The Red Sea Diving Resort Lovers

Chapter 20

The plane ride was short, given that I slept on Sammy's shoulder for most of the trip, his comfort being my sole focus while we were about to approach our parents house for the first time in 10 years. "Do you want to go straight to the house, see Maya, or go confront Ethan or Barak?" Sammy asked, throwing our bags over his shoulder while I tugged his flannel around my body tighter, the air much cooler than back in Sudan. "What do you think? I already feel like I know Ethan and Barak's answer, and I'm pretty sure Maya is at her maw maw's who hates me and Ari with everything in her." I laughed, following him out to a car that he had parked there. "Shall we get Ethan and Barak over with then?" Sammy asked, tossing the bags into the backseat before sliding into the drivers. "I guess so." I sighed, sinking into the passenger seat.

The brick building of the Mossad appeared before our eyes, Sammy reaching over to grab my hand, locking our fingers together and squeezing it tightly, grounding me to the reality that he was here and wasn't going to walk away. "Let's get there stuff yeah? It's been a decade, I think it's time." Sammy spoke gently, reaching over to push the car into park, before pulling the keys from the ignition. "Yeah, what are we going to do if they say no?" I asked, stepping out into the frigid night air, waiting for Sammy as he rounded the front of the beat up beetle, locking our hands together again before walking inside. "I'm sure Ari has a plan just in case. Maybe he'll use that Levinson luck, and hopefully that Levinson charm rubbed off on you." Sammy teased, using his palm to open the glass front door, both of us reaching under our shirts to grab the chain that showed we were Mossad agents. "We can hope."

Climbing up the stairs was grueling, my stomach in knots as we passed the portraits of our parents, my hand still tightly in Sammy's as we reached the tenth floor. Barak's hallway was lined with photos of him and the top Mossad agents, the missions Sammy and I heard of as kids were some of the one's he was most proud of, I pulled myself closer to Sammy, his hand squeezing mine subconsciously as we approached Barak's door, knocking gently. "Come in!" He yelled from behind the oak, my fingers wrapping around pathetic metal that we call a doorknob, twisting it and pushing the door open while Sammy walked in with me, keeping me close to him, both of us standing in front of Barak. "Wow, I haven't seen you two together in years!" He laughed standing up, rounding the table to pull both of us into a tight hug. "I thought you two were in Sudan! What are you doing here?" Barak asked, pulling out of the embrace while I looked up at Sammy, seeing him nod towards me. "We have a favor to ask."

"Yeah of course, what can we do for you?" Barak asked, leaning against the desk while I looked at him a soft smile on my lips. "We had an incident with the Sudanese military, the only reason it didn't escalate was because of the tourist that were there." I sighed, leaning against Sammy as Barak nodded, listening to every word I was saying. "I call it unsuspecting collateral damage, but everyone else sees it as-" Sammy spoke before I cut him off, "The best cover we could've asked for." I finished, seeing Barak nod. "That's a lot to ask, how long are you two here for?" Barak asked, looking between Sammy and I. "I have a mother daughter picnic with Maya tomorrow, and Sammy is going to check up on the clinic, we only have a few days." I spoke gently, both men nodding. "Let's plan a meeting with Ethan tomorrow evening then." Barak stated, walking over to his book to write down the time. "We do have two more favors to ask." Sammy stated, Barak snapping his head up with a nod. "Sure."

"Can we gather our parents items? And have the keys to the town home?" Sammy asked softly, my hands shaking as I fidgeted with his flannel that was wrapped around me. "Yeah of course, come with me." Barak smiled softly, walking the two of us down the hallway, pushing open the door that lead to the lockers. "Nothing's been touched since we delivered the news, Navon locker is number 56, Ashley is 57." Barak stated, unlocking both lockers before walking towards the door. "Tomorrow evening they're conducting a mission without you two, we'd like you in mission control if that's possible. I'll go get the keys to the townhome." Barak spoke, the only noise coming after being the sound of the door shutting.

I ran my fingers over the metallic 57, my stomach in knots as I opened up the locker, seeing photos of my family decorating the interior, tears forming instantly as I looked at the photos of my mother and father. We were such a happy family, always smiling, always laughing. Sammy reached over, clamping his hand on my shoulder while I turned to him, a small smile on my lips. "You okay munchkin?" He asked, his fingers kneading the tense muscle gently. "Yeah, it's been a long time since you called me that." I laughed, running my fingers over the sweater my mom always wore. "It felt fitting, what did you used to call me?" He asked, gathering his parents belongings into a bag, before handing me it to fill. "Einstein." I replied, looking over at him with a playful smile while he shook his head. "Right, because I always knew everything?" He teased, zipping up the bag as I finished loading everything in. "Sorry to interrupt, here's the keys for the townhouse, I'm leaning towards opening it as an actual resort, if I come to a conclusion before the meeting tomorrow, I'll let you know." Barak spoke, while both of us nodded. Sammy took the keys, taking the bag before we both left the building.

Jerusalem's lights disappeared in the distance as Sammy and I drove out to the house, my head resting on the window as his and Ari's jackets covered me, my eyes falling shut. "Come on munchkin, stay awake." He chuckled, ruffling my hair as I groaned, looking over at him sleepily. "Can we stay in the basement?" I asked gently, seeing him off a small smile in the glimmer of the town lights. "Sure, if that's what you want." He replied, squeezing my knee. "It was ours, I'm not ready to be in the house alone yet." I mumbled, his nod being an answer, a silent understanding that he was in the same boat. "Ari may kill me, there's only one bed, I can sleep on the floor." Sammy stated, looking over at my half asleep state, a sigh leaving my lips. "You're like my brother Sammy, he knows that."

Saying that he was like my brother was a punch in the gut for the both of us. I loved Ari, but Sammy has always held a special place in my heart, I mean they always say that about your first time. And maybe the nurse at his clinic was right, but I was too stubborn to admit it, and Sammy and I were both in happy healthy relationships. "Rach may kill me though." I laughed, seeing him shake his head. "She knows our relationship, don't worry." Sammy smiled softly, parking in front of the town house, both our hearts dropping. "We haven't been here since-" he started, looking over at me, my eyes trained on the house. "We found out."

Heavy metal doors being shut as we walked up to the front door, unlocking it before stepping in slowly, turning on the light, my breath being punched from my lungs. "They haven't changed anything." I whispered, looking up at Sammy who shook his head, leading us down to the basement, pushing the door open. "Let's get some rest yeah? You can sleep on my stomach like you used to." Sammy offered, a laugh escaping my chapped lips. "I think I can use a pillow, but I'll remember that offer later if I have a nightmare without Ari here." I smiled, climbing up on the lifted bed, Sammy laying beside me before turning off the lights, both of us staring at the ceiling.

It was unnatural, it wasn't home.