Skulls and Scars

The Midnight Sun.

We returned to the safehouse with the sun rising on the horizon. The whole trajectory was awfully quiet; uncomfortable to say the least. But I was glad to just return to the safehouse and get some rest. As soon as Ghost parked, we all hopped off the jeep, being welcomed by Mr. Price and Alejandro at the front porch.
The horror expressed on their faces upon seeing me all bloodied and dirty was quite entertaining... Wait... I was honestly not okay in the head. Why would I find that funny?

- We're home!

- Christ in Heaven; are you hurt, kiddo?!?

- That's not my blood, Captain. I'm quite fine.

- I'm going to want a full report of what happened on your end, Satan. Now go take care of yourself, yes? And good job, by the way.

- I'll leave my vest in the living room for the time being, sir. - I started to remove my tactical vest, wincing a bit. - There's sensitive material about the cartel in it.

- Very well, I'll keep that in mind. Now go.

I walked past Alejandro, and he looked at me with a puzzled expression. I just lined out a smile and kept walking. I knew that he was trying to understand who I was and why I was so... Nonchalant about my attitude in mission.
I walked past Gaz and Keegan; they made their jokes about it. Although I had laughed, I couldn't pay attention to the jokes. The external world was getting deaf around me.

I've chosen more comfortable clothes to wear and rushed to the bathroom to shower. My uniform would go straight to the trash; I wouldn't put myself in the effort to send that to a laundry service. As the hot water fell on my body, I felt my muscles relaxing, leaving my skin reddish, but I flinched in pain when it reached my bullet wound. Crap! I forgot that I was hurt.
After the shower, I decided to go to the living room to get some medical items. Ghost was leaning on the corridor wall, holding a plastic bag. I could see that contained some bandages and gauze in it.

-... How are you feeling?

- A bit weird, but I'm managing.

- Hm.

Ghost was quietly studying my behavior; he had a curious gaze on his eyes. As he lifted his gloved hand to touch my face, I suddenly flinched; it was completely involuntary. He tucked a lock of damp hair behind my left ear while he kept staring at me. I was both confused and mesmerized by his eyes. I held his hand, enjoying the warmth. It was nice to come back to him. He looked at me with a serious look in his eyes.

- Let's go to your room.

I shyly nodded and walked to my bedroom still holding his hand. He was displaying the medical items over an accent table, while I was brushing my hair and detangling the ends, sniffing them to see if the smell of blood had disappeared. He walked behind me and gently touched my shoulder; I got jumpy. The sudden move made me wince in pain, curling myself.

- Sit down; let me check that wound.

- Okay... And sorry for flinching...

Ghost looked at me, with regret in his eyes. It was like he was feeling bad for what happened.
I've sat down on the edge of the bed, lifting the tank top and revealing the weird patching made by my abuser. It was dirty and still wet from the shower. Ghost changed his skull gloves to surgical ones. He grabbed a pair of scissors and paused for a moment.

- May I...?

- Go ahead...

He was being careful and methodical, making sure I wasn't feeling any pain. As soon as he saw the scratch bullet, he had let out a sigh of relief. I chuckled at his reaction; he got annoyed. He questioned me, without looking at my face:

- What's so funny?

- I'm seeing you.

- Seeing me? What do you mean by that? - he was cleaning my wound, I barely felt anything.

- I don't know how to explain.

- Make an effort and try.

- Can I write it down and give it to you? Or maybe send it?

- Fine by me. - He finished the patching and gently pulled down my tank top. - Now get some shut eye.

Ghost lifted himself up and walked towards the door; he didn't kiss me nor anything. I was apprehensive. He was behaving differently... Like he was avoiding me and avoiding his thoughts about me. Whatever he was seeing since the situation in the forest, it was consuming us alive.

- Simon, wait...!

He suddenly stopped on his tracks, looking over his shoulder. My hands were shaking; tears were rolling down non-stop. I didn't even know if I was crying out of fear, or I was just so panic stricken that I couldn't articulate anything. I didn't want him to leave me alone in the bedroom. 

- What you need, sweetie?

- Don't leave me alone here... Please... Please...!

Ghost looked at me with a conflicted expression in his eyes. I knew he didn't want to disobey Mr. Price; I was asking too much. After an awful minute of silence, he'd let a loud sigh. He withdrew his phone from his back pocket and typed for a few moments before walking back. He squatted in front of me, pulling away the mask. 
There he was again... My Simon.

With all the scars, the messy hair, the black camo paint around those beautiful brown eyes... He was there for me. I gently held his face, admiring every part of him, every detail. I was unable to stop crying, I didn't have the strength to do so. I just wrapped my arms around his neck, burying my face on it, sobbing uncontrollably. He reciprocated my hug, caressing my head. I was overwhelmed, and he knew it.

- I'll stay here for as long as you need.

- ~hic! ~ T-thank you...! Thank you s-so much...! I was so scared...!

- Want to talk about it?

- I don't know...! I... ~ hic! ~ W-what is this feeling...?!? It's horrible...!

- It is. Cry it out. You still have a chance to get better.

- Y-you promise t-to never leave...? ~ hic! ~

- ... To you, I promise.

- ~ hic! ~ T-thank you!!! S-sorry for being a b-burden! 

- Don't be. You did what you could, sweetie. I'm proud of you.

I was bawling my eyes out, ugly crying in his arms. He picked me up and laid me on bed with him. The silence restored itself when I finally gave in to my exhaustion and closed my eyes. I wanted to forget what I did. I wanted to forget what I went through.