A World Away | BWS

Chapter 16

A/N
I recommend listening to the song I added while reading this part since I listened to it while writing

(Brad's POV)
It felt as if time stopped and I froze, unable to move even though all the muscles in my body screamed for me to run.

The only thing that filled my mind was the gun pointing at my chest, and the soldier holding it. I didn't even register the fact that his finger slowly squeezed the trigger, and the next second I could feel a burning pain in my chest.

My eyes widened and I fell down to my knees still holding tightly onto the gun in my hands. I could hear the sound of a gun being fired and suddenly someone fell down to their knees next to me.

"Brad, Brad!"

I lifted my gaze up from the ground and saw James sitting by my side.

"I-Is Tris o-okay?" I stammered out as every intake of breath felt as if though someone was time after time stabbing me with a knife.

"Connor's with him. But Brad, you gotta listen to me okay. You have to stay with me no matter what and we'll get you back to the camp in no time, okay?" James stated his voice trembling slightly as he swiftly removed his uniform jacket and pressed it to the bleeding wound in my chest.

He pulled me into his arms and added more pressure to the wound. My eyes pooled over with tears and I gasped as pain welled up into every inch of my body. I placed a heavy hand upon James' and he instantly turned his gaze away from my chest and to my eyes.

"P-please tell April I-I'm sorry I couldn't k-keep my p-promise" I breathed out before my whole body shook as I began to cough uncontrollably.

A slightly metallic fluid that I could only assume was blood filled my mouth and slowly ran out through the corner of my lips.

"Don't talk. You have to keep your strength up. You're not going anywhere, Brad. You're going to go home to April and spend the rest of your remaining days with her" James stated forcefully but his lips began to quiver nonetheless.

A small smile formed on my lips when the image of her flashed before my eyes.
"April..." I whispered before my body stiffened and the gun slowly feel from my grasp and landed on the blood covered ground with a distant thud.

"April!"

I gasped for air and my eyes widened. Her name still lingering on my lips as my head rolled back onto James chest and my breath left my body and everything turned black.

(Third person's POV)
The air in the tent was thick, and a sadness that could not be described in words filled the minds of the three young men occupying the tiny space.

One of the men stood up from his tent bed and the other two snapped their heads up to look up at him. The man walked over to the empty bed on the other side of the tent and picked up a lonely envelope that was placed upon the pillow. He held the envelope in his trembling hands and turned around towards his friends.

"Did he ever read it? Tris, you were with him when he got it, did he read it?" The man asked as he turned towards the man called Tris.

Said man carefully pushed himself up into a sitting position on the bed, afraid to hurt his already wounded leg more if he moved too quickly. "No, he didn't. He was just about to open it when I ran up to him" Tris stated as his gaze landed upon the envelope.

"Do you think we should read it?" The third man spoke up as he stood up from his bed.

The three men all exchanged looks before the man holding the envelope turned it over and carefully opened it. He pulled a folded letter out and his hands began to shake violently as he read what was written on the piece of paper aloud.

Dear, Brad.
I hope you're okay.
I hope you eat well and get enough sleep, even though I know it's hard since you're probably constantly occupied with the war...

I didn't really know how to say this, my mind is all over the place and I bet mother is annoyed due to the fact that I have been rewriting this letter far too many times.

I never thought that I would write this to you, I had always pictured myself saying it to you in person, but now I can't. What I'm trying to say is that I'm pregnant. I found out a few weeks ago just after you had left. You don't have to worry about me though, I'm fine. I have my mother her to help me if I need it.
I just hope that you will be able to come back home before he is born, I just have a feeling it's going to be a boy.

I miss you, please stay safe, and please come home soon.
Yours, April

The man looked up from the letter and met the shocked looks upon the faces of his friends.
"He never got to know she's pregnant" Tris said what they were all thinking as tears pooled over in his eyes.

(April's POV)
I smiled and wiped my forehead before I took a step back to look at the result. After hours of work the room was finally painted in a light shade of yellow.

I placed my hand on my hips as my smile widened. "Yellow, a perfect colour for both a boy and a girl. But you're a boy aren't you" I mumbled quietly as I caressed my stomach while I glanced around the unborn baby's bedroom.

The sound of the doorbell ringing made me whip my head around to look out into the hallway. I hurried over to the front door and smiled widely when I opened it and saw James standing on the other side.

"James, this sure is a surprise. I thought you were in Japan" I said slightly confused, but stepped aside none the less to let him in.

"I can't stay I'm afraid. I just came to give you this" the tall man said and handed me a small black box.

A frown turned my smile upside down as I looked inside the box and saw all the letters I had written to Brad inside of it, along with his dog tags. I looked up at the man standing before me as a feeling of uneasiness spread through my veins.

"Why are you giving me these?" I asked as I caught his gaze.

James eyes welled over with tears, and just by looking into his blue eyes I understood.

"I'm so sorry, April. He told me to tell you he's sorry for not being able to keep his promise"

A cry fell from my lips as the box slipped through my grasp and landed on the carpet with a low thud, all the letter inside of it spilling out. My heart shattered into a million pieces and my knees gave weight as I fell.

A/N
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