#sergeant grant

He felt hollow, empty as the words reverberated through his mind over and over again. Nothing about this made sense. Each moment of their last interaction raced through his mind as he tore it apart, trying to see between the lines and find something, anything to explain this mess.

This was not the world that he had thought that he had been living in. Those rose tinted glasses fell away as the carpet was ripped out from under him. He was forced to see the truth of the matter. The happy little bubble had been broken, must have been for some time but he had not seen the small cracks.

They formed underneath his feet, he had not seen the signs. He had glossed over the brief moments when he felt that you were not truly there. Telling himself that it was just exhaustion, you were simply tired as you’d always smile and tell him that you were as he was there with you. He had been trained to see the signs, those little red flags but he had never seen them coming.

He had failed to see them when they were screaming out in his face. Bobby felt defeated, he had failed you. Failed to see that you were unhappy and now you had vanished into thin air. Athena would find you, she had to. All of you had so much to talk about, even if this was the end of your journey together. A heart to a heart was just what the doctor ordered.

He sat there for a moment, his gaze transfixed upon the floor as the memory of that last night resurfaced. Bobby found himself getting drawn in, losing himself in the memory for just one moment longer.

He stood in the doorway, admiring the mere sight of you. It was hard to believe that this was his life. He had two wonderful partners in his life, even though he hated to keep you in the dark. It weighed heavily upon his heart knowing that this was the way things were. You had all agreed to this agreement but knowing that there would come a time to discuss the future together. This wasn’t a conversation for tonight, Athena was working a night shift and he had just come off a shift of his own. It could come much like it had when he and Athena had begun.

This time around would be a little no it would be completely different. For the simple reason that this was not a conventional relationship in any sense of the world. There were three equal partners tied together. He didn’t want to linger upon such thoughts. Bobby pushed them down, locking them away for the right time. Whether it was tomorrow or the days that came after, he was certain that the moment would make itself known soon. Tonight about the two of you. 

Without a second thought, he closed the gap between the two of you effortlessly crossing the room. Encapsulating you in his loving embrace as he weaved his arm around your waist. Pulling you out of your thoughts, your gaze remained steadily fixed, staring out the night sky.

“Hey” He was all he mustered in that moment, trying to capture your complete focus and bring you back down to the earth and him. In there here and now.

“Hey, I just got lost in thought for a moment” You’d replied, leaning back into him. Enjoying being the connection that such a small gesture could bring. 

He hadn’t heard it then but there had been a flatness in the tone of your voice. A small window of opportunity that he had let him pass him by. He missed a way in.

This realisation hit him hard, damaging his already fragile heart forcing him up and out of his daydream. The threads that held it together loosened. As tears welled up in the corners of his eyes. He hoped that Athena would have news soon. One way or another, you were all suffering even if Athena wouldn’t admit to it just yet.

The pleasant sensation that came when he lost in a good memory was nothing like chasing a high had once been but this was not the same. This was just a distraction from his harsh reality. One that he needed right here and now. Bobby let himself fall head first right back in, with his arms open wide. God he missed you. He never knew how much until now.

He needed you like the air he breathed, you had pushed your way past his defences and into his depths of heart. Taking root and claiming it as yours, just like Athena had. She had found her way there first but that circumstance of the line of the work, the two of them found themselves in. You had been a happy accident, a surprise that he had never seen coming. You held one part of his heart, Athena another and his wife and children held the rest. 

The past, the present and future intertwined as the path was no longer as clear as it had been when he awoke this morning. He needed clarity. Soon that would come. He softly whispered her name as he became consumed in that beautiful second in time once more.

Athena sat motionless on the sofa, reeling from the various phone calls to find anything. A breadcrumb to locate the trail leading to you. So far, there had been a few tiny details and possible leads but it wasn’t much. It was simply not enough but it was a start. She felt directionless even dare she admit even to herself, helpless.

The letter lay on the coffee table revealing its content to the world. It had been a choice to not read it over the phone to Bobby. She didn’t want to add to whatever going round in circles in that man’s mind. A small kindness but he would have to see at some point, for it was addressed to both of them. He had the right to know, just not right now. 

Anger flickered up from within, she was angry at herself for not seeing what had been plain as day. Angry at you for bolting without a word. This was the coward’s way out but yet, she could see the other side. See why you had chosen this course of action. For the missed calls, the late one or two word texts and the many cancelled or rearranged dates. It was all piling up in her mind.

Hindsight was a terrible thing, you had tried but then again this wasn’t a blame game. No-one was completely innocent but nobody would come out of this unscathed either. There was no doubt in her that there would be fury, anger but worry and concern too. She was a storm of intense emotions coursing through her veins. There was no time to just sit and wait. She was a woman of action, there were many avenues still left to cover and there was no time like the present.

Athena pushed her up and off the weathered sofa before making her up out of the silence. The letter had been picked up on the way out, swiftly tucked in one of her back pockets. There was no way that she was going to leave such an important item behind. Time was the essence and she was already playing catch up. 

Sergeant Grant was a woman on a mission. There would be no stopping her from achieving her goal of finding you, shaking the living daylights out of you and then holding you tight. However, until that moment arrived, she would go to hell and back to find you even if you didn’t want to be discovered.