Page 148 of Oblivion

Forrest’s two sisters clung to their husbands, and their father did his best to deal with his own grief while consoling his wife. An only son and a big brother needlessly taken from them.

The restriction in my throat squeezed harder when Forrest’s mom reached for her son’s casket, desperate and unable to stand the thought of this being the final time touching her beloved boy. Her fingers clawed at the polished wood lid. Each wailed plea for him to come back was left unanswered, as the overhead angels ascended with his soul.

Forever in their keep, and out of our reach until our time came to join him.

A young woman—a friend of the family—stepped out of the crowd and took a deep breath. My legs faltered as the first notes of “Amazing Grace”flowed from her lips. Her voice was like a siren’s: harrowing, chilling, setting our brother free from this life while accompanying him into the next. Guiding him into his final resting place.

Doughboy, on my other side, let out a strangled curse. His grip tightened on my shoulder and he jostled me during his effort to contain his emotion.

Through my blurred vision, I searched for Penny in the large gathering. She stood with our women off to the side, arm-in-arm with Naiomi, both sobbing into tissues. A grief shared was a grief halved, and just as her support came from the arms of another, mine came from my closest friends and teammates. I couldn’t get through this without them. We were drowning in sorrow together, and that was how I knew we’d survive this.

With the lingering melody of “Amazing Grace” hanging in the humid, early afternoon air, Forrest’s casket clicked into place, low in the ground.

I squeezed my eyes closed against the onslaught. Finality was a bitter pill to swallow. One that wedged firmly in my throat and refused to budge.

Forrest’s father coaxed his wife back from the edge of the grave, yet she stayed on her knees, sobbing into her hands as Chen stepped forward to present her with the United States flag, as well as Forrest’s prestigious green beret. The felt had only ever been molded to fit his head, and would forever remain that way.

I took my turn standing at Forrest’s side, saying a final farewell to one of the greatest men who’d ever walked the earth. After kneeling and dropping a single red carnation onto his casket, I rose in search of my girl.

My movements were stiff and forced, like I’d been detained and subjected to stress positions for hours on end.

Penny crashed into my chest and clutched the back of my head, anchoring me to the juncture of her neck. I couldn’t hold her tight enough, and I had to grapple with control as her bones flexed within my squeeze.

Her scent, floral and sweet, surrounded me. It took me to a place that wasn’t filled with loss and defeat.

A strained sob bubbled from my throat. Raw and unchecked—embarrassingly so. But Penny simply held me tighter as if she could stop me falling apart.

“Fuck,” I murmured hoarsely, against her soft skin.

Fingers rhythmically combed across the back of my head. “It’s okay, it’s okay,” she chanted.

I nodded, focusing on every sensation other than the ache in my chest: Penny’s voice, each breath that inflated and deflated her ribcage, the feel of her silky hair trapped between my fingers.

Only once I regained control over my head did I take her face in my hands and press a kiss against the sorrowed crease on her brow.

“Thank you for being here. I couldn’t have done this without you,” I whispered.

“Youcouldhave, but I’m glad you don’t have to.”

Her blue depths held a newfound maturity that hadn’t been there when we first met. I wasn’t gazing into the eyes of a woman twelve years younger than me. I was getting lost in the depths of a woman who owned my heart. The one who held me together with immeasurable strength when I couldn’t find my own.

Her thumbs tenderly swiped away the moisture that lingered along my lower lashes, then she tugged my face down for a kiss.

“Come on, they’re waiting for you.”

She linked our fingers and led us over to where the guys gathered with their women. United as one, yet oh-so-fractured.

Tuck glanced up, then over my shoulder. The anger igniting in his expression made me spin on my heel.

“What thefuckishedoing here?”

CHAPTERFIFTY-SEVEN

Dante

It took everything I had not to cause a scene. Not to stride over and punch Ward square in his fucking face. Him being here was out of line. It made a mockery of Forrest’s service, and was incredibly disrespectful to his family. He didn’t even have the goddamn decency to wear his uniform.

Pittsy and Doughboy made a move, but I stopped them both with a slight lift of my arm.

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