Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 72669 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 291(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72669 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 291(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
I guessed it’d been sent by Masen’s parents, but I hadn’t had the chance to ask them yet.
I’d practically memorized every word on the page, and I watched as the words were read by Masen.
If you’re reading this, it means that you still haven’t forgiven my sister.
She’s emotional and reacts before she thinks. You know this. I know this. My parents know this. Hell, everyone in the free world will know this at some point in their life if they ever cross paths with my sister.
But she didn’t mean it.
She loves you with all her heart and soul.
I hate that I’m the reason for your breakup, and I promised myself I would stay out of it.
However, I know how stubborn and mule-headed my sister is.
I know for a fact that she’ll never beg you. Never apologize if you blow her off the first time.
Hence why I’m writing this letter.
I’ve instructed the person delivering it to not send it to you until ten years have passed.
I hope that y’all don’t let it go on that long.
The love that y’all share is unique. It’s a one of a kind love that not many people ever experience in their lifetimes.
One that I’ll never experience.
And if you have the choice of forgiveness, then do it.
If not for you, then her.
She loves you with her whole heart and soul, and she deserves you, just as you deserve her.
Please take care of her, and let her know that I love her, too.
With love, Daniela.
And for the third time that day, Masen cried.
This time, she didn’t want me to hold her, though.
Which I found out when I went to pull her back into my arms.
When she pulled away from me and wiped at her eyes, she looked devastated.
“You only came back to me because of this?” She asked accusingly.
I knew instantly where her mind had gone.
“No,” I said. “I came back to you because I wanted to. I didn’t reenlist because of that,” I indicated the piece of paper that was now clutched between bloodless fingers.
She pursed her lips, and I could see her mind gearing up to yell out something that she probably didn’t mean.
That was who Masen was.
Exactly like her sister had described.
React first, think second.
“Listen,” I said, pulling her up by the backs of her arms.
She came reluctantly, glaring at me as she did.
“What?” She hissed.
“I fucking love you, okay?” I said. “I’ve loved you for so long that I don’t even know how to love someone else. When I married Emily, I felt like I cheated on you, even though we weren’t technically even together,” I continued. “You’re the executor of my will. You’re the beneficiary for all of my stuff. If I die, you’ll be the first one they call. Trust me, you’re it for me and always have been.”
Her mouth dropped open.
“Why do you have a will?” She inquired a tad shrilly.
“Every soldier going on deployment is urged to file a will and testament along with a few other things with an attorney in case of the worst,” I said.
Her eyes opened wide.
“It’s like they’re admitting that you may die!” She cried.
“It’s a very real possibility that every soldier faces,” I said. “Each and every soldier deployed might not come back. That’s just a fact of life. It happens and can happen to anyone.”
She shook her head.
“That’s fucked up,” she said. “How come you didn’t tell me that you put me on all of that? Since, apparently, you had it even before you left.”
“I did have it before I left,” I said. “But I didn’t really want you thinking about how bad it could be. The possibility of me not coming home is not what I wanted you to focus on.”
She crossed her arms over her chest.
“This sucks,” she said.
I nodded. “It did.”
“What about your job now? There’s not a requirement to have a will for that, is there?” She pouted.
I sat down onto the couch and pulled her into my side.
She fell with a soft plop and placed her head down on my chest.
My heart pounded slow and steady as I spoke.
“My job now is different, but still dangerous,” I said. “There’s always the possibility that I’ll die while on a scene. But it’s definitely something you need to be aware of. A firefighter isn’t the easiest or safest job in the world.”
She sighed.
“I liked it better when I didn’t know,” she said. “It’s easier to feign ignorance that way.”
I snorted.
“So who do you think sent you the letter, my mom or my dad?” She asked.
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “But I planned on asking, unless you don’t want me to.”
“Oh, I want to know. I can’t believe they did that.” She gestured to the piece of paper that’d fallen onto the floor where she’d been standing when I’d pulled her into me.