Bonus Chapter - Theo Finds The Letter

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Bonus Chapter – Theo Finds the Letter

I watched as the small piece of paper fell from my fingertips and floated down to the floor. The thin sheet fluttered and swooshed effortlessly in the air before landing near my left foot. It took everything I had not to lift my boot and stomp on it. Despite the paper's unassuming appearance, I knew what it was—it was the end of my good life.

That's what I felt as I continued to stare in disbelief at the smudged letters that were still visible from where I stood. They had been written by someone I cared about, but, apparently, she had a different idea of what love meant.

My entire body ached as the words began to sink in, causing a sickening pain in the pit of my stomach. My hands clenched repeatedly into tight fists at the sides of my body. I wanted everything to stop. To end. I just wanted her back.

So many thoughts were going through my head, almost as if I had a busy six-lane highway racing through my brain. The cars on that imaginary road were putting on their brakes and then speeding back up as they continued forward into darkness.

Something didn't seem right. Esa was tough, but I never saw her writing something like this thing.

The last lines in her letter kept echoing through my thoughts: Please, Theo, I hope you understand. It's time for me to go. Don't search for me. I don't want to be found.

I guess it shouldn't really matter to me. At least I knew the truth now. I could stop worrying about her. I shook my head several times, trying to clear it. The past few days had been an ugly blur. It had been exactly five months since I had last seen Esa James, my girlfriend and best friend.

At the time, she was walking out of her brother's lab. Her long white hair had been pulled back into a tight ponytail. The one moment I briefly glanced at her, I remember thinking her hair shimmered in the light. She had looked beautiful... and completely lost in thought as she passed by me.

She'd said she would be back in a little bit. Nothing seemed abnormal about her behavior. We had done missions before on our own. After all, we were soldiers above anything else. Her thin fingers had brushed against my arm as she walked by, sending a soft shock through my body. I hadn't even really paused to look into her eyes that day. We were both busy.

At the time, I had thought I would see her again in just a few minutes. So, I continued toward the lab. That was my ultimate flaw. It was something I would gladly take back right now. I would give anything to see her again. Even if only for a few seconds.

We had been together for so long that it was hard for me to think about not having her in my life, but, apparently, she had different plans. Esa James no longer wanted to be with me. I had to assume that when she walked past me that afternoon, she knew she was leaving the team and me.

Esa had a graceful walk. It was almost as if, at one point, she had been a dancer, but I knew that was far from the truth. She hated dancing. Really, she hated anything that would make her less of a soldier. She was one of the strongest people I knew... and she was mine. Or, she had been mine.

Over the past few months, the entire team had spent countless hours trying to find her, but she was gone. There were no signs pointing to her whereabouts. No signs pointing to the fact that she was still alive.

All of that changed today with the delivery of the letter. Esa hadn't been captured, she had simply wanted out of the group and left. She had decided this was no longer a fight she wanted to be a part of. Simply put, she had abandoned us. She abandoned me.

I straightened and puffed out my chest. If she didn't want me, then I didn't want her. That was that. I tried to tell myself, I would be fine. We all would be fine.

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