Chapter 15 : Decision
DAMEON
66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWdLwKxby20
The sound of my fists hitting the punching bag had become the only thing keeping my mind quiet. Again. And again. And again.
The training room was almost empty, except for the sound of my breathing and the impact of every hit. I hadn’t left this place since the mission. Not properly.
I trained until my body couldn’t move. Then I rested just enough to continue. My clothes smelled like sweat. Not normal sweat. The kind that came from days of pushing yourself too far. The kind that stayed on you because you didn’t care enough to clean yourself. I didn’t care.
Pain was easier than thinking. Easier than remembering. Easier than seeing Rhys’s face every time I closed my eyes. I knew someone had entered the room before they even spoke. I could feel his presence.
The footsteps. The silence. The way he always stood there watching before saying anything. Hog. I stopped punching. “...Hog.” I paused, fixing my posture before turning around. He nodded slightly. A small smile appeared on his face. Then he walked closer. “Kid.” His voice was calm.
“You need to rest.” I looked away. “I’m fine.”
Hog gave a small nod. He didn’t argue.
He knew me too well. Instead, his eyes moved around the training room. The broken punching bags. The damaged equipment. The marks left behind from days of anger. He looked back at me.
“You have been doing quite a training, I see.” I grabbed my water bottle and took a drink. “Yeah.” A pause. “That’s the only way I can cope right now.” Hog stayed quiet.
And that was unusual. Very unusual.
Hog was never quiet. He was the type of person who said exactly what he thought.
No matter how difficult it was. No matter how painful. But now… He looked nervous.
I noticed immediately. My eyebrows are slightly tightened. What happened? Hog nervous was something I almost never saw.
I took a breath. “What happened, Hog?”
He cleared his throat. “I was just wondering…” He paused. “If you would be able to do me a favor.” I raised an eyebrow.
“Sure.” A few seconds of silence passed. “What favor?” Hog looked toward the training area. “It’s the training center the one Katherine handles” My expression changed slightly. “You know Rhys was assigned to handle it , to help with the training.” A pause. “But now that…”
His voice stopped for a moment. Then continued. “I was wondering…” He looked back at me. “We were wondering if you could join in.” My chest tightened. “Help the others.” A small sigh escaped him.
“We could really use your help, D.”
The moment he said it I froze. D.
That Nickname. That single letter. It wasn’t just a nickname. It was something my grandfather used to call me. D. And Rhys…
Rhys was R. My grandfather always said it like we were still children. “D and R.”
Like we were a team. Like nothing could ever separate us. But now… There was only D. No R. My mind dragged me back to that day. The day Rhys died. The day he saved me. Again. Like he always did. I still couldn’t forgive myself. It should’ve been me. Not him. I should have been the one standing there. Not Rhys. Not my brother. Not the person who had spent his entire life protecting me . Rhys and I weren’t always close. People thought we were. They saw us later and assumed we had always been inseparable. They didn’t know the beginning. We were different. Completely different. Different choices. Different personalities. Different opinions. We argued. A lot. But whenever something happens… Whenever the world turns against one of us… The other is always there. I remembered one day when we were younger. I was struggling with basketball. I wasn’t good at it. And some students noticed. They started making fun of me. Calling me names. Laughing.
The funny thing was… A few minutes earlier, Rhys and I had been arguing about basketball. He hated the sport. Said it was for “wannabe kids.” We were fighting about whether he should play with me. Then those guys started bullying me. And suddenly , Rhys appeared. He didn’t say anything. He just walked up. And punched one of them. Straight in the face. Broke his nose. The entire situation exploded after that. Rhys got suspended. Our father was furious. He gave him a week’s worth of chores as punishment. But Rhys never complained. Never blamed me. Never told anyone the real reason. That was Rhys.
He always saved me. Then another memory came. Our grandfather. After our parents died in an accident, we grew up with him. He was an ex-military officer.
Strict. Hard. He trained us like the world was already ending. Because maybe, in some way He knew it would. He taught us everything. Discipline. Survival. Combat.
But sometimes… He pushed too far.
I remembered one day. Training had been brutal. My body was exhausted. I could barely stand. But my grandfather refused to let me rest. “Dameon, you’re too chubby.” That was his excuse. “You need to get stronger.” I hated those words. I hated how tired I was. But Rhys… Rhys didn’t care. He went against our grandfather’s orders. He left. And came back with food.
A chicken burger. My favorite. We secretly ate it together. Sneaking around like criminals. Trying not to laugh too loudly.
For that moment… Everything was okay.
Just me and Rhys. Just brothers. Then reality came crashing back. The training room. The broken equipment. Hog standing in front of me. There was no grandfather. No chicken burger. No Rhys.
My throat tightened. I looked down.
Rhys wouldn’t want this. He wouldn’t want me destroying myself. He wouldn’t want me sitting here drowning in guilt. He would want me helping. He would want me to protect people. Because that was who he was. And maybe… I needed to remember that. I took a deep breath. Then I looked at Hog. A small smile formed. “I’ll do it, Hog.”
His expression softened. “How about this Saturday?” For a moment, he just stared.
Then finally… He smiled. A real smile.
“Saturday works.” I nodded. The pain was still there. It wasn’t disappearing. It probably never would. But maybe…
Moving forward didn’t mean forgetting.
Maybe it meant carrying the people we lost with us. And maybe… This was my way of carrying Rhys.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX8m9pW0Tv0
and then Add to home screen.