Page 29 of Sachie's Hero

“Did a girlfriend let you down?” Sachie asked. “Sorry. Just curious. You don’t have to answer that.”

“I dated, but never for long. You see, I lost trust in family as a unit. My parents and my little sister died in a car crash. I was the only one to survive the wreck, and only because I’d unbuckled my seatbelt and rolled down my window. My parents were arguing over whether or not I should roll up the window when a semi tractor-trailer rig crossed the median and ran into us. If I hadn’t rolled down that window, my parents wouldn’t have been arguing. My dad might’ve seen the semi coming at us and swerved in time tomiss it. As it was, I was thrown clear. The car flipped several times, crushing my father, mother and sister inside. With no living relatives to take me in, I was dumped into foster care. I stayed with seven families in the eight years I was part of that system. I suffered from survivor’s guilt and acted out. I should’ve died in that wreck.”

Sachie touched his arm. “What did you tell me? You didn’t pull the trigger. You weren’t driving that truck. It wasn’t your fault.”

“Maybe it was.” Teller shrugged. “I didn’t believe in family for so long that when I joined the Army, I’d been a loner for so long, it was hard to integrate as part of a team. Once I did, I found the family I’d longed for in my brothers in arms. I didn’t need anyone else.”

“And now?”

“My team is scattered over the islands, but I know they’re there. They’ll always have my back.”

“What about love?”

Teller nodded. “I love my brothers.”

“No,” Sachie said. “Romantic love. Finding that one person you can’t live without.”

“I’m not sure such a love exists.” His lips twisted. “I think people mistake lust for love and get married only to be disappointed soon after. The new wearsoff, and they find themselves stuck with a person with whom they have nothing in common.”

“Wow. That’s defeatist,” Sachie said.

“Is it?” Teller challenged. “What about you? I don’t see a wedding ring.”

Her lips tightened. “Like you, I never married.”

“Why not?” he asked. “You’re a good-looking woman.”

She looked away. “I have my reasons.”

“Did someone break your heart?” he asked.

She stiffened. “Yeah.”

“A friend, boyfriend or family member?” he asked.

Her face paled

Teller immediately regretted putting her on the spot. “You don’t have to answer that question,” he said softly. “It’s none of my business.”

“Family member,” she whispered.

He reached out and touched her hand. “I’m sorry. I should be more sensitive.”

She didn’t pull her hand loose from his but stared down where they were joined. “My father. He loved me, played with me and gave me everything my heart desired. I was daddy’s little girl.” Sachie drew herself up, a fake smile plastered on her face. Then all the starch melted out of her. “Until I wasn’t a little girl anymore. I got hips, breasts and my period. Ourgames stopped being fun. He did things...” Her voice broke.

Teller’s heart broke for the little girl whose father had violated her trust, her love and her body. His hand tightened around hers.

A single tear slipped down Sachie’s cheek. She brushed it away. “That’s my sordid past. I didn’t turn my father in when I should have. I didn’t tell my mother, although I think she knew, but didn’t want to admit it. I couldn’t make him stop. Every time he came to my room, I pretended I was dead, while wishing he would die and leave me alone.” Sachie snorted. “Apparently, some wishes do come true. He died of a heart attack when I was fifteen. My mother had his tombstone inscribed with the words,Loving husband and father. I waited until she wasn’t looking and spit on it.”

“Okay, you win,” he said, lifting her hand to his lips. “You had a shittier childhood than I did.” He pressed his lips to the backs of her knuckles. “I’m sorry for what happened to you. No child deserves that kind of physical and emotional abuse. That’s why you chose a career in counseling.”

She nodded. “I wanted to spare other kids from abuse at their parents’ hands.” Her eyebrows knitted. “I try so hard to get through to them. But, sometimes,nothing I say or do sticks, or they resent me for taking them away from an abusive family.”

“The belief that it’s better to stay with what you know than what you don’t know…?”

“Exactly.” She sighed. “Then there are the children who land in bad situations with foster care. They come out of it with no sense of belonging or belief that they can be loved.”

“Like me?” He shook his head. “I’m not one of your troubled teens. You don’t have to therapize me. I’m okay with how I turned out.”

---