Reverie 》Bob Floyd

Chapter 5

It had been a long, tiring day. The aviators were, once again, put through the ringer to prepare for this mission. While they are getting better, it's still not enough. There are still jabs being thrown and rivalries getting in the way. 

All in all, this team wasn't being a team. 

But once again, something was about to happen that would shake up the dynamic once more. Only this time, it involved the one person no one expected. 

The guys were in the locker room, changing back into their normal clothes when a phone goes off. Hangman is quick to grab it, knowing exactly who it is. 

"Hey, what's up?" He answers. But his face quickly turns from a smile to a frown. And soon, it's worried. 

The others can't help but listen, not that they have much choice. 

"Woah, woah, woah. Slow down. What happened?" He continues, his leg now bouncing. Coyote looks at his best friend, the only person who knows who could possibly be on the other end of the phone. 

"How far are you? We just finished up." He waits for the answer. "Come to the base. I'll have Javy take the truck back to his place, we carpooled this morning." 

He throws Coyote his keys, the others now worried as well. They may not know who's on the phone, Hangman never let someone else drive his truck. This has to be serious. 

"See you in a few." Jake hangs up the phone before groaning. He quickly grabs the rest of his stuff before making a beeline to the doors. He almost runs right into Phoenix as she leaves the women's locker room. 

"Watch it, asshole," she yells out to him, not noticing anything wrong. She is quick to realize it is when Coyote comes out worried and rushing after Hangman. The others file out as she asks what she missed. 

By the time Phoenix is caught up, the group has reached the parking lot. And a car is pulling in they don't recognize. But Jake and Javy do. 

Jake is quick to set his bag down as a woman exits the vehicle. She shakes her head before going to the passenger side of the car. Opening the door, she appears to shake the other person who wakes up and evaluates where they are. 

The minute this person clocks Jake, they are out of the car and running for him. All anyone sees is a girl sprinting into Jake's arms and burying her face into his chest. 

Jake, for his part, doesn't even take a step back from the impact, absorbing it all without movement. But he is quick to hug the girl back, especially when he can feel both her shoulders shaking and the wet spots starting to appear on his shirt. 

He runs his hand over the girl's head to try and soothe her before noticing something different. Her hair is significantly shorter than the last time he saw her. And not at all even. In fact, it's incredibly choppy, like it was done in a hurry with blunt scissors. 

Jake looks up to the older woman walking towards the group in question, but she signals they will talk about it later. Aka, away from other people. 

Javy is the first to speak, since Jake is busy trying to calm down the crying girl in his arms. "Reyna, what's going on? Is everything okay?" 

The woman, Reyna, tries to give him a smile, but it clearly doesn't reach her eyes. "Shit when down Javy. I just needed to get Mari away for a few days." 

He nods in understanding, having known the woman for a while. Reyna makes eye contact with Jake before shrugging. 

"You know me. You touch my family, I fuck you up." She puts her hand on Mari's back. "Don't worry, I've got time off. And you were close for once. It's only a few hours drive."