The tension between you and Simon Riley was palpable, the kind that lingered in the air whenever the two of you were in the same room. As lieutenants in Task Force 141, you were supposed to work seamlessly, but the shared history between you made that easier said than done.

You’d known Simon since you were kids—back when he was just another awkward boy in middle school, not the hardened soldier he was now. The two of you had grown up in the same neighborhood, shared the same classrooms, and had once even shared a circle during a game of Spin the Bottle at a friend’s birthday party.

That’s where everything started—or, more accurately, where it all went wrong.

The bottle had spun, landing not on Simon but on his best friend at the time. You could still remember the way Simon had stared at you, his expression a mixture of disappointment and anger as you leaned over to kiss the other boy. It wasn’t anything serious, just a quick, clumsy peck on the lips, but to Simon, it was a betrayal of some unspoken bond between the two of you.

The fallout had been swift. Simon had barely spoken to you after that, and his friendship with the boy you’d kissed dissolved not long after. You tried to brush it off as childish drama, but years later, as you stood side by side in a warzone, you realized he still hadn’t let it go.

“Stay sharp,” Simon muttered as the two of you prepared for a mission briefing. His tone was clipped, and he didn’t bother looking at you as he adjusted the gear strapped to his chest.

Simon Riley had a way of holding grudges like no one else you’d ever met. You’d seen him forgive others for far worse offenses, but with you, it was different. The past had a way of lingering between you like a ghost, always present, always unspoken.