Chapter 5 - The Silent Battle
The rift between Caleb and Grace grew wider over the next month. Caleb poured all his nervous energy into physical training. He spent hours in the garage gym, lifting heavy barbells until his muscles screamed and his hands bled. He thought that if he could just make his body strong enough, he could force his mind to fall into line.
But you cannot bench-press a ghost.
One evening, Grace sat at the dining table, a stack of unpaid bills and a brochure for a military family counseling center in front of her. Caleb walked in from the garage, drenched in sweat, his eyes distant.
"Caleb, we need to talk," Grace said, her voice steady but laced with exhaustion. "We can't live like this. You're physically here, but you're a thousand miles away. Leo needs a father who is present, not a ghost who lifts weights in the dark."
"I am providing for this family, Grace," Caleb said, his voice flat as he grabbed a protein shake. "I am doing my job."
"Your job is to be a husband and a father!" Grace argued, her voice rising. "Last night, during the thunderstorm, you yelled at me when I tried to wake you from an nightmare. You looked at me like I was the enemy, Caleb. I was afraid for myself, and I was afraid for our son."
The words cut Caleb deeper than any shrapnel. Afraid of him. The woman he loved more than life itself was afraid of him.
"If you think I'm a danger to this family, maybe I shouldn't be here," Caleb whispered, his pride and pain colliding in a toxic mix.
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"Caleb, no, that's not what I—"
But Caleb had already grabbed his keys. He walked out of the house, the door clicking shut behind him with a heavy, final sound. Grace slumped over the table, burying her face in her hands as she wept, the little blue swaddling blanket with the embroidered barbell draped over the chair beside her.
