Battleborn

by S. I. Hayes

  “Oh, so good.” I mumbled as I sucked on my fingers, picking up the little pieces I’d missed in the carton.

  He let out a laugh. “Got an appetite, I see.”

  “Not usually. Not lately, just, you know, around now.” I pointed to and circled my stomach, indicating my earlier reference to my monthly issues.

  “Ah, so should we become friends, I should remember to bring seafood and chocolate?”

  “That would be awesome, actually. Yes.”

  “Good to know.” He finished his half with a chomp and a gulp. “You know what I need? A beer. You want a beer?”

  “Um, actually, I’m not-” Before I could explain about my age, he had wandered off to the guy selling drinks. I just leaned against the post and watched him with his goofy grin as he waited in line. He was being really nice; I mean, what’s one beer after all?

  “Here ya go.”

  “I can’t.” I sighed. The good girl in me was winning this round. “I’m only nineteen.”

  “Shut up. Really? I never would have...” He looked me up and down. “Well, I won’t tell if you don’t. I don’t wanna drink um both.”

  I bit my lip. It did look pretty good. And I was thirsty. “Okay, but only the one.”

  “Soda after this, better, water. Okay?”

  “Okay. Let’s go get those clams and the hot dogs.”

  “Let’s not forget the pretzels.”

  “Oh, heaven forbid!” I took the beer and sipped it. It was sorta sweet, nothing like I remembered beer tasting like from that night. This was nice and crisp.

  “Hmm. What is this?”

  “A Wicked Ale. It’s made from apples.”

  “I like it. Thank you.”

  “You are welcome.”

  I was surprised that I was having such a pleasant time, and with a man, no less, that I wasn’t blood related to. It was a nice change of pace.

  While we gathered the food from the various carts, we talked about nothing in particular, nothing personal. Chatted about the weather, the Topsail Beach, and how it used to be a place overrun by pirates back in the olden days. How it was a place said to be covered in buried treasures. We joked about coming back with metal detectors and not finding anything cuz his leg would keep setting it off. His joke, not mine.

  Finally, we got back to Tim and Glory to find them lying on the blankets, pretending to be wasting away from heat stroke and starvation. They attacked the food like a couple of vultures and Sampson took down four plain hot dogs by himself and two bottles of fresh water.

  After lunch, we just laid around on the blanket for a while until Glory got her second wind and plied Tim to go back out into the water, leaving me and a sleeping Jarod on the beach, once again. I had resolved to pick up, in my book, where I’d left off when Jarod groaned.

  “Shouldn’ta eaten so much.” He rolled onto his stomach and I got a good look at his tattoo, finally. It was a pair of wings alright, an angel wing on his right shoulder and a devil wing on his left shoulder, folded down, both disappearing below his shorts line.

  “Did that hurt?”

  “What’s that?”

  “The tattoo, on your back?”

  “Not nearly as much as the shrapnel they took out before I got it.”

  “Oh? I didn’t mean to pry.”

  He rolled over onto his side. “It’s okay, I’m past that point where it bothers me, mostly. It’s been four years since the accident. I’m pretty removed from it.”

  “I wish I could say that.”

  “In time, perhaps you will. It’s different for us all.”

  “Us?” I eyed him. “I’m not like you.”

  “You’re a survivor, so am I. You went through a horrible thing and came out the other side alive. In the end, that is what matters. Caitlin, you are still here. That is all that matters.”

  I nodded. It hadn’t been put to me like that. I mean, I’d heard be happy to be alive, but not in those words, not so bluntly. Not like this. He made a good point. “I wish my heart and my head could agree with you.”

  “Hey, I’m working on that every day, myself.” He chuckled. “As for my particular cause of total life upheaval, perhaps when we get back to Fayetteville, you’ll let me make you a Stromboli and I’ll tell you about it. That is, if you wanna know.”

  I chewed on my thumb. “Can I think about it?”

  “Would it help if I said I wasn’t asking you out? That my Granddad would be there, since he owns the joint, and it would be the least romantic Stromboli you had ever encountered?”

  I chuckled. “Yeah, alright. Fine. Thursday night. Tim is home, so he can watch Glory for a few hours. Does that work?”

  “That’ll do just fine.”

  BY THE TIME WE GOT back to the hotel, Tim had passed out. Glory had a way of doing that to people. We woke him up and he grumbled about needing a nap before dinner, which meant we wouldn’t see him until breakfast. I knew my brother, knew him well.

  I laughed, watching him walk away as I pulled the now, also sleeping, Glory from the car seat. Jarod was right behind me, grabbing the bags. The Valet took the truck and he helped me up to my room. Once inside I looked around, it was a disaster, I had forgotten all about the events earlier in the day. My freak out, my running around half naked in front of him... I was suddenly red to my ears as I put Glory down on her bed and turned to him to walk him out.

  “You two gonna be okay?” He whispered as he put down our stuff and shoved his hands into his pockets.

  “Yeah, she’s just gonna sleep for like an hour or two, think I might join her.”

  “Oh yeah? Um, well, after, you think maybe you two wanna meet me in the restaurant? We could have some dinner and then take her to see the horses.”

  “Yeah, okay.” I agreed, without even thinking about it, as I walked him to the door.

  “Alright. So it’s four now, we’ll meet up at say, six thirty?”

  “Perfect. I’m sure I’ll be starving again by then.” I reached up, cupped his face in my hands and kissed his cheek as I pushed him out the door.

  Wait. What had I just done?

  Chapter 13 Jarod

  Talk about your mixed signals. Won’t come to the pizzeria if it’s a date, but will have dinner with me tonight with the baby. She throws me out, but kisses my cheek. I’m a tad confused and to my utter and total surprise, hard as a rock. Fuck, I’ve gotta make my way back to my room and deal with this shit, pronto. Well, guess I may have found the girl that does it for me. Figures she’d be as damaged as I am. Not to mention a good seven years younger than me, to boot. Her lips were so soft and she smelled like fresh rain. Holy hell, what had she done to me? This was all Tim’s fault, getting me to go along with his harebrained idea that I could help her.

  Although, truth be told, I did want to see her again after that pool encounter so who am I kidding? This is a golden opportunity for me. Apparently, my body is on board. I make it to my room without incident. Thankfully. I leave Sampson in the room, then head for the bathroom, I gotta take care of this monster. I strip down and turn on the shower, I needed to wash all the salt water and sand away anyhow... I sit on the end of the toilet and take off the water sleeve from my leg and then set to removing the straps and the sleeve that keep my prosthesis in place. It always felt good to take it off after having it on all day, the stump was sore and needed to breathe. This was a fact of my life, I was a cripple. The need for the handicap accessibility in the shower. was the reason I was adamant about booking my own room. Most people forget, I need the bench or I’m liable to fall on my ass. I’d rather not have to dial 911 with a hard on and a concussion. I slid across the toilet and into the shower stall, the hot water feels good, and the shampoo is even better as it slides down over my aching muscles. My whole body is tense, now that I’m thinking about Caitlin. That tight little body that’s just this side of legal, I know, I shouldn’t even be going there, but she’s like a spark in the darkness that I find myself in. She’s in there too, lost. Maybe I can
be a light for her too. Maybe it’s too much to ask, but I gotta try. The pieces are there, we just gotta pick them up and try and put um back together. Even if I gotta solder them fuckers, I will. Like they say, nothing worth it ever comes easy. Except maybe me, right about now...

  Chapter 14 Caitlin

  I checked on Glory, she was down for the count. I made sure Jarod was no longer in the hallway before hightailing it down to Tim’s room. I banged on the door, I couldn’t believe what I had done. I was losing my fucking mind.

  The door swung open and Tim stared at me with that sleepy little kid face for about a tenth of a second.

  “What? What’s going on? Where’s Glory? Where’s Jarod?”

  “Glory’s fine, Jarod’s in his room, I hope. Fuck Tim, I kissed him!”

  “Ya what!” he gritted out as I tried to push by him, but he wouldn’t let me in the room. “No, no, that’s not what was supposed to be happening this weekend. You were supposed to make a friend, not hook up.”

  “I’m not hooking up with him, but now I’m supposed to have dinner with him and Glory. What do I do?” I heard a giggle come from behind him and he pulled the door more tightly to him.

  “Have you got a girl in there? For fuck’s sake Tim.”

  “Well, I just...” he rubbed his head. “Sorry CC, just sorta happened, ya know. As for you and Jarod, if it’s not a hook up, good, cuz I’d hate to punch out our ride home.”

  “Well, I mean it was just a peck on the cheek.”

  “Christ woman, you pull me outta bed for a cheek? Really? You kiss me on the cheek! Uggh! Good night!” He slammed the door in my face.

  Great, now what? As I walked down the hall I heard a door open and Tim’s voice as it carried down.

  “Hey CC, I would definitely not wear that!”

  I looked myself up and down. Oversized T-shirt tucked haphazardly into tan shorts, with flip flops.

  “Just sayin’:”

  “You’re useless!” I tossed up my hands, going back to my room.

  What the hell was I gonna wear? I didn’t pack anything other than my swimwear, shorts and books. I know I spied some shops just down the road, but that meant waking up Glory, but if I bought her something pretty too, I still had Tim’s wallet. The jerk wanted me to look nice, well then, he could pay for it.

  Chapter 15 Jarod

  Dressed in my Khakis and a polo I tried not to look nervous or eager. I sat and waited in the lobby for Caitlin and Glory to come off the elevators. I was facing the door so I would see them, just in case they missed me dressed like a person. I tended to disappear in a crowd when I sat down if the leg was covered as it was. I thought a meal without the world staring would be nice.

  As soon as the doors opened, I could hear Glory chattering on.

  “So, we’re really gonna see the horses?” She was pretty as a picture, dressed in a pink sun dress with little white flowers and matching white sandals. Her mother blew me away. She wasn’t dressed up, not exactly, she had on a pair of low rise jeans with a thick, brown, leather belt that filled up most of her midsection, and an off the shoulder black top with little red details around the bust, where it was all gathered, sending her cleavage up just enough without being vulgar. She kept it casual with a small heeled sandal and her dirty blonde hair in a side pony tail.

  “You clean up well.” I tried to sound chummy.

  She laughed, giving me a small hug as Glory wrapped herself around my leg, then looked around, confused. “Where’s Uncle Tim?”

  “He’s not coming to dinner, I told you already, baby.”

  “Okay. Do you like my new dress? Mommy got it this afternoons! We went shopping!” She twirled around.

  “It’s beautiful, honey.” I was grinning like a fool, I’m sure.

  She just laughed and took her mamma’s hand, then reached for mine.

  I looked at Caitlin, unsure. She shrugged. “She’s used to being between me and Tim.”

  “Okay.” I took Glory’s hand and we headed for the restaurant, picking her up and giving her a swing, here and there. It made my leg hurt like hell, but she liked it, so I wasn’t gonna complain. Not if it meant ending her smiles.

  “I talked to the desk clerk and reserved the carriage for eight. That gives us time to eat and not have to rush.”

  “Thank you, I appreciate it. I hadn’t thought about it, to be honest. She’d have been so upset if we couldn’t have seen them.”

  “Turns out they have four sets, and we got the last one not on reserve, so I was lucky.”

  She smiled, looking down at Glory. “So, do you know what you want for supper, little lady?”

  “Roni and cheese, and chicken tenders.

  “We always try to know before we get inside, so she doesn’t get overwhelmed. “

  I nodded. It was a good tactic.

  We were seated by a window and we put Glory’s back to it, so she didn’t get overstimulated. I think it was also so that her mother didn’t get overwhelmed, I know my position was so I could see all the exits. My paranoid habit was showing. I hoped she didn’t notice as I had taken quiet stock of the place with a sweeping glance. 132 patrons, 135 if you included us. Mostly families. A few older couples. Two bachelor parties at the bar in the back. Hopefully they would stay there. Fifteen hotel wait staff, and three bartenders across two bars. Probably six people in the kitchen.

  “You okay?” She asked me as I mulled over the menu. I hadn’t said much; I was waiting for her to engage me since I was still unsure how to play my cards since she kissed me.

  “Me? Sure. I was thinking maybe we could get a sampler, to start? Something we could all pick at.”

  “Sounds promising.”

  The waitress came over to the table. Pulling up the empty chair. “Hello there! What a cute little one you got there! I’m Steph, your Jade Lagoon Server, can I start y’all off with a drink?”

  “Do you have any fresh, sweet tea?” I asked immediately

  “Yup. Just brewed a new kettle, not twenty minutes ago.”

  “I’ll take a tall one.”

  “Make that two, and a short for the babe, please.” Caitlin chimed in.

  “Alrighty, and anything else while I go grab those, perhaps our famous four for all sampler. Comes with fried calamari, mozzarella, nachos and your choice of wings. We have garlic, hot wings, honey Bar B Que, Bar B Que, It’s really good.”

  Caitlin and I looked at each other and at Glory, whose eyes were wide.

  “Nachos!” Glory yelped.

  “The sampler, it is.” She chuckled

  “Awesome! I’ll put in the order and get you your drinks, just what kind of wings did you want?”

  “Honey Bar B Que.” We laughed in unison.

  “Oh, and extra napkins, please.” Caitlin pleaded, pointing at Glory.

  “Of course! I’m on it!” Steph spun around and bounded off.

  “She was energetic.” Caitlin whispered. “Fried calamari, huh? That’s like squid, right?”

  “Oh, it’s good, so long as it’s hot. Once it gets cold, it gets chewy.”

  “What’s a squid mommy?” Glory asked, putting her napkin in her lap. Kid has table manners. Nice to see. Since she was being all proper, I did the same, as did her mother with a nod.

  She pulled up her cell phone and swiped a few times. “This is a squid, baby.”

  “We are gonna eat that? Eww! It’s all squishy and slimy!”

  I laughed. “You don’t have to eat it, honey, but it is good. Fish is squishy too till it’s cooked and you like that, right?”

  She shook her head eagerly. “Do I still get my roni and cheese and tenders?”

  “Yes, Glory.” Caitlin rolled her eyes comically, giving her a tummy tickle, making her erupt into little squeals of delight, just as Steph returned with our drinks.

  “Alright, we got two tall and a shorty for the little miss. I also brought these crayons and a book for her. Courtesy of the Jade Lagoon staff.” She put the drinks down and handed the entertainm
ent to Caitlin.

  “Why, thank you.”

  “It’s no problem, hon.” Steph grinned. “Your appetizers will be up in a few; I’ll be back for your dinner order then. How’s that sound?”

  “Just perfect,” I answered. “Thank you.”

  “Oh, no problem.”

  “Wow, if her smile were any bigger her face would have torn in half.”

  “Guess some people are naturally full of spunk.” I chided.

  “Oh, she’s full of somethin’.”

  I shook my head as she handed the book to Glory, opening it up to the page with a mermaid and handing her the crayons.

  “Tin Man, you gonna help me and mommy?”

  “I- uh...”

  “Please?” She pleaded with those big amber eyes and I was a goner.

  WE SPENT THE MAJORITY of dinner playing with the coloring book and picking at the sampler. It was huge and we cleaned the platter. Glory got her mac and cheese and chicken tenders, which Caitlin ate most of, and I had a burger and fries. It was fun to let loose and not worry about every little thing going on around me for an evening.

  I looked at my watch, quarter till eight. “We should get moving if we are still going to go on that ride with the horses.”

  “Yay!” Glory hoped down from her chair, grabbing me by the hand. “Let’s go!”

  “Okay,” I sputtered, leaving the tip and letting her pull me toward the register to pay the bill, her mother in tow.

  Chapter 16 Caitlin

  Was this a date? Can you have a date with a toddler around? It didn’t really feel like a date. More like friends hanging out. We were starting to fall into a sync with Glory. She seemed to really like him. He seemed like a nice guy. But what would I know of nice guys? I thought I had a nice guy in Todd, didn’t I, and look how that turned out. We walked out to the front of the hotel to find the horse and carriage, sitting there waiting for us. Glory ran up to it and the driver laughed.