Unseen | Ghost x Soap

Chapter 65: The Quiet Between Us

Soap's POV:

The silence between us was suffocating. We kept walking, step after step, but it felt like we were going nowhere. The forest had swallowed us whole, wrapping itself around us like some sort of beast. The trees stretched high above, gnarled branches twisting and knotting together to block out the fading light. Shadows danced on the forest floor, and every now and then, a soft rustling in the underbrush would make me tense up.

I tried to focus on the ground in front of me, on the uneven path that we'd been following for what felt like hours, but my mind was somewhere else. The silence, the darkness—it was getting to me. It made everything feel unreal, like we'd walked straight into a nightmare.

I could hear my own breath coming fast and shallow, could feel the cold sweat beading on my forehead. My pulse was thudding in my ears, drowning out everything else. I wasn't built for this. Not the waiting, not the slow dread creeping in. The panic was building in my chest, tightening around my ribs like a vice, and I couldn't get a grip on it. Couldn't pull myself out.

I tried to slow my breathing, to calm down, but nothing was working. My boots kept moving forward, but it felt like I was wading through thick mud, sinking deeper with every step.

Ghost was just ahead of me, moving like he always did—quiet, methodical. He hadn't said a word in hours, his eyes fixed on the trail ahead. He wasn't panicking, wasn't losing his head. Not like I was. I wanted to say something, to let him know how bad it was getting for me, but the words wouldn't come.

I felt like a fucking failure.

The trees around us blurred together, each one looking exactly the same as the last. They stretched up toward the sky, their branches weaving together into a tangled mess of dark shapes and shadows. The forest floor was thick with roots, gnarled and twisted, reaching up like fingers trying to trip us up with every step. The ground was soft underfoot, wet with the rain that had soaked the valley the night before, and each step was slow and deliberate, the mud clinging to our boots.

My breath hitched again, and I stumbled slightly, catching myself before I fell. Ghost glanced back at me, his eyes sharp, taking in my face with one quick sweep. His brow furrowed, and I could see the flicker of concern in his eyes, even if he didn't say anything.

"Johnny," he said quietly, stopping in his tracks. "You good?"

I nodded quickly, too quickly. "Yeah," I muttered, trying to shake off the panic that was threatening to break loose. "I'm fine."

He didn't believe me. I could see it in the way his jaw tightened, the way he took a step closer to me, his eyes never leaving mine. He didn't push, though. He never did. But the weight of his gaze was enough to make my chest tighten even more.

I tried to pull in a deep breath, but it was like my lungs couldn't expand, like there wasn't enough room for the air. My head was spinning, the trees around me starting to blur, and I knew I was seconds away from losing it completely.

Ghost was still watching me, his eyes narrowed, calculating. He knew. He always knew.

"Johnny," he said again, this time softer. "You're not fine."

I opened my mouth to argue, but the words wouldn't come. Instead, I just stood there, frozen in place, my hands clenching and unclenching at my sides as I tried to pull myself together. My heart was hammering in my chest, each beat so loud I was sure Ghost could hear it.

"We need to stop," he said, his voice low and calm, but there was no mistaking the firmness in it. "It's getting dark. We'll set up camp for the night."

I wanted to protest, to say we should keep moving, but I couldn't bring myself to argue. The panic had worn me down, and the thought of continuing on like this—lost and alone in the middle of the goddamn valley—was too much.

The sun was already starting to set, casting long shadows over the forest floor. The light was fading fast, and the idea of walking through this place in the dark made my skin crawl. Ghost motioned toward a spot beneath a large, gnarled tree, its branches stretching out above us like some kind of shield.

"Come on," he said, his hand resting on my shoulder. "We'll rest here."

I followed him without a word, feeling the weight of my exhaustion pulling me down. My legs were like lead, each step heavier than the last, and by the time we reached the tree, my body felt like it was on the verge of collapsing.

Ghost knelt down first, his movements slow and deliberate as he set his gear down and started pulling out what we'd need to settle in for the night. I watched him for a moment, my vision swimming slightly, before I finally sat down beside him, my back resting against the rough bark of the tree.

The ground was damp, the air cool against my skin, and I pulled my knees up to my chest, wrapping my arms around them in a futile attempt to steady myself. I could still feel my heart racing, the panic still clawing at the edges of my mind, refusing to let me go.

Ghost sat down right next to me, so close that our shoulders were touching. I could feel the warmth radiating off him, steady and grounding, and for a moment, it was enough to make the panic ease just a little. Just enough to let me breathe.

"You're shaking," Ghost murmured, his voice low, almost tender.

"I'm fine," I whispered, but I wasn't. And we both knew it.

He didn't say anything for a moment, just sat there beside me, letting the silence fill the space between us. Then, without warning, he reached out and pulled me a little closer, his arm wrapping around my shoulders, drawing me in against him.

The warmth of his body was a comfort I hadn't realized I needed until that moment. I rested my head against his shoulder, my eyes closing as I tried to focus on the steady rhythm of his breathing instead of the pounding of my own heart. He didn't push, didn't ask any questions. He just sat there, his presence enough to keep me from spiraling completely.

For a long time, we sat in silence, the forest around us growing darker with each passing minute. The only sound was the distant rustle of leaves and the faint chirp of insects hidden somewhere in the underbrush. It should have been unsettling, but with Ghost beside me, it wasn't.

I could feel his hand moving up and down my arm, slow and gentle, like he was trying to calm me down without saying a word. I leaned into him more, the weight of my exhaustion finally starting to settle over me.

"I love you," I whispered, so quiet I wasn't sure if he even heard it. The words felt fragile, like if I said them any louder, they'd break.

But he heard. I felt it in the way his body tensed for just a second, then relaxed. His hand moved up to the back of my neck, and he pressed a soft kiss to my forehead, his lips warm against my skin.

"I love you too, Johnny," he murmured, his voice barely above a whisper. "Always."

The knot in my chest loosened just a little, and the panic that had been strangling me for hours finally started to ebb away. I let out a long breath, my body sagging against him, and for the first time since we'd set out into the valley, I felt something close to peace.

The last thing I felt before I drifted off to sleep was the steady rise and fall of Ghost's chest against my shoulder, his hand still resting gently on the back of my neck, keeping me anchored in the darkness.