'Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome

And I don't feel right when you've gone away

You've gone away

You don't feel me here anymore.

-Seether ft. Amy Lee, "Broken"

Tallahassee, Florida

Rachel

"There," I whispered to myself. "Done."

I was in the library on campus, putting the finishing touches on the essay that was due the next day for School Law. I grinned and saved it to my Office 365 account and shut down my MacBook, putting it in my backpack and standing up, stretching my arms over my head.

On the way out of the library, I looked at my watch and realized it was already 11:00 pm and I hadn't eaten dinner. I trudged across campus to the student union where there was a 24-hour café.

I ordered chicken tenders and fries and took a seat in the corner of the café. I was about to take my first bite when I heard a voice coming toward me.

"Hey, Rachel," the voice said, and I looked up.

Of course, it was Alex.

"Oh, hey, Alex," I greeted him, suddenly nervous. "What are you doing here this late?"

"I was at the library working on our paper for Dr. Thomas' class," he said, and I laughed.

"Me too. I really procrastinated on this one," I admitted, taking a bite of chicken, gesturing to the seat across from me. "Sit down if you want."

He did, setting his food down in front of him and taking a sip of his Coke. "Same here. Can you believe Brittany had it done three days ago?"

My eyes widened. "No, not really, but good for her," I noted.

He smiled and took a bite of his salad.

We ate in silence for a few minutes until he spoke again. "So, Rachel, how are you? With Miles being gone and everything, I mean."

I sighed. "I'm better than I was, but it's March already, and I still can't seem to fully get used to him being gone. We hardly get to talk at all, and sometimes it feels like..." I trailed off, realizing the next thing I was going to say was probably unfair.

"Feels like what?" he asked, putting his elbows on the table and leaning forward, his brown eyes dark with concern.

I sighed and ran my hands through my hair. "I don't know," I said, shaking my head. "Sometimes it just feels like I'm not even engaged," I muttered, twirling my ring around on my finger, hating myself for even thinking it, let alone saying it.

Alex sat back and folded his arms. "Well, I'd venture to say that's probably a pretty normal feeling among military significant others during a deployment like this," he offered.

I considered this. "Maybe. But that doesn't mean I like it," I said, pushing away my empty plate.

"Of course not. It was never going to be easy, Rach," he said, taking the last bite of his salad and combining our plates together, getting up to throw them away.

"I know that," I snapped, then my shoulders dropped. "I'm sorry, Alex. I'm just... I'm just stressed and frustrated. I didn't mean to snap at you."

He smiled. "It's okay. That's what I'm here for – we're friends, right?"

My lips turned up into a small smile and I nodded. "Yeah. We are. Thanks, Alex," I said, sliding my phone in my purse and putting it over my shoulder. "I guess I better get home," I said, standing up.

"Me too. Can I walk you to your car? I told Miles I'd keep you safe and look out for you. I don't think he'd appreciate me letting you walk across campus alone at midnight."

"Okay, yeah. I don't really like being on campus this late alone, anyway."

"Well, that works out then," he said, and we held the door open for me as we made our way to my car.

Ten minutes later, I was unlocking the door to my Camaro, and he opened it for me,

"Rachel, you know you can talk to me anytime, right? You won't be bothering me, and if you need to rant and rave, you won't hurt my feelings," he said, smiling.

I returned his smile, and to my surprise, I felt it reach my eyes. "Thanks, Alex. I appreciate that."

"No problem," he responded, his voice warm.

I got in the car, he shut the door behind me, and with a wave, I drove off.

Fallujah, Iraq

Miles

"Wait, what? Seriously?" I asked, jumping out of bed at 1:00 am and looking at Dale.

"Yeah, they said we can have Skype time tonight, and now so it will line up all right to times in the United States. But only ten minutes apiece, and we're coming up next," he said, holding out my shirt.

I took it from his hand and jumped up, throwing it over my head and shoving my feet into my boots. "Come on then!" I exclaimed, practically dragging him out of the tent and into the tent that housed the technology.

"I really hope they're home," Dale murmured.

"It's 7:00 am there. I told Rachel to always keep her ringer on for times like this. I'll wake her up, but oh well," I said, grinning as I sat down at the computer and putting the headphones over my head.

Dale sat down next to me and mirrored my actions. "Okay, here we go," he said as we started our respective calls.

I drowned out every sound around me as I watched the wheel spin on the screen, and when Rachel's sleepy face appeared on the screen, I melted, and tears actually filled my eyes. "Rachel, baby," I said, and her eyes lit up, a grin splitting her beautiful face.

"Miles!" she squealed, sitting up in bed and pushing her hair out of her face. "How did this happen!? We didn't have a scheduled call until the beginning of next month!" She rubbed her eyes and smiled at me brightly.

"Dale woke me up this morning and said they were allowing us an extra call. But for ten minutes only. I'm so glad you answered," I said.

"Me too." She smiled and bit her lip as if she were trying not to cry. "I miss you so much, Miles.

I nodded. "God, me too, Rach. It's harder than I thought it would be, and that's saying something."

"Definitely. How is the weather over there? How's the actual work?"

"The weather is pretty mild right now. It'll be hot as shit this summer, but right now it's around 80 degrees. The work is actually fun and easy, since they taught us really well in basic. It wouldn't be so bad if it could just be in Florida," I said, laughing.

"Only nine more months to go," she said, and I could tell it made her sad just to say it.

"It'll go fast," I said. "How's school? Brooke and Luke? Our parents?"

She filled me in on her classes, Brooke's pregnancy, and updated me on our parents, who were basically the same as always.

Ten minutes went by way too fast, and before I knew it, we were saying goodbye.

"I love you, Rachel. Remember, in June we will have R&R time," I said, and she grinned.

"I know. I can't wait."

"Time's up, men!" a Corporal ordered from the doorway.

"I gotta go, babe," I said, my voice cracking as my eyes filled with tears. Seeing her was everything I needed, but the one thing that could break my heart was saying goodbye. Again. "I love you so much."

"I love you too, Miles. Be safe, okay? Promise me," she pled.

"I promise. Bye, love," I said before I clicked disconnect.

I looked at Dale, and he had the same look of pain in his eyes.

"Come on, bud. Let's go back to bed," I said, patting him on the back.

I knew the pain he felt; I wondered when it would subside.