Hangman & Reader Short Stories

Misinterpreted Loss

Jake opened the door to find you standing there, eyes red and puffy with tears running down your face. Panic flooded his system as he looked you over for any obvious signs of injury. Seeing you cry was a rare sight and he was preparing himself for the worst.

"Sweetheart, what's wrong?" His body was tense as he was ready to act on a moment's notice, trying to keep a calm exterior while he waited for your answer.

"He left with another girl." The words came out as a near whisper, but he heard every one of them. Which is why he was more confused than anything.

"What do you mean? Who left with another girl?" His focus was fully on you as he was trying to piece things together.

"Bradley. I thought things were going well, but I clearly misread the situation." The sorrow was quickly turning in to anger and Jake picked up on the swift change in emotions.

"Have you been drinking?" A simple head nod confirmed it, and he ran a hand over his face.

"Jesus Christ, Y/N. I thought you were actually hurt or something." Any other time you would've felt slightly bad for sending him into a spiral of worry, but tonight your mind was on other things. Which is why you lightly hit his arm in protest.

"I am hurt! My heart literally tore in two tonight and you don't even care!" His lack of empathy for the situation had you walking away from him. A hand gently grabbed your wrist, halting your retreat.

"Calm down, killer. Come inside so we can talk about this." You let out a huff and allowed him to lead you inside his apartment. You took residence on the couch, curling your knees into your chest. Jake sat down next to you and told you to start from the beginning.

You leaned your head back on the cushion behind you and closed your eyes as you started explaining what all happened to lead you here.

"We had gotten done with our training for the day and he asked if I wanted to grab a drink. Of course, I said yes, happy that we were finally moving in the right direction. We were there about an hour before I got up to go to the bathroom and when I came out, he had his arm around another girl's waist and was walking out of the bar with her. Long story short, I took a few shots that I know I'm going to regret in the morning and called a cab to bring me here."

Jake listened to every word, trying to figure out why Bradley would do that. He knew his teammate was crazy about you and it took three of them to convince him to even ask you out in the first place. So why the hell did he walk out with another girl? Your whisper of a voice pulled him out of his thoughts.

"What's wrong with me? Why doesn't he care?" Jakes heart broke at the questions, and he was at a loss for words. You always carried yourself with your head held high. Nothing ever seemed to get to you, or at least so he thought. But hearing the words laced with pain had him more worked up than when you first got there.

Any other guy and he would've run out that door to beat some sense in to them. But he couldn't touch a teammate, no matter how pissed off he was. Helpless was the word that kept running thorough his mind.

"Come here, sweetheart." He pulled you into his side, letting you rest your head on his shoulder as his hand rubbed comforting circles on your arm.

"I'm only going to say this once, so listen closely. There is absolutely nothing wrong with you. You are one of the strongest women I know, and any guy would have won the lottery if you gave them the time of day. I don't know why Bradley did what he did, but don't ever let a man decide your worth."

More tears spilled onto your face, and you pressed yourself into him more. Trying to steal as much comfort as you could from the one person in your life who had always been there.

"Let's get you to bed." You felt him start to move and you tightened your grip on him.

"Please stay. Just for a few more minutes." The desperation was clear, and it had him rethinking about hurting a teammate. Bradley couldn't be a part of the team if he couldn't see clearly out of his eyes to fly a plane.

"I'll stay as long as you need me to." You relaxed a bit at his words and whispered a thank you. He gave you a kiss on the head in return and you knew you made the right decision in coming here. No one knew you like Jake did and in this moment, all you needed was your friend.

After some time had passed, you squeezed his arm letting him know you were ready to move.

"Let's get you to bed." The drinks had long worn off and the only thing you were left with was a throbbing headache. Another thing to blame the Hawaiian shirt pilot for.

It took all of seconds to fall asleep once you were settled in bed. Jake ran a hand through his hair, trying to work out what he was going to do in the morning. You both had to be at base for training, but he already knew you weren't going to be in it tomorrow. Maybe he can tell them you have a stomach bug. Something to give you the much-needed day off.

Jake went to slide into the bed next to you when a frantic knock on the door had him turning around. He already knew who it was before he even opened the door. He had to stop a second and take a few deep breaths, willing himself to calm down.

"The hell you think you're doing here, Bradshaw?" Jake took one look at the pilot and knew he was having just as rough as a night as Y/N.

"Is she here?" Bradley tried to look around Jake into the apartment, but Jake stepped into his line of vision.

"You have 30 seconds to explain what the hell happened before knock that stupid mustache off your face." Bradley took a step back, putting a little bit of space between him and his fuming teammate.

"She went to the bathroom and this girl came up trying to hit on me or whatever. She was wasted and I knew if I didn't get her out of there that someone was going to take advantage of her. So, I walked her out and straight into a cab. When I came back in, Y/N was gone. I've spent the last hour trying to find her and she won't answer her phone. I have no idea why it took me this long to realize she would've come here."

Jake stepped out into the hall and closed the door behind him, not wanting to wake you up for this. "She said your hands were around that girl's waist."

Bradley shook his head, "Man she couldn't stand up straight. That's how drunk this girl was. I figured the least I could do is make sure she got home safe. No one should be left alone like that."

Jake watched for any signs of him lying, but only saw concern and worry. Something he had been feeling since you got there. "She thinks you left with that girl. Came here more upset than I've ever seen her."

Bradley leaned against the wall behind him and closed his eyes. "I never would've done that to her." He opened his eyes and looked straight at Jake. "She's it for me. But one misinterpreted situation may have cost me everything. What do I do?"

That desperation he heard in Y/N's voice earlier was mirrored in Bradley's now. He knew he had to do something, but he couldn't be seen as taking his side over yours.

"You better fix this and soon. That girl in there was asking me what was wrong with her. She's so damn crazy about you, that you managed to break her beyond belief. I don't know what you have to do, but so help me God, you sure as hell better do it soon or else your time as a pilot is about to come to an end."

There was a few things Bradley had learned during this assignment. One: you and Jake were inseparable and winning you over meant winning him as well. Or else life would suddenly become very hard to live.

Two: you were everything he dreamed of in a girl and more. It was almost embarrassing how easily he fell for you and this night showed him how hard he needed to work to get you back.

And that's exactly what he planned to do.