Page 18 of Rough Night

Sage knew he couldn’t just sit back and allow Fiona and Grier to do all the work so he decided to get some help from a private investigator to help get some heat off of them back in Florida. He knew he had to get back as soon as possible. Being away from Florida just didn’t feel right after everything that had happened. As much as Mia saw Florida as her home, Sage felt the same. He didn’t like being away from his house and the friends he had made.

He found it amazing how he had made new friends so unexpectedly. He didn't realize that his presence was liked so much in Florida. Obviously, he had tried to be someone they could talk to and he had always tried to make a friendship with his team so it wouldn't always be just work but when he had gone missing, he truly realized what he meant to everyone. They had all sent him messages, and some had called him to check-in. He was blown away by the support. He was grateful for them all.

He wasn’t sure what he was looking for, but anything would help. He just wished he could be investigating himself. He preferred to do things himself so he could have more control over the situation and the speed of things. He knew it wasn’t his job, but he also couldn’t handle the fact that he couldn’t be more involved. He felt sort of helpless as he waited for anything he could pass along to Fiona and Grier. He felt bad that he had not suspected something sooner, he felt like he had let them down, and although they hadn't said anything, he knew they must've felt it. He wanted to make it up to them any way he could.

It didn’t take long for the investigator to come back with something that could do the trick. The investigator had managed to collect all the information they would need to get the law enforcement off their backs.

“I need to go see Fiona,” he said as he entered the lounge. Mia looked up from the TV. She had been looking for something to watch while she had nothing to do. Sage could see how hard it was on Mia to come back and he knew it wasn’t just because Florida was their home now. He wasn't just trying to get back to Florida for himself but also for Mia.

He knew it was because this place just held a lot of bad luck for her and a lot of bad memories he knew she would much rather forget but Sage knew that the past never truly stays there and sometimes it comes back to haunt people when they least expect it.

His memories of being in the army would always be with him no matter what he did. It had been hard to deal with for a long time, but Sage had sadly gotten used to the unexpected memories of his past. He obviously wished he could forget it all. He wouldn't have minded having his brain wiped of all of his past. His past didn't seem to matter so much with Mia around.

It was just the night before when he had a haunting dream again. If anything he wished the dreams would stop. It would make life a lot easier for him.

Sage knew he was dreaming when he saw blood on his hands. He knew he hadn’t gotten actual blood on his hands in his life, but he knew what it meant.

He tried to wipe his hands on his pants, wishing his hands were clean.

“No matter how hard you wipe your hands they won’t be clean, Sage. It’s all in your head,” a voice said from behind him. He had thought his last interaction with Laura was when he had let her go, but that was not the case.

“What are you doing here?” he asked her as he looked at her.

She was clean, dressed in her army uniform with no injuries and no visible wounds. She looked as if she hadn’t even been in the army but was more so dressed up in a costume for Halloween. It didn’t look right to Sage. A part of him knew that he would picture Laura in her uniform for the rest of his life. It had, after all, been the last image he had seen of her. He didn’t like the fact that she hadn’t been given the chance to live her life the way she had pictured. He remembered how often she would talk about what she wanted to do when they got out of the army. She had told him she wanted to go to veterinary college. She knew she may have been the oldest student there, but she didn’t care.

“Well, I could ask you the same thing. Why are you here?” she asked. She looked at herself in surprise as she took in her outfit. She also didn’t understand why they were there.

Sage looked around him, unable to make out the setting until his eyes widened with recognition.

“This is the house I pictured for us,” he said as he walked around an empty lounge area. He had thought a lot about where he would live with Laura when they would finally be free of the military. He had pictured a big house with enough room for children and a few animals; dogs mostly but possibly a cat for Laura. The empty house clearly showed that it just wasn’t meant to happen.

“The house is empty, Sage. I can’t be there to fill it with memories anymore. You know I’m gone,” Laura said, “I told you that it’s okay to let me go.” He knew that she wouldn’t hold it against him if he did move on. The subconscious Laura he saw had no problems with moving on with his life.

“I know you did, but I’ll carry the guilt with me for the rest of my life,” he replied.

“Sage, there was nothing you could do. You can’t bring me back. You couldn’t have stopped that bomb either,” she said.

“I know, I know, but you don’t know what it's like being the only survivor,” he said in return. On a subconscious level, he thought he was going a little insane with how real the conversation felt.

“You earned it, Sage,” she replied.

He wanted to believe her, but he still felt that his life had been meaningless.

He knew he needed to do something, something great, and something worth the second chance he had been given. Knowing that he had been given a second chance for a reason would be the one thing that could make Sage achieve something. He didn't have to prove he was worthy of the chance, but he had to make it mean something.

The thought of his dream consumed him. He wished he could believe that he had been given a second chance for a reason, but he couldn't see it. He couldn't understand what that reason could be considering his life still hadn't amounted to much after all this time. If he thought about it, the only good thing he had going in his life was Mia.

Sage hadn’t realized that he had zoned out until he heard Mia’s voice.

“Shall I come with you?” she asked him with concern in her voice.

She must have noticed his minor lack of focus when his mind had drifted. He couldn't tell her what he was thinking about; he hadn't told anyone about his dreams before.

“I think it’s best if you stay here,” he replied. He knew that if she went with him, she would get her hopes up and he didn’t want to be the one to burst that bubble in case they couldn’t go back yet.

“Oh, okay, let me know what happens then,” she said. He already saw the disappointment on her face, and she didn’t even know about the information he had. He hadn’t told Mia that he had hired a private investigator. He thought that it would be better that way in case he had nothing to show for his efforts.

“I won’t be long,” he replied as he headed out. He heard her yell in response but couldn’t make out what she said as he closed the front door behind him.