A doctor came out and tapped his fingers on the desk. “Hey, great job back there. Things are settled down, so if you want to take up your post here that’s completely fine.”
I nodded. “Thanks, I appreciate it.”
I stared at the wall as people cried and asked for random updates in the waiting room. I had nothing for them, of course. I had only just logged into the system, so it wasn’t as if I knew how to navigate the damned thing. I had spent the first two hours of my shift doing a job I wasn’t even hired to do, and all I wanted was a few moments to breathe through the shock of my entire life.
I had to process the fact that Dean wasn’t dead.
It wasn’t as if there had been a massive accident or anything. One day, we were declaring our love for one another and making plans to go to the beach for a week, and the next thing I knew he dropped off the face of the planet. His calls kept going to voicemail, then his number could no longer be completed as dialed. I went by his place one day and his lights were off: his bike nowhere in sight. I tried tracking him down and calling his friends that I knew, but none of them knew what had happened to him or where he had gone.
I worried so much that I reported him missing to the police. But, their investigations into the matter turned up nothing.
He had just… disappeared.
And apparently, he was simply an asshole who really knew how to ghost a bitch.
“Fucking pathetic sack of shit,” I murmured.
As I clicked around the interface on my computer to familiarize myself with things, my mind raced with all sorts of questions. How the hell did he know about the shootout that had occurred? How the hell did he know those gangbangers in the first place? Was he wrapped up in something bad? Is that why he dropped off the face of the planet?
It was clear to me that Dean knew who those men were. And didn’t think for one second that I didn’t see recognition sweep over their faces once they saw Dean for themselves. Something was amiss during all of this, and Dean’s presence at the hospital tonight wasn’t coincidental.
But, how did the man who joined the Army to save America become a criminal?
What happened to the man I had fallen in love with?
“Hey there, sweet girl.”
I giggled as I turned around and saw Dean with a bouquet of flowers. “For me?”
He smiled as his other hand donned a teddy bear. “For the sweetest girl in the world.”
I squealed. “Oh, my goodness. Thank you so much!”
I wrapped my arms around him and pressed a kiss against his lips. His strong arms wrapped tightly around me as he hoisted me off the ground, spinning me around in a state of bliss. I loved the way his tongue caressed the roof of my mouth. It was a stark contrast to the animal that tied me down in bed only to tease me until I begged for mercy.
But his murmured words drew me back to reality. “I got accepted.”
I paused. “Huh?”
He set me down. “They took me. I got accepted. I leave for basic in a few weeks.”
I tried to act excited. “I’m so happy for you, Dean.”
He chuckled. “No, you’re not.”
“No, I’m really not. But I know this is what you want, so you know that I support you.”
He kissed my forehead. “Your residency is going to keep you plenty busy, and before you know it, I’ll be out of basic, and I’ll have a place of my own. I’ll try my best to get stationed at the nearest base, but if it doesn’t happen be ready for me to fly you out. A lot.”
I smiled brightly. “Really, Dean?”
He cupped my cheek. “I’d never leave my number one princess behind. Not for a second.”
“Except you did,” I whispered.
Things had been wonderful for a while. I started my residency around the time he got out of basic, and before I knew it, he was being sent on his first deployment. Talking over Skype was rough, especially since he didn’t have the greatest connection overseas. But I didn’t worry about him the way I thought I would.
Until one particular phone call that started with “How was your day?” and ended with gunfire before the call went black.
