killshot | simon riley ✓

• Chapter 27 •

For God knows how long, the only place she felt a hundred percent safe was in the arms of John Price.

Busting Alejandro out of imprisonment was everything but a smooth ride, and it was kind of fucked from the beginning. Their kiss took a toll on their relationship, or more like Ghost chose to ignore her entire being. Which naturally only pissed her off more, causing the two of them to not work as efficiently as before. And the tension between the two didn't go past the squad.

„What got you all mad, Wellsy?" Soap asked with a light tone, but if her vision wouldn't be clouded by rage towards their lieutenant, she could see the concern in his eyes.

„How's your leg, Sergeant Rora?" Rudy shot her a worried look when he noticed her limping. If it wasn't for his gentle nature, she would've slapped a bitch at the moment. Instead, she just glared daggers at the back of Ghost's head, hoping that something would fall on his thick skull.

And her fury fueled her, more than ever. She felt betrayed by him because he was the only man she dared to put some trust in, to let close. And he threw it out the fucking window and then decided it never even happened. And it pissed her off so bad, she could barely feel her newly stitched-up leg anymore. In some aspects, he helped her: if it wasn't for his stupidity, she could barely walk, but this helped her power through the prison break with evanescent pain.

But as soon as Price embraced her, she just couldn't hold herself anymore.

„Glad to see you again, little flower," he mumbled in her hair, the tears she so desperately tried to hold back finally breaking free. Rora buried her face in the crook of his neck, tightening her grip on him, a small smile playing on her lips at the sound of her nickname.

When they first met, Rora was just requited, planning on going for her first mission. And she was late for the briefing. That's when she bumped into Price with full force, still trying to twist her hair into a bun.

„Easy there, soldier!" he boomed, causing her to flinch away. But when their eyes met, his face softened. It was no soldier, alright: it was just a girl trying to appear as one. She was young and beautiful, but her eyes held such maturity, it was sad to see such a young woman needing to grow up so fast.

„I'm so sorry, Sir!" she blurted out, tying her hair up finally. It was messy and nowhere was professional, it made him smile. That's when he noticed the little flower tattoo behind her ear.

„Nice tattoo," he smiled, reaching out a hand to shake her hand. For a moment, she was taken aback by the gesture: usually, the men here didn't see her equal enough to shake hands with her. Especially the higher-ups, that would've been considered disrespectful. But with a smile, she shook his hand, gazing back into his friendly eyes.

And then Price found a new meaning for her tattoo: she was just a small little flower, trying to blossom between concrete blocks. And whenever he had the opportunity to help her be a better soldier, he grasped the opportunity. With time, Price became almost like a cool uncle, who had high expectations of her for her own good. He wanted to see her succeed while sharing his experiences and mistakes with her, so she wouldn't make them again.

To her, he was the father figure she was lacking in her entire life, and she couldn't be grateful enough for his guidance.

And he was the first person she called up when she quit military life. Rora didn't tell him the specifics, it was too traumatic to talk about. But a week later she got some great news. Lieutenant Daniels, who touched her during her sniper lessons and gave out the information of her room number, and Sergeant Garret and Corporal Solace who broke her door down, raped her, and gave her the scar on her face as a forever reminder of that night; all three of them were brutally beaten up. Daniels was in a coma for a few days, and rumor has it he never recovered from it.