Falling for my boyfriend's Navy brother Chapter 168

I feel myself shake, just a little, despite everything I’ve trained for. Despite everything I’ve survived.

She’s pressed against me, warm and real. Her fingers trace the edge of my scar like it doesn’t disgust her. Like it doesn’t scream death to her.

She deserves to know.

That’s what I keep telling myself.

I’ve never told anyone—not my parents, not Tyler, not even the goddamn therapist the military threw at me when I got back. She got the summary from my CO, the bullet-point list. She didn’t ask for the story, and I didn’t offer it. I’ve never retold it. Until now.

But Penny’s here, her breath soft against my chest, her hand resting gently over my ribs like she's trying to hold me together.

And somehow... I want her to know. The real version. The full weight of it.

“At that point,” I say, voice low, “it stopped feeling real. Just... chaos. Smoke and fire and screaming. Piles of bodies. Rubble everywhere from the valley walls. You couldn’t see three feet in front of you.”

I feel her press closer.

“I’d been hit in the back. Some piece of gear, maybe part of a vest, shot right into me when the blast went off. Hurt like hell. Still does sometimes.” I pause. “But I could move, so I figured the others could too. I had to find them. Get them out.”

Her hand moves slightly, curling around the center of my chest.

“I found Bug first.” I let out a breath. “We called him that because he hated them. Paranoid little bastard. We had a dark sense of humor.”

She lets out the tiniest huff of air at that. It’s not a laugh, but it’s something.

“He had a metal spike through him—clean through. Pinned to the rocks like a fucking paperweight. I went to help, told him not to move, to hold on, but he...” I swallow. “He tried to pull it out himself. Got panicked. Didn’t listen.”

I look down at her. Her face is wet again, silent tears slipping down her cheeks.

“It was the only thing keeping him from bleeding out. And once it was out—he was gone.”

I pause for a long moment.

“After that, it was just smoke and silence. The kind that makes your skin crawl. No more screaming. No more gunfire. Just the sound of my boots on stone and my own breath echoing back at me.”

I’m not sure she’s breathing anymore.

“I searched for the other three for what felt like hours. I knew time was running out, that we were exposed, but... I couldn’t just leave. Then I found Rooster. He was banged up, bleeding, but he could move. Could think. And we made the call.”

She looks up at me. I can’t tell if she wants me to stop or keep going. Her eyes say both.

“We didn’t know if more enemy units were coming. Or if there were more bombs. So we searched a little longer. But we didn’t find anyone else... not in one piece.”

I rub a hand over my face.

“We started moving toward the edge of the valley, planning to circle back with reinforcements. And that’s when we saw it. A truck. Just sitting there. It hadn’t been there before.”

She stiffens slightly in my arms.

“One guy was in it. No weapon. No insignia. Nothing. And we knew.”

She exhales, the sound shaky.

“We bolted for cover. But we were too late.”

I reach down, trace the long scar that slashes from my chest down past my stomach.

“One of the doors flew off and hit me square in the ribs. Launched me straight back. That’s what tore me open.”

She’s crying now, no longer hiding it.

“After that, everything’s blurry. Pain. Numbness. I remember flashes. I was choking on smoke. Could hear Rooster yelling, swearing. I saw him in the fire. Tried to crawl to him. Didn’t make it more than a few feet.”

I pause. Just for breath.

“That’s when Night showed up. He took my radio, called for air support and medivac. Then he went back for Rooster.” My voice drops even lower. “That’s how he lost the fingers. And part of his ear. The fire... didn’t care who you were trying to save.”

Penny doesn’t say anything.

She just presses her hand to the center of my chest, right above the scar. She doesn’t pull away. She doesn’t flinch.

She stays right there.

And in this moment, holding her, I don’t feel pain.

I just feel her.

“I know Night thought I was dead.”

Her breath catches. I feel it.

“He didn’t even check. Just took my radio and started dragging Rooster away. They were seconds from leaving me there. Couldn’t blame them. I wasn’t moving. There was blood everywhere. And... there was so much smoke they couldn’t see my face, couldn’t see if I was breathing.”

I pause, jaw tight.

“Rooster said something—asked him what about Tank. Night turned back. So did Rooster. And I just...” I let out a breath. “Lifted my hand. Gave them the smallest wave I could manage.”

I huff a humorless laugh. “I didn’t even know if they’d see it. But Rooster did. And he screamed my name so hard I think it snapped Night back into gear. That’s when they came for me. That’s the last thing I remember before everything went black.”

Penny’s fingers tighten over my ribs.

“And that?” I whisper. “That wave? That was the last bit of strength I had. Gave it all for one small movement. Just to tell them I was still fucking here.”

I look down.

Her face is pressed against my chest again, but her shoulders are shaking.

I wrap my arms around her tighter. Not to hold her together. But because I think maybe... just maybe, she’s helping hold me together too.