Chapter 5
2406words
I dawdled in the infirmary all morning, numbing myself with tedious tasks like counting medications and organizing records, trying to avoid the man who left me so flustered.
But the more I tried to push him from my mind, the clearer his image became. Finally, a colleague couldn't help teasing me: "Chloe, you look distracted today. Are you sick?"
I immediately seized this excuse, touching my forehead and saying weakly: "A little. Might be heat stroke."
"My goodness, doctors get sick too?" she exclaimed dramatically, then promptly pushed me into a chair. "You need to rest. I'll grab lunch for you. What would you like?"
"No need, I don't have much appetite," I quickly waved her off, just wanting to find a place to hide. As long as I avoided the cafeteria, I wouldn't run into him. This self-deceptive logic gave me a pitiful sense of security.
However, this security was completely shattered in the afternoon when Leo walked straight into the infirmary with a food tray, wearing that knowing smirk on his face.
"I heard you were sick?" He placed the tray on the table in front of me—roasted chicken breast and vegetable salad. "I specially asked the kitchen to prepare a patient meal for you."
"I... I just feel a little dizzy." I lowered my head nervously, not daring to meet his eyes, my fingers unconsciously fidgeting with the edge of the table.
"Is that so?" He pulled out the chair across from me and sat down, leaning forward and lowering his voice, his tone tinged with playfulness. "I thought you were suffering from 'post-kiss syndrome'." His gaze was like a heated probe, effortlessly piercing through all my pretenses.
My face instantly turned bright red, as if all the blood in my body had rushed to my cheeks.
"Captain Kane, please show some respect!" I retorted indignantly, though my voice trembled slightly from nervousness.
"Chloe," he sighed, his tone suddenly serious, "why are you avoiding me? Last night... wasn't that your true feeling?"
I couldn't deny it. My body was far more honest than my reason; the moment he kissed me, I didn't resist in the slightest. In fact, deep down, there was a hidden longing. But it was precisely this longing that filled me with unprecedented panic.
I didn't know how to face him, much less how to handle this relationship that had spiraled out of control before it even began.
Just as we were at an impasse, the base contractor, an American named Daniel, came running in excitedly, breaking the suffocating awkwardness. "Doctors, soldiers! Quick, everyone to the conference room! Surprise!"
He shouted, "Jaime's wedding is about to start!"
"Jaime? Which Jaime?" my colleague asked curiously.
Daniel's smile dimmed for a moment, then he forcibly brightened it again. "The kid who stepped on a mine during patrol last month. His fiancée decided to hold the wedding as originally planned, and we'll be livestreaming it.
This is the last thing she's doing for him. We all need to go witness it."
This news instantly made the atmosphere in the medical room heavy. We followed Daniel to the conference room, already crowded with people—soldiers and logistics personnel gathered before a huge projection screen.
Mark came too, standing alone in the corner, his expression harder than usual. Leo naturally took his place beside him, the two men silently watching the screen.
On the screen, a young woman in a pure white wedding dress smiled at the camera. Behind her was a church decorated with fresh flowers and balloons, but the groom who should have been standing beside her had been left forever in this desert.
Daniel played the role of wedding officiant, reciting eulogies and blessings in a slightly choked voice. As I watched the bride on screen forcing a smile, my heart felt like it was being tightly gripped by an invisible hand. I turned my head to see Leo quietly conversing with Mark.
"...having a relationship with people like us is too unfair to them." I vaguely heard Mark's low voice, carrying a hint of imperceptible fatigue and desolation. "You never know which day you might not come back. Every farewell could be the final goodbye."
Leo didn't answer immediately; he just silently stared at the screen, his blue eyes carrying a heaviness I had never seen before. After a long while, he finally spoke slowly: "But if we give up on beginning because we fear the ending, that would be the greatest regret."
His gaze cut through the crowd, landing precisely on me. At that moment, I felt as if I had been scalded by his eyes and hurriedly looked away.
The wedding ended amid a chorus of suppressed sobs. As the crowd gradually dispersed, I overheard people discussing rotation back to the homeland, and a familiar name caught my ear.
"Captain Kane should be able to take extended leave when he goes back, right? After such a great achievement."
"Definitely. I heard his transfer order arrives next week. I'm so envious—he can finally leave this godforsaken place."
Leo... is going back to the States? This news hit my heart like a bullet, without any warning. A dull pain and sense of loss instantly swept through my entire body. He's leaving, just next week.
And here I was, still fretting over that kiss like a weak fool. Overwhelming reluctance and regret engulfed me. I didn't even dare look at him one more time, turning around and quickly walking out of the meeting room.
I needed some time alone, needed to breathe some fresh air. I didn't go back to the medical room but went straight to the parking lot and drove away in my beat-up second-hand Jeep.
I drove aimlessly on the desert highway outside the base, trying to dispel the turmoil in my heart with the howling wind. Why didn't I tell him? Why was I afraid to admit that I had feelings for him too? Now he's leaving, and there might never be another chance between us.
Remorse gnawed at my heart like a venomous snake. I pressed down hard on the accelerator, the car speeding faster and faster, as if trying to escape this suffocating emotion.
At a bend, an overloaded local truck suddenly charged out from the opposite direction, completely occupying my lane. I was scared out of my wits and sharply turned the steering wheel to the right.
The tires let out a piercing scream on the rough surface as the car lost control, like an unbridled wild horse, crashing through the fragile guardrail and plunging forward.
The violent impact and vibration made me dizzy, the seatbelt pressing against my chest so tightly I could barely breathe. When I regained consciousness, I was horrified to discover that the car had stopped in an extremely dangerous position.
The front of the car had thrust completely over the cliff, with only the rear half still caught on the edge. The entire vehicle tilted at an eerie angle, as if it would plunge into the bottomless canyon at any moment.
I froze in the driver's seat, not daring to move at all, fearing that even the slightest tremor would break this fragile balance. Wind rushed in through the shattered window with a mournful howl, a fathomless abyss right beneath my feet.
The shadow of death had never loomed so clearly over me. Immense fear made my body go cold, my teeth chattering uncontrollably.
I am going to die here.
This thought made me collapse instantly. I hadn't had the chance to tell my parents I loved them, I hadn't had the chance to... tell Leo how I felt. With trembling hands, I pulled out my phone and opened the voice recorder. In what might be the final moments of my life, I didn't want to leave any regrets.
Tears burst uncontrollably from my eyes as I spoke into my phone with a trembling voice choked with sobs, saying the words I had never dared to speak before.
"Leo... I'm sorry... I've been avoiding you, and I regret it. I don't dislike you, I just... I was just too afraid. I was afraid of falling in love with you, afraid that you would suddenly leave me like Jaime did.
But I understand now that the greatest fear isn't losing you, but never having truly had you at all. If... if I make it back alive, I will... I will definitely tell you, I love you, Leo... I love you..."
Just as I desperately recorded this final confession, my phone suddenly rang. The name flashing on the screen made my heart skip a beat.
It was Leo.
I used all my remaining strength to swipe the answer button. "Leo..." my voice was so hoarse it was barely recognizable.
"Chloe! Where are you? Don't move! Don't move at all! Tell me your location!" His extremely anxious voice came from the other end, mixed with the roar of a car engine.
He spoke extremely fast, but every word was perfectly clear, carrying an undeniable force that instantly pulled me back from the edge of breakdown.
"I... I'm on my way back to the base... the car... the car went off the cliff..."
"Listen, Chloe! Take a deep breath! Follow my instructions!" His voice was calm and steady, like a powerful sedative injected into my veins. "I've already located your position. I'll be there in five minutes! Trust me! Don't do anything, just wait for me!"
The next five minutes were the longest wait of my life. I clutched the phone tightly, listening to the sound of wind and his breathing from the other end, as if it was my only lifeline.
Finally, I heard the sound of an engine approaching. A military Humvee screeched to a halt at the edge of the cliff. Leo jumped out of the vehicle, and when he saw my predicament, his face—which always carried a hint of rebelliousness—showed horror for the first time.
Without hesitation, he quickly retrieved a rope from the vehicle, securing one end to the Humvee's sturdy bumper and tying the other around his waist, then began moving toward me step by step. "Chloe, look at me!" he shouted from the cliff's edge as the wild wind tousled his blond hair. "Unbuckle your seatbelt and slowly move toward the back seat!"
I did as he said, making each movement with extreme caution. The car body made a nerve-grating metallic scraping sound as it slid down a few more inches. I screamed in terror.
"Don't be afraid! I've got you!" he roared, then without hesitation, he leapt onto the roof of my teetering jeep. The vehicle suddenly sank down, and my heart jumped into my throat.
Like an agile cheetah, he quickly crawled to the rear door, yanked it open, and extended his hand to me. "Come! Give me your hand!"
I looked at his hand just within reach, a hand covered with calluses and full of strength. I hesitated no more and lunged toward him with all my might.
The moment he grabbed my arm, the jeep beneath our feet finally lost its last support point, making a thunderous sound as it plunged into the bottomless abyss. I was held tightly in his embrace, suspended in mid-air. The rope around his waist stretched taut, bearing the weight of both of us. We swayed like leaves in the wind. My face was buried against his chest, where I could clearly hear his racing heartbeat and his heavy breathing in my ear as he exerted himself.
By the time we were finally pulled back onto solid ground, my legs had long since gone too weak to stand. I collapsed on the ground, gasping for air after surviving this near-death experience.
Leo untied the rope and knelt before me. He held my face in his hands, using his thumbs to wipe away the tears and dust on my face. Those blue eyes of his were filled with lingering fear and concern.
"You're safe now, Chloe, you're safe..." he murmured repeatedly in a low voice, as if to comfort me, and also as if to reassure himself.
I could no longer control my emotions. I threw myself into his arms and sobbed loudly, releasing all my fear and grievances. He just held me tightly, letting my tears soak his combat uniform.
I don't know how long it took, but gradually my crying subsided. I lifted my head from his embrace, only to discover that he was still clutching my phone in his hand, with the screen still showing the end call interface. He looked at me, then suddenly swiped the screen. That was... the audio recording playback interface.
My heart suddenly tightened. He... he heard it?
Leo's gaze became deep and complex. He didn't speak, just quietly looked at me. Then, he pressed the play button.
My tearful, desperate confession clearly echoed at the edge of the empty, silent cliff.
"...I love you, Leo...I love you..."
The recording ended, and the world fell into complete silence. I was so embarrassed I wanted to disappear into thin air. My cheeks were so hot they could fry an egg, and I didn't dare look at his expression.
He turned off the recording and gently placed the phone back in my pocket. Then, he cradled my face, forcing me to meet his gaze. His eyes were as deep as the ocean, churning with emotions I couldn't comprehend, yet incredibly passionate.
"Chloe Sterling," he called my name deliberately, one word at a time, his voice extremely hoarse, "I received it. Your confession, I received it."
After speaking, he leaned down and sealed all my words with a tender kiss that contained no lust but was filled with infinite cherishing. This kiss was the perfect response to my life-and-death confession.
We finally, after the test of life and death, truly and unreservedly embraced each other.
