“Okay. Alright. I’ll be right there.”
I swore I saw his hand imperceptibly tremble when he lowered the phone from his ear. “What is it?” I asked.
He let out a breath, looking between the two of us again. “It…it’s Blake…”
Chapter 37
“What did he say?”
Callie was staring down at her phone. “He just said to meet them at Gabe’s parents’ house.”
We’d been walking around the park near my apartment complex late that morning when Callie received a text message from Lucas saying they’d cut their game short, left the golf course, and were headed to the Piersons. When she asked why, all he said was, “It’s Blake.”
Panic immediately spiked in both of us. Not only did we consider Blake our friend, but he was Gabe’s brother by blood and Lucas’s and Wes’s brother by choice. If something happened to him…
I cut the thought off, not allowingmyself to finish it.
We pulled through the gates of Cliffside Village and started up the winding road lined with luxury homes toward the Pierson house. When we approached, we saw Lucas’s and Wes’s cars parked out front and Gabe’s in the driveway. I pulled behind Lucas’s car, and we got out, making our way up the pathway and the front steps to the door before ringing the doorbell.
Lucas opened the door a moment later, and the worry was evident in his expression, but it lessened slightly upon seeing Callie. “Hi, baby.” His voice was thick with emotion.
“Hey…” We stepped inside, and Callie embraced him before drawing back to look up at him. “What’s going on?”
“In here…” He gestured toward the living area, keeping his hand on the small of her back to guide her while I trailed behind him.
When we entered the room, Gabe, his parents, and Wes were seated in front of the television, watching the news, their expressions grim. I glanced at the television screen; the sound was low and barely audible, but the video clips and still images being shown made my chest tighten. My eyes fell to the red “Breaking News” banner running along the bottom:Drone Strike Hits U.S. Duty Station. I saw the name of the overseas city where it occurred…and I recognized it.
“Is that…”
“Where Blake is stationed…yeah,” Lucas answered.
My brow furrowed as I continued watching the images playing on the screen. “I-I thought…I thought he wasn’t supposed to be in an active combat area?”
“He’s not. It wasn’t,” Lucas said. “It…it was unexpected, from what we know.”
Despite wanting to, I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen. “Have you heard–”
“N-No,” Gabe interrupted, and I finally peeled my gaze from the television to look at him. My heart sank at how terrified he looked. “They got a call from a family friend to turn on the news. We haven’t been notified by his command or anyone else yet.”
“Gabe…” I let out a breath as I stepped forward to give him a hug in an attempt to offer some form of comfort.
My eyes flickered over his shoulder to his parents—Kenneth and Michelle had the same look of uncertainty and fear etched in their expressions. Then, I looked at Wes. He was sitting at the far end of the sofa, his eyes glued to the screen with his jaw set tight. When I drew back from Gabe, he looked at the TV again as I glanced over at Lucas and Callie, who were both staring at the screen now.
The tension and worry in the room was palpable.
The minutes felt like hours as we all stared at the television; the images and video clips played on a continuous loop with no new information coming in. I’d watch Michelle check her phone every few minutes, and the disappointment each time she looked and saw nothing broke my heart for her. I didn’t know what to do. I hated sitting with everyone around me on edge and feeling helpless to do anything to comfort them.
I glanced away from the TV again and looked around the room. Callie was sitting in the chair on Lucas’s lap with her arms around him. Gabe was standing in between the two accent chairs his parents took up, a hand on his mom’s shoulder and her hand in Kenneth’s.
Then I looked at Wes sitting on the opposite end of the sofa from me. He must have sensed my stare because his eyes slid over to mine a moment later. My brow imperceptibly dippedwith a silent question, and he subtly shook his head in response.No, I’m not okay.
Three thick throw pillows were in the center of the sofa, filling the space between us. I held his stare as I shifted my position and slid my arm behind them, and he didn’t hesitate to move his hand to meet mine, locking our fingers together.
I could have sworn I watched the tension leave his shoulders, if only a little.
Everyone else’s attention was so preoccupied that they were none the wiser to what was hidden behind the pillows. Morgan and I looked back at the television screen, but our hands remained.
My stomach was in knots, and my chest was tight with worry, so I was thankful for Morgan’s gesture. She might have seen it as something small, but her hand felt like an anchor at that moment and kept my mind from spiraling. I was never one to dwell on what-ifs, but I couldn’t seem to help it at that moment.
