by C. C. Brown
Riley turned for the door and opened it, leading the way for Angelica, who walked in, looking nervous.
“She was down in the lobby, so I brought her up here.”
Alex sat back in his seat, carefully watching her with low, hooded eyes as she walked in and placed a small bouquet of flowers on the swivel table next to me.
“I hope it’s okay that I came by. I wanted to see how you were doing.”
“It’s fine.” She looked as if there was so much more that she wanted to say. I squeezed Alex’s hand and quietly asked, “Will you give us some privacy?”
He looked at me, making sure that I was okay with this, then leaned over and softly kissed my lips, erasing any doubt that there was much more to us, and cementing it for everyone in the room. He gathered up Dalton and Riley, and the three of them walked out of the room.
Angelica wearily moved closer into the room, sitting down in a chair and smiling awkwardly at me.
“Thanks for coming to see me.” I had to break the awkward silence filling the air.
“I—I just felt awful after what happened last night. We haven’t seen eye to eye all of this time, and I’ll be honest, it was because I was a little jealous of you.” My eyes widened as she confirmed what I had been feeling all along. “I don’t like being second best—in anything. I was a bitch to you, and I was wrong. When I saw what went on last night, it put everything in perspective for me.”
I was a bit surprised but overall happy to see her sitting there. She’d walked out of the shower, dressed in nothing but a towel, and had hit Allen a few times, trying to get him off of me when the firewatch came in and finally removed him.
“I don’t even know what to say,” I replied, uncertain how to respond to her confession.
“You don’t have to say anything. I just wanted to apologize. When I walked out and saw what was happening to you, I didn’t think of anything else except getting him off of you.” She stopped and looked into my eyes. “I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy, Cassie.”
“I appreciate it, Angelica.”
“And then, I saw Sergeant Cruz go crazy on him, then scoop you up and nurture you. It was so beautiful. He didn’t give a shit that he was laying it all out on the line.” She stopped again, taking my hand and smiling. “I knew you two were an item, but I couldn’t exactly prove it. It’s out for the world now. But you know what? I saw the love he has for you. It’s amazing.”
I blushed and felt a little squirrelly inside. It was out in the open, and surprisingly, I felt so much better about it.
“I’m not going to stay forever. I just wanted you to know that I’m sorry for everything.” She let go of my hand and stood. “You take care. And good luck to you and Alex. First Sergeant O’Hara questioned me for a while last night.”
I swallowed the hard, suffocating lump in my throat. First Sergeant O’Hara was going to be digging, and as much as I was relieved to no longer be living in the shadows, I wasn’t sure how I would react to the imminent fallout. I put on a happy face anyway, not wanting to give away my apprehension.
“Thank you for coming by, Angelica. It means a lot.”
“You’re welcome. Enjoy North Carolina.”
She turned and walked out the door, leaving me in a mess of emotions. I didn’t want to give North Carolina a second thought. I was just so glad to have escaped Allen— and have Alex out in the open— that my orders were more like an afterthought. I wasn’t ready to face that heinous reality. I felt like Alex and I had just made a great stride, and now my departure would be taking it all away.
She walked out without a second look back. I knew we were probably never going to be friends, and that was fine by me, but the fact that she came by meant something, so I took it for what it was worth.
Alex walked back in the room, but Dalton and Riley nowhere to be found. His walk was smooth…sexy…confident, but his face showed nothing but worry.
“What did she want?” he gruffly asked.
“Surprisingly, she wanted to apologize.” His eyebrows shot up, but he didn’t say anything. “She says First Sergeant O’Hara questioned her for a while last night. I’m wondering what all she told him.”
“I don’t give a fuck what she told him. I don’t care if she told him she found us fucking on your floor. I just don’t care anymore.”
“But there’s so much—“
“It doesn’t fucking matter, Cassie. I’m done hiding. If the Marine Corps wants to punish me for not being a fucking robot, then punish away. I love you, and I’m done hiding it.”
I reached for him, bringing him close to me so I could plant a kiss on his beautiful, yet oh so foul mouth. I kissed him, trying to go hard, but he wouldn’t let me. “Don’t rile me up because I can’t fuck you right now, and teasing me would just be cruel.”
I sucked my bottom lip and smiled as he pulled away. The words coming from that mouth, filthy or not, always did have a way of making me tingle.
“By the time you can, I’ll be on the opposite end of the country.”
“We’re not even thinking about that right now. We’re nursing you back to health. No more talk about orders.”
There was a knock on the door, and Riley came walking in.
“Hey. Just wanted to let you know that Dalton is in with First Sergeant O’Hara—again. He had him last night, and he has him now. He wasn’t around when all of this Allen mess started was he?”
I sat up in the bed, seeing the urgency on Riley’s face. Alex didn’t seem to care, but the reality of it all was making my stomach turn, and I couldn’t be as calm.
“No. We split off after the gym. He went to his room, and I went to mine.”
“Okay. Just wondering.”
“Riley. If First Sergeant uncovers anything, then we’ll deal with it,” Alex chimed in, standing and patting him on the shoulder. “I’m no longer concerned with what may be. It is what it is.”
Riley seemed to accept what Alex was saying and dropped it. They both sat down in the chairs, chattering about who knows what as I dug into my breakfast that was now lukewarm at best. It didn’t matter. I was hungry. After eating as much as I could, I laid back and fell asleep, feeling the medicine finally take hold.
When I woke, Alex was asleep in two chairs next to me, and Riley was gone. I looked at the clock on the wall, finding that it was well after noon. I leaned over and drank more water. It was freshly filled and had a nice, cool, feel going down my sandpaper throat. Soon I was out of water, and my throat didn’t feel better. I pressed the button for the nurse and asked for more when she poked her head in.
A couple of minutes later, there was a knock on the door, but instead of the nurse walking in, there stood First Sergeant O’Hara, dressed in uniform and looking like the bulldog that he was.
“How are you feeling, Pfc. Bennett?” he asked, his voice stiff and dry. His eyes surveyed the room, stopped on Alex, then swung back over to me.
“I’m doing okay,” I answered after clearing my throat.
Alex stirred, then woke and sat up in his seat, looking at First Sergeant with nothing in his eyes. They looked at one another, causing the room to collapse around me. It was so uncomfortable, yet neither wanted to relent.
“I wanted to come by and get your official statement on what happened last night with Private Allen. I spoke to the nursing staff and delayed my arrival for today in hopes that you could get a little more rest,” he said, after turning away from Alex.
I nodded my head, staring him dead in the face.
“Sergeant, I’d like to speak to her alone.”
I looked over to Alex, feeling the need to keep him nearby since my nerves were fraying by the second. He nodded his head then stood, giving me a covert smile as he made his way out of the room. I had never felt so vulnerable.
First Sergeant O’Hara watched Alex leave the room, then turned to me. I told him everything from the beginning—how Allen had blindsided me, to the attack, to Angelica, and then to the firewatch.
“And how did Sergeant Cruz factor into this?” he asked. His beady eyes looked suspicious.
“All I remember is hearing the firewatch, and him pulling Allen off of me. Then after their fight, Sergeant Cruz coming in.”
He was dutifully note taking, looking up every so often to gauge my expressions, which only made me melt more. His eyes were like an incinerator to my soul, and I was slowly being burned with every passing second.
“Alright. Because this is an on-going investigation, with the potential for brig time, we will be canceling your orders. You will be staying in Twentynine, where a new set of orders will be issued to you.”
For the first time since he had come and sucked the life out of the room, I had a reason to smile, only I couldn’t because that would have been inappropriate in his presence.
“Okay, First Sergeant,” I managed to croak out, still under the intense heat from his stark gaze.
His eyes closed in on me, locking me down like I was about to be viciously devoured. It made me slink down in the bed a bit, afraid of what was coming next. “I told you sexual harassment was a big deal with the Corps, and its turning into quite the shit storm. I have been digging through everything with Private Allen, and I have come across some very eye opening information involving you and another Marine.” My throat suddenly closed, and it became hard to breathe, like my lungs had been doused in gasoline and lit on fire. “So, I am only going to ask you once—is there anything you would like to tell me, right now before I dig a little deeper? I don’t plan on taking this shit lightly.”
His lifeless eyes continued to rip through me, sending my guilt to the surface. It almost made me come out and remove the weight of it all from my shoulders. A second thought quickly came to mind, and I shoved it back down with the bile that was slowly rising as I almost released it all, surely destroying Alex and me for good.
I managed to keep my mouth shut, simply shaking my head and trying hard to look back into those menacing eyes, hoping to pacify him even for just a short while.
“Alright then. I will continue to dig through this cesspool. But if I find more shit, and I fully expect to, hell is going to be paid. You understand that?”
My lip began to quiver, and I made a conscious effort to stop it, not wanting to show any signs of guilt or weakness.
He turned and walked out of the room. I could hear him speak to Alex, grumbling, “I’ll need to see you in my office in ten minutes, Sergeant.”
“Roger that, First Sergeant,” Alex replied, then strolled back into the room.
First Sergeant O’Hara stalked away from the room, hitting the ground hard as he set off on his mission to destroy everything that we had tried to conceal. My stomach hurt more than any other part of my body. I felt as if I were trapped inside of an ever expanding balloon that was nearing its bursting point. The walls were closing in, and I felt it deep down in my gut—we were so close to being busted.
The nurse walked back into the room. There was no doubt in my mind that she had deliberately stayed away until First Sergeant left. She sat the water down, looking curiously at me. I thanked her and turned to Alex, hoping to get a sense of what he was feeling at the moment.
He wasn’t feeling anything. He was just as nonchalant as he was before First Sergeant had arrived. I wanted to understand it, but I couldn’t. The thought of whatever was about to go down in that office terrified me, and I wanted him to be even a tad bit concerned.
“Hey, why do you look like your cat just died? You get to stay in Twentynine, did you hear that?”
My frustration couldn’t be contained any longer. I didn’t understand him. I was losing my shit on the inside, and he was calm as could be.
“Alex. You are about to face the man that could very well destroy us—destroy you.”
He moved swiftly over to me, staring those engulfing honey colored eyes at me.
“First Sergeant O’Hara is a man of great integrity, so he’ll do whatever it is he has to do. If that means he destroys me, then he destroys me, but he will never destroy us. Ever! You understand that?”
His vigor and the passion burning through his eyes calmed me, making me realize that his concern was not in what could happen to him, but what could happen to us. I reached up and wrapped my arms around his neck as he leaned down. Tears trickled down my face as I watched this man, who was so dedicated to the Corps, cast it aside because of his blinding love for me. It was overwhelming, and at the moment, too much to take.
“You better get over there and see what he wants.”
He pulled back, wiping my tears away. He kissed me, then turned and walked out of the room, leaving me in a conflicted and convoluted mess. I was thrilled that Alex was devoted to me and willing to put everything on the line, but I was also depressed that having everything with me meant having so little with the Corps. I lay back in my bed and turned on the TV to try and drown out the damaging thoughts. There was no way that Alex would escape this meeting unscathed, and I only hoped that our love was enough to overcome the outcome of it all.
Chapter 33
Alex
The drive over to First Sergeant’s office was short and quick. I didn’t give myself much time to think about whatever it was that he was going to say. When I got out of my truck, I was ambushed by one troubling thought that hadn’t factored into my thought process since all of this had unraveled—Cassie. I knew that the gauntlet would be brought down on me, but I didn’t know how far they would push it with her, and the only sickness I could feel since all of this started was where she would be when all of the dust settled.
I walked up to his office, confidently striding through the corridors, almost eager to know what he wanted to do about all of this. There was no way I’d be coming away unmarked, and I was ready for it, but I was also ready to lessen the blow for the girl that meant more than anything to me. I knocked on the door, then turned the knob and walked in, coming face to face with a steely eyed, First Sergeant O’Hara.
“Come on in, Sergeant Cruz,” he greeted, his voice low and clipped.
I walked in, standing at attention as he stood and walked around his desk, standing in front of me.
“At ease, Sergeant. Take a seat.”
I sat down in the chair situated directly in front of his desk. He took his seat, pulling out a notepad and skimming over some notes before looking up to me. The ice from his cold, hard stare began circling the room, knocking my hardened demeanor and concerted effort to remain unfazed by all of this off of the high horse I had placed them on.
“I’m very sorry to have this happen within your class. Private Allen is currently in the hospital, on twenty-four hour watch, and as soon as he is better and discharged, he will be transferred to the brig awaiting court martial and subsequent discharge. You have my word on that.”
“Thank you, First Sergeant.”
“As for Pfc. Bennett, her orders have already been cancelled, and she will be reassigned here. We will need her for the investigation into the sexual harassment as well as the assault.”
His eyes lowered as the walls came closing in, encasing us in the small bubble that held trapped, stale air. He was calculating whatever he wanted to say next, and my breathing picked up, anxiously awaiting the venom that was sure to come spewing from his mouth.
“As far as the investigation into the circumstances of last night, some new revelations have come to light, and I am here to put you on fucking notice.” His mouth curled, almost like a disgusted sneer. “I knew there was something up when I saw Pfc. Bennett by your office door a couple of days ago, but I didn’t follow through. Shame on me.”
His jaw hitched, clenching his teeth his teeth in the process. “So I am going to ask you one fucking time, and one fucking time only. Is there anything you want to go ahead and tell me before I blow this shit out of the water?”
I sat stoic, trying to remain calm and level headed. There was no way I wanted to sit here and admit to First Sergeant that I had committed t
he ultimate sin as an instructor, but the longer he stared at me…into me… into my soul, I felt compelled to give him what he wanted.
A flash of clarity swept through me, putting Cassie back in the forefront and remembering that unleashing all of my indiscretions would put her on the chopping block, and her well-being meant more to me than my own. So rather than allow him to force a confession out of me, I stuck to my original game plan, even though he was making me sweat with whatever it was he already knew.
He stared at me, his face growing more rigid by the second and fixing into a tight scowl. He finally made a move, wiping his mouth before speaking again.
“You want to play hard ass, Cruz? Go right ahead, but after digging, and speaking to those around you both, your fucking secret is out in the open, and I am going to drag your ass down as far as I can take you.”
His voice went lower, mixed with a deadly concoction of disgust and malice. “You’re a motherfucking predator, using your position of authority to prey on students. I’m going to make a fucking example out of you, and when I’m done you’ll wish you had exercised a little more restraint with your extra-curricular activities.”
He sat red-faced, glaring at me.
My heart was beating so fast I thought it might explode. As badly as I wanted to play it off, I knew what the aftermath would be, and as much as I had prepared myself for it, I hadn’t prepared myself enough. Sweat began coating my brow, my hands, my entire body. My breathing labored, crushing my chest as I tried to hold it in. He was looking for a moment of weakness and, even though it was oozing through me, I wasn’t about to give it to him.
My ego had taken a beaten while my nerves were being severed by the sharp tongue lashing insults at me. A predator I was not, but how was I going to plead my case with him? I wasn’t sure exactly what he had on me, but from where I was standing, he had enough. Now, I just had to keep calm and make him do the excess legwork to actually prove all of it.
I prayed he wouldn’t be able to do it.
I hadn’t heard him say anything about punishing Cassie, so I sat still, giving nothing away in expression, further pissing him off.