From Jack & Franklin
From Jack
Iremember one time you and Reese were sparring out on the lawn. It started raining heavily, but you two kept going at each other. You wouldn’t quit. Reese taunted you and tried to mindfuck you into surrender.
Your fight turned vicious, even though it was still evident he was coaching you to be your absolute strongest version of yourself. He was training you.
Preparing you, I suppose.
Macklin and I just huddled under an umbrella and stared. We saw the force you both put behind each blow, each kick, and how fast you were.
“You know you want it,” Reese growled. “Retreat! Give it up!”
I’ll never forget how you let the threat of defeat fuel you instead. Your determination is something else, Shay. Right there in the downpour, you ducked low to evade Reese’s kick, and you spun on him, hands balled into fists, and you all but roared your response.
“Retreat, hell!”
A guy like you can lose.
But your enemy better bring a whole fucking army.
I have no doubt we’ll see you again. And I have no doubt you’ll recover and come out on the other side even stronger.
Because that’s who you are.
From Franklin
I’ll admit I read Jack’s letter to you before I sat down to write something too.
I’m not sure what to say, though. His words ring true for me as well. You are such a strong young man, Shay.
More than that, you have two loving partners you feel safe with—to lower your guard with and to be vulnerable with.
Once you come home, I hope they will remind you that you don’t always have to be strong. Especially after what you’re going through now. I can’t even imagine.
If there’s anything I can do—actually, I will make offers in person once we see each other again.
You want another dog without asking your Owners? Call me. I’ll drive you to the shelter. A cat? Same thing. A chipmunk? I’ll borrow Noa for you.
I wish I could write something that actually helped or made something better.
May happiness and relief find you soon.
-Franklin
From Jack
With you gone, Macklin has completely gone off the rails.
He made sandwiches with ham and banana. An hour later, he was pushing toast with ham steak and barbecued pineapple.
I can’t fucking take it anymore. I also heard from Corey that Macklin tried to serve him fried chicken with pickled grape jelly.
So, new discovery about Macklin unlocked. When he’s worried sick about a friend, he becomes obsessed with pairing savory with sweet. The Extreme Version.
You better come home and restore the balance.