Page 59 of Another Love, Another Time
Earlier, we were eating lunch when one of the drill sergeants came over and sat down. My battle buddy was sitting next to me. No one had directly asked me about my bruises, so when the drill sergeant questioned why I looked so rough, I didn’t see any reason to lie to him.
He picked up his sandwich, and before he put it in his mouth, he asked, “So, Graham, what really happened to your face?”
I finished chewing, swallowed my food, and turned to him. “A guy tried to rape me, and I made him work like hell for it. He failed, and these,” I point to my remaining yellowish bruising, “are my rewards for winning.”
He polished off his sandwich. Then, he stood up, looked me straight in the eyes, and said, “Good for you, Graham. Good for you.”
I smiled, pleased with myself.
My battle buddy nudges me and comments, “Remind me not to fuck with you.”
We both start laughing. She holds her hand out for my trash. “Thanks, battle,” I say.
I still miss Auggie, but in my bones, I can feel I need this. I need this independence, especially after the attack. I need to be able to stand on my own. I relied too much on Auggie. There is still an ache in my chest from his absence.
I hope he’s okay. I should have at least sent him a note, but we needed a clean break. I had to do what was right for me. And this is it. He lied to me, and that wasn’t the Auggie I knew. I don’t know what is going on with him, but because he is hiding things from me, he has put me in danger.
I shake myself out of my thoughts when someone sits next to me. “Graham, right?”
I look over to greet him. “Yes, and you?” I had seen him around but never paid attention to his name.
“Ouch. You didn’t even know my name?”
I shake my head, disbelieving. “Was I supposed to?”
He arches a brow and gives me a smirk that would probably melt the panties off most girls.
“So?” I continue.
“So what?” He laughs at me, knowing what I’m asking.
I cross my arms. “Are you going to tell me your name?”
“I guess, if you really want to know,” he says. I roll my eyes. He frames his nametag on his chest with his hands and at the same time answers, “Baxter.”
I give a soft chuckle. I can tell I’ll like Baxter.
Chapter 16
River, 23
5 Years later
I exit the airplane with the only items I own stuffed into a backpack and a carry-on.
It feels different walking off the plane as a civilian. I’ll miss the Army, but like my mom always said, I feel like I got more out of the Army than the Army got out of me. It helped when my life needed to be completely broken down and rebuilt.
While going through basic training, I didn’t have time to think about what had happened to me. I worked long days, spending physical and mental energy, and regularly woke up at the crack of dawn. By the time I dropped into bed, I didn’t have time to think about anything. I didn’t want to waste a minute of time for sleep; you never knew when the drill sergeants would be in to wake you up to fuck with you.
In the Army, I grew not only physically but also mentally. There were times I didn’t know if I would make it through the training exercise. I learned to sleep anywhere from a concrete floor to standing up. A story for another time.
I met a lot of great people; I also met a lot of dumb people. We won’t talk about them. After I got to my first duty station, everything was fine, and we all got into a routine. I’ll miss it and certain people.
Speaking of the devil, I hear my phone ping and pull it out.
Baxter: Did you make it?
River: Yeah I just landed
