Harley’s Achilles(16)
“Hey, are you okay?” Achilles asked.
“Just remembering some stuff.”
“Oh?”
“It seems like every good thing I did, Holden was the one who celebrated with me. If I got an ‘A’ he made a cake. If I got a ‘B’ he’d make a cupcake.” I chuckled at the memory.
“He was an extraordinary man, wasn’t he? I wish I could have met him.”
“He would have loved you. You guys had a lot in common.”
“We do?”
“Holden loved guns and explosives, it was one of the reasons he couldn’t wait to join the military. He skipped college and went right in. I thought for sure my parents would have a coronary, but Holden could do no wrong.”
“They favored him, didn’t they?”
“Yes, they did. Funny thing? I didn’t care, I loved him so much and he treated me like I was the best thing that ever happened to him.”
“I’m not a big fan of explosives, but I can hold my own with a gun.”
“You and Rebel should hang out.” I laughed. “He’s got tons of guns. His grandfather thinks we’ll be at war with ourselves soon.”
“Grandfather?” Achilles asked.
“Yeah, Rebel had it rough, but he’s managed to jump over some very high hurdles. I’m in awe of him.” Achilles’ stomach growled and I smiled. “Hungry?”
“I am, which is surprising.”
“Axel made food. I put it in the oven for you. He said they went grocery shopping. They threw everything away that was in the house.”
“Makes sense.” Achilles brows furrowed.
“What is it?”
“No one else got sick, just the two of us. We all ordered almost the same exact thing, so why us? I hardly ever get sick, and food poisoning isn’t something I’ve ever had. My stomach is like iron after the hell I went through in the military.”
“Don’t know. I just know I never want to feel that way again.” I shuddered.
“Well, we can both eat and then maybe hang out and watch some TV?”
“Don’t you have someone else you’d rather hang with?”
Achilles leaned forward and gave me a sparkling smile. “Maybe I like hanging out with you.”
I glared at him, but he wouldn’t budge. That damn smile still in place.
“Fine.” I exhaled loudly, hoping Achilles would think I didn’t want him there. Truth be told, he chased away the silence and made me feel…wanted. Too bad it was just his job to hang out with me. I knew the guys thought I was a loose cannon, and in a way, I was. I also knew I had disappointed them at times with my behavior.
Achilles and I cleaned up the table and ate some more food. We ended up on the couch, lounging and watching stupid TV shows.
“See? If that was me out there, that fucker would be thrown off the island immediately,” Achilles practically snorted.
“Why? That’s the whole point of the show. It’s reality TV, fuck each other over and all that. Form alliances and then stab people in the back to win.”
“They wouldn’t last five seconds in the desert.”
I sat up on my elbow and eyed him. “Were you scared?”
“I let it in, and then I let it go. You have to. A certain degree of terrified is good, you can’t go off all half-cocked. You’ll get your guys killed.”
“Is that what happened to you?” I asked quietly.
“The guy in charge had just come out of officers school. He hadn’t spent one second in a real world situation. You can’t go by the damn manual in that kind of clusterfuck, so yeah, he got them dead.”
“Did he die?”
“He did. I was the only one to make it out alive, and I did it kicking and screaming.”
I glanced over at Achilles’ biceps. He had some pretty colorful tattoos and Greek letters. I could see just beyond them, though, and the scars were visible.
“Can’t hide it all.” Achilles ran a hand over his bicep. “I have more scars. I’ve kept them uncovered to remind me.”
“Remind you of what? That day?”
“No, to remind me that I’m still here. They tried and they failed to kill me.”
I reached over and took his hand. “I’m glad you’re still here.”
Something passed between us in that second and I knew I saw something in Achilles’ eyes just then. My phone shrilled and we pulled apart like we were on fire. I grabbed it off the coffee table and saw that Jinx was calling. I grinned and swiped “talk.”
“Hey!” I said, excitedly.
“I just heard from Gareth that you and Achilles are sick! Are you guys okay? Do I need to come back—”