Falling for my boyfriend's Navy brother Chapter 169

“I woke up in a hospital,” I tell her quietly. “Not the kind we had out there. This was real. White walls. Bright lights. Machines everywhere. I could hear them before I could even open my eyes.”

Penny’s curled against me, still and silent, her fingers resting on my ribs. I keep going.

“My body... it was a mess. Hurt so bad I couldn’t move. Couldn’t talk. Just existed in pain. Doctors came and went. I don’t remember what they said at first. But a few weeks later, I got the full story.”

I glance down at the long scar running across my chest. My fingers brush over it unconsciously.

“They told me a truck door hit me. One of those steel-reinforced ones. Flew off in the explosion, sliced through all my gear. I was running, so it didn’t hit anything vital. Just skin. Muscle. They showed me a picture—me, unconscious, that damn door sticking out of me. Didn’t even look human.”

I hear Penny suck in a breath but she doesn’t interrupt. I know she won’t.

“That wasn’t even the worst of it,” I continue. “The front scar’s bad, yeah. But it was my back that almost killed me.”

I pause and feel her fingers shift a little on my side, like she’s grounding me. I keep going.

“I thought I’d been hit by one thing in that first explosion. Turns out it was seven. Metal shards. Rocks. Debris from gear. You name it. One punctured my lung. A few cracked my ribs. I didn’t even know. I ran. I moved. But when I collapsed after the truck explosion, they went deeper. Lodged in places they shouldn’t have been.”

Her breath is shaky now, her eyes glassy.

“When they brought me in, I wasn’t breathing right. Heart rate was tanking. I’d lost too much blood. Looked like raw meat, apparently. My clothes were shredded, soaked through. Most of the medics didn’t think I’d make it. But someone did. I don’t know who. Guess they figured I was worth trying to save.”

I shrug, my lips twitching. “And here I am. In pain, yeah. But alive. With all my limbs, even. That’s more than most can say.”

Penny wipes a tear from her cheek, but I keep going. I’ve come this far.

“I was unconscious for three weeks. Out cold. Took me another two before I could even sit up. First thing I did when I could walk was go see Night and Rooster.”

She nods like she remembers their names. I hold her tighter.

“Night’s injuries weren’t as bad. But when he saw me walking into that hospital room… he just froze. Couldn’t speak. Said I looked like I’d been cut in half. I hugged him.” I huff a quiet laugh. “First time I’ve ever done that. Told him thank you. Without him, I’d be dead.”

I pause, jaw tight. “Called him an idiot for risking his life. But I meant every word.”

Then I sigh. “Rooster… that one was harder. His arm. His leg. His face. You saw it. The burns were bad. Real bad. He’s lucky to have kept the limbs at all, but they don’t work the way they used to. He went septic while I was still out. Almost died too.”

Penny buries her face against my shoulder and I feel the warmth of her tears again.

“Other side of his body’s fine, thankfully. But the rest? It’s a miracle he’s alive. A miracle both of us are.”

She doesn’t speak. Just holds me tighter. And I let her.

I sigh, pulling Penny closer against me, brushing my fingers along her arm as I speak. “Anyway…”

She looks up at me, eyes still a little watery, soft and patient, letting me finish this the way I need to.

“When the three of us were finally... functional—walking, eating, breathing without machines—they discharged us. Almost three months in the hospital for me and Rooster. First thing we did? Went back to our CO.”

Penny shifts slightly on my chest, listening.

“We asked to be reinstated. Told him we’d be ready. Maybe not that day, but soon. We said give us a month. Just a month.”

I exhale slowly, jaw tensing at the memory.

“But he said no.”

Penny’s brows pinch a little. “Why?”

“That’s what we asked. Thought maybe we needed more time, maybe he was playing it cautious. I told him we’d be fine. I argued. Said we didn’t fail the mission. The target got out. The operation was technically a success. I didn't want to think about the lives lost at that point.”

I pause, the memory cutting deeper than I expected.

“He said it wasn’t about that. Said we lost nine men that day. Nine. And he refused to risk losing the four that were left.”

Penny’s hand slips over my chest, soothing, grounding.

“I told him I wanted to go back. That we weren’t broken. That we’d made it. That’s what we trained for. He didn’t care. Put all four of us—me, Rooster, Night, and Smoke—on mandatory leave. Three months, minimum. Said he’d think about it after that.”

Her eyes search mine. “No room for discussion?”

I shake my head. “No.”

My voice is quieter now. “At first, I was furious. Couldn’t sit still. Felt like I’d crawled out of hell just to be told I wasn’t welcome anymore. Like I was a ghost. Something no one knew what to do with.”

Penny’s lips press together, her eyes soft with understanding.

“Smoke had already gone home. Disappeared into psychiatric evals. They said he’s got PTSD so bad he can’t be around loud noises, can’t sleep. Last time I saw him, he tried to talk and just vomited. Night… he was different. Glad not to go back. Said he wanted to feel something again. Rooster… he was pissed at first. Said he didn’t want to sit around like a broken piece of furniture.”

I huff a tired breath.

“But then he thought of Anna. Moved in with her, proposed to her. And suddenly, that anger was gone. He wanted to stay. Wanted something else.”

“And you?” Penny asks gently.

I look down at her.

“I didn’t want something else,” I say. “Not then. I only knew how to be one thing. A weapon. A shield. But when they told me I couldn’t go back… I didn’t know what the hell I was supposed to do.”

I brush a strand of hair behind her ear. “Now? I think… maybe I was supposed to find this instead.”

Her.