Page 43 of Fade (Fighting Fate)

Touching my thumb to the screen to end the call, I tossed my cell onto the bed beside me and flopped back dramatically. I had to get out of here. I seriously didn’t think I was going to stay sane if I waited another minute.

Launching myself to my feet, I snatched up my bag and strode for the stairs.

Walking into the kitchen, I found Mom perched at the island bench with photos spread out over the entire surface. She smiled when she looked up, before guiltily glancing back at the photos.

“I was just taking a trip down memory lane,” she said with a giggle.

Sinking down on the stool beside her, I looked over the montage she’d created. Most of the pictures were of pre-teen Ryan and me, before she and Dad had split.

Picking up a picture of the two of us covered head to toe in mud, I grinned. We would’ve been around six at the time. I remembered exactly when the picture was taken. It had been summer, and we’d just endured a week of non-stop rain.

Ryan and I had been going crazy locked inside for that amount of time and had badgered Mom to let us go outside. Of course, being boys, we went straight for the mud and proceeded to have the biggest mud fight

in the history of mud fights. Mom had tried to be stern when she saw us, but we saw her smiling when she thought we weren’t looking.

Dad, on the other hand, didn’t see the funny side of it at all. All he saw was the large patch of grass that was now a churned-up mud pit. I remember, for the rest of that summer, Ryan and I had been made to plant more lawn seed and tend to it until it resembled the immaculate grass it had once been.

That was the summer I remembered my parents arguing more than usual. And it only got worse after that.

Putting the photo back down, I looked up to see Mom watching me.

“It’s strange to think you boys are all grown up now,” she said wistfully. “It’s hard to let go. I have this instinct to want to help and protect and be there for you both.” She shook her head as she looked back over the photos. “It’s just weird. I know people with children your age who still do everything for them, treat them like they can’t look after themselves. And look at you . . . a marine. You’re officially one of our country’s protectors. You have all this responsibility, and those kids—those adults—don’t even know how to wash their own clothes. That’s crazy, right? It’s just so extreme.”

I smiled at her. “You don’t think I could handle the responsibility?”

She gazed at me in contemplation. “No, it’s not that. It’s more like I don’t think it’s fair that you should be given that much responsibility at your age, when there are others who don’t even know how to wipe their own butt without their mom’s help.” She sighed. “I don’t know. I just think there should be a happy medium there somewhere, you know?”

Reading between the lines, I got what she was trying to get at without actually saying the words. As a marine, there was always a possibility of going to war. A possibility of facing a life-and-death situation. I got that, and while people like Amy’s friends, either partying on in frat houses or touring the country singing to packed out stadiums, seemed to be taking an easier road, it was still a choice. We all had one, and we all knew what our limitations were.

I gave Mom a kind smile. “There are still some of us living in the happy medium, Mom. Ryan’s one of them. He’s not ready to take on the responsibility Dad wants him to, but he sure doesn’t need you to wipe his ass, either.”

She laughed a light tinkling sound before settling into a satisfied smile and sighing. “I guess we’d better get going if you’re going to be on time,” she said.

Glancing at the clock, I saw she was right. Finally, it was time to go. I just hoped the next six months went quickly.

Chapter 19

Amy

I was in a funk. I couldn’t help it. Talking to Daniel had been unexpected and wonderful, but it didn’t change the fact that I already missed him like crazy.

I’d wanted to tell him. I’d wanted to say it all. But I could hear it in his voice that he was already feeling terrible. I didn’t want to add to it.

Sitting on the edge of my bed, I placed my cell on the nightstand and stared out the window. I didn’t know how I was going to get through the next six months. It really felt like Daniel had become some kind of essential part of my being. Like without him I might not continue to exist. Sounds dramatic, I know, but I couldn’t stop the thought from surfacing.

A knock on the door had me turning to find Amber grinning at me from the hall. “How much do you love me?”

I narrowed my eyes. “Why?”

“Nah-uh. I wanna know how much you love me.”

I shook my head at her, but a smile crept onto my lips just the same. “Infinity,” I said dryly. “Now what have you done?”

She skipped into the room and jumped on the bed. “Alex just fired his PA.”

“Ooo . . . kay,” I said, dragging the word out with confusion. “And this piece of information means I should love you a lot how . . . ?”

“Because you, my friend, are going to be his new PA.”

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