Page 45 of Sleeping with the Dark (The Righteous 3)
“Well, that was kind of how the conversation went. She found a way to answer their questions and by the end I think my parents thought it was entirely their idea for me to be bi-sexual to begin with. Arek and I sat there dumbfounded, it felt a little Twilight Zone like. But, I can’t deny that I felt free, like this weight around my neck had been lifted.”
Cody’s voice was soft and sincere. “That is some friendship.”
“Yeah, it really was. I told her everything, we had no secrets, and we always had one another’s back. She was the only person that Arek has ever been jealous of.”
“I can’t picture Arek being jealous over anyone for anything.” Cody smirked.
“Right? I do think it is because they were too much alike. I think he knew no matter how hard he tried, he’d never match her natural wild streak or feared I’d choose her over him if forced to make the choice. Arek doesn’t share his toys well if you haven’t noticed.”
Cody rolled onto his back laughing hard. “I can see that. Arek is simply a little like flying too close to the sun, and she sounds like she was all wings and the sun at the same time.”
“That’s a very accurate description of both Arek and Mel. After high school, Mel said she wanted to enlist in the Navy. That she wanted to see some of the world and do some good for God and country before she settled down, she asked me if I wanted to join and Arek followed. I think he did it because he liked the idea of looking like a hero, I just wanted to be near Mel.”
“You didn’t have the same drive to serve your country?”
“Not like her. My dream had always been to become a lawyer, but I would’ve followed her to hell and back even if she hadn’t asked. Arek, on the other hand, loved the opportunity to play with big bad toys.” He stopped talking and pulled the sheet up higher on his waist.
“What happened to her?”
“She was so tough, far stronger than I’d ever been. The three of us ended up as SEALs. I think she scared just about everyone she met. We both worked our way up the ranks until we each led our own units. Then one night, Arek and I were approached to take on this impossible task. We were so arrogant. I knew we could die, but we were good, no, we were fucking great, and I felt invincible like we could take on anything and always come out on top.” He crossed his arms over his chest and chewed on his lower lip as he pictured the meeting that night. “We were asked to pick the best twelve members for the mission, and it had to stay covert. If we were discovered, we would be left behind, command’s hands washed of us.”
“What the fuck? Who asks you to do the impossible and then says we will leave you if you can’t complete it?” Cody sat up, wrapping his arms around his knees.
“Who do you think?” Trev lifted an eyebrow at Cody, and he rolled his eyes in response. “Anyway, we spent a week deciding and picking a team from the best of the best. I scowered through records. It didn’t matter from what organization. I only had one prerequisite—you needed to be deadly and the best at what you did. My mistake was instantly picking Mel to come and then asking her to pick a member from her unit.”
“I don’t understand. Why was that an issue? Was she not qualified?”
Trev laughed and then grabbed at his stomach as a sharp pain lanced his innards. “Oh no, she was more than qualified. Mel had come to me almost a year or so before that mission and said we needed to stop seeing one another, that she was not being seen as an equal. I didn’t believe her. I mean, I did, but I didn’t see it the way she did. I saw it as the guys razing her, but that they still respected her. I fucked up. I should’ve agreed, but I selfishly never wanted to let her go, not after all we’d been through. I planned on marrying her.” Trev clutched the sheet hard as anger burned in his gut.
“The two of you were engaged?”
“Yes and no. Not officially, but we’d talked about it—I had secretly purchased a ring to give her, I just hadn’t found the right time. Anyway, she chose this one guy from her unit, highly skilled but had a huge chip on his shoulder. The type of person that saw every personal shortcoming as everyone else’s fault and not his own.”
“I’ve met the type. Bad combo on a tough mission.”
Trev snorted and looked up to the ceiling as he tried to rein in the tears that wanted to fall. He hadn’t talked about Mel to anyone since her death. Not even Arek knew the whole story. “The day before we left for the mission, Mel pulled me aside. She was visibly upset and….” Trev stopped again, his throat clogging as he forced the words out. “She realized she was pregnant, and I was going to be a dad.”
“Oh fuck, Trev. I’m sorry.” Cody grabbed his hand, and he held on tight.
“I asked her not to go, I even tried ordering her to stay behind, but she wouldn’t hear of it. The mission was difficult, but she said she’d make it her last and then go on leave. We talked and argued right into the next morning when we were to ship out. I never wanted to hinder her ambition, but I just had this awful feeling I couldn’t shake.” Trev had to stop talking. He stared at the stream of sunlight that was looking like it was glittering on the bedspread.
Come on, Soldier Boy. You can do it.
He could hear her in his head, and he smirked.
“It was a four-day journey to our destination by truck to get to thesecretjump plane and on the morning of the third day, she ended up in an argument with the guy she’d chosen to join the mission. I could hear him tell her that the only reason she was still in charge was that she had tits and gave a good blowjob. It was fashionable to have her in charge, but she didn’t really deserve it. The argument got loud and ignorant enough that I wanted to pummel his face in, but one searing look from her had me frozen in place. I thought he was going to hit her, and if he had there wouldn’t have been any holding me back.”
“She needed to fix it.”
“Yes, I got it, but she was…well, you know.” Trev took a shaky breath, his hand squeezing the life out of Cody’s for support. “The look she gave me, I thought for sure she regretted us staying together, that she was going to have to go on leave because of us. I felt terrible as she stormed away to get some air, and….” He couldn’t hold back the tears as the pain he’d let out in his dream decided to make an appearance while he was awake.
“Hey, it’s okay.” Cody gripped him in a hug, and he clung to him as he wrestled with the overwhelming drowning sensation. “You don’t have to say anymore.”
“I need to say this.” Trev took a moment to compose himself. “We were in this area, we didn't travel much and didn’t know the roads well. I yelled for her to stop as she made her way around the truck. She looked back at me as her foot stepped on a land mine. One minute she was there, the next…her, my child, my best friend, my everything was gone. She was just gone. The explosion threw me back between the trucks. I clawed at the ground, trying to get to her, but Arek wouldn’t let me. He wrestled me to the ground as I screamed like my physical heart was being ripped from my chest. I’ve blamed myself every single day since for her death.” He pulled away from Cody’s hold to sit up. “I should’ve ordered to stay behind, I should’ve listened to my gut.”
“She would’ve hated you for it,” Cody said quietly.
“Maybe, but she would still be alive even if she never wanted to see me again.” Trev groaned as she forced himself to stand.
