me, even though they thought they were far enough away not to be heard.

“He was raising his nephew. He was the only person the boy had.”

“Clint is a disaster, and I hope he pushes on to raise that daughter of his. He was found drunk and passed out on Tony’s porch this morning.”

“I hope the boy’s parents finally figure out they still have a son to raise. It’s been heartbreaking watching them search for that other boy, but their youngest son needs them just as much.”

“Tony was trying so hard to straighten the boy out. The poor kid was already lost, and it’ll only get worse now.”

I felt a strange zappy feeling just as I smelled a familiar scent. I knew who it was before she sat next to me and reached over for my hand. Wrenly laid her head on my shoulder, and I kissed the top of it. She gave me the most peace I felt in days. I closed my eyes as I rested my cheek against her head. Once upon a time she was my best friend, but we started to grow up. She made different friends, and so did I, but there would always be some sort of connection.

“I love you, Travis.” She whispered.

I kissed her head again. “Ditto.” I whispered in return.

My eyes opened and I looked at Tony laying in his casket. He looked so much like my father it was crazy. They might have been twins, but they were so different.

Tony was a cop, a tough guy that had a way with women. My dad was a meteorologist and my mom was too. She worked for the National Weather Service until my brother disappeared, and my dad worked for a local news station in Tulsa. I didn’t really know my parents all that well. Supposedly, according to my school records I lived with them, but pretty much grew up couch surfing. Mom and Dad were consumed with finding my brother so I stayed with anyone they could find to watch me. It was usually Uncle Tony, but sometimes he had long shifts, and I had to go other places.

All the stability I ever knew was laying in that casket. They had him dressed in his uniform and the spray on his casket read Uncle, Brother, Son, and Hero.

Everybody there remembered my uncle as the handsome cop that hung out with bikers on his time off. He always had a new woman on the back of his bike, but the only people in the room that really knew him was me and Clint, his best buddy.

I spent a lot of time hating myself growing up, but never hated myself more than while sitting in that funeral home. It was something I heard over and over again my entire life. If that baby wouldn’t have cried, Paula wouldn’t have directed her attention away from Bobby. I knew I was the reason he was kidnapped, and I believed it. It was something I lived with, but the newest guilt came the day Uncle Tony died.

He was pissed at me because I got busted in the back seat of a car with a girl in the middle of the night. One of his cop buddies found us and it was Tony that had to deal with it. They tried to call my parents, but they didn’t answer their phones. They were in New York working on their documentary. Some filmmakers were making a documentary about kids vanishing in broad daylight. They followed my parents around from one speaking engagement to another.

Uncle Tony had another chick in his bed when the cops woke him up with me in handcuffs on the front porch. It was four in the morning, and I’ll never forget the disappointment on his face. I was supposed to be with my grandparents, but they forgot I was supposed to stay there that night. My aunt dropped me off, but my grandparents were already in bed with the doors locked. I saw it as an opportunity to hang out with the chick that was sexting with me all the time. She was sixteen and hot as hell. I wasn’t about to pass up that opportunity, especially when none of the people that took care of me thought it was their night.

He never went back to bed that night. He had an early shift which was different from his usual schedule, and I knew he was tired after spending an hour tearing me a new ass. Not only was I out past curfew, I was drinking. The next day at school I was called to the office, and it was Clint there to tell me that Tonywas killed. Apparently, he responded to a domestic violence call and was shot.

Maybe if he weren’t so tired he would have had a better response time to the danger. Well, I pretty much knew it was my fault he was dead. I could feel my anger and hatred toward myself grow.

Wrenly squeezed my hand when everyone sat for the rosary. I could hear her reciting it along with the others. After that everyone stood and talked amongst themselves. The funeral was scheduled for the next day, and I was supposed to be a pallbearer. I didn’t want to do it. I didn’t even want to be at the funeral or looking at him in the casket.

I watched as my grandmother leaned in and kissed my uncle’s cheek just before Clint helped her walk away. Wrenly kissed my cheek. “I’ll see you in the morning.” I gave her a nod and she walked over to help Clint with my grandparents.

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