How to Love the Stars | Ghost (Simon Riley)

Chapter 15

Althea's eyes snapped open, met with an icy sensation on her cheek. Reacting purely on instinct, she seized the shadowy figure beside her, swiftly pinning them to the ground with a knee pressed against their neck. Adrenaline surged through her, her heart racing as she struggled to make sense of her surroundings. The throb of pain at the back of her head only added to her disorientation.

Surveying the chaos around her, the figure beneath her threw her off of him, and hands suddenly grabbed at her from behind. Panic surged within her as she fought against the unexpected assault, desperate to gain control. Her fingers fumbled through her pockets in search of a weapon, but before she could find one, her wrist was yanked back by an iron grip. She heard someone speaking to her, but she couldn't understand. All that mattered was escaping this frenzied nightmare.

—------------------------------------------------------------------

Ghost's grip tightened on Althea's arms, his voice urgent as he tried to contain her frenzied movements. "Whisper! Whisper, stop." Althea remained in a turbulent state. She had been unconscious for hours, and Ghost had lost soap somewhere when they had been attacked by graves. He had carried Althea all the way here. Althea's breaths came in ragged gasps, seemingly unresponsive to anything he was saying.

Ghost wrestled her down to the ground, his firm hold attempting to calm her turmoil. He pinned her beneath his knee, hoping to break through the haze. He could feel her heartbeat, fluttering in her chest like a little bird. He grabbed her shoulders, gently but firmly holding her down, and she gripped at his sleeves, trying to escape. "Althea!" Finally, a glimmer of recognition flickered in her eyes. She locked gazes with him, seeming to wake up.

—--------------------------------------------------------------

Althea took a giant deep breath, sighing. "Lieutenant." Hearing her name come from his mouth for the first time was somewhat jarring to her.

"Jesus, Whisper. What the fuck was that?" He eased off of her, extending a gloved hand to help her up. Althea gladly took it, allowing him to help her up.

"I don't really know. I don't get hurt often, since I'm a stealth operative. If I get hurt, that would mean that I'm dead already."

"Where are you hurt? Let me see."

Althea took a step back. "Oh, I'm fine. It's not that bad." Just as she finished speaking she felt dizzy again and almost stumbled.

He sighed. "Whisper. You're not fine. I dragged you here unconscious. Tell me where you're hurt."

She tried to squeeze out a smile. "There's nothing w-"

"Althea." There it was again. She had never felt this way when someone had spoken her name before.

She sighed, relenting. "Okay, fine. My head hurts like a bitch. I don't remember exactly what happened, but I think someone hit me with their gun." She reached a hand to the back of her head, feeling the skin under her fingers. She gingerly rubbed the back of her head, wincing as her fingers grazed the tender spot where she'd been struck.

Ghost frowned, concern etching his features. "You should have said something earlier. May I?" He gestured to the wound and Althea nodded. He stepped closer, his hands moving with a gentle expertise as he assessed the injury. Althea flinched when he made contact with her but kept still enough to let him take a look.

Althea couldn't help but notice how close he was, how his fingers brushed her skin, sending shivers down her spine. She cleared her throat, trying to ignore the tingling sensation spreading through her body as he cleaned the wound, the warmth of his body so close to her. "You're good at this," she said, her voice a touch softer than she intended.

He glanced up at her, his eyes meeting hers for a fleeting moment before he returned his attention to the injury. "I've patched up my fair share of wounds. Being in the field tends to come with its share of bumps and bruises." He paused, searching his pockets. "Sorry, I don't have any bandages." Althea glanced up at him. "That's okay! I'll be fine!" She tried to stand but he put his hand on her shoulder, keeping her from rising. In one swift motion, he reached down and ripped a strip of fabric from his shirt, using it to wrap around the wound on her head.

Althea's eyes widened in surprise and she turned her head again. "Oh, no! You didn't have to do that! I would have been fine!" Ghost sighed and placed his hand on the top of her head to turn it forward so he could continue wrapping it. "I've already ripped it. Shut your mouth and let me finish."

Althea promptly shut her mouth, pursing her lips.

"That's my girl."

Althea watched him work, his focus and expertise apparent in his every movement. Despite the pain in her head, she found herself oddly comforted by his presence. She knew she should probably be more embarrassed about her earlier outburst, but something about the situation seemed to have forged a connection between them. She couldn't help but lean into him as he worked on the wound.

As Ghost finished tending to her wound, he looked up at her with something that resembled a smile, but not quite. "You should be good now. It's not the most sanitary patching up, but it'll keep you alive."

"Thanks," she mumbled, her gaze dropping to the ground as her cheeks flushed. What was going on right now?

Before either of them could say more, Ghost's radio crackled to life. A voice echoed through the static. "Ghost, this is 7-1, do you copy?"

Ghost kept his eyes on her a moment longer before pressing a button on his radio to respond. "This is Ghost. Go ahead."

Ghost stood, continuing to talk to Soap over the radio. Meanwhile, Althea brought a hand up to her cheek, feeling the warmth spreading to her face. This had definitely never happened before.

Ghost turned and nodded, his eyes meeting Althea's briefly. "Copy that. Let's RV there."

As the radio fell silent, Ghost turned his attention back to Althea. "Soap's going to meet us at a church not far from here. Looks like we've got some catching up to do."

Althea nodded, her heart still racing from the earlier encounter and the unexpected connection she felt with Ghost. "Yeah, let's go."

A/N: This was actually my fav chapter to write so far lol like I really enjoyed writing this 😭😭

THANKS FOR READING!!! I'm going to try to upload daily but summer is ending and I have things to do so just trust me and I'll write as fast as I can :) I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I had fun writing it.