The sun still burned in the sky as I walked outside after work, and a cool breeze from the ocean swept in.
“Cay… Um. I’m not really sure where to start. But I need to tell you something.”
She sounded off, and immediately I realized this was serious. Her voice came out hoarse, like she’d been crying.
I opened my car door and got in, cutting me off from the outside world. “What’s wrong? Is Jamie okay?”
My first inkling was that something happened to him. Even though the jerk had completely shattered her heart, that didn’t stop her from still caring about him. I didn’t understand exactly what a combat controller did in the military, but I knew he was out in the thick of things.
She sniffled. “It’s not Jamie. It’s about Noah.”
“Noah?”
My limbs turned to ice.
Growing up at my mom’s house in Fayetteville, there had been seven of us who thought we ran the town: me, Blakely, Jamie, Noah, Liam, Erikson, and Wesley.They were my best friends and welcomed Jade with open arms when she’d come for a visit.
A heaviness settled in my chest as I waited for her words with bated breath.I knew what she was going to say… knew it with every fiber of my being. But I needed to hear her say the words.
“Cay… Noah was killed.”
I sucked in a breath and my eyes blurred with tears, feeling like I’d been sucker punched in the gut. “How?”
I could barely get the word out around the lump in my throat.
“He died during a combat operation. They can’t say much more than that.” Her voice came out low, filled with a sadness that mirrored my own.
“When?”
“Two days ago. The funeral is on Tuesday. Do you think you can come up?”
It was Friday, and Elijah had mentioned no plans for this weekend.
In fact, things with Elijah had been perfect recently.
We stopped bickering and arguing about trivial things, which was an immense relief. Work was going well, and we spent more time together. I saw more and more of the Elijah I’d fallen in love with all those years ago.
“I’ll talk to Elijah and see about coming. How are you holding up?”
“About the same as you are right now, I’d imagine.”
“What about the guys? Oh, gosh, Dean?! Is he okay?”
“I’m assuming someone told the guys. I haven’t talked to them, though. And Dean… he isn’t doing well.”
“Understandably so.”
“It’s been hard. I don’t know how to comfort him. I’ve never lost anyone like this. My mom left, but she isn’t dead. Noah was one of my best friends, but he wasn’t my brother.”
“I can’t imagine what he is going through. I’ll do what I can to be there.”
“Talk about bittersweet. I wanted to see you, but not like this.”
“It’s okay, I get it. Me too.”
“I’ll talk to you soon. I love you, Cay.”
“Aw. I love you too, Blake.”
