“How much easier do you think it would have been for the kidnappers to drag you in that state? You got lucky, and he gets all the credit.” My voice is hostile and my nostrils flare.
Focus, Bruno. Now is not the time for claiming her. You abandoned her, remember? Don’t be an asshole.
“But I can’t ignore that gamble saved you, and you are right. Without his intervention you might not be here right now, and I owe him for that,” I say.
It’s true. If he’s responsible for Sarah being alive, then I’m grateful. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to ignore all Sarah’s strange reactions every time I mention his name.
“Bruno.” She turns to me; she looks tired. “I've been traveling non-stop. I would have traveled twice as far if I needed to. Can we ignore who helped me, at least till we get home? Fate brought us together. Let’s focus on that.” She’s right, this is not the time or place to acknowledge these feelings.
“What you did back there was crazy. Don't think I’m not thankful, but coming here, Sarah, it wasn't smart. Your gender makes you worthless around here. You have no idea what I’ve seen and—”
“I’m not naïve or oblivious to what’s happening here. I had a good briefing and then saw some action when sailing through the Red Sea. I pushed through all of it. Nothing was going to stop me from seeing you again. I’m here, I came prepared, and I'm ready to help you.” She reaches inside her clothes and rips a necklace from her neck.
“Here...”
I extend an open palm.
This is not a necklace. It’s… it’s a dog tag.
FITCHER SARAH
873-34-0150
0 POS
NO PREFERENCE
My heart stops.
“You joined the army?”
I hardly notice the car starting to drift until a car horn sounds next to me.
Will the surprises ever end?
“Yeah... when you left, I mean, when you went looking for Dante – I didn't know that at that time – I thought that if I was going to start looking for you, the best thing I could do was to start at the beginning, so I enlisted and was deployed in the East. All that was necessary to be here with you, Bruno.”
Guilt swamps my chest. I should’ve been there for her on her big day. What a fucking piece of shit I am.
“I can't believe I missed your graduation,” I say under my breath.
Sarah stares at me with troubled blue eyes.
“Carter was there, so family was totally present. When he came to see me two weeks ago, he confessed that he was there, I thought no one... I thought…” She sobs as tears roll down her cheeks.
I catch one on my thumb and suck my finger to drink it. She tastes the same.
“He was there, that’s all that matters.” She wipes the tears off her cheeks, removing all signs of weakness.
“He's a good cousin.” I put on a fake smile, mainly because I can’t help but feel envious of him. I would give everything to go back in time and witness her graduation; I should’ve been with her; joining the rest of the crowd and applauding like a madman full of pride and love. Just imagining her lonely eyes at the ceremony breaks me inside.
Fuck.
The need to hold her increases, alongside my pounding heart. My knuckles turn white as I squeeze the wheel. I need to fight down my emotions before I say or do something stupid.
“You know that if I could have attended, I would have, right?”
“I know.”
