Page 46 of Ava
They all said good night, and she didn’t see Justin stare after her with a wistful expression on his face, nor did he see his aunt and uncle exchange secret smiles as they watched him watch her.
CHAPTER18
Ava jerkedawake and quickly sat up in bed, gasping for air. “Christ,” she lowered her head into her hands, and shook it in disgust. She had had another dream about her last mission. Pulling her tee shirt away from her sweaty body, she tossed the covers back and hurried into the bathroom. After taking a shower as hot as she could stand it, she stripped her bed, put on a set of new sheets, and started down the stairs. She tossed the sweat wetted bedding, and her clothing into the washer, and started it. She didn’t realize what time it was until she looked at the microwave on her way to the refrigerator, to grab a can of soda.
“Fuck,” she whispered as she guzzled half the can. “Only 2 a.m.” Knowing she’d never get to sleep, she made her way down to the basement, and was grateful that the men’s sleeping quarters were on the other side of the room, and a wall separated them. With one of the lights on low, she went to the treadmill, and sat on the end of it. She had grabbed her running shoes when she’d come down stairs, and quickly put them on. In under three minutes, she’d figured out the controls, and was running. It wasn’t like it was when she ran outside, but it was enough to try to tire her, so she could get back to bed. Her biggest wish was that she could forget or stop having the nightmares all together. That would be good. Ava put her earbuds in, and concentrated on a spot on the far wall, and ran, trying to clear her mind.
By the time she stopped, she looked at the controls and realized she’d run twenty miles. She reached up and started punching numbers to slow down to a brisk walk, then to a casual walk. She didn’t want to stop abruptly and cramp, so she did it gradually. As she climbed off the machine, she realized her tee shirt was drenched with sweat, and as she looked around for a towel, she stopped in her tracks when she spotted Justin sitting on a weight bench watching her. He only wore a pair of sleep pants, his very impressive chest was bare.
Before either of them said anything, he picked up a towel from beside him and tossed it to her, then he tossed her a bottle of water.
“Thanks,” she whispered as she downed over half the water, then dried her face and arms.
“Want to talk about it?”
“About what?”
“Why you’re running like the demons of hell are after you at two in the morning. Though it’s four now.”
“Did I wake you?”
“I got up at three to use the bathroom and heard something. Came to investigate. Did anyone tell you that your body is poetry in motion when you run? I was fascinated, so I sat and watched.”
“Stalkerish much?” Ava frowned at him, then held up her hand. “Sorry, that was bitchy of me. I’ll get out of your hair.”
“I’m not going back to sleep. I just want you to know that I’m here if you want to talk.”
“I shouldn’t, but let me run up and shower, and if you’re serious about lending an ear, meet me on the living-room couch?”
“Ten minutes?” She only nodded and took off toward the stairs. Justin continued to sit there, and only went back to his sleeping area to grab a shirt. He pulled it on, and made his way barefoot to the living room. Before he sat down, he turned on the light above the sink and made a pot of coffee. By the time it was brewed, he poured himself a cup, grabbed a can of soda, and was just sitting down when Ava came down the stairs.”
He pointed to the drink, and she smiled at him. “Thanks,” she said as she opened it and took several sips. They settled into the couch, each facing each other. Justin remained silent, while Ava contemplated what to tell him. Because she really liked him, she thought she’d tell him everything. Might as well get it all out in the open. Speaking softly, she began, “Two years ago, I was on a mission that went south. I don’t know how much you know about the military, but I was on a team of EWMs, and I was the sniper.”
“Which means you can shoot really good.”
Ava had to smile at his description, and nodded her head. “Yeah, I can. Anyway, I was about a half a second from pulling the trigger on my target, when the commanding officer for the SEAL team I was working with screamed in my ear to abort. I rolled to the side to get my breath, because it had been a shock to hear his voice, and something hit me in the face.”
Justin frowned, but remained silent as he saw she was trying to gather herself. When she didn’t say anything for three full minutes, he asked what had hit her.
“The butt of a rifle. It was the enemy. Somehow, they found out my location, and they knocked me out and took me hostage. When I came to, I was naked, with my hands tied above my head, and my feet tied to some bench. My head was below my shoulders, and one guy was waterboarding me.”
“Is that where they cover your face with a cloth and pour water over it?”
“Yes, when they realized I was awake, they ripped the cover off, grabbed my jaw and demanded to know who I served. I knew what they were saying, because to be an EWM you have to know the local language where you’re being sent. I know how to speak, listen to, and write ten different languages.”
“That’s impressive.” Justin nodded. “Some days I can’t even speak English, let alone nine more.” They shared a smile, and she appreciated that he was trying to lighten her mood.
“Anyway, I played dumb, but when he was screaming in my face, three other men were at my sides and where my feet were, with red hot knives in their hands.” She sighed, then stood and faced him. With her eyes on his, she slowly lifted her shirt to show him the scars from those knives.
“They burned you with them?”
“Yes, but you see, something happened to make these scars worse than they would have been.”
“What’s that?” Justin said as he gripped her hips, brought her between his legs, then leaned in and kissed the two knife scars. His actions shocked Ava so much she didn’t know what to think. Shaking her head, she laid her hands on his head, and instead of pushing him away, she buried her hands in the silkiness of his hair.
“The second the knives were laid on my skin, all three men fell forward, onto the knives, and with their weight, they pushed the blades into me. The one on my thigh cut my femoral artery, and if it had been removed, I would have bled out.”
“Meaning you would have bled to death?”
