Page 3 of Tattered
“We’re still working it out. I’ll help her get everything taken care of, man. No worries, I’ll be there. Just let me know what you need.”
“I’ll figure out how soon I can get out of here. I’ll try to give you a call later this evening after I talk to my sergeant.”
Dean fills me in on his plan to go with my grandmother to figure out the details. Disconnecting the call, I scrub my hands over my face. I don’t even know how I feel hearing the news. There’s a part of me that almost feels relieved to know I won’t have to face him again.
I walk across the base toward the Command Center, ducking my head as I step inside.
“Sir, do you have a moment?”
I’ve served the last two tours with Sergeant Jackson. He’s grown to be more of a father to me than my own father in a lot of ways. I hold an immense amount of respect for him.
“Of course,” he says, setting the papers he was shuffling through down on the table. “Everything alright?”
“I just took a call patched over to me from my friend back home. He wanted to let me know my father passed away yesterday. I was hoping I could talk to you about taking a short leave to help get everything in order.”
“I’m sorry to hear about your father,” he says.
I want to tell him his sympathy is not necessary, that he doesn’t deserve anyone’s sadness. Saying that will bring on an onslaught of unwanted questions, so I simply respond with a nod.
“You do what you need to do. We’re about to button up things here before we follow you back home, too. Don’t bother joining us. We’ll see you back home in the States soon.”
“That won’t be necessary, sir. It should only be a few, three maybe four days at the most, depending on when I get a flight back home. I’d like to come back and finish with the rest of the guys.”
“I figured you would say that, but I’ll have to decline. We should be heading back shortly after anyway, and it wouldn’t serve a purpose to bring you back only to have you return home in a short time. Go home, take care of what you need to, and report to the base when you get everything in order.”
I don’t press it further.
“I’ll see what I can do to arrange you a flight first thing in the morning. Let me know if there is anything I can do before you take off.”
Clenching my jaw, I nod my head and lean forward to shake his hand.
As much as I want to help finish things off here, I’m relieved to know my time left in this sandy hell is coming to an end very soon. It isn’t until I’m back in my bunk packing that it hits me; this will be the first time in four years I will be back in Everton.
My mind floats back to the phone call with Dean and my thoughts of Ryan. I think about how she looked our last night together, standing outside of her house in the pitch black. Her hair pulled over her shoulder and her boxer shorts rolled at the waist, showing her smooth tan skin on her legs. I hated walking away from her the next morning, I couldn’t even work up the courage to say goodbye. I hated knowing I was leaving the only peace I had found since my dad moved us to Everton.
Pulling out the only picture I have of her from my wallet, I sit down on the edge of the mattress. Running my finger along the worn edges, my heart warms looking at her. The edge of her lip is curled, the smirk lining her mouth.
Fuck, I miss her.
* * *
The next day was long. I was taken to Germany where I was delivered to the U.S. Army base, then later, boarded a flight bringing me back to the States. When I arrived in Des Moines, I texted Graham to see if he could pick me up from the airport. We had exchanged a few text messages throughout the day, so I knew he had an important meeting about the security company he and Dean were opening.
Feeling tired after all the traveling, I opted to hail a cab and head to the hotel just a few minutes away. The exhaustion was starting to set in, and I was ready to take a much needed nap.
Stepping outside, I’m met with a wall of humidity. Unlike the dry heat I am used to, this heat is completely different. I can feel the perspiration dotting my forehead the moment I step outside. A cab pulls right in front of me, and I send up a silent prayer of thanks it was this easy for me to catch a lift.
Adjusting my duffel bag on my shoulder, I glance down at my phone vibrating in my hand when the door of the cab swings open, hitting me in the arm. The force knocks my cell phone out of my hand and sends it crashing to the ground. My eyes wince as I watch it slide along the hard concrete.
“You really should pay attention to where you’re walking.”
I could remember that snarky tone anywhere, reminding me of the first day we met. My head jolts in the direction it came from. I’m not able to see her face, but I can tell by the back of her head it’s her. She still has the same long, dark hair covered up by her usual backward snapback. She’s dressed in her T-shirt, tied at her waist, paired with cut-off denim shorts and Chucks.
My eyes follow her movement as she leans forward to pick up her suitcase, carrying it around to the back of the cab and tossing it into the trunk. I can’t help but eat up every inch of her skin. I’m drawn to the ink covering her arm to the dreamcatcher covering her toned thigh.
She looks so much like the girl I remember, but she’s different, too.
Leaning over, I grab the back passenger door and hold it open for her, waiting for her to close the trunk and see me. Judging by her comment, I don’t know that she realized it was me. There’s no way in hell I’m going to let her get away without sharing a cab with her.
