Page 143 of The Assignment: Room 3

“What?”

“That I needed to give you a special message.” Her little face lights up.

“What’s the memmage?”

“He said, ‘tell Gracie I want to stay, and I want to be her daddy.’ That’s exactly how he said it.”

“He did?”

“Yes, sweet pea. Flex is going to be your daddy. He already is. He’s just very sick right now, which is why Mommy has been spending so much time at the hospital.”

“Can I come see him?”

“Not tonight, but soon, okay? I will take you to see him soon, sweet pea.”

“Okay. I have a daddy.” Her smile is so bright it could light the night sky, and I want so badly for Flex to wake up and come home to us.

“Now, are you ready this time?”

“Yes, Mommy.”

“Then, we’ll begin. Once upon a time…”

Chapter 28

FLEX

I keep playing the footage over and over.

It’s become an obsession. Every night, I dream of them. How scared they must have been, knowing they were going to die. I miss them so much, and in every nightmare, I can’t save them. I can never get to them, their hands just out of reach. It always ends the same way.

I see their faces as they embrace each other, my mother weeping softly as she accepts her fate, cradled in the arms of the man she loved more than anything. And then they’re gone, and I’m back in the school office, watching myself fall apart.

My grandmother did her best for a few years, but in the end, she died of a broken heart. She was never the same after that day, and neither was I.

When she passed, I disappeared with the money from my parents’ estate. I refused to go into the system, so I dropped out of school and kept moving until I was old enough to enlist. It’s the least I could do for my parents.

War changes you. The things I’ve seen. The things I’ve done in the name of justice. I don’t lose sleep over defending my country. The look on my parents’ faces is what disturbs my sleep.

Tonight is no different. I find myself in World Trade Center One, watching my mom and dad from across the room. They comfort each other as they leave the last message for me. It’s so hot, smoke filling the space. In my dreams, I can seethem clear as day. I take a few cautious steps toward them, knowing they’ll be gone in the blink of an eye, and I’ll be back where I started.

But something is different this time.

They’re looking right at me.

“Mom.” My voice quivers as I take another step.

“My sweet boy. Look what a fine man you’ve become.” My heart is hammering in my chest. I know this is all just a dream, but it feels so real.

I look at my hands—the hands of a man. I’m not the small, scared little boy I once was.

“You can see me?”

My father pulls my mom to her feet before opening his arms to me. “Hello, son. We’ve been waiting for you.”

I rush forward, wrapping my arms around both of them. The scent of my mom’s perfume is a comfort I haven’t felt in more than twenty years. “I’ve missed you guys. I’m so sorry.”

“You have nothing to be sorry for, Felix.” Tears spill from my eyes as I hold them tight.

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