FRAGMENTS ; Simon Riley

Chapter 10.

ROSALIE

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"After all this time? Always."

THE sounds died down around me, there was a coming and going of soldiers, two helicopters with their propellers still whirring. I was sitting on one of the steps of the little house watching from afar as my team helped the lieutenant climb into the Medevac, his leg wrapped in numerous bandages. They told me that I had done my job well, that I had been fast and agile, just as they expected of me, that's why I had been chosen.

I heard other soldiers near me talking about how the mission was a failure, because we were ambushed. The enemy was not here, but he knew we were coming for him. It also turned out that two of our soldiers were found imprisoned and tortured, so it was still a good thing we came.

"Sergeant Nova." A familiar voice called out to me. MacTavish sat right next to me, leaning his elbows on his knees as he heaved out a tired sigh, he looked exhausted. Dark circles were noticeable underneath his eyes, "Ghost said you're injured too."

Not true, it was just a few bruises, I was fine. "It's nothing, he's just exaggerated."

❀

The room smelled deeply of disinfectant and cleanliness--too clean. It was boring, surrounded by sad white walls, with a nightstand at my side and a closet in the corner of the room. How sad the recovery rooms were in this base.

Despite my complaints, they still forced me to stay, even just for an internal check of the organs. It was important to know if something had been too traumatized by the blow, and fortunately I was fine. They gave me an ointment to put on my abdomen a few times a day, and also some bandages. What an exaggeration.

Very bored, I sat on the bed after a phone call from my mother. "I told you it wasn't good for you to go back into action!"

"Are you okay now?"

"Did you meet anyone? Be careful!"

"Please be fine, we miss you at home, when are you coming to visit us? It has been a year already."

Even when I turned thirty last year, she still treated me like a child. Overprotective.

I had nothing better to do, the deafening silence of this room was depressing to me. With a slow, careful movement, I removed the IV -- I didn't even need it. Speaking from doctor to doctor.

I stood up slowly and a small whimper escaped me from the pain. God, I felt better in that abandoned house, nothing hurt me yet.

My bare feet touched the cold floor, and silently, I slipped through the dark corridors of the medical wing. Earlier, by mistake, I heard two nurses talking about the lieutenant and his room number, mine was supposed to be a simple friendly visit. I wanted to at least know how he was doing.

Silently, I turned the handle and stuck my head through the crack, looking carefully around the room dimly lit by a small lamp. Ghost was sitting there, without a mask or war paint.

His masculine features were clearly visible in the soft light, he was drop dead handsome, I had to admit. His dark blond hair was slightly disheveled, he had a light stubble that covered his chin and sharp jaw, eyebrows always tense, as if he were perpetually frowning. My heart ached unexpectedly.

"Hi." My quiet voice echoed in the silence, his head snapped towards my direction, gaze connecting to mine immediately. I thought he would've scolded me for invading his privacy, I thought he would've screamed at me to get out and go fuck myself for being so nosy and annoying.

"Come in."

I almost looked taken aback, I wasn't really expecting it. Silently, I opened the door more and closed it once I was inside, slowly making my way to the chair next to his bed.

His bandaged leg was uncovered by the sheet, he was just sitting there looking at me, with no intention of starting a conversation. Maybe he was the type who preferred silence and simple company, I still hadn't understood anything about him.

"How are you?" I asked him, hands rubbing slowly against my thighs as I gazed somewhere else. "Like hell. It wasn't pretty of you digging that blade in my leg."

I didn't expect that answer, but he was right. We just had no choice.

He kept looking at me, I felt his gaze burning on me, and I absolutely didn't allow myself to meet his eyes. I didn't know how to start a conversation with him, the silence was too awkward, and above all the fact that I just entered his room in the middle of the night.

So I ventured a banal question, at the same time one that would probably irritate him. "Why don't we start anew? Our first approach wasn't one of the best." I attempted, the question lingering in the silence.

"My name is Rosalie Harrison, callsign Nova. I'm thirty years old and I'm a specialized medic— actually, I was trained as a soldier too, if you ever wonder why I was chosen to join your unit—"

"Get out, Nova."

My eyes widened, my heart stopped. What?

But what did he mean? What was happening? Had I said something wrong? Was he on some medication?

"Simon— lieutenant, is there something wrong?" His name fell from my lips accidentally, and I mentally cursed to myself for being so careless. He never told me his name, I read it on his dogtags.

For a moment I saw hell in his eyes, something frightening and incomprehensible lighting up in his brown irises. Nothing positive, certainly.

His hands trembled at his sides, before they clenched into two strong, white fists, with strong pressure. "Get the hell out of here, sergeant. Now."

I looked at him in disbelief, my heart seemed to run a marathon, I was starting to sweat coldly. What had I done wrong? I whispered a confused word, I wanted to understand the situation but he made it impossible for me.

"I'm giving you an order. Get. Out. Now."

I got up so fast my stomach hurt, but I didn't care. I had no intention of staying there any longer. This man was crazy, definitely crazy and confusing.

I looked at him and gritted my teeth, "First you let me help and then you kick me out? Is that how it works?"

"Nova." His tone threatened me that the discussion wouldn't end well if I continued.

"You confuse me, lieutenant."

From day one he treated me like an outsider, as if he couldn't stand my presence on the team.

Apparently even now.