Chapter 74 Aspen
Aspen
He’s fighting it.
I can see it.
Feel it.
That pull between what he thinks is right…
And what’s already happening.
“I’m not asking you for anything,” I say softly.
He looks at me.
Guard still up.
“I’m not asking you to forget he was your SEAL brother,” I continue. “Or to feel something you don’t want to.”
My voice steadies.
Stronger now.
“But don’t stand there and pretend this isn’t real.”
Silence.
The entire room fades away.
The team.
The noise.
Everything.
It’s just us.
“You scare me,” I admit.
His jaw tightens.
“Not because of this,” I add, gesturing to his injuries.
“Then why?” he asks.
“Because I don’t know how to stop this.”
There.
It’s out.
Raw.
Honest.
Unavoidable.
He exhales slowly.
Like that hit somewhere deep.
“Yeah,” he says quietly.
And that one word?
That’s the moment.
Because he’s not denying it anymore.