“Do I need to know anything special?” Nimble asks. “I wasn’t here for…” He shrugs.
We all turn to Shadow for direction. He sips his coffee thenclears his throat as he sets the mug down. “Stealth was my first recruit. He’s been with me since the beginning of this venture, and he helped me establish what we are today.”
Nimble nods, his forehead creasing as he focuses on our boss. My shoulders tense as I listen. I know the story, but that doesn’t make it any easier to hear.
“We were busier than I ever anticipated,” Shadow continues. “It was hard to keep my eye on everything so I trusted the guys to handle themselves and come to me if they needed help. That’s where I went wrong.”
“No,” Whisper says, but Shadow raises his hand to stop him from continuing.
“I didn’t notice that Stealth was struggling. None of us noticed, but it’s my responsibility to pay attention.” He hangs his head for a second, and the temptation to reach out and soothe him is strong, but he won’t like that. “Stealth was so strong and competent. Nothing stood out.”
“He was good at hiding it,” Specter says, while Whisper nods in agreement.
“Regardless, I didn’t see it until it was too late.” Shadow’s face creases with pain. “I found him in his bathroom, clinging to life.”
Nimble sucks in a breath in surprise.
“He’d tried to end it all.” Shadow rubs his forehead. “Fortunately, I got there in time and he got the help he needed at the hospital, but he was fractured. Not the same man I met. He’s been away for eighteen months.”
Nimble nods.
“We’ll let Stealth decide what he needs. If he wants to talk about it or anything, or if he doesn’t. His release is dependent on maintaining a monthly appointment with his therapist, and we’ll support him as best we can.”
“But he wants to come back?” Carnage asks. “He wants to stay with us?”
Shadow nods. “Yes. It wasn’t the work that weighed on him.”
I know Shadow well enough to know he’s choosing his words carefully, but I also know he won’t tell us anything he doesn’t want to.
Carnage nods. “And it wasn’t us?”
“No, not at all. It’s not my place to share his reasons and struggles, but I assure you it wasn’t related to any of you. He’s looking forward to seeing you all again. He considers us his family.”
“We are,” Whisper grunts.
“Yes, we are,” Shadow agrees.
Specter and I exchange glances. We have our theories about what happened to Stealth, but we’ll never know the full truth unless he tells us.
Ghost leans back in his chair. “It’ll be good to have him back. We’ll be complete.”
Phantom taps his fingers on the table. “Missed him a lot.”
“He’s missed us too,” Shadow says. “I’m told he’s stronger than ever. He’s physically well too.”
The horrible memories of that night flood my mind. I haven’t thought of it in ages, haven’t let myself since we were told he was gonna pull through, but the pain is just as fresh. Watching Shadow’s normally stoic and composed demeanor crumble, hearing his panicked cries as he held an unconscious Stealth to his chest, the chaos while we got our brother to the hospital. It was all a blur, only for us to find out he wasn’t steady enough to come back home. We thought it would be a few months, but it’s been well over a year now. I can’t help but wonder what Stealth will be like now. He was always quiet but amiable with us. We all should’ve noticed how he withdrew, how he started spending more time alone, or how he stopped talking to anyone but Shadow.
After breakfast, we all leave the table and quietly go back to our own plans, but Specter stops me with a hand on my arm. Colson lingers behind him.
“Yeah,bror?”
“Do you still think…” He trails off as he glances over his shoulder.
I know the rest of the question without waiting. “I’m not sure, but Shadow’s reactions, then and now, are… curious.”
“Yeah,” he grunts. “Doesn’t matter, but it would help if we knew.”
“Would it?”
