I feel let down that Harrison will keep something as important as this from me. I have now reached a point where I am beyond frustrated that everyone feels the need to treat me like a porcelain doll. I am a Marine, but even more importantly, I am a man. I am not a little boy that needs his handheld; I do not need anyone to fight my battles for me, and least of all, I will not let anyone tell me what to do.
Life is too damn short to waste your time on trying to fix something that is not broken. Yes, my body might be broken, but it does not mean that I can not perform at the best of my ability. I, and I can proudly say it; I am even far better than your average Marine. Every single man in this camp has his own problems. Am I sitting here and judging him?
Now talking about men, where is Isabella? I would have thought that she would be there to greet us. Well, I love the woman, but sometimes I do fear that she does not have her priorities straight either. She, after all, i
It is early morning, just before sunrise. We are all lining up, waiting for Harrison to brief us on the mission that lies ahead. I will be honest; my head is not in the game. I am still very much upset at Harrison and Isabella. I cannot shake the feeling of rage that I feel towards them both for betraying me. Somehow I can still accept Harrison, I guess he was just trying to protect me, but Isabella, that is a low blow. I keep on convincing myself that she is only feeling lost and scared, and yes, I understand that, but to leave and not say goodbye. If she had this in mind, why did she not tell me?I try to push this to the back of my head and listen to the plan of attack. Harrison is going over each detail twice and then wait for the third time. The plan is clear; we will attack them after sunset; we need to catch them completely off guard. MacKey will take them from the south; we will move in at the northside. The attack will be swift; there will be no one left alive; our i
The lush green bushes are the only barrier to safety we have from imminent danger. In the dark of the night, we are hiding, ready for the attack. To say that there is not one nervous bone would be a lie, for, amongst the excitement, there is a sense of dread. The enemy is ruthless, and they shall not take kindly to our invasion; they will come dome with force.My only mission is there walking in his own delusion grandeur. Revenge is going to be swift but very much sweet. I am not a man that holds a grudge and stew on things, but there are certain things that you shall not forgive. Tonight I will get the closure that I have been seeking for. The minute I watch his body drop to the floor is the minute that I can safely go ahead and live my life in peace.This I not only need for me, but I need to do this for us, for Isabella and me. I cannot be a man if I live my life in the past. She knows what I am set to do tonight, and she gives me her unconditional support. I cannot
…Isabella POV…In the deep of the night, I pace my way barefoot up and down the camp. My hair is getting soak, and my toes are disappearing deep into the mud. Why on such an evening does it have to rain so hard. The same hardness the thoughts are pounding through my mind. Is Clayton okay? Why? Why now did they have to do it" If it were not raining so hard, I would have felt better, or is that even the truth. What if I did not walk myself into trouble? Would this have happened? There are so many what-ifs.Then I feel a hand come from behind and rest on my shoulder. As I spin around and nearly slide off my feet, I see Harrison, showing for me to come in from the rain. I have been doing it for hours. As I finally step out into the dry tent, he hands me a towel and a hot cup of coffee."You are going to drive yourself crazy out there; the boys are fine, don't let your head tell you any different.""How, how can you be so sure?""They have
As I look at her with a world of questions whirling in my eyes, the very thing that comes to mind, are we in danger again? Do we need to get ready to head out again? Well though I do not mind being prepared to go again so soon, I would not have mind to spend time with her and just unwind. But this is not home, and there exists no such thing."Boo, tell me what is wrong?""Soldier, they are calling us back home.""What? Why?""They have signed a peace treaty. They said not all of the squads are needed here anymore. There will be a few that will remain behind for at least another three weeks."I pause for the moment to take it all in. Did I just hear her, right? "So, I guess that we are going home," I ask her, not knowing if I should be happy or relieved. I did not think we would be going home so early. "Boo, how do you feel about it?""Soldier, I don't think I even need to answer that.""You know, I say let us go home. In some crooked
Isabella has not been herself cheerful self for the past few days. At first, I thought that she must be nervous to see everyone again. But then it started to become more serious, getting sick so often. Now it seems that she has been hiding something from me as well. We promised no more secrets; even if I say it is fine, it does make me slightly mad."Boo, what are you not telling me? Are you not deploying with me again?""No! No, soldier! I can't go!""What do you mean you can't go? Everything was fine; why have you changed my mind."My mom, along with Matty, tries to excuse themselves from the kitchen, "I think we will leave you kids alone. Come, Richard, I think we could do with a walk.""What makes you think I want to walk Denise."Matt drags my dad by the arm towards the door, "Dad, you just like to have a bit of good gossip to listen to. Sometimes I think you worse than that old Betty."Isabella is standing in dead silence.
I could have sworn I just fainted; a big ass man like me has dropped like a little bundle to the floor. Did I just hear right? Did I just hear that Isabella is pregnant? I think if I open my eyes, I will soon find out. But I am scared. Am I ready to be a father? Am I even the father type kind of man? I am so not prepared for this; then again, I am a soldier, I need to be ready for the most unexpected things.I feel as Isabella tugs at my shoulder, "Soldier, soldier, are you okay?"Then Dr. Roberston joins her, trying to get me out of my stupid spell of darkness. "Clayton, can you hear me?"As I slowly open my eyes and wait for it to adjust to the light, I see Isabellas staring worriedly at me. "Soldier don't give a woman a heart attack so early in the morning!"She starts shaking me furiously. I can hear the urgency in her voice as she calls out my name. "Soldier! Soldier!""Aahhh boo, I am awake; slow down on the shaking.""Don't you ever d
When I stepped off the bus this morning, I never knew and could hardly ever have imagined that I would find out that Isabella is pregnant. Now I can't say it is a complete surprise, for, well, I kind of could not keep it in my pants. This was bound to happen sooner or later, and I can honestly say that I am grateful that it did not happen at camp. Well, it sort of did, but at least she is not pregnant and deploying.The mere thought that I, half a broken man, am becoming a father brings another accomplishment to mind. I am still a boy, learning to be a man, but now I am going to be a man that needs to learn how to be a father. This is terrifying; I can take a mission head-on but put a little life in my arm. I am about to learn a whole new meaning to life.Now there is only one life that has become important to me, apart from Isabella's, that is. I might not be holding my child in my hands, but I know exactly what Harrison means. Yes, Isabella cannot deploy anymor
We have not even been back home for a day and things are already running a riot. Isabella is pregnant, and I am going to become a father. That is wonderful news for all around, but we had to make the decision as to where Isabella is going to stay. I am deploying in a little less than a week again, and I need to know that wherever she is going to be, she will be safe. So we have decided that she shall stay in Pendleton and we will raise our child there. We are making the decision on what is best for the baby. Yes, I know that my family, most of all my mom, is going to be disappointed."I think everyone needs to go sit down for this one," I playfully laugh to ease the seriousness of the situation."Son, she is already pregnant; what else have you done?" My father asks, "With him, anything is possible." Matt adds."Matty, you better run.""What are you going to do, soldier boy?"I catch up to Matty that is walking ahead of my mom, and give him one sla