"Deployment is coming up." Brock slowed his pace slightly while running beside Trent.
"Yeah. I'm nervous about leaving Rena." Trent panted as he slowed. Bending at the waist and putting his hands on his knees he looked up at his brother. "There a reason you're trying to run me to death?"
"Sorry." Brock stretched. "Forgot how old you are."
"Fuck off. But seriously you're pushing hard. What's up?" Trent walked in a small circle.
"I got in an argument with Mandy." Brock stood with his hands on his hips.
"You wanna talk about it?" Trent stood upright.
"No. I want to run." Brock looked to Cerb as the dog whined.
"Then we run." Trent exhaled slowly as Brock took off.
An hour later Trent basically hobbled back into his apartment. He was sticky with sweat and felt like he was still trying to catch his breath. He walked across the living room and straight to the refrigerator for water as Clay, Sonny, and Serena silently watched his painful steps.
"Trent? You okay?" Sonny stood.
Trent downed the bottle of water with the fridge door still open and grabbed another before shutting it. "Went for a run with Brock."
"And?" Clay sat forward.
"And he decided it was BUDS. I'm going to take a hot shower." Trent walked toward his bedroom while trying not to groan.
"That seems extreme for a run." Serena stood.
"It is." Clay and Sonny spoke at almost the same time as she walked to the bedroom and shut the door behind herself.
Trent was standing in the bathroom as the shower ran. He had shed his shirt but still wore his sweatpants. She leaned on the bathroom doorframe. "Hey there, Sailor. You want to talk about it?"
"He tired to run me to death." Trent rolled his shoulders attempting to ease the soreness.
Serena stepped forward and stood behind him rubbing his back with her left hand. "He okay?"
"I think so, maybe?" Trent bent to take his pants off.
"Lisa invited me to lunch." She smiled at him.
"Oh, what were you girls laughing about yesterday?" Trent smiled at her. "All quiet and you were blushing."
"Matching underwear." Serena laughed. "I said you were the man I married because I stopped matching my bra and panties years ago and you didn't notice."
"Invite Mandy to lunch." Trent shook his head at her as he stepped into the shower. "She might need a friend or two today."
"Just as long as it doesn't involve running." Serena walked out of the bathroom.
NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
Mandy sat silently through most of their lunch while Davis and Serena chatted about anything and everything they could think of to converse about. She answered with one word answers or nods. She picked at her food and sipped at water. She was there but not present.
"Do you want to go walk at the beach?" Lisa looked to them across the table.
"I do, what about you Mandy?" Serena felt out of place trying to console a woman she hardly knew but Trent had seemed to think this was important so she would do her best and maybe in a more private setting could help the stoic woman.
The nod she gave was her only response.
After arriving at the beach Lisa turned and asked. "Mandy what's going on?" Lisa spoke softly.
"He proposed." Mandy met her eyes. "And I said no."
She suddenly wanted to punch Trent wondering if he had known the information before telling her Mandy needed a friend today. "Why?" Serena calmly asked.
"We're deploying in four weeks." Mandy stated the fact.
"Do you love him?" Lisa quietly asked as she looked at the sand her heart breaking for more than one reason.
"I do. I can't imagine my life without him, but I also can't imagine my life without my job. It's a choice he shouldn't have forced me to make." Mandy's voice cracked.
"I'm sorry." Serena looked at her knowing there was nothing she could say to make any of this better.
They walked further down the beach in silence. "Brock asked Trent to go running this morning. Said it was worse than BUDS and that Brock tried to run him to death." Serena stopped and turned to Mandy. "He's hurting too. Might be worth a conversation, might be worth letting him unsay what he said."
"It might be." Mandy continued walking. "But it might just break me more."
Lisa drove Serena back to Trent's house but declined to come inside saying she had errands to run and things to wrap up. Serena had nodded wondering what the truth was but not daring to test the newly forged friendship by asking. The guys were sitting in the living room watching football when she unlocked the door and went inside.
"Hey did you have fun?" Trent smiled as she entered.
"Food was good." Serena wasn't sure how much sharing was appropriate but she honestly wished she had stayed home.
"What's wrong?" Trent was reclined and finally comfortable after a hot shower but considered getting up. "Rena, what happened?"
"I swear to God Trent if you knew you're sharing the couch with Sonny tonight." Serena stood looking at all three men.
"Whoa, Ginger Snaps. What did I do?" Sonny sat forward.
"Did you three Jackasses know?" Serena stared.
"Rena, none of us know what the hell you're talking about." Trent groaned as he sat forward. "Shit." He wasn't sure if he had been as sore before although he was sure he had.
"So... Brock proposed. She said no." Serena stepped closer to Trent.
"Fuck. No wonder he ran until you can't walk, Trent." Clay muted the football game.
Trent pulled out his phone and hit his 5th speed dial. The call went straight to voicemail. He sent a text and once again attempted to stand. "Sonny text Jace."
"Is Mandy okay?" Clay looked to Serena.
"No, not really. Said she felt like he forced her to choose and she can't imagine her life without him or the job. She seemed sad and angry but I don't really know her all that well." She walked to the kitchen and grabbed a can of soda.
Trent slowly paced and limped around his living room with his left hand on his hip. "Where the hell did he go? He knows not to turn his phone off."
"Trent, stop. Stop pacing. And stop being pissed at him. Would you have given a fuck about keeping your phone on if I had said no?" Serena stood in his path.
"We don't turn our phones off." He looked as scared as when Clay didn't answer while bleeding in Germany. The panic in his eyes scared her.
Serena wrapped her arms around his waist. "I know. Not unless you are together on base. I know."
Sonny's phone rang once before he answered. "Jace, you have any ideas?"
Trent reached out and took the phone from Sonny's ear without asking. "It's Trent... Yeah... No... You calling her... Okay... yeah I'll call if I have any luck." He hung up before turning to Clay and Sonny. "I'm gonna go check some spots he likes and Jason is going to call Mandy."
NNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
Mandy declined the call as she walked down the beach to where Brock was sitting in the sand watching the waves. It immediately rang again and this time she looked to see it was Jason before declining it again and texting him the word 'busy.' She slid the phone in her pocket while a return text was vibrating.
Brock sat with his knees bent and his feet in the sand. His elbows rested on knees and staring straight into the waves. She sat beside his without saying a word, the vibrating in her pocket didn't stop as she ignored it.
"Why are you here?" He didn't look at her.
"It's the first place you kissed me. I didn't know where else to go." She watched the crashing water.
They sat in silence for what felt like days as her phone made noise and vibrated. She left it untouched and sat with him in their brokenness. No tears were spilled as the exhaustion set in and took root.
"I won't tell them that you broke my heart." He whispered it.
"You shouldn't have asked." Her voice was filled with breath. "I want to go back to yesterday."
"Me too." He closed his eyes and tipped his head back as her phone rang again. The ringtone was Blackburn and she knew it was no longer something she could ignore. She stood and walked up the beach as she pulled the phone from her pocket.