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“You have no idea. Those guys were the best.” His face clouds with sadness.
“Were?” I question.
“Four of them died.”
My heart hurts for him. I set the picture down and turn to face him, grabbing his hand. “Were they in the same accident you were?”
“Yeah.” He sighs and takes a long pull of his beer.
“You don’t have to, but will you tell me about it? About them?”
He looks at me with a blank stare, and a pit forms in my stomach. Did I push too far? Then his expression changes; he nods. Leading us to the sofa, he sits down and I lean in on my side, my knees touching his thighs. He rubs small circles on my wrist and exhales loudly.
“Do you know anyone in the military, Ember? Specifically, the Marines?”
“No one except for you and Finn.”
“Finn, Max, and I chose the Marines because of Max’s uncle and my dad. In our eyes, those two men were the epitome of badass, and we wanted to be the same. Boot camp almost killed us, but it brought together a group of men I will always be proud to call my friends. A true band of brothers. Sure, the war scared everyone, but with each other by our sides, we knew we could get through anything. Every single one of those guys in the picture was together since the first day of boot camp. The day we stepped off the bus on Parris Island, our bond was formed.
“We reenlisted together. My plan was to be a career Marine. We went on several deployments, but it was only a matter of time we’d get sent to Afghanistan. I still remember having that conversation with my parents. Max, Finn, and I made the call at the same time because we knew our parents would be devastated. As expected, our moms were upset. God, the worst was telling Raven. She was shattered. I’ve never heard her cry so hard in my life. The three of us put her on speakerphone and tried to calm her down. My heart absolutely broke. For one brief second, I regretted being a Marine and putting her through this, but we explained this was what we did. We were trained by some of the best instructors in the world.”
He stops talking and finishes his beer in one swallow. Then his eyes meet mine. “Even the best instructors in the world can’t predict the future,” I say softly and place my hand on his knee.
“That’s the fucking truth. We were deployed for six months. The first four months were fine. We handled our assignments with precision and pride. It was a fucking friendly mission. There were three trucks going into a small town to help with a rebuilding effort. We actually volunteered for it, standing side by side with villagers to give them back some of what they lost. Max stayed behind. A series of roadside bombs took us out. Six men died that day, four of them in that picture.”
Tears flow freely down my cheeks, and I bite my lip trying not to cry openly. My heart breaks for the loss of such great men. He reaches up and runs his thumbs under my eyes. “I’m so sorry, Robbie. That’s awful.”
“I was hurt, almost lost my leg. The pain was excruciating, but I pushed through trying to get to the other men, to help. Lifeless eyes stared at me from all directions, and I was immobile. Finn pulled me from the wreckage by hauling me over his shoulder. He got us about fifteen yards from the burning debris and fell. His stomach had a slice through it from shrapnel. The pain in my leg hit me hard, and when I looked down, I was positive there was nothing to do to save it. But I didn’t care. Death was all around me, and I was breathing. Then there was another small explosion exactly where we had just been.
“I’ve never felt so helpless in my life.”
There’s no way I can stop the sound that escapes. My shoulders shake, and I try deep breathing to keep the sobs from taking over. Images flash through my mind of an injured Robbie lying in the middle of burning wreckage. The fear he must have felt. The pain he endured.
“Hey, come here.” Robbie sets my wine on the coffee table and pulls me into his lap, wrapping me in his arms.
“I don’t even know what to say. You’re so lucky to be alive!” I cry into his neck.
“I know, babe. Every day, I know how lucky I am.”
“What happened next?”
“That’s a bit blurry. At one point, I passed out and woke up in a military hospital. My parents were there. Max was there. Finn was right next to me. The surgeon was able to save my leg, but not without some major scarring. When I was able to get around on a cane, I came home. Finn and I decided to get out of the Corps. It took months of intense physical therapy for my leg to get its full strength, but now it’s completely healed.”
“How did you deal with the loss?”
“I was treated for PTSD until recently. Since I was in the hospital, I missed the funerals, but sent letters to each family and included that picture you were just looking at. I also had a great support system.”
“That is so noble and beautiful.”
“Didn’t and still doesn’t seem like enough. Do you know what ‘got your six’ means?”
“No.”
“It means ‘I’ve got your back’. A lot of people had my six, Ember. I wouldn’t be here with out them.”
We sit in silence for several minutes, me still in his lap, breathing him in and absorbing his words. “I think Finn’s my hero.”
He pulls me up to face him and squints his eyes at me.
