TOP GUN: BACK TO MY ROOTS

THE DAY HE LEFT

i remember it well, i kinnda wish i didn't though, some of it's blurry, given i was asleep when it started
i was 14, it was dec 23, two days away from christmas
i woke up to them yelling, they had been doing this a lot recently, dad didn't want bradley going into the navy and was trying to convince him not to go, but bradley is a hard ass and that's really what he wanted to do
as i walked down stairs i could hear them
"bradley i only wnat what's best for you!"
"no! the only person you care about is yourself, your just worried i'm going to be a better pilot than you"
"that is not at all what's going on here!"
"then tell me! tell me why you did it mav! you had no right! no right at all"
"i'm sorry, im just trying to protect you"
"we'll stop! im your responsibility, you are not my father"
and with that he stomped into his room, i expected him to slam the door and see him tommorow, that's usually how this played out, but after around two minuets bradley came out with the keyes to his car, a backpack, and his boots. and he left, he didn't say anything he just walked right past me, he didn't even look at me, and that's when i realized what had really happened.
dad always threatened hed pull brads papers, but i thought it was just to scare him, but this time he actually did it. i looked at dad, he wasn't crying, he's really not one to show emotion, but i could tell he was hurting, almost as much as i was, i went back up to my room and tried to sleep, but all i could do was cry

the next two days went by silent, it was weird not having brad in the house, sometimes i can smell his cologne from downstairs, i desperately want to go into his room but i know dad wouldn't be happy about it.
on christmas day, we did nothing, we ignored the presents under the tree, we didn't eat together, not like either of us were eating much anyways, dad didn't bother to fill the stockings, he left bradley's up, you could see the cards we rote to "santa" sticking out of the corner.
after about two days after christmas i was done mopping around, bradley didn't die, he made the selfish decision to leave, he didn't only leave dad, he left me too, and didn't even say goodbye,
i think if i'm going through the stages of grief i might be on the angry part
i gathered up all the presents and sorted out who's was who's
i put all of bradley's in his room although i didn't stay long, i took off all the tags on dads saying who they were from so he wouldn't know what was from me and what was from him, i put them all on his bed while he was out on a ride
i went up and put all my presents in my room
there were only about four maybe five, i didn't remove the tags from mine, i studied the boxes carefully i had three from brad and two from dad, i began with the two from das, he got me a new pair of shoes, and a sketch book and some new pencils, the i turned to the ones bradley gave me, i picked up the smallest box, it had been under the tree for the least amount of time, as i opened it i could see it was one of those boxes that held really pretty necklaces, as i opened it up my eyes welled with tears, it was a small silver chain with an F-18 on the end of it
i opened the little piece of paper that was in, it read, "i'm always with you now, even when i'm in the skies -BB"
i put it on immediately,i didn't want to open the other presents so i put them in my closet for now, i laid down and quietly cried myself to sleep

okay so basically the backstory on when rooster left the next chapter well jump into when your 19 and less hurt by rooster leaving:)) be excited