Page 18 of The Soldier Next Door
He nods in understanding.
“It can be a little heart-wrenching to move on, but that’s life. You’ll have reunions, so don’t worry, you’ll see them again, Susie Cue. Well, I’d better get to this bathroom before your mom comes down and has a panic attack.”
I chuckle a little as he walks past me to the guest bathroom and closes the door.
Suddenly from above me, I hear a loud shriek and the vacuum cuts off immediately. I drop my sandwich and dash up the stairs. My door is slightly ajar, and I rush in.
“Mom, are you okay?” I ask before stopping dead in my tracks. Jackie’s sitting on my bed, mouth wide open and eyes filming with tears of horror and shock. She’s got the box where I store all my letters and photos in her hand and she’s staring at one of Brady’s drawings of me.
“What the hell is this?” she asks in a trembling voice, shaking the drawing at me. “Who did this? How did you get this?”
“I…how did you…uh,” I stammer, struggling to get a good answer out. I make my way over to her but she just keeps flipping through the materials in the box. My heart drops. There’s a lot of X-rated stuff in there, and now my mom knows.
She holds a letter before her, her fingers trembling, and reads from it: “Susie, I can’t wait to explore all parts of you with my tongue. Really? This is how you are talking to…Brady? Do you mean ourneighbor,Brady? The grown man who lives next door?” she screams, looking at me in horror.
I start to feel flushed and hot. I have no words and am in shock myself. Then my mom jumps up. Her hair is practically sticking out from her head, like she’s just been shocked by static electricity. “Is this why you two disappeared yesterday? You’ve been taking up withhim? He’s two decades older than you! He’s old enough to be your father!”
I am shocked and take a step back, insulted. “No, it’s not like that! Brady’s not like that, and what we’re doing is right, and real. He’s not taking advantage of me at all. I wanted it!”
Jackie stands up and lets out a bloodcurdling scream before chucking the box at the wall. The pictures and letters scatter onto the floor. I scramble to pick them up, but she grabs me by the arm and yanks me up.
We’re about the same height, but I’m probably twenty pounds heavier. Still, Jackie terrifies me with the disgusted look on her face and the way her mouth is curling up in a snarl.
“You dirty little slut. You think what, that the man loves you? That you’re special? That man took advantage of you, you naive little hussy. And guess what, it probably wasn’t that hard because you’re a fucking slut! You think he hasn’t been fucking dozens of women when he’s out of town?”
I start to well up and tears brim over, running down my face. “Mom, I’m not a whore and hedoeslove me! We’re going to be-”
“Shut up! I can’t even look at you right now. This is what you’re doing? My perfect little Susie Cue is actually a dirty, shameful SLUT!”
I twist my arm away and run out of the room. My dad is standing at the bottom of the stairs, confused and in shock.
“Susie, what’s going on? What is your mother talking about?”
I push past him and run out the door. I don’t stop running and crying until I’m standing on Brady’s porch, pounding on the door desperately. I keep beating until I hear footsteps and a click as the door unlocks and opens.
“Susie, are you okay? What’s wrong?” my handsome soldier asks, immediately concerned.
I rush into his house and he closes the door behind us. I run and embrace him, a rush of emotions pouring out of my heart in a torrent. He holds me close and murmurs soothing words into my hair.
“It’s going to be okay, sweetheart,” he whispers. “Everything will be okay.”
And I know, in that moment that he’s right. Brady Firestone is my future, and I just need to take the next step.
11
Brady
I stand there and rub Susie’s back gently, trying to console my lovely girl. I was shocked to hear someone banging on my door and rushed over when I realized that it was this beautiful, curvy woman, distraught on my porch. We stand there for a few moments longer while she calms down. I keep holding her tight, running my fingers through her hair.
“Susie, take a seat, and let me get you some water.” She sits down, wiping the tears from her face. I make my way to the kitchen and fill up a glass of water. Then I bring it back to her and she takes a sip before letting out a deep, shuddering breath.
“Thank you,” she says in between sniffles.
“Of course, sweetheart. Now what happened?” I ask, putting my hand on her knee gently. “What’s got you like this?”
She looks at the water, and then seems to relax into the sofa. After taking another sip, she says, “My mom found my secret shoe box with all of our letters and pictures in it. She was vacuuming and I must have left it in the open. Usually, I hide the box under my bed, but sometimes I read your letters before going to sleep. They make me feel safe and warm, and I guess I forgot to re-hide them last night. God, I’m so stupid!” She smacks herself on the forehead and falls back into the couch.
I rub her knee sympathetically and stroke her arm with my other hand. “Hey, no, you’re not stupid. It was a mistake. Everyone makes them. How did Jackie take it?” I ask, already knowing the answer from her reaction.
