Fraternizing

by C. C. Brown

  “Devil Dog, you’ve lost your motherfuckin’ mind. I know female Marines in Eighth Comm that will fuckin’ destroy you. That shit you just said is grounds for sexual harassment, and I won’t fuckin’ tolerate it. Especially not from one of my students. Go stand-by in Gunny Chavez’s office right the fuck now. He’ll decide if this shit goes up to First Sergeant.” Newsome’s face was nearly touching Allen’s—deep red, and full of rage. His finger looked as if it would poke Allen’s eyeball out, and to say that I would be glad to see it happen would have been an understatement.

  Allen didn’t say a word. He glared at Newsome for a minute longer. Newsome wasn’t moving...wasn’t blinking...

  “Jump if you feel froggy, Marine,” Newsome growled.

  For a second, I wasn’t sure if he was even breathing. As angry and volatile as Allen came across, Newsome looked ready to kill him should he make one wrong move. I glanced around and found most of the students’ eyes trained on us, taking in the tense, albeit entertaining scene. Allen finally tore away from the stare down and turned away, walking down the hall that would take him to the upper administrative offices. I had never seen that side of him and it worried me, but Newsome wasn’t afraid. I was sure if Allen went completely stupid, he’d be thinking twice after Newsome was finished with him.

  “Bennett, stand-by. You will be called in for your statement about this.”

  I nodded, not knowing exactly what to say. He turned and followed the same path that Allen took, finally bringing air back to my lungs, and blood back to my veins. The whole thing happened so fast, and now a shit storm was brewing, leaving me feeling light headed.

  “Whoa! That was some serious shit. You okay?” Dalton asked, coming up behind me.

  “Not really,” I said, choking back a sob. When my clear thinking mind finally came back to me, fear set in as I realized that it was certainly going to get back to Alex.

  “Hey, he’s gone. He’s probably going to get a serious punishment, and then maybe you won’t have to PCS with him.”

  “I know. I don’t care about that though.”

  “Ohhhh. You’re thinking about Alex.”

  I nodded my head, wiping away the loose tear that had managed to escape.

  “He’s going to find out about it. You might as well be the one to tell him. Call him.”

  “I won’t reach him. He’s a on a plane, on his way back here.”

  “So leave him a voicemail and he will hear it when he gets off. You need to be the one to tell him, Cassie.”

  “He’s a loose cannon, Dalton. If I tell him that, he won’t even think. He’ll just react and come straight up here. Jeopardizing everything.”

  “Cassie, I listened to you when you said not to tell him what had been going on with you and Allen. Now, this—this will surely get to him, and he’s going to be even more pissed. I think it’s better if you tell him. Just leave him a voicemail and discuss it with him once he’s off the plane.”

  Dalton was right. I needed to call and let Alex know what was going on, but inside, I didn’t want to. I knew how angry he would be, and I didn’t want to deal with that. I wanted everything to go back to before Allen ever opened his mouth in that courtyard. I wanted to take it all back and re-do it, leaving Allen out of the equation as Dalton went on with his excitement about his new unit and I wallowed in self-pity for mine. All of that seemed so much more enjoyable than what we were faced with now, and the thought of calling Alex and telling him what had taken place, in front of numerous students, made me sick with worry.

  “I can’t do that right now, I—“

  “Cassie, stop,” he said, raising his voice and drawing attention to us. He grabbed my arm and pulled me away from all of the prying eyes fixed on us. “You need to seriously shut up and listen to me. You do not want Alex to hear this shit from anyone but you. Look at everyone out here. This is going to be the talk of school for days to come. Don’t let Alex hear about it through the fucking grapevine, Cassie. What’s wrong with you?”

  I stared at him, completely understanding what he was saying, and agreeing with it, but unable to bring myself to actually do it. The one thing Alex had told me before he left was to stay away from everyone else stay out of trouble. I was in the middle of a big heaping mess of it.

  “Call him, Cassie. Go over there by that bush, and call him.”

  As much as I wanted to slap Dalton in that moment and tell him to fuck off, I didn’t. Rationality hit me and made me realize that he was absolutely right in everything he was saying and that delaying the inevitable would only make things worse. I stepped away from him, over to the bush like he said, and dialed Alex’s number--knowing he wouldn’t answer-- and readying myself for the voicemail that was sure to set him off.

  Chapter 29

  Alex

  Touching down at Palm Springs International Airport put a smile full of anticipation on my face. I never thought I’d be so fucking happy to look out the window and see the sparse, brown desert laid out before me, but I was. I was excited to be back, and sitting in my seat waiting for everyone to gather their shit and get off the plane was starting to piss me off. The drive back to Twentynine would be another hour or so, but the sooner I was back in my truck and on the road, the better.

  I hauled ass out of the terminal, and thankfully, since I carried on my bag, I made my way out to my truck and hopped in, finally powering on my phone. Numerous missed calls, texts, and voicemail notifications buzzed as it finally came back to life. The two newest voicemails were coming from Cassie and Newsome. Whatever Newsome wanted could wait. I plugged the phone into the auxiliary and tapped Cassie’s message, driving off in the direction that would take me back to her.

  When her message started, the tone in her voice and the thick lump in her throat I could hear her trying to speaking around froze me.

  “Hey, Alex… I um—um, I really need to tell you about something that happened here today—um, it’s pretty serious.”

  Every word that came out of her mouth struck fear into me. I wasn’t sure what had happened, and with a million mangled thoughts jumping around in my head, I couldn’t get a clear enough mind to even remotely try and pinpoint one thing over the other. I tried calling her back, but her phone went straight to voicemail. I called again and again, frantically trying to reach her. I finally remembered that Newsome had left me a message, so I tapped on his, hoping it had something to do with Cassie so I could put my ill feelings away.

  “Hey. Man. Just letting you know that you’ll have to go in and see First Sergeant O’Hara first thing tomorrow morning. Had to report a sexual harassment incident between Private Allen and Pfc. Bennett—“

  As soon as the names were spoken, I stopped listening and floored the gas pedal, weaving in and out of the traffic on the ten freeway. I knew there was something more with that fucking Allen kid than she had led on. Rage, worry, and sickness swirled around in the pit of my stomach, threatening to come exploding out, all over my truck. I forcefully pressed down on the window button, desperately needing fresh air to keep my disgust locked down.

  I grabbed the phone and called Cassie again, but again, it went straight to voicemail. This time I left a message.

  “What the fuck happened? I told you to fucking lay low. And why didn’t I know more about Allen? Don’t say shit to anyone. I’m coming to get you.”

  I hung up and immediately dialed Newsome. He picked up on the second ring.

  “Hey, man. Welcome back. How was the flight?”

  “It was fine. What the fuck happened?” I was breathing hard and speaking so fast that I forgot to think, and thinking would have reminded me that Newsome was unaware of me and Cassie. I didn’t want to give myself away to anyone else. I took a deep breath, then spoke more rationally. “I mean, what’s going on? Was anyone hurt?”

  “No. But I did hear what was said, and I acted on that shit. Allen even tried to stand up to me. I’m telling you, I was about ready to be pulled as an instructor because if that motherfuck
er had made one wrong move, I was about to deck his ass.”

  “Why does First Sergeant want to see me?” My guilt was beginning to seep through my words again.

  “I took it to Chief Instructor Gunny Chavez, who thought it warranted taking it to First Sergeant. He just said that as lead instructor for the class, he’d need to see you, to fill you in on what happened, and to brief you on what to do from here on out.”

  I breathed a heavy sigh of relief, wiping away the newly formed sweat that coated my brow.

  “Alright, man. Good to go.”

  “Yep.”

  I hung up. My heart was racing as I pressed down on the accelerator, propelling my truck through the mountain pass that would take me into the upper desert that led to the base. I tried calling Cassie again but couldn’t get a signal, making me drive even faster as the road twisted and turned all the way up to the top. When I finally reached the apex of the mountain, I called her again, this time finally getting her.

  “Hey!”

  “What the hell happened?”

  She breathed hard, not answering my question.

  “Cassie, what the fuck happened? And why didn’t you tell me about Allen when I asked?” My voice was a low, menacing grumble, scraping the bottom of the barrel on its way out.

  “I—I didn’t think it was worth telling you. You’d just lose your shit.”

  “You’re goddamned right I’d lose my shit!” I yelled, unable to contain the anger any longer. “That fucking idiot is missing a screw or two, Cassie. Now something happens with that dickhead, and I’m not there to take care of it. Newsome had to handle it, and since he knows nothing about us, he handled it according to protocol which involves higher ups.” I balled my fist and sent it slamming down onto the steering wheel. “FUCK! I hate being out of control, and you took it away from me.”

  She sat silent on the phone, her soft breaths my only indication that she was still there.

  “Did they pull you in for a statement?” I asked, trying to remove the anger and frustration and from my voice.

  “Yes—“

  “Who did you speak to? What did you tell them?” I interrupted, feeling more and more powerless with every answer she gave. I looked down at my speedometer, realizing I was nearing ninety miles per hour, and couldn’t give a fuck about slowing down.

  “Newsome took it to Gunny Chavez who took it to First Sergeant O’Hara. He just asked me what happened, and I told him.”

  “What did happen?”

  “We got our orders read to us—“

  “Wait, your orders were read? No one fucking told me the orders were ready.”

  “Yes. We got them.”

  A new level of irritation was setting in. I had no idea the orders were ready. Now I felt blindsided.

  “Where are you going?”

  “Eighth Comm.”

  “In fucking North Carolina?”

  “Yes.”

  “This is bullshit!”

  “Alex, that’s not the worst of it.”

  Her words chilled my spine. Whatever was coming next was definitely something that I didn’t need to hear.

  “Allen got sent there, too. That’s how all of this shit got started.”

  My throat caught fire. It hurt to open my mouth. I couldn’t speak. My mind raged with thoughts of her having to PCS with this jackass, after everything that she had been through with him.

  “Alex… Alex…”

  “Yeah, I’m here,” I said, finally able to speak after a few deep sighs. ”I need to know exactly what that fucker said to you. Every spec of it.”

  “He was pissed about his assignment, so when Dalton told me out in the courtyard that he had gotten Third L.A.R., Allen overheard it and flipped out.”

  “What the fuck did he say, Cassie?”

  “I don’t remember it word for word.”

  “Try!”

  She paused for a second before speaking. “He said something about being pissed that Dalton got a combat unit and he was being sent to Eighth Comm with a bunch of bitches.”

  “Then what happened?”

  “Then I told him he wasn’t good enough for infantry.”

  “Why the fuck would you say something to him?”

  “I couldn’t hold it in, Alex. He was inadvertently speaking to me when he said it, and after everything else—“

  “You tell me right fucking now everything this dick has ever said to you. Since you were trying to protect his ass before.”

  “I wasn’t protecting—“

  “Yes, you were. I want to know right now what he’s been saying to you. And don’t gloss over and sugar coat shit. I. Need. To. Know. You understand that?”

  She blew out a deep breath.

  “When I first met him, he told me to blow him if he beat me in a video game. Then he told me I need to know my fucking place and that females didn’t belong in the Corps. It’s always something sexist and misogynistic. Today he told me he would stick his dick down my throat to shut my mouth, or something like that. That’s when Newsome stopped him.”

  My heart sank. The shit he had been saying to her was more than sexual harassment, it was a fucking death wish. My frustration only grew as I listened to it because had I known that this shit was going on from the very beginning, I would have put a stop to it then. Instead, his attacks seemed to have only escalated, and now it was out of my fucking hands. I wanted to puke at the image of this asshole trying to do anything to her. I’d put that motherfucker six feet under before I ever let that happen.

  “I’m gonna fucking kill him.”

  “No, you aren’t. It’s not that serious. They’re just words.”

  “That’s fucking easy for you to say, Cassie. I’m trying to erase visual images of that motherfucker trying to ram his dick down your throat, and it’s ripping me apart. I’m telling you, once I get that asshole alone, I’m going to make sure he can’t open his mouth to say another motherfucking word.”

  “Alex—“

  “And you. You need to listen to me. You don’t talk about it, with anyone—not even fucking Dalton. You understand that?”

  “Yeah, I guess.”

  “No, Cassie. You don’t talk about it. I don’t want anyone overhearing anything you say and blowing it up any bigger than what it already is. I’m going to handle this shit and move it along as quickly and quietly as possible. Act like it never happened, you understand me?”

  “Yes. Geez, I understand you.”

  “I’ll be home in about ten minutes. Then I’m sending for you.”

  “Do you think—“

  “Be ready. Talk to you soon. Bye”

  I hung up, my fists feeling like weights had been placed inside of them. I knew the second I got the chance, Allen was going to be a dead man.

  I couldn’t wait to get face to face with him, and make that fantasy a reality.

  Storming through the front door, I stomped into the house, back to my bedroom and threw my bags down on the floor, then promptly shut the door and walked back to the front. Riley was up and off the couch, looking curiously at me.

  “Welcome home, man. What’s got you in such a huff?”

  “You don’t fucking know?”

  He walked closer. “No. What happened?”

  “Fucking Newsome filed a sexual harassment claim against Allen today because of some shit he said to Cassie.”

  “Oh, fuck.”

  “Yeah, my thoughts exactly. I’m going to fucking smash that motherfucker’s throat in. He won’t be able to say anymore shit like that to her.”

  “Like what? What did he say?”

  I stood, eyes closed, fists tightly clenched, trying to contain my brewing anger.

  I opened my eyes and unclenched my fists. “I can’t even say it all, man, but he threatened to shove his dick down her throat. I’ll cut that shit off before I let him do anything to her.”

  Riley walked over to me and patted my shoulder, leaving his hand resting there and trying to calm me down, but
it really wasn’t working. He was only adding to my growing frustration because the longer he held me up, the longer it was taking me to get to Allen and beat him until he was unrecognizable.

  “You’re not leaving the house right now, Alex.”

  I shoved his hand off of me, stepping away before I took out my aggression on him.

  “Fuck off, Riley.”

  “No. You need to calm the fuck down. I’m sure they’ve got his ass on some sort of watched restriction right now. You go up there, and you’ll blow the whole fucking lid off of you and Cassie. No one knows right now, but you go defending her honor, and the whole goddamned schoolhouse is going to know about it. Think, man.”

  He poked me forcefully in the head, pissing me off, but his words were much too rational and made me stop and think for second. He was right. If I went storming up there, way after the fact, it would definitely rouse suspicion. I hated how right he was. That alone made me want to punch him.