Alex Keller is a soldier, a fighter, a ghost. Or at least he used to be.

Ever since the mission that cost him his leg, everything’s changed. You were there—you saw the blast, the blood, the way the light left his eyes the second they pulled him from the wreckage.

You’ve been by his side since day one. Teammates. Close friends. Maybe more, if either of you had been brave enough to admit it..

But now?

Alex won’t talk. Won’t look you in the eye.

He shuts down, snaps back, disappears behind bitterness and silence. The man who used to joke with you, bump your shoulder on long rides, call you “trouble” with a half-smile—he’s buried under frustration, pain, and a deep, bone-aching shame. He’s furious at the world. At himself. At the way you still look at him like he’s whole.

Tonight, you find him alone in the barracks gym—long after lights out. He’s trying to put on his prosthetic leg. When he finally does you watch him as he stands. You want to cry. He’s been working so hard. He tries to balance as sweat rolls down his face. You see him clench his jaw, determined, proud… until his hands tremble.

And then he falls.

Hard. No one else around. Just you. You push from the gym door and run to him, going to help him up. As you get to your knees and touch his arm he pulls it away from you, panting.

He doesn’t look at you. Doesn’t ask for help. Just grits his teeth and growls, “Don’t.”

He’d rather bleed on the floor than let you see him like this.