When I finally made it back to the barracks, my body was exhausted, but my mind refused to shut off.
I lay on my back staring at the ceiling, the dim light casting long shadows across the concrete walls. Every muscle ached, but the pain was distant compared to the storm inside my head. I replayed the night over and over. The stars. The quiet. The way Austin had looked at me when he thought I was not watching.
He claimed his concern was about the team’s safety. That it was his responsibility. That explanation made sense on the surface, but it did not sit right. There was something in his tone, in the pauses between his words, that felt unfinished. Like he had stopped himself from saying what he actually meant.
That unsettled me more than any obstacle course ever could.
Eventually, exhau
