Page 379 of Eternal
But I did.
She curled in tighter.
I didn’t say “It’s over.”
I didn’t say “It’s okay.”
I wrapped my arm around her and pulled her close.
We didn’t talk, we sat there, with the city below us, and the silence between us. Her head on my shoulder, and her breath finally slowing.
She didn’t need promises. She didn’t need lies. She was probably tired of this. Exhausted to try her best and feel like it’s never good enough.
She only wanted this.
Us.
Stillalive.
Stillhere.
The fries were between us, untouched. Her hand was still in mine, cold at first, then a little warmer the longer we sat there.
She didn’t ask me anything. But I spoke anyway.
“You’re not crazy,” I said. “For wanting to hurt them.”
She didn’t look at me. But I saw her jaw tightens slightly.
“I used to think I was,” I added. “For the things I wanted to do. For what I did.”
She turned her head a little, enough for me to catch the edge of her expression under the helmet.
“There was someone,” I continued. “He… he was my oldest friend. Since we were four. Grew up in the same place. Same shit foster system. We made it out together.”
She listened. Quiet, still.
“We worked together later. With my team. Took contracts around the world. One mission landed us in Russia. Small town. Cold as hell. The locals weren’t too friendly, but there was this church that offered shelter. pastor, clean sheets, food.Confession.”
I watched her eyes flick toward me. She didn’t interrupt.
“He went. My friend. I think he only… wanted to tell someone. Something he never said out loud before. I don’t know exactly what he said. All I know is that the next day, he didn’t come back.”
A long pause.
“They found his body strung up outside the church. Message pinned to his chest.Sinner. Turned out the pastor was with the same people we were paid to take down. He handed him over like he was garbage.”
Her fingers twitched in mine. Then held tighter.
“I didn’t stay with the team after that. They didn’t blame me, but I blamed myself. And then… they started dying. One at a time. Jobs gone wrong. No backup. It all unraveled after he was gone.”
She looked down at our hands, at the way they’d woven together without us realizing it.
“You never told me all this,” she said softly.
“I never toldanyone.”
She gave the faintest hint of a smile in her eyes. But it was enough.Morethan enough.
