FRAGMENTS ; Simon Riley

Chapter 23.

ROSALIE.

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"Kiss my scars."

WITH a little heated argument with my captain, I was finally given permission to join the mission. I securely sticked the straps of my plate carrier on my torso, made sure that my gear was complete and my rifle was accessorised.

I was already in the chinook with other soldiers, each one sitting in their place. Unlike them, I was not terrified of the mission, on the contrary, I was anxious about the reconciliation. I had the confirmation of my health situation, many fragments of my memories had made me realize that that man had always been my husband. And he too, had been close to me, despite the pain and the thought of me not even recognizing my own husband.

Unconsciously, my hands found themselves fidgeting with the lucky charm hanging from my weapon, the small metal glowing in the orange glow of the setting sun. I knew it had been a gift, but I never questioned from who it was.

The night of my birthday, I had just returned from celebrating with my friends at the bar. The sound of my heels echoed in the corridors of the building, I had drunk a little but not excessively, I was still able to understand everything around me.

My body was aching, all I was craving was my comfortable bed, even if still empty. Other than the bouquet, I didn't receive anything else from Simon -- I knew he was getting busier on missions, his missing presence lingered heavily in my heart.

All I needed was him, to lay in his arms and forget about the world just for a day.

I was just hoping he was taking care of himself during the mission.

Slowly, taking out the keys from my purse, I unlocked the front door and pushed myself inside, tiredly. With a hand, I leaned onto the wall while I reached for the strap of my heels, struggling a bit. "Fuck." I hissed, before the lights turned on all of a sudden.

Looking around the house, petals of roses were scattered on the ground, leading to the living room, candles casting a warm glow in the open space. My heart fluttered, my stomach did a quick flip, and for a moment I breathed in his cologne. Where was he?

"Happy birthday, Rose." His voice was sweet, smooth and low, coming right from behind me. 

His fingers ghosted my bare back, sending shivers through my body, before his lips pressed against my shoulder. Quickly, I turned around and swung my arms around his neck, pulling him into a tight embrace, "Oh my God." I gasped, tears threatening to fall from my eyes.

"Oh my God. You're so stupid." I repeated like a mantra, pulling away just to cup his cheeks and scan his whole being, looking for any possible injury. He was back home, to me, safe and sound. Just like how he had promised.

Simon pressed something against my chest, cold and tiny. Looking down, a tiny lucky charm was wrapped around his finger -- a little rose, with red stones adorning its petals. "It reminded me of you." A smile formed on his lips.

I still couldn't believe it.

"Sergeant Nova."

With a gasp, I was completely awake, the chinook's propellers slowly dying down. Useless to say I had fallen asleep, another memory appearing like an unreachable dream that made my heart ache. Where is my Simon?

I quietly apologized, hopping off the vehicle with the help of some soldiers.

We were far from the shelter where our base was settled, a long walk was awaiting me. But it didn't matter, as long as it meant meeting him again.

Winter's air brushed against my face, looking around, a little snow covered the ground and trees, feet's patterns creating a contrast on the delicate white lying around. Breathing in deeply, I soothed my nerves, before following the group of soldiers already marching inside the darkness.

❀

"Sergeant Nova?" Soap's head perked up from the table, reports and maps scattered on its surface. The tent was dimly lit, organized with a few boards with pins, pictures, intel--everything useful for the mission. "Unfuckingbelievable." He commented, walking to me with a small smile.

"MacTavish, nice to see you." I returned his smile, patting his chest before heading towards the table, placing down my helmet and rifle.

After hours of walk, we finally reached safely the base. Johnny was all alone in here, reviewing the informations they managed to gather previously. "I thought you were staying at the shelter due to the lack of nurses."

I shook my head in response, my eyes looking around, searching for even a glimpse of him.

"Long story ahead. The short story is: I wanted to help you out." I spoke, turning my body towards Johnny, "What about the others?" I questioned. Somehow, my words seemed to be referred towards someone specific. "Price is in a meeting with Laswell, Gaz is helping Claire to organize the reports."

Claire?

Claire.

"Are you.. referring to Simon's friend?" I asked, a little hesitant, my heart skipping a beat. But where was he? I needed to talk to him urgently.

"Friend? I thought they were partners." What did he just say?

Oxygen seemed to be missing all of a sudden, "I thought he was married already." I retorted, feigning not to know the truth, almost snapping at this poor innocent man. "Lass, I don't even know. He keeps repeating he's married but there's no wife around, unless he made up a lie. Things with Claire look.. heated. Especially lately." He let out a small whistle.

I had to suppress my instincts, because I was about to strangle him although he had nothing to do with this fucked up situation.

I squeezed my eyes shut, inhaling deeply, "What do you mean by that?"

"Whenever her team is working with us, they always stick up together. They're always chosen for duo missions, it's like they are perfect partners for this environment."

"That doesn't mean they are seeing each other." I bit back, talking some sense into this brainless sergeant.

"Don't tell the lieutenant, he might kill me--but one time I saw them in the meeting room, alone. It could've been the angle, but I'm pretty sure they kissed." He shook his head, an idiotic smirk tugging his lips.

For a moment, my head spun, my chest ached. "Are you.. sure?"

"A hundred percent sure, Rosalie."

I needed to sit down, absolutely. With wobbly legs, I dropped onto the first seat that came up in my view, "Are you alright? You look pale." Johnny asked with a hint of concern in his voice.

He couldn't do that, right? Simon knew I was alive, he knew I was somewhere, there was no way my memories couldn't return. He fucking had to know, right?

There was no way he could replace me with another woman, especially someone who suited him perfectly. He wouldn't do it, no. What could I say about Claire? She could've gone into a modelling agency instead of the military as a sergeant.

But then everything seemed to make sense. Claire always had the keys of his apartment, she was living with him for two years, when I was absent. Simon didn't keep our pictures, not even my stuff around.

Please, no.

My mind was entering a spiral of thoughts, each one of them making more sense. Did I have the right to accuse him like this? 

"Where is Simon?" I asked, voice faint like a whisper.

"He's leading another team to search and defuse the enemy's bombs. We found their location and we need to bring them down before that fucker makes them explode," He stopped speaking for a brief moment, gazing at me with worry.

"He'll be back in a few days. Then we'll move on."

What a surprise. I couldn't even meet him again.