**DEREK POV**
I know Caleb is gone.
That’s the fact. Clean. Undeniable. Logged somewhere in my head the same way patrol rotations and supply tallies get logged. Absence noted. Variable adjusted.
What I refuse to touch is what that absence actually does to the space around you.
I tell myself I’m being respectful. That I’m not circling. That I’m not exploiting timing. I tell myself I’m keeping things steady while the structure shifts. That leadership means not reacting to emotional weather.
The lie sits comfortably because it sounds like discipline.
I find myself talking to her in my mind like we’re more than friends. I can’t help it. It just happens.
You look exhausted when you walk into my office, but exhaustion is common. Everyone’s tired lately. The pack’s been running hot. The bo
