• 2:51 a.m. Her cell phone rings. Her head sharply turns to the right to see the small device glowing blue, lighting up the room and making a racket with its vibrations. “Oh, come on,” she grumbles, leaning up on her right arm to reach over with her left and grab the phone. Falling back against the headboard, she shifts the phone to her right hand, reading the display. “What the hell,” she murmurs.

    “Hello?”

    “Lai?”

    “Bobbie, it’s, like, three in the ******** morning. What the hell are you calling me for?”

    He laughs sheepishly. “Sorry, I forgot about the time difference. My bad.”

    She sighs, picking at her comforter. “Whatever. I was up anyway.”

    “Insomnia again?”

    “Yeah.”

    “Hmm. Drink some warm milk or something before you try to go back to sleep.”

    “Will do, Captain, sir.”

    “Quit that.”

    “But you’re my superior, sir. I’m only affording you due respect, sir.” Lailie snickers. She can almost envision him blowing a raspberry at the phone.

    “Stupid goose. I didn’t call to have you rank me with everything I say.”

    “So what did you call for, brother dearest?”

    “I dunno...just to say hi, I guess. Make sure you’re okay.”

    A part of Lailie’s heart cringes. Brotherly intuition was a b***h and a half. “I’m fine, just a little tired, no help from you.”

    “Eh, sorry.”

    “Stop apologizing.”

    “Is that an order, Lieutenant?”

    “That’s an order from your baby sis.”

    He laughs again. Lailie smiles fondly at the sound. “So I guess I’ll leave you alone now.”

    “Yeah. Good night.”

    “G’night. Love you.”

    “Love you—oh, wait. Have I ever told you how sexy I find your voice?” She figures she might as well tell him now.

    There’s a pause on the other side so long, Lailie’s afraid he’s hung up on her. “Bobbie?”

    “Yeah, I’m here. Uh, no, you haven’t, but thanks for letting me know. I’ve, uh, been wondering for years whether you did or not.” Lailie can hear him trying to suppress his giggles through the phone.

    She sighs, disgruntled, but not really. “Shut up.”

    This time, he can’t hold back his laughter. “Okay, Lai. Talk to you later, alright? Love you.”

    And Lailie knows this is the last time they’ll ever talk, at least on Earth, but she doesn’t bother correcting him, only saying despite the tightening of her throat, “I love you, too, Bobbie. Good night.”

    “G’night. Bye.”

    The dead silence over the line tells her he’s gone for good this time, and she hangs up her phone. Pretty soon, she’ll be gone for good, too.

    As she puts her phone back on her nightstand, she checks the time. 3:04 a.m., read the glowing numbers. “What a time to die,” she murmurs.

    Sinking back underneath the covers, Lailie is hit with a sense of finality. This is it, she thinks, this is finally it. One more shot, and I’m done. It’s all over. Things will be better.

    Settling the muzzle beneath her chin and angling it towards the back of her head, she pauses, trying to think of a suitable last thought.

    How about...nothing really matters.

    No, no, that’s dumb. Umm...okay, here’s one: It’s all for the best.

    ...That’s not bad, but it still doesn’t feel right. God, this is harder than I thought—no, wait. I’ve got it.

    Taking a deep breath and calling to mind every ounce of will power and military training she has, she whispers,

    “This is for you,”

    before pulling the trigger. For a millisecond after the shot burns through the first few layers of skin, she can sense a distinct feeling of dizziness and brief intense pain, before she passes out, and the bullet slugs its way through the various fluids and brain matter, shattering out of the other side of her skull to embed in the blood spattered headboard behind her.