Walking out of the tent, I feel like a completely different man. I have just made love to the most beautiful woman I have ever set my eyes on, but I have also not wavered in my decision. Isabella is known to have the ability to bring me to my knees. I can, for certain, say that I shall do anything for her. Even though her decision to have come is clear, what does trouble her is if she should remain where there is nothing but fear surrounding her. I can almost say that she has what happened to Mark still very present in her memory.
I do not blame her for feeling this way, we have not been here two days yet, and she has been attacked twice. And then I get myself stabbed in the process as well. So you can say that terror lies in every corner of her body.
Now, what can I do to make her feel differently? Nothing. Isabella is very strong-willed, and do I even dare to say stubborn. It is that hard-ass attitude that made me fall in love with her in the first place. Do I wish t
I watch Isabella stand motionless while she watches me as I am about to disappear into the bushes behind the very far end of the camp. Just as we completely disappear, I turn to her one last time and mouth to her, 'I love you.' She waves at me, and seconds later, we are completely out of sight.I feel my heart skip a beat at the overwhelming thought that it might have been the last time that I would see her. It is absolutely absurd; that is not even a thought I need to entertain, for I shall always return to her no matter the circumstances.But I need to push this fear aside and focus on the mission at hand. So it is in absolute silence that we make our way into the forest, with Clark ahead scanning the floor and the surrounding to check for any fresh footstep. With each step, we are scanning every bush as we slowly creep our way past it.With the sun hanging low, there is a warning of rain that should become in within the next hour; if the present situation is
What terrifies me the most? The sounds of their voices getting louder as they are getting closer? Or the crippling thought that I have heard this voice before?Here, where I had felt safe only a second ago, I have an incredible fear that in only a few seconds, my trembling body shall be discovered and that I shall be ripped from underneath the thick brush.So, with a suffocating grip on my heart, I wait patiently as their feet passed me one by one. The sounds of their boots squashing as they disappear into the mud are even more horrifying than the deep laughter that is coming from their chest. The mere sight of their belt-fed machine guns brings so many memories crashing into my mind. For one moment, it feels that I cannot breathe.But my determination and the mission at hand snaps any thought from my mind. This has now not only become an urgency for the protection of the camp, but I shall bring down on him what he deserves. I am not a man for revenge, but a man
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.
It is in and out of consciousness that we take the drive back to camp. My leg is hurting like a bitch, and the only thing I can focus my mind on is…not fucking again.I don't know how badly I am injured; the moment I try to lift my head, I have Harrison pushing me down again. I have Lopez applying pressure on my leg to try and stop the blood from gushing out.I feel like a mess.I am losing a lot of blood very quickly, for the dizziness is starting to set in. Then…I am out.Next time I come to, I am being carried into the nurse's tent where you have a severely understaffed medical team running to save the lives of the badly injured. The ones only in need of a view stitched or a non-serious bullet to be removed are pushed to the side.If I thought the battlefield was a complete mess, this is complete chaos. Today is a very sad day for every Marine that walks and that used to walk these grounds. Here, in this tent, there will be more li
There is a rumbling thunder that comes down with great speed onto our backs. You can hear as brick by brick come crashing to the floor, splitting into pieces. As I, the final one, get to the street, we watch as it comes down to a spectacular end. A big cloud of dust covers us and half down the street.Once most of the dust has settled, we make our way back to the Humvees."Woohoo, that was fucking close."Lopez snaps his head to my left and looks me amazed in the eyes, "You losing your mind there, Lieutenant?""Now that was a rush. If I say it is better than sex, then Isabella might just kill me."Everyone only but bursts out in laughter at me as we have once again missed another near-death experience. These three months better come quickly, for this heart cannot take this excitement anymore. And let us forget about the heart, that was fucking tough on my leg. I am going to sit in pain for at least another day or two.But there is no time to
It is yet another morning at the bus station that I have to say goodbye to my family. This time shall be the final time that I shall give my mother that near-death experience where she so wishes to slap all sanity into me.But that is not my concern; my biggest is leaving the woman behind that I shall marry and start a family with. Her eyes are filled with tears of both happiness and joy; I think that seeing me doing this the last time is what shall drive her to get through the last three months.Though getting on that bus does not make it any easier. Three months is a long time for someone that is on nothing but hostile ground.And with that, as all the times before, I watch as the five most important people in my life become nothing but little ants in the back window.The drive to Pendleton this time is filled is heartache, and the flight to camp does not even bring as much joy as I wish it to be.But I am here to fulfill what I promised myself,
It is early morning as I sit on the porch waiting for Isi to wake up.There are only two things playing on my mind this morning.I am so goddamn happy to be home, and worst of all, I need to go back and finished what I have started.It is only another three months stretch to go, and by the way that things seem, some of the boys might be coming home earlier.Now I know that she will not love the idea, but I am not deserting my country; even though I chose my wife, I still have a service that I need to fulfill. One thing Clayton Jackson is not known for is to run away and hide. I want to be that hero; I want to make that difference, and god, I will be doing it the right way.So as Miss Sleepy Heads sticks her head around the corner, I know that she has watched me while I have been having turmoiled in my head."What has your daydreaming so early in the morning, soldier?""Well…" she only but cocks her head and looks at me."
I need to stop for one moment and take a step back; what makes this all worthwhile is the beauty that lies in my arms. Should I not have had her presence in my life, I would not have had the sheer willpower to take the impossible onTo have beauty in your life is easy, but to have the beauty of the woman that you love and the one that loves you in return is the greatest gift that one can experience. I can, with all honesty, say that there is no doubt that she completes my life. To be lonely for eternity can be seen as a life sentence, but having what you crave, is the greatest blessing.I have never been more assured to have chosen her to be mine for life.She does not only live in her own body; she lives in mine too. We are part of each other; we are one. I hear her footsteps in the passageways of my heart. Her voice echoes through my veins. I can see her face in the mirrors of my memories. She has engraved herself deep into my soul. She will forever be a part
What is the greatest thing a man can experience?Having back what you have thought you have lost for good. It is true that good things happen to those who wait, but damn, did I had to wait too long"Soldier, Are you going to stop staring at my stomach?""Sorry boo, but I still cannot believe that it is real, and you are sort of kind of a bit, so I can just not miss it.""You can be glad my hands are swollen, or else I would have punched you."I am a mess right now; I happy messed up, man. Here is the woman that I love more than anything, and she is still having our baby. I have missed out on so much, I can only imagine what she must have gone through, but I don't understand.""Boo, but why did you tell me that you lost the baby.""Mark said, as I told you, that he would kill your parents if I told anyone. He had this crazy idea in his head that he could raise our child as his own.""But where did James come in?""J
I know Isabella for far too long, for one, she is wearing some rather oversized shirt, which is not mine, and one that I very doubt would be that of James. And for a second, that damn sugar rush that she is forcing into that body, that well…"Isi, is there something that you are not telling me?""Clay, I think you need to come to sit down. Can I grab you a beer or something?""Somehow, I think I am going to need something far stronger than a beer right now. I think that overprized whiskey there will just do fine."With that, I watch her move toward the cupboard; her shirt is just a slight bit over that perky ass that has become slightly perkier than before. Now, if I were not so goddamn curious, then I would have pinned her down on this very kitchen counter, but I seem to feel that we will be requiring a bed for this one.So as she comes to sit across from me and to push a glass of chilled whiskey over to me, she casually has some oddly fres
We have not been able to find Caylee, but as per news from Matty, they have found Mark. Between the three of them, they came up with a plan to wrong the people whom they believe that wrong them. Well, what one hell of a wicked plan, if you may ask me.Now the last time I have spoken to Isabella, she was still very much taken aback by the great ordeal that has happened to her.Well, today I have a surprise for her. It took a lot of string, but I finally got the big man at the top to let me step away for but a brief moment. Now nobody expects me to know, of course, for I know that my dear mother can not keep her dear old mouth any more quiet than Betty.So it is with very hesitant steps that I finally step in front of the door that I have a grave to be for too many nights now.But from inside, I only hear her grunt and curse underneath her breath, "I told you goddam people that I do not have anything else to say."With a rather loud huff and a somewh
…Matty POV…A part of me is questioning if I truly did hear the words that are coming from the direction in front of me. If there are ever the most terrifying words that one has spoken, then I a sure that this will be it. I do wish that he did not just say that, for I am more afraid of Clayton's life than mine.No, as I stare into the godawful face of James, the other man has not yet made his appearance. Well, this shall not happen today. I shall not allow to be taken and overpowered by two men that clearly think that they are playing god.Now, as I watch Isabella's face, I see the terror creep over her face as the other man starts to speak. If there is ever the most terrifying look that words can not speak then that is what is on her face. But as this man steps forward, I can see the utmost expression of joy on his godawful face."Mark," I hear her gasp as she nearly trembles over in tears. "What are you doing here?""Next time, get