What makes a hero? They say a hero is someone that has given his life to something bigger than himself. I say a hero is no braver than an ordinary man, he is just braver for five minutes longer. All soldiers are brave, it's what they do with their bravery that makes them heroes. Am I a hero? Clayton Jackson dedicated his life to serving his country. Enlisting in the Marine Corps at the young age of eighteen, he never imagined following any other path. However, fate had other plans for him as a life-altering accident during his last deployment left him disabled and forces him to return home. Hiding in the small town he grew up in, Clayton tries to keep his secret from his loved ones at all costs. One day while seeking refuge from his troubled mind, his path crosses with Isabella Jones. Their connection is instantaneous as if the universe conspired to bring them together. Isabella, a mysterious and enigmatic woman, is haunted by the demons from her own past. As their relationship quickly blossoms, the unspoken truths between them threaten to tear them apart. When Clayton is presented with the opportunity to rejoin the Marine Corps, Isabella is faced with a decision: whether to accompany him or remain behind. Caught in this web of secrets and lies, they try to navigate their love through the murky waters, desperately hoping to find solace in each other's arms. But will love be enough to conquer the shadows that lingered in their hearts? Or would the truth ultimately be their undoing?
Lihat lebih banyak(Second Book For: The Marine Next Door)
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Today I am on another bus ticket back home; this time around, I am not alone. Every single man finds themselves in the same place, heading the same way, including the forty-three brave souls that fought to the very end for their country.
What else is fighting is me; every time I just as much as open my goddamn eyes, they shove a needle in my arm. Now I am not a man with patience, and they are surely testing it to its limit.
Every time I start to drift away, I clench even harder on that photo of Isabella, knowing that in only a few mere hours, I will be seeing her.
Now I would like to tell you how jolly and eventful the plane flight is home, but yes, I am constantly being drugged by some over-eager nurse.
Then, just as I come out of my drug haze again, I spot Harrison, I immediately holler, yes, I know, but anyway, I call for the man to come over.
"Can you explain to me why nobody wants to tell me what is going on with my legs, the ones which everybody is keeping a fucking secret?"
I hear as he clears his throat rather uncomfortably as he shuffles his feet about, "I think we must wait for the doctor."
"Fuck the doctor's ass," the anger growls out of me like thunder, "I want to know now."
Just then, that little nurse with her needle comes poking around me again, it only takes me but a second to rip that thing from her hand; she gasps and jumps back, "All you have to do is say no."
"Sweety," I try to sound as calmly as possible. "Nothing about you says just ask; you were made to torture people."
With that, she hurries off to the back of the plane, where the damn doctor also seems to be hiding.
But I have Harrison, and if he knows what is good for me, he shall not go anywhere. "So, how about telling me why I cannot feel my legs and I am constantly being poked at?"
"Clay," he starts off as a whisper, "You, well, both of your legs got hurt."
I immediately go into shock as a terrifying horror creep as a cold rush over my spine, "God, please don't tell me?"
He looks down, and I can see that there is a small pearl-like tear that is bubbling in the corner of his eye, "They…"
Just then, the fucking pilot feels like it is time for an announcement. Well, apparently, I slept the whole flight away as we are approaching the airfield at Pendleton. The excitement of Isabella and her big baby belly is the only thing that is now consuming my mind. So I wait patiently while two of the soldiers come to carry me out on a stretcher.
Now, I know the woman will go in a panic, and believe me, I, myself, are already panicked. I am so expecting some sort of an I told you so. As they carry me out of the plane into what seems to be a very bright Summer's day. There is a slight breeze and the smell of wet sand from a storm that has just recently passed. How much I missed this. But not as much as the woman that I see as we get off the plane.
I watch her carefully as she shakes her head and carries on looking past me. Well, did my soon-to-be wife just not recognize her fiancé? I do not know if I should feel lucky that she has not seen my state or even offended.
So I do that very stupid thing and holler for her to hear me. God knows whoever invented that word, but ya, the thing is stuck in my head, especially with Lewis practically overusing it,
After what seems like my fifth attempt, she casually strolls over to where I am lying peacefully on my new mode of transportation. I watch as her eyes narrow while she is biting down on her lip, "Now, before I lose the last marble that I have left, you are going to tell me that you are just lazy to walk, and that is why you in that stretcher."
I cannot help but chuckle at her, though she does not find my words amusing, "I am serious soldier, why are you in there."
I only shrug my shoulders, "I don't know. All I know is I got shot."
"How can you not know?" I see as the entire crowd snap their heads in our direction as Isabella's voice has gone a fraction louder. "How can you not know?" She repeats once again.
"Boo, I have tried to ask the doctor, but both him and Harrison have been dodging my questions."
"Well," she scans the crowd looking for the doctor or Harrison. God, I feel sorry for the first one she founds first. Then she turns to me, "I will be back in a second."
She wanders off into the crowd, but I cannot see where she is going. All I see is Harrison fleeing to the other side of the airforce ground. As for the doctor, I guess it his him that she has found.
But I shove the craziness aside and watch how many Marines are back with their families again. I can see the tears of joy rolling like a river over cheeks that have burned from way too much sun. As for the rest, all they have to see is a casket; they don't even know where, but they know that between that forty-three, their beloved one is there. The one that is not going today.
As we all stand here and we watch as this horrific sadness enfolds around us, we all salute them in honor and sing a very old Marine anthem. These boys did us well; without out them, we would not have made a difference. But mostly, if it were not for their bravery, some of us would not have been alive.
So, what do I say, fuck my legs; I am glad that I am alive.
After Isabella gets no joy from the very helpful nurse and her needles, mainly because the doctor saw her coming and he bailed for it, I am being carried to the hospital on Pendleton. At least I am going to get a better doctor here; well, that is what I am hoping for. But let us not count those chickens just yet.
Soon I am carried into a single room on the second floor of the hospital; well, it is not the first for then it was something major urgent. The second lies on the brink of major and not so major. So I can say whatever has my entire body in jello, for yes, all those goddamn painkillers have me so limp I cannot even move my damn arms, needless to say, not even my hand. As for the legs, now that is what we are waiting for.
Then Isabella gets that "I have an idea" look on her face, and I know immediately that I am not going to like it. "I am just going to quickly peek under the blanket to see if everything is still there."
But from behind us, someone clears their voice loudly and steps closer, "Miss, I am sure that he still has it all."
She only but waves him off and comes to take a seat next to me, "So, dear Doctor," I recognize the hint of sarcasm in her voice as she addresses him. "What happens to my fiancé that is so bad that nobody wants to tell him?"
"The good news is that you did not lose your other leg, it was close, but yes, it is still in some sort of a way intact."
I look at him strangely, "Some sort of a way intact?"
"Yes, Lieutenant." He moves around to the other side, away from an Isabella that is near close to punching him out. "You took three bullets in your femur, crushing your bone in three places. It is a damn miracle that you are still able to walk."
I take a sigh of relief as I take Isabella's hand, who seems to have calmed down but wait, this man is not finished with his story.
"And," he so joyfully adds, "Unfortunately, the impact in your stump got caught in the fire I had…" then he goes uncomfortably softer. "I had to take more away as it could not be saved at the position it was angled." Then he is not even finished yet, "You going have to learn to walk all over again."
I only but wave him off as the tears burst through that barrier that was holding them back.
The fear of being defeated, of being shown that, yes, I could not do it, the fear of being a failure creeps in heavy over my heart. The pain that consumes my heart is something that one cannot bear and yet even explain. Your world crashes around you, just waiting for you to fall. I went out there to fulfill a dream, and I came back and an even more broken of a man.
I will never be a Marine again.
My life has come to an end now.
Fuck that…I will do anything to get what I want, and I already have my dreams set on it.
"Dear Clayton…I know that if you are reading this, it must have taken you days to get to that decision. I really do not blame you for hating me as much as you are hating me right now. And if it has taken you the time that I think it must have, then I know that you are somewhere near Baghdad and that you will be heading off into the unknown.Now I know that no part of you are going to believe this, but I really wish you good luck and for your safe return. Braydon needs you more than ever, for god knows he does not need his mother, not after the stunt that she has pulled.But if you give me just five minutes, then I want to tell you what and however stupid it might be, but I need for you to understand why I had to walk away and perhaps that you will understand. But before I lay my misery upon you, I want to say that I really did not intend for any of this to happen. I did not want to leave you or Braydon, but I had to; I had to give you two boys a better f
"I told you to stop phoning me, Clayton."With nothing but a huff, I clench the phone tighter, and without trying to sound too annoyed, I speak once again, "But, I just wanted…""No buts, Clayton. You have phoned six times already, and it is only 10:00 am. Do you not have something better to do?""Not at this very pressing moment. So please can I…?""No, I said no. You are not waking him up again just to say hello.""But mom, come on…""I said no!"With the vibration of her voice still ringing in my ear, my mom drops what would be the fifth call I have made unnecessary down in my ear. The phone finds its way very firmly to the other side of the ops tent, only but barely missing the head of Galland."Hey! What the fuck, man? Do you want to kill me?"I only but grunt at him as I catch the returning phone, "My mom does not want me to speak to Braydon.""Well, perhaps because you have phoned her l
07:30I have just watched two Humvees from our group swerve off the road and crash as they attempted to avoid the incoming fire from the enemy. Galland is desperately trying to make contact to confirm if all is alive.Right now, everything looks bleak as we are surrounded by more enemy than what we can handle.But as I look past Clark to the other side of the road, I can see a truck that has been crushed by one of the enemy's tanks. There I can sadly say, if they were not fast enough to get out and avoid enemy fire as well, then they are all gone.There seems by the radio that does come in and from what we can see between the chaos around us, only three remaining vehicles.We are sitting ducks.And this pond is far too big for us to navigate around in.Is this how it is going to end for this small group of Marines?Were we, in fact, too arrogant and too at ease when we set on this mission?This is not how I w
As I slowly flutter open my eyes, I can hear the distinct sound of chatter of excited Marines outside of my tent. Today is the day; for the past few days, we have been building up to this moment. These are the days that all Marines train and most definitely live for.It is the 23rd of March.04:45I have chosen to sleep in just for fifteen minutes. Just the fifteen minutes that I need to get my head into the game. Harrison has begged me not to go out with the squad this morning, but he knows that it is futile to even argue.This will be my last deployment for a while, and god knows I want to make it count. That means sitting on the sidelines and listening to the action coming through on radio is definitely not an option. I want, when I tell my son why I was not there in the early stages of his life, I want to tell him that I was out there making a difference. I need to do this not only for me but for him.Though, definitely not for his
Days seem to be moving faster than we have anticipated, with the imminent mission lying around the corner. We will be moving out tomorrow just before the crack of dawn as we will make our way up to Baghdad. Now to say that I am shit scared for what might happen is clearly evident in the pacing I have done in the past half hour. Much to Harrison's annoyance, he has sent me out of the ops tent to find something else to keep my mind occupied.I am fucking scared that I am not going to make this one home this time. I have come so close to death these past two missions that I am now asking myself what the fuck am I doing here. My son needs me, and I am here in the middle of goddamn no man's desert going off my head.My mom has even told me to stop phoning her more than four times a day, for I am driving her right there insane with my constant checking on Braydon. I never knew that there would come a day that I would rather be anywhere else than the place I used to love bein
It is early morning on a rather miserable Thursday that we are heading towards camp south of Nasiriya on this 20th March. To say that we are anxious and rather unsettled would be a blatant lie. We are nearing the end of what will be the major of our attempt to take over the forces in the City.I have been looking forward to this mission for a great number of days, but since the departure of Isabella, there is no other place that I would rather be than home at this present moment.We have been told this should be a quick in and out and should not last beyond two weeks, but we are preparing ourselves for a month as things never seem to go as planned when it comes to the forces in this Country.But I am set to get this mission over as fast as I possibly can with as few casualties as we had in Fallujah. My only true mission is that little bundle of smiles that is waiting for me when I get back home. This will, but I am not going to say that rather adaman
I remember the day when I was about to leave the Hospital when my dad just woke up from that horrible nightmare that he was facing. That day when we all knew that our love and faith had been tested. A time that we will never forget that should have taught us all a valuable lesson.Now, if I can recall almost exactly, I told myself that the next years would be difficult for me. I would stumble. I would fall. There would be heartbreak and failure. I would pick myself back up and start again. That there would be more heartbreak to follow.Well, if I now remember back to that day, I wish I could have kicked my own ass for predicting my future in such a bleak way.Yes.That night, that was the last time that I saw Isabella walk away, for the next morning when I went to go wake her after she had a very much-needed rest, I only but found the bed cold and empty, nearly like she had never been in it at all.So it has been a week.A week since Isabell
If my mind thought it was deceiving it, my eyes are telling me that I surely am not.Isabella has just arrived on our doorstep again. Why she has not entered the room, that I do not know. There is a slight hesitation about her which I am sure anyone would feel after what we have been through these past few days. I will not question her, for right now, I do not know what her intention is, and I damn well do not want another argument either.So it is with a tiny jolt of energy back into my bones that I can barely stop myself from smiling. As my eyes leave hers, I find the only thing that really matters in this world. Yes, I know that I need to say that Isabella is along there somewhere. But right now, I am reluctant to open myself to that possibility again.Yet, I do have to admit, "You have no idea I am happy to see you and Braydon." I pause for a brief moment as I rush over and place a tiny peck on the little man's forehead, then I continue again, "Isabella&hell
…Isabella POV…To say that I have not hit a new depth of stupidity in these past few days would be a total understatement. From bursting into Harrison's home and attacking Galland's girlfriend to taking Clayton's child away from him and sacking up in some small hotel room. That can easily be described as the most insane thing that any woman can set her mind to, regardless of which world it is that she finds herself in.Now, should I want to try and find the most logical answer for doing any of them, I cannot come to one single one.Why do I hate Clayton so much?Even more important…why is my Bipolar back with such a great force?Why do I want to hurt Clayton so bad?Well, I guess there is only the truth that needs to be told.And as I try to bear the pain that is consuming my body, try to make sense of this fucking crazy that is brewing inside of me.I've run out of reasons to run away from Clayton. I've tr
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