Page 31 of The Truths We Find

“I know, I know,” he continues. “However, I’m very glad to say I was wrong.” He turns and looks our way. “Dani and Alexa, this piece of journalism right here shows why you two are the best at KSSD. And with any luck, the DA was watching too, and Tate will finally have charges brought against him any day now.”

“Fingers crossed Dani was able to convince our witness to take all that proof to the authorities,” Alexa says.

I shrug. “We can only hope.”

“Well, this is still a huge win. Everyone, go home and enjoy your weekend. I’ll see you all on Monday.”

The room starts to clear and as soon as the word Monday settles in my mind, the high of the night evaporates, replaced by the heavy reminder of everything it represents.

“Hey, Gavin.” I walk over to him. “Can I talk to you really fast?”

“What’s up?”

“I’m sorry this is so last minute, but I need Monday off. That’s the day Sam’s leaving.”

“Oh, right. Yes. Of course. I’ll have Rachel cover for you again. She did a good job while you were working on Tate this week.”

“Yeah, she’s great. She could take my job one day.”

Gavin leans down. He’s so close I can feel his breath against my ear. “No one could ever replace you.”

I look up at him, wondering if there’s double meaning behind his words. Before I can respond, he walks out.

The weekend passes in the blink of an eye. Sam and I cling to every moment, memorizing each touch, every word. It’s hard to believe this is our first deployment together. In the nine years we’ve been dating, you’d think he would’ve been sent overseas by now.

He got orders more than once over the years, only for them to be canceled. The same thing happened with station changes. Always delayed, always rerouted. I used to call him the lucky one.

I guess our luck finally ran out.

We pull up to the entrance gate at Camp Pendleton, and I give them my ID to get on base. As we make our way deeper onto the grounds, the nerves take over. Sam is driving my Jeep, and he must sense my worry.

He reaches over the center console, gripping my hands in my lap. “It’s gonna be fine,” he says calmly.

He looks so handsome in his military gear. It’s the standard uniform Marines wear while training, with the brown and tan pixel camouflage look. It really makes his brown eyes pop. Since it’s a big day, I made sure to look nice in a white sundress, with brown wedges, and kept my hair down. I know Sam appreciated the gesture.

“I know.” I smile.

We pull into the parking lot with the buses ready to take them to the airstrip. By the looks of it, the rest of Sam’s platoon is already here. Sam pulls his duffel from the back, taking my hand before leading us over to meet the rest of the crowd.

“Marines!” a booming voice yells over the crowd. “This is your two-minute warning for lineup. Now is the time to say your final goodbyes.”

My heart sinks. I turn to Sam and throw my arms around his neck, clinging to him as if that alone might keep him here. Tears spill down my cheeks despite my promise not to cry. I’m failing miserably. A broken sound slips from my throat before I can stop it.

“Hey,” he murmurs, rubbing slow circles into my back. “I told you. I’m going to be okay.”

“I know,” I whisper, my voice trembling. “I’m… I’m going to miss you.”

He pulls back just enough to cradle my face in his hands. His eyes steady—sure in a way mine aren’t. “I love you. You’re my everything. As long as I have you here,” he says softly, “I’m coming back.”

“I love you, too.” My words barely holding together.

“Can you promise me one thing while I’m gone?”

“Anything.”

“Just be careful with Gavin? I’m worried about leaving you alone with him.”

“Sam…” I pull away from him. “We talked about this. You have nothing to worry about. You can trust me.”