She expels a breath before rushing out, “I want to move to Stonesville. And if I could live with Dani before I get my own place. We already talked about it.”
“Just to make sure, is moving here the best option for you?”
“It’s been eight years,” she sighs and I can feel it deep in my bones. I don’t know all the affects from what happened to her but I know it took a toll on her mentally. Eight years may seem like a long time but to her it can seem as if it just happened yesterday. Trauma has a terrible way of reminding you even on your best day. I know from experience. “And I’m tired that every time I visit I have this fear. I’m not going to let my fear control me. By moving there I’m facing it head on.” She sounds so sure, so confident that not even I can deny it. And if she thinks she is ready who am I to say that she’s not? Nora has always been a strong girl when we were younger. It doesn’t surprise me how much she’s growing as a strong woman.
And it will be nice to have her around.
So I find myself easily agreeing. “Alright.”
“Alright?” She repeats with shocked hope.
A small smile appears on my face. If this will make her surer of herself and happy then how can I go against it? “Alright.”
She squeals and I have to pull the phone away from my ear. Snake raises an eyebrow and I mouth, Nora. He nods his head smiling.
“Do you need help moving your stuff?” I then ask her.
“I can always get movers.”
“Nora,” I say her name in warning, “I’m offering because I have no problem helping. In fact I’m insisting upon it.”
“Are you sure?” She questions doubtfully. “Because I know you don’t like being back home.”
“That’s not true,” I quickly deny yet my pulse skyrockets.
“Everyone here sees you as a war hero and you hate it.”
I swallow thickly, my skin beginning to prickle. “Because I’m not.”
“You might not see yourself as a hero anymore,” she begins softly, “but you’ll always be my hero.” Her words choke me. Suffocating me to the point where I can’t breathe. My chest begins to ache followed by the familiar burn.
“I have to go,” I reply gruffly. “Club business.”
“One day, brother, when I say that to you you’ll believe it again.”
“One day,” I repeat full well knowing that the one day she’s talking about will never come. And if her sigh is any indication she already knows what I’m thinking.
“Love you.” That does bring a small smile to my face. It even reaches my eyes causing them to melt the icy exterior.
“Love you, too,” I warmly reply before we both disconnect the call.
Stuffing the phone back in my pocket I turn to find Snake watching me with a smile on his face.
“What?”
“Nothing,” he replies innocently.
I raise a brow. “What, Snake?”
“See that you finally talked to Nora. Feel a little better, don’t you?”
Sometimes I hate it when he’s right. “Shut the fuck up.”
“I’m only going to say this because you need to hear it,” he starts seriously as I fold my arms across my chest, leveling him with a stare, “when you punish yourself it’s not just you you’re hurting.”
He’s right. I know that he’s right but when you’re on the path of self destruction it’s hard to see who you’re affecting.
“Have you always been this wise or does Alice bring it out in you?” I deflect with a joke. A tactic he himself used to use all the time.
