The pieces of my puzzle.

One.

(Azara's POV)

I was sitting on the couch, looking out the window, when the doorbell rang.
I placed my coffee cup on the table in front of me, before standing up and making my way to the door.

I opened the front door to see my step-mom, Penny standing on my front porch, with a warm smile.

After the Uranium mission, she and my dad had dated for a few months before my dad had popped the question. And now they are happily married.

Once I saw who it was, my face instantly lit up with a smile.
"Hey Penny, come in!" I ushered her inside, closing the door behind me.

"Hey Azzie, how are you?" She asked, as we sat down in the small living room of my tiny apartment.

"It's been okay, how about you?" I asked, twirling a lock of my brow hair around my finger.

"I've been great thanks. How are you doing?" She asked, cheerfully. "How's that man of yours?"

And there it is.
I was hoping to avoid that topic.

I sighed, knowing I couldn't avoid the conversation.

"I've been fine." I answered lamely, trying to avoid her gaze in hopes that she would get the gist. She gently placed her hand on my forearm, forcing me to meet her gaze.

"Sweetie, what happened?"
I wanted to change the subject, but with Penny's warm smile, I couldn't resist telling her. And she deserves to know.

"It actually happened a while ago, I just didn't tell anyone." I looked up at her as she gave the arm, that her hand was placed on, a squeeze.

"But before I tell you, you need to promise not to tell dad." She chuckled and nodded, indicating that she agreed.

"Bra-Bradly, he-" My words got stuck in my throat and my eyes suddenly burned with tears.

Why was it so hard to say his name?
Why was I acting so childish?

"Take your time." She said, her voice soft.

I sighed, it's not even that much of a story, why was I hesitant to tell it? It's not like he died.

I signed again and began retelling the events of that night.

(Flashback)

Bradly paced back and forth in my small living room, practically pacing a hole in the floor.

"Brads, what is it?" I tried getting him to sit down, but did not succeed in doing so.

He looked at me for a moment before continuing to pace.

I stood with a wince, stepped in front of him and grabbed his arm. He stopped and looked down at me. (He was a head and a half taller than me. And since I had a neck brace on I couldn't look up.)

He sighed, admitting defeat.
"I've been deployed." That was all he said as his brown eyes looked into my own.

"Ok we'll deal with it." I reassured, giving him a small smile. When he didn't respond for a moment, I raised a brow in confusion.

"Az, I-I'm sorry." His gaze shifted to the carpet, not wanting to meet mine.

"What is it Brads?" I had an idea of what it could be but I was hoping it was just my mind jumping to worse case scenarios.

His eyes met mine and he cupped my cheek with his hand. "Az, I think it's best if we-"

He cut himself off, not wanting to finish the dreaded sentence.
"Bradly, just tell me." I told him firmly, tired of stepping around the topic.