Page 127 of Oblivion

My heart shattered into a thousand pieces and my knees gave way. Held up in James’ secure embrace, I sobbed into his shoulder, grieving for what I’d lost, and inconsolable over what I’d always had right in front of me.

Like a cruel twist of fate, the world offered me glimpses of what could have been, all the while sending me through a corrupted nightmare.

I’d come out stronger, that was for sure, but fragmented at the same time.

When Mom and Lizzie joined the embrace, a heavy sense of unity washed over me.

Yes, we were beaten and defeated for the moment, but the family who loved me unconditionally was in this room, holding me together while I struggled to find firm ground beneath my feet again.

CHAPTERFORTY-SEVEN

Dante

My heart sank as I flipped my phone over. It was the fifth call I’d ignored from Penny throughout the day.

She sent me a message this morning saying shit had blown up with Paul and we needed to talk, but talking was the last thing I wanted to do. Hell, I still hadn’t managed to call Chen, and it was now early afternoon.

A notification pinged, no doubt alerting me to another of Penny’s voicemails.

Coward. That’s what I was. I couldn’t even pick up a damn phone call out of fear of having more of my world ripped out from under me.

I took a break from packing. Sitting on the side of my bed, I raked my fingers through my hair. I’d already made the decision to head to Kentucky as soon as possible, whether I had leave approved or not.

Before the nerve vanished, I plucked up my phone and thumbed it unlocked. Biting the bullet, I forced myself to make the dreaded call to Chen.

The phone rang and rang and rang, as if imploring me to take the hint and give up. Only I didn’t. I gritted my teeth harder and willed Jenny to answer his fucking phone. Ironic, really, since Penny had been calling me, probably thinking the exact same thing.

The call connected with a click, then a long drawn-out pause. A couple of steady breaths cut through the silence before Chen spoke.

“Hey, Lote.”

“Hey, Jen. Sorry it took so long to call you back.”

“It’s fine. I figured it would be a while, so, you know...” I imagined him shrugging.

“Hey, I’m going to come up tonight and was wondering if you and Mei wouldn’t mind me crashing on your couch.”

“You’re welcome anytime, brother. For as long as you need.”

I forced a swallow, then cleared my throat.

“Thanks, man. It’ll only be a couple of nights until the f—” Thefword snagged on my tongue and refused to be voiced.

Bile rose up my throat. The death of a comrade was never easy, but fuck me, this was cutting me deeper than ever expected.

“It’s planned for Monday,” Chen answered.

Four days from now.

“He’ll then be laid to rest in Georgia on Wednesday, and his family have extended an invite to the team. If you’re up for it, we thought we’d head down together on Tuesday. You know, as one...” Hetsked,and I swallowed hard.

Forrest was one guy we shouldn’t be saying goodbye to. He was conscientious and fucking good at what he did, so the fact that he was killed during training was an absolute kick in the cunt.

“I’m there,” I stated hoarsely.

There was no way I’d miss the final chance to pay my respects to Forrest and his family.

“I’ll book a flight and let you know what time I get in. Will staying that long be okay with Mei?”

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