Bo comes in right as I fall to my knees.
“What happened?” he asks, holding me to his chest. I tell him, and he just holds me. What is there to say?
Chapter 23
Ticking Clock
Bo
It’s been two hours since Melodie last called Falon. As a marine pilot, there is always a certain amount of risk. We were all aware of this going in, but even as the enlisted know the risks, the ones left behind are often the ones who unwillingly pay a price. They are the ones that get the call when things go wrong, and this is no exception. Tyler’s plane had crashed due to faulty landing gear. Add that to high winds, his speed, and a moving trajectory, and his landing became nearly impossible.
He’d saved his men, got them out of danger, and done his job, but heroism does not come without a price. I would know more than most. We are taught to land on a dime, but when the dime keeps moving, and you’re coming at it at one hundred and fifty miles an hour, that dime gets a little small.
After the call, I take Falon into the living room, and the two of us sit on the couch, her in my arms, and Rowdy close to me. The pizza comes at five as I’d planned. Only now, two slices of pizza sit untouched, and she isn’t watching theshow at all. Her blank stare tells me everything I need to know.
“Falon, honey, you need to eat. It’s past eight. Your mom will call as soon as they know more.” I try to reassure her, but she doesn’t say much.
“I know,” she finally says.
Rowdy curls between us on the couch, his chin on Falon's knee. He's the only one watching whatever home improvement show is on. I don't know what they're building. I haven't actually seen the screen in a while.
I pull her closer and into my arms until she rests her head on my shoulder and finally lets a tear fall.
She’d placed her phone face-up on the end table, waiting for news. We know he survived, and they told us they were taking him to the hospital, but we didn’t know much more than that. I told myself it was just a few bumps and bruises. He and I have flown and landed in worse, but I wasn’t there; I don’t know.
Rowdy is practically in my lap, trying to ground me from spiraling with guilt that I wasn’t there. I am here, snuggled up with his sister, instead of fighting alongside him as we’d done for years. The shift in my spiral was getting a little hard to control. I wasn’t there, but I could still hear the gunshots and the sound of the helicopter blades spinning. The soldiers yelling and the shift grab Falon’s attention. She turns to me and places her hand on my cheek, bringing me back to the here and now.
I have to stay present for her; this isn’t about me. This is Falon’s brother, and mine too, I add for myself, because Tyler is a brother even if we weren’t from the same family. He is more a brother than anyone had ever been. The tension in the room is high.
Rowdy’s tail thumps once against the couch. Falon drops her hand to the back of his neck and pets him.
She's been doing that for an hour. He hasn't moved.
"They said they'd call when he was out of surgery." Her voice is flat. "That was?—"
"I know."
She exhales.
"He's going to be fine." I rub her back, and she leans on me.
I've been telling myself the same thing; Tyler is stubborn and has survived worse. The concussion worries me. The broken arm doesn't. A broken arm is just time.
I know broken arms. I had one after a training exercise when the pilot panicked. After that, I became the pilot. He'll be on medical leave. Most likely on base, then after that, he’ll be back on duty.
That last thought hit a little differently now. Would Tyler stay on base, or would he come home to recover?
"I keep thinking," she starts.
"Don't."
She almost laughs. The corners of her mouth move. "That easy, huh. Just don’t?" Her tone was a little lighter, but she still carried the weight.
"No. But don't anyway."
She leans her head back and looks at the ceiling. There's not much else to do when someone you love is in a military hospital, and all you have is a bad TV show and a dog who's glued to your side because he knows how unstable you are at the moment.
"He's going to want to see the house," she says.
