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The truth is that I’ve always felt guilty for leaving Gray behind with my dad but I didn’t know what else to do.
“I know. I know that, but I still kind of blamed you.”
You and me both.
We’re silent as those words sink in and I take a deep breath.
“Did you even want to join the military?” he asks.
“It was a job,” I say after a minute because the truth is that no, I never really did.
I needed something that was going to pay me enough to live and cover Gray’s living costs, and I wasn’t able to find that in Rosewood. Everything was too expensive to live in if I went to Denver or Colorado Springs and I still would have been leaving him behind because he never would have left Nora.
“I’m sorry, Jasper,” Gray says after a beat.
“It’s alright. It’s not your fault. You were just a kid.”
“So were you.”
We are silent as I lie down on the bed and stare up blankly at the ceiling.
“I can come home and help you with the house,” he offers.
“You don’t have to do that.”
“Yeah, I do. It isn’t all your problem, Jasper. I’ll talk to my boss tomorrow and see when I can take time off.”
“Thanks, Gray,” I say after a minute and I wonder if he can hear how grateful I am for his forgiveness and help in my tone.
“I’ll talk to you soon.”
“Yeah,” I say and we hang up a minute later.
It feels like I’m finally starting to make some progress with Gray and it’s a relief that he doesn’t hate me.
My phone rings again and I look at the screen, smiling when I see Brooks’ name on the screen.
“Hey man,” I say, sitting up on the bed.
“Hey, how’s it going?”
“Good, where are you at?” I ask him and he clears his throat.
“I’m in Germany.”
“Are you stationed there now?” I ask, frowning.
Brooks was a fellow Ranger, though we were in different teams.
“No, I got shot and blown up so I’m headed back to the states.”
“Shit, man.”
“I know. I heard the same thing happened to you not too long ago.”
“Uh, yeah, a few weeks ago.”
“How are you doing?”
