“Next week, sir.”
I stood from the chair and saluted Lieutenant Colonel James, and he returned my salute. I didn’t feel any lighter, leaving his office. Yeah, I had found something to do while Gina was gone, but that definitely didn’t make the thought of her leaving any less painful. Thankfully, we had time before it was time for either of us to go, so I jumped in my truck and headed straight to my girl.
Chapter
Twenty-Five
“Thanks for taking the time out of your day to come shopping with me again,” I told Nissa as we walked around the mall.
I loved everything we got the last time we were out, but Lexi thought I was still missing valuable pieces. She wasn’t able to come with Nissa and me today, but she’d sent a whole PowerPoint presentation of the stores we should visit and what we should get from each store. I wasn’t complaining, though, because everything she picked out was fire, and I knew I wouldn’t be half-stepping on that stage.
“Girl, of course. I know I’m not the fashionista of the family, but I don’t mind being the support.” We both laughed at that.
“And I appreciate that.”
“Speaking of support, how are you taking the whole deployment thing?”
“What deployment thing?” I asked, genuinely confused.
“I’m sorry, Gina. I assumed Method had already spoke to you about it.”
“Spoke to me about what?”
My body stiffened as I stopped in my tracks and turned to look at Nissa. Ramel and I hadn’t talked since the other night. I assumed he was busy with work since that was where he had been spending most of his time, but with this revelation, I was starting to think he may have been avoiding me.
“Damn it.” She slouched as if she had already said too much. “I talk too much.”
“Well, it seems like Ramel hasn’t been talking enough, so maybe it’s best of you go ahead and tell me what’s going on.”
“Well, my father called himself giving me the courtesy of letting me know that he may be stealing my XO from me soon. If Method leaves alpha company, I would automatically have to step up as his replacement. My dad didn’t want everything to come as a surprise to me.”
“Well, this is definitely a surprise to me. Ramel hasn’t said anything to me about leaving. Why wouldn’t he talk to me about that?”
“Do you think this has something to do with you going on tour?”
“I mean, every time we’ve spoken about the tour, he’s told me how proud of me he is and how great this tour will be for my career. I thought he was happy for me. I thought we were happy.”
I let the last sentence trail a little because I was still in shock. I honestly thought everything between Ramel and me was good. I thought we were in a good place. Learning that he was possibly getting ready to leave was showing me just how in-the-blind I was. How could I be so stupid?
“I’m sorry, Gina. I hate I even said anything.”
“It’s okay. If you wouldn’t have told me, I probably would have never known, so thanks… I guess.”
After leavingthe mall with Anissa, I headed straight to Ramel’s house. I was pissed about having to learn about him possibly leaving from someone else, but I didn’t even have the energy to argue with him about it. That was why I was going to pack my things while he was still at work. I simply wanted to grab my things and spend a couple of days at Nissa’s to get my head straight.
Although I was still working at Nadine’s, I’d moved out when Ramel practically begged me to stay with him. That was rather ironic since he was the one planning to put down roots elsewhere. After spending most of my life being left behind, you would have thought I was used to it, but it was something about Ramel doing the same thing to me that I’d complained to him about that made me feel unvalued and completely disregarded.
“You going on a trip or something?” Ramel’s question pulled me from my packing, but I didn’t stop moving around to gather my things.
I didn’t expect him to make it home so soon. He had been spending so much time at work, so I figured I would be able to get in and out without confrontation.
“No, I’m going to stay with Nissa.”
“What the fuck you talking about? Why would you be going to stay with Nissa?”
He didn’t raise his voice as he spoke, but his use of curse words let me know he wasn’t trying to hear what I was talking about. Ramel rarely cursed, and he almost never cursed at me. He didn’t have anyone but himself to blame for this moment because he could have at least spoken to me about the deployment instead of going behind my back.
“I want to give you space to prepare for your deployment. May as well practice being alone again since you’ll be leaving soon.” I didn’t stop packing my things to fully engage in the conversation Ramel was forcing me to have. I didn’t even turn to look at him, because seeing his face would surely change my mind. I needed to get out of this house as fast as I could because around this man, I would surely fold.
