Silver-Lining (Ghost Riley x Reader)

Chapter Twenty-Four

"Clean uniform as you requested." Soap set the fresh pair of clothes at the end of my bed. Today I will be getting discharged and heading back to base. I felt a little excited to go back home and eat actual food.

As I changed into the fresh uniform, the excitement consumed me. I felt like a giddy child at the fair. I turned over to my table to grab my things, seeing the cards that everyone had given me. My eyes glazed over toward the teddy bear and the note. The excitement slowly vanished as a nervous feeling crept over me.

I knew I would run into Ghost, but I wasn't sure how things would go- if we even spoke to each other.

I stuffed everything into a bag and made the bed. Once everything seemed neat to my liking, I left the empty room. "Finally!" Soap spoke half-jokingly as he threw his large arm over my shoulder. "I'm gonna take you back home and you can get settled in, but after that, you need to pay Gelina a visit." Soap informed me.

I groaned softly as my mind darted to Gelina. I had forgotten about her... About the promise I made. I knew I'd have to tell her what happened to Andrei. How Graves put a bullet in his head. "Alright," I muttered softly as I climbed in the passenger seat.

The ride was fairly short and during it all, the nervousness chewed away at me, eating me whole. My hands gripped the bag that sat neatly on my lap once the car slowly came to a halt. "You look nervous. You'll be alright." Soap patted my shoulder somewhat harshly, moving me side to side a little. I smiled weakly, nodding my head slowly. "Let's do this." I breathed out as I swung the door open and hopped out of the car.

Gaz made his way outside, holding the door open for us. "Welcome back." He greeted me with a hug. Gaz led me inside the house, my eyes skimming over the entire place. Everything seemed the same. I walked inside, the floorboards creaking under my footsteps.

I looked down the hall, the row of doors shut all the way. I walked down the hall, my eyes landing on Ghost's door. It was completely silent. I moved further to my room. As I looked over to the side, my eyes fell on Ace's room.

I turned around slowly and started toward the door, pushing it open. His belongings were on his table and his bed was perfectly made. I smiled softly as I walked inside. I picked up the dog tags beside a stack of books. My fingers glided over the imprinted words. I could feel a pang in my heart as I looked down at them. I could remember the hazy memory of his brown eyes looking into mine as crimson blood seeped from his cracked lips, dripping onto his olive skin. The memory of his eyes being drained of the little life he clung onto burned into my brain.

Letting out a sigh, I slipped the dog tags in my pocket and stepped out of the room. I shut the door quietly behind me as I turned around. My eyes landed on Ghost. His eyes trained on mine. I can tell his defenses were up, as were his walls.

I sucked in a sharp breath as I walked past him and into my room. I guess a conversation was off the list. As the door shut behind me, I let out a small sigh as I pressed my back firmly against the wooden door. "God, this man is gonna be the death of me." I muttered to myself.

I knew I only had a little while to settle in. I took that time to preoccupy myself. I took a shower and got ready. As I looked into the mirror I could feel a certain change of energy. My e/c eyes were drained and dull. My lips were slightly frowned and I looked... lifeless. I tried to refresh myself to make myself look more alive. But nothing helped.

After a few splashes of cold water to the face, I let out a sigh. I threw my jacket on, feeling the fabric against my skin. I reached for my dog tags, putting the chain over my neck. The chain clung to my neck as I threw my tags under my shirt, the tags resting in the valley of my breasts. I reached for the silver band, clipping it onto my wrist. The jacket kept the silver band hidden nicely. For some reason, the last thing I wanted was for Ghost to see the bracelet on my wrist.