“I was in a shitty headspace,” I told him, hefting my duffle over my shoulder as I walked back to the living room. “I’m better now.”
“Yeah? How? Don’t tell me you’re going to therapy?”
“Joy,” I answered and swallowed hard.
Fuck. I had less than two hours before I had to leave. Time was of the essence. There was no way I could go say goodbye to her. I couldn’t call her because she was at work already, and her phone was probably on silent. Shit.
“Joy?” he repeated, tilting his head. “You mean happiness?”
“Joy, like my own goddamn miracle,” I muttered, lost in my head trying to come up with a way to let her know I had to leave. Shit. Fuck! I had to leave her. I’d just found her. Lady Luck hated me. I’d never had a problem just picking up and leaving. I’d never questioned it. Hell, I had always looked forward to it.
“I’m lost.” He looked at me like I was talking in tongues.
“My girl.” Fuck, that felt good to say. She was mine. And I fucking hated that I had to leave.
“Your… wait. You’re dating someone? When did that happen?” The shock was crystal clear on his face. “Is this an actual woman or some weird sex doll you have in your closet?”
“Shut up.” I shook my head. “I need to tell her I’m leaving, man.”
“Well, do that in my truck because we gotta get going. Gotta pick up Collins.”
I was typing out a text message when Rowdy’s phone rang, and our attention moved to our commander ordering us to the airfield asap; someone else was picking up Collins. In the rush and adrenaline, I didn’t realize I never pressed Send before powering down my phone.