My throat tightened.
I told him about the time Bennett dared me to eat an entire jalapeño during training—and laughed so hard he cried when I ended up chugging half my canteen.
We traded stories until the soup went cold.
Outside, the air felt even colder.
“You got a phone that works?” I asked.
“Prepaid,” he said. “Minutes run out fast.”
“Shower?” I asked.
He gave me a look.
“You’re rude.”
I waited.
He sighed.
“Not in… a while.”
“Come stay at my place tonight,” I said. “You can shower, sleep in a real bed. Tomorrow we call the VA and keep bothering them until something gets fixed.”
