My personal ghost - Simon 'Ghost' Riley

. 24

I could hear yelling next to me. Or it wasn't yelling. I couldn't tell. All noise i heard was fuzzy, incomprehensible and changing in volume with every word. It wasn't rushed enough to be yelling, it just seemed concerned. Angry? I still couldn't tell.

"Y/n?" That was the first thing i could understand.

I managed to open my eyes, wincing at how bright the room i was in was. My eyes adjusted to light, starting to flicker around to what was in front of me.

"Is she awake?" A voice spoke from around me.

"Y/n? Can you hear me?"

My vision was still hazy, everything looked to be a blur. I blinked my eyes a few times as i started to focus on what was happening.

I looked around and saw i was in our barracks again, back in Alejandro's base, with a worried Soap in-front of me. I squinted at him, confused. What the hell had happened, how was i back here?

I saw Alejandro talking to Price in the middle of the room, and a solo Ghost standing in the corner. He wasn't wearing his normal mask. It wasn't the black covering with a skull over it, it was now just a balaclava with a skull design. You could see his eye more, and the outline of his head.

He was side eyeing me, not standing directly pointed to me. From the look of his eyes, something was different. Something was off.

I tried to sit up, using my arms to lift myself but stopped when i felt a sudden and sharp pain shoot throughout my body.

"Don't move, okay?" Soap was speaking to me again. "You're gonna make it worse."

Make it worse? What did he mean?

I gave him a weird look before looking down at my legs. One of them was bandaged up. I reached an arm to touch it, but again, had to stop. When i twisted my body forward to feel my leg, i had a stinging in my stomach, even worse than before.

I lifted up the bottom of shirt and saw a bandage stretched across my torso. There was large red blotch on the right side.

"Soap..What the hell happened to me?" I asked.

"You got banged up pretty bad LT."

I shook my head in disbelief. I looked to Soap before glancing back to where Ghost was, his gaze was now focused on the various bandages that littered my body. He wouldn't meet my eyes.

I laid still, shocked, as Soap told me what happened. He detailed the fight with the Shadows, telling me how i got shot and what they had to do to get me back safely and not bleed out on the field.

Then he told me about Graves, and Shepard. How while i was passed out for two days, they had gone and took him out, defeated the Shadows and took back what they had stole from us. All the secret schemes that they had done. I missed out on all of it. Just because i got shot. Three times.

I couldn't believe it. Out, for two days? Missed the ending of our mission, almost. God, what the fuck was wrong with me. This entire mission id been different. Ever since being here, on 141, i had made more mistakes in battle than i ever had before. I was shot within the first two days of being here, now, i was shot three more times, for a total of four times. I don't understand what was so different about me not, what was affecting me so much? I'm costing me entire career right now.

-

The room had eventually cleared out, Soap told me he'd be back with something for me to drink and eat, while Alejandro and Price left the room still in conversation. Ghost was the only one left with me.

I sighed, looking over to where he was. He hasn't moved, and his stare was on the floor.

"We have to talk." He said.

"Yeah, i know." I laughed. "I'm shot and all injured again, you can ridicule me all you want."

"No. Not like that." Ghost met my eyes.

"Then..what?" I asked, confused.

Ghost walked over to me, his body language was different. He usually walked slowly and sure of himself, but this time he walked all fidgety. Unable to keep his pace steady, and his eyes wandered the room until he reached me.

"I don't know how to tell you." His voice was hush, like he didn't want anyone but me to hear him.

I was growing concerned.

"Tell me what?" I ignored the pain in my body as i managed to sit up.

Ghost looked away from me while i did, taking a minute before looking back at me.

"I thought you were dead." He said.

I tilted my head at him, waiting for him to talk more.

"I don't think we should see each other after this. It's unprofessional, and i can't explain why it happened or..why..i did what i did." He paused for a moment.

"I cant get attached to you, y/n. It's reckless, and unsafe. For the both of us." He finally finished.

I processed what he said.

"You don't want to see me, ever again?" I asked.

"No." Ghost took a second before he spoke.

I scoffed. He was pulling this on me again. I thought we'd moved past the doubt, but apparently he hasn't.

"Why're you denying that you like me? Why can't you-" I stopped talking when i noticed Price walk into the barracks.

He nodded to Ghost, who nodded back. Ghost looked to me one last time.

"I hope you get better soon, Lieutenant."