FRAGMENTS ; Simon Riley

Chapter 2.

ROSALIE.

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« Tell me every terrible thing you ever did,
and let me love you anyway.»

- E. Allan Poe

"THAT pumpin' hurts, tak' it slow!"

"Will you ever speak English normally? And stop moving, I'm trying to make it less painful, MacTavish." I grumbled under my breath, raising my head the slightest bit to shoot him a tiny glare. To be honest, it was a minor injury, speaking of a scratch he caused himself by trying to impress me on the first day of team training.

Too bad for him, the combat knife slipped and sliced the back of his hand, it didn't even need stitches.

I let out a contented hum when the smell of disinfectant reached my nose, only earning from Soap a look of disbelief, "Nova, how the hell do you enjoy sniffing that thing?"

A snort echoed in the air, Gaz was watching the scene unfold with crossed arms, they all seemed to get comfortable around me already and it made me feel welcomed. "I'm just used to it, it's not a big deal, isn't it?"

They both looked at me for a moment, "Do you enjoy blood's smell too?"

The question made me stop in my tracks, my head turning to look at both of them. "What the hell? Of course not, I'm just used to it." I shook my head in disbelief, resuming on cleaning his wound, this time not being gentle. As soon as I heard him curse, I grinned to myself.

Quietness followed after, only to be broken by some curious glances and questions. "What's with the huge scar on your forehead?"

I knew they were going to ask that, who wouldn't notice it?

With a hand, I reached over my forehead and traced the scar he pointed out, a sigh falling from my lips. "Car accident." I muttered in response, not getting into the details. What was done, was done.

They immediately understood to not press any further and shut their mouths, still observing me curiously.

"I thought it didn't take much time to fix the injury." Price butted in out of the blue, startling all of us. "Well, if Soap doesn't stop whining.." I trailed off, now concentrating to get the job done quickly.

Was everyone gathering here to watch the show? Only one of them was missing and I swear—

"Seems like Nova is a slow medic."

There he was, speaking of the devil.

His unnecessary comment made me raise my brows, clicking then my tongue in response, "I think she's doing amazing." Soap immediately butted in to reassure me, while I pulled away to get a bandage and wrap it safely around his hand.

"Okay, quit the show. Back on the field, there's a long way to go." Price sighed in the background, gesturing with his head at Gaz and Soap to follow after him, leaving me with the oh–so–mysterious soldier.

Silence hung in the air while I fixed the utensils, cleaning then the station for the other nurses. I could feel his lingering presence in the room, yet no word came from both of us. "Are you going to stand there for the whole time?"

Turning my head to the side, I caught his imposing figure leaning against the doorframe. Today he was wearing a simple outfit: a black tank top, cargos and boots, of course, the mask stayed on.

Ghost was the only member I never interacted with, even if I tried to, he would only brush off our 'conversations' with excuses. Mr Mysterious will not get away from me like this, not when I'm his teammate.

It felt proper and important to me to form even the smallest bond, to get along during missions, but it was impossible to see through him. Soap always assured me that he was made like that and would probably melt, but still, no result came in.

He had his walls raised up high, holding authority and professionalism all the damn time.

I could feel Ghost's eyes analyze me attentively, as if he was looking for something in particular. "I'm waiting for you." He replied to my question, his eyes narrowing for a brief moment.

"Yet you can't engage a proper conversation with me. Why's that?" I hit him back with another question, seeking for responses to his strange behaviors.

"I'm not looking for anything, sergeant."

Oh, wow. Did he really thought I wanted to start something? How unprofessional of him.

A frown fell over my face, my back still turned to him while I washed my hands in the sink. "Seriously? You think I want to start something with someone in my team?" I asked, ironically.

"You look like the type." His words made me want to laugh in his face, because all I did was breathe around him and the others, engage a normal bond. Nothing more.

I was sure he talked to the others, at least. "And I'm a married man, so stay out of trouble."

My scoff ricocheted around the infirmary, I turned to look at him with a frown, "Ridiculous. What do you take me for? I'm not looking for anything, especially from married men." Fixing my uniform, I raised my chin to meet his gaze. "Since you insist so much, why don't you stay away from me instead?"

I swear I could notice his eye twitch, the fucker was probably smirking underneath that senseless mask. "See you on the field. Ten minutes."

And with that, he left me alone in the infirmary, questioning what the hell just happened, my irritation growing.

❀

At the last lap, I collapsed on ground, exhausted. Soap and Gaz followed after me, panting heavily, sweat glistening over their exposed muscles. Another wave of migraines hit me, making me groan in discomfort and rub my temples.

I already exceeded the limit of painkillers and I couldn't take anything else for the day, so the least I could do was hum quietly an unfamiliar melody to soothe the pain.

It was stuck in my head for years, I actually never understood where it came from, but I always found myself humming it whenever I was in pain or sad.

Ghost's head snapped in my way as he drank from the bottle, his eyes holding an unrecognizable emotion. As soon as I locked gazes with him, I stopped humming, trying to sort out his thoughts.

That's when the migraine started again, my eyebrows furrowing.

"That's it for today, you're all dismissed." Price's words echoed in the air, the others getting up with tired groans, while I just kept laying on the ground.

"Nova, you're not coming?" asked the captain, noticing my willingness to become one with the grass. "I think I will take a rest here." I muttered, cutting off the staring contest with that damn lieutenant.

"Alright. Hour 0800, there's a quick meeting before the mission, make sure to not come late." He warned before getting away with the rest of the team.

Yeah, a week in, and I already had the first mission after so many years.

My eyes fell on the sky ahead of me, with a few shades of orange and red, it looked so peaceful and comforting.

Then the melody began to play in my mind once again.