Blessing in Disguise - Simon "Ghost" Riley

Kiss Land

Natalie's POV:

I woke up to an empty bed and a quiet room.

The silence was only broken by the sound of running water from the bathroom. I laid there for a moment, trying to remember what had happened the week before. Then it hit me. We were on a mission, looking for Hassan. I had been the one to let him slip away.

I got out of bed and made my way towards the bathroom, still feeling groggy from sleep. As I got closer, I could hear the sounds of a woman's voice. It was coming from inside the bathroom.

My heart started to race. I knew it was Katya, she's the only other woman sharing this room. I hesitated for a moment before finally knocking on the door.

"Hello?" I called out, my voice barely above a whisper.

There was a moment of silence before I heard the water shut off. Then the door opened slightly and Katya looked out, wrapped in a towel.

"Oh, hi Natalie," She said, a smile on her face. "Sorry if we woke you up."

We?

"It's okay," I said, forcing a smile. "Just wondering where everyone went."

"Well Ghost and Soap went to grab some breakfast," Katya explained. "I'm just getting ready for the day."

I nodded, still feeling a bit uneasy. What did she mean by we? Katya seemed nice enough, but there was something about her that made me feel uneasy.

"Sorry, I just need to grab my shampoo," Katya said, walking to her bag.

As she walked past me, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. I looked a mess, my hair was a tangled mess and my eyes were puffy from the lack of sleep. I decided to comb my hair and allow my hair to fall loosely.

As I'm combing my hair out, I catch movement in the corner of my eye. I push open the bathroom door, expecting to see Ghost, but instead, I find Keegan in the shower. I quickly avert my gaze and turn to leave, but before I can, Katya yells at me to get out of the bathroom.

I feel my face flush with embarrassment as I quickly exit the bathroom and make my way to the common area. I can't believe I just walked in on Keegan in the shower. And Katya was with him only moments before. I try to shake the image out of my head, but it lingers there, making me feel even more uncomfortable.

I decide to distract myself by grabbing a cup of coffee and settling into one of the chairs in the common area. Maybe a little caffeine will help me forget about my embarrassing mishap in the bathroom.

As I sipped my coffee, I couldn't help but wonder what kind of relationship Katya had with Keegan. They seemed to be getting really close, and the fact that they were in the bathroom together, naked, made me feel like there was something more going on between the both of them.

My thoughts were soon interrupted when Ghost and Soap walked into the common area, carrying brown bags of food. Ghost didn't look at me when he took a bag and quickly walked outside, Soap greeted me with a smile and offered me some breakfast.

"Thanks." I said, trying to shake off the uncomfortable feeling that was still lingering in the back of my mind, but as much as I tried to shake off the feeling, it would crawl back into my mind, like a parasite. My thoughts began to stir. Did they have sex? Does what happened between us even matter to him? I then wondered if he felt upset about me leaving without saying goodbye the next morning.

As Soap and I ate, we discussed our plans for the day. We needed to regroup and come up with a new strategy for finding Hassan. Soap mentioned how Ghost had suggested that we split up into teams and cover more ground, but Soap was hesitant towards the idea.