Page 69 of No Fear

“I’m sure he’s fine. I'm not sure how the whole deployment thing works, but I think they can be gone weeks at a time.”

Donnie had told her that, too. She’d lived without talking to Donnie for ten years, and now she was going crazy because she hadn’t spoken to him in two weeks. It wasn’t like she was his family or a girlfriend. Her heart squeezed, but she ignored it. Donnie was a friend. That’s it.

But he wants more than friends. He wants you in his life.

And she wanted him, but she was scared. Really scared of getting hurt again. And then there was his job. The reality of that was hitting her.

“Have you heard any more from Simon?”

“Yeah, he keeps calling and texting. Begging me to take him back. I’m half expecting him to show up here.”

“He better not. I’ll kick his ass. Shit. Rosy is crying. Gotta go.”

“Give those kids a kiss from Auntie Charlie.”

She ended the call and tried to put the worry about Donnie to the back of her mind.

***

DONNIE OPENED HIS EYES, praying for a miracle. His chest tightened and his breath hitched as the never-ending darkness suffocated him. Four days he’d been in this fucking hospital. Four days of being blind.

“Hey, man. How are you feeling?” Dex’s voice came from his right.

“No change,” he said tightly. He clenched his fists, fighting to stop the emotion that wanted to choke him. He had never been so fucking terrified in his life.

The blast from the S-vest had knocked the whole team off their feet, but Donnie had been closest. The martyr had clicked it off a little too early, saving the team an almost certain death. Donnie, though, had been thrown a good ten feet and cracked his head against a rock, knocked out. Or so he’d been told.

The rest of the team got away with cuts, scrapes and mild concussions. Tyler had taken care of him the best he could in the field, but he’d been unconscious the whole time. When he had finally woken, he had already been transported to Landstuhl, the German US military hospital. He had cuts and bruises from some shrapnel, but his tactical gear had done a good job protecting his body. His head not so much.

“It’s early days. You heard the doctor. The blindness could be a result of the shock to your brain. We gotta wait for the inflammation to go down.” Dex was trying to sound reassuring.

Yeah, he’d heard the doctors. There was minor swelling they were treating with medication. It was going down, but way too slow. There had been talks of surgery, but that was a last resort. His head throbbed like a motherfucker, and he couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that there were no guarantees he would see again.

He heard the door open and then Steve’s voice. “Brought you a proper coffee.”

Donnie mumbled his thanks and heard the cup being placed next to him on the cabinet. “Any news on when I can get out of here,” he asked the darkness. He wanted to get home, even if that meant being in Westside. Ryan’s girl was head of the E.R. there. He’d feel much better hearing news from her. Sophie wouldn't bullshit him. He trusted her to tell him the truth without holding back.

“Nothing yet. Sam is in contact with your doctor. As soon as it's safe to transport you, he’ll make it happen,” Dex said.

“You guys should go home. There’s no need for you to stay. Go home to your families.”

“Not happening. We go home together as a team,” Steve said.

“In case you hadn’t noticed, I can’t fucking see. I’m not a part of the team anymore,” he snapped.

“You’ve given up already?” Steve challenged.

“Easy for you to say. You’re not the one facing a life of darkness. It’s been four fucking days and no change. Zero. Nothing.”

Donnie leaned his head back. The door opened again with more footsteps. The rest of Raven. The boys offered greetings, but Donnie stayed quiet. He hated this. He didn't want them here, seeing him so helpless.

“So, any update from Sam?” Ryan asked.

“Nothing. The brothers are in the wind,” Dex said. “Had to be a tunnel.”

“Yeah. They were there. Prepared with vests for any type of attack. If both vests had gone off in that house, not sure anyone would have got out. There were women and children there. They left them knowing they were going to blow the place up. Fuckers.” Tyler’s voice.

As Donnie listened, his anger built. The bastards were out there walking around while he lay here, blind.