Love Through Pain (7 page)

Chapter Nine

They’d just arrived to his ho
me from the courthouse. They were now, Mr. and Mrs. Martinez.

He grinned as he opened the front door to his townhouse
. “Mi casa, es tu casa.”

Javier shift
ed forward, about to pick her up.

“What are you doing?” She shuffled back and giggled.

“Carrying you over the threshold.” He stared at her.

“Stop being silly.” She smacked his arm.

Javier moved quickly as he wrapped one arm around her waist and the other under her knees, picking her up.

Her stomach roiled as if she had butterflies in her belly. She met his gaze
, temporarily losing herself in his alluring eyes. “Javy, put me down.”

He wiggled his eyebrows at her. She locked her hands behind his neck as he stepped into his home.

Jazmine could feel her heart speeding up as he gently set her down on the wooden floor. Javier still had his hands around her waist. She stepped back, breaking their connection and looked around the living room.

The walls were painted in olive green
with beige trimmings. In the middle of the room, he had a brown, suede sofa, two matching recliners, and a mahogany center table with two small vases. A flat TV was mounted on the wall above a glass fireplace.  There were shelves on the right with his military coins and pictures of his Chief Petty Officer pinning. There were plants in every corner of the room. She could see the kitchen from where she was standing; it had all stainless steal appliances, and the stove was mounted in the middle of the island.

I’m going to enjoy cooking,
she thought, smiling.

He took her hand and gently pulled. “Let me give you a tour.”

They strolled over to his dining room. The walls were decorated in dark colors. The elegant table seated six, and in the middle, there was a bowl of fake fruits. On the wall there were two flags; one was a painting of an American flag and the other only had one star.

“What flag is that?” She pointed at the one she didn’t recognize.

“Really!” He smirked. “It’s the Puerto Rican flag.”

“Oh.”

“Come on, let me show you where you’ll be sleeping.” He grabbed her hand and strolled out the room.

She followed, glancing at the pictures on the wall
along the hallway. She pulled back, touching the frames with her fingertips.

“Which one are you?” She pointed at the picture
of two boys.

“That’s me.” He pointed to the boy on the left
. “And that’s my older brother, Jose.”

She kept looking at the pictures.

“That’s my abuelito y abuelita.” He continued to the door.

“That means your grandfather and grandmother
.” She excitedly grinned, happy that she remembered something she learned in Spanish class.

He chuckled. “Yes, I need to give you some of my language lessons
.” He moved ahead of her, opening the door to a bedroom.

Jazmine passed by him and entered. She was in bedroom heaven
; a blue comforter covered a California King sized bed with about eight pillows. The walls were decorated in blue, and beige colors. As she entered, her feet sunk into the plush rug. There was an office space toward the right corner, with a desktop and printer. Exactly what she needed to do her work.

“Your house is lovely
.” Her fingertips touched the wooden post on the bed.

“Thank you
.” He bent, picking up a pillow off the floor and placing it at the end of the bed. “I’m going to go get your things, make yourself comfortable.” He opened the door, leaving her in the room.

She strolled into the bathroom, observing her surroundings. It didn’t have a bathtub, but the shower was huge with a sitting area. 

“It’s not too big.” He’d startled her. Jazmine hadn’t heard him return. Maybe it was the soft rug.

“It’
s good enough.”

“We’ll be sharing the bathroom.” Javier stood
, framing the door with his hands on either side.

Surprised, s
he turned around, putting her hands on her hips. “What?”

“I only have one bathroom.”

“What about the other room?”

“This house only has one bedroom.”

She raised her brow.

He laughed
. “You’re staying in here, and I’ll be sleeping in the living room.”

“Javy
, no. This is your home. I’ll sleep out there.”

“What kind of man would let a pregnant woman sleep on a sofa?” She went to say something, and he lifted his index finger. “The decision has already been made.”

“Aren’t you going need another bedroom soon?” She pointed at her stomach.

“I’m transferring in six months
; I’ll get a bigger place then.”

Jazmine stared at him,
and she wanted to ask him where he was moving to, but decided against it. This way, it would be much easier to let go and move on.

“I’ll leave you to do whatever it is you do.” He exited the bathroom, and then yelled
, “we’re getting your dependent ID tomorrow.”

***

The next evening, Javier knocked on her door with a children’s book in his hand.

“Come in
!”

He pushed the bedroom door open
; Jazmine was on the bed with her laptop, and papers were scattered all over the mattress. She had a pencil in her hand, writing on one of the documents, and a pen tangled in her hair.

“Jazmine.”

The small squared glasses almost slid off her nose when she looked up. She pushed them back up with her index finger.

“I thought I could start reading to the baby tonight
.” He strolled into her room and sat on the edge of the messy bed.

“Okay, go ahead
.” Jazmine moved the laptop to the side and rearranged her documents.

He stared at her
, a little confused. “I need to read to your stomach, and you’re smashing him right now.” Javier pointed at her belly.

Jazmine leaned up
. Chuckling, “Okay, let me pick up this mess.” Jazmine took off her glasses and started picking up the papers and putting them in her blinder. She picked up a list, a few twenty-dollar bills, and tried to hand it to him. “Here, this is my grocery list.”

He took the paper from her and placed it in the book. She stared at him.

“Take the money,” her voice stern.

“No.”

Jazmine placed the bills on the night table, pushed herself back against the headboard, and picked up her iPad. “Go ahead have fun.”

Javier moved up, lying next to her, and
then opened the book in his hand. He watched her stomach as she held up the gadget; reading—he guessed—her reports.

He started reading
, “Three Little Pigs.” Jazmine did a funny snort-laugh.

Her amusement was a breath of fresh air. He smiled. “What’s wrong with the book?”

“Nothing, it’s just a bit overrated,” she chuckled, glancing at the cover.

“Whatever
.” He arched an eyebrow, opening the book. “This is the new version.” Javier started reading. “In a land far, far away lived three little pigs named; Porky, Chubby, and Silly…”

Jazmine covered her mouth with her hand, trying to hide her hilarity
, and placed the IPad down.

His brows met
. “What now?”

“That’s not how the story starts
.” She grabbed the book from him.  “2011 version, really?”

He gaped at her
; she had a damn smirk on her luscious lips. “You’re making this more awkward.”

“I’m sorry
.” She took his hand in hers and placed it on her stomach. “Just start by talking to him, maybe in Spanish.”

He stared at his hands under hers
. Their complexions seemed erotic; she was the color of mocha, and he was a deep tan. “I don’t think you want me to speak to him in Spanish.”

“Why not?” She looked at him
, surprised. “It will be good for him.”

“I’m not that fluent.”

“What?” She raised her voice. “You told me you would give me classes.”

He chuckled now
. “I can teach him Spanglish. I understand, but I can’t hold a full conversation.”

“Oh I see, one of those Puerto Ricans.” She smiled.

“What do you mean—one those Puerto Ricans?” Javier backed away.

Jazmine smirked. “I mean that
I don’t speak Spanish; I thought your parents taught you.”

“My mom tried, but it didn’t work out like she intended
.” He was about to get off her bed, feeling a little bit hurt.

“Where are you going? You haven’t finished reading the book. I promise I won’t interrupt you again.” Jazmine handed him the book, and
then settled comfortably into the pillows.

He leaned down to her belly and began reading where he left off.

Fifteen minutes later, he closed the book and glanced up at Jazmine. She was fast asleep. He pushed himself off the bed and covered her with the blanket. “Good night.” He walked over to the door and turned off the light, closing the door.

Chapter Ten

Jazmine heard someone mumbling words she couldn’t understand. She glanced at the clock on the nightstand, two a
.m. It took her a minute to sit up, and she threw back the sheets. Her feet dangled off of the bed until they touched the plush rug. She placed her hands by her sides and rose slowly off of the bed. Jazmine carefully waddled out to the living room.

Javier was sleeping on the couch with his legs hanging over the edge. He was shivering and sweating, mumbling something over and over. She hurried to his side, and
then sat next to his head. “Javier…” He kept talking.

“Javy
.” She gently lifted his head and placed it on her lap, and she began stroking his silky, black waves with her fingers. Her T-shirt was quickly getting soaked with his sweat.

Javier wrapped his arms around her waist. His grip was getting painful. “Sandra, you’re going to be okay.”

She pulled on his biceps, trying to get loose from his grasp, but he held on even tighter.

“Javy!” she yelled several times. His eyes fluttered open. He looked around
, lost until his eyes met hers, and he slowly released his hold on her.

“Oh God
, Jazmine, did I hurt you?” He rapidly got up. “I’m sorry…”

“You didn’t hurt me.” She caressed the side of his face. “Who’s Sandra?”

He closed his eyes again and took a deep breath. “I swear this doesn’t happen every night; the baby will be safe.”

“Do you suffer from PTSD?”
she asked, concerned.

He opened his eyes and covered his face with his hands. “I use to, but I’ve been good. I seem to have these dreams around this time of year.”

“What happened? Maybe if you talked about it with a friend it would help.” Worry for him filled her. She caressed his arms. Javier always seemed strong and in control.

“Let me get some water
.” He touched her knuckles, about to get up, but she grabbed his arm to stop him.

“Stay here
, I’ll get it.” Jazmine got up and went into the kitchen.

She opened the fridge
and grabbed a bottle of water. When she turned around, he was standing right behind her. He sat on a stool next to the island, in the middle of the kitchen.

Jazmine handed him the bottle
; he opened it and downed the entire contents. He placed the empty container on the counter.  She went and sat on the stool next to him. “Talk to me.”

“It happened two years ago.”

“Was it the same explosion that you mentioned to me?”

“Yes.” He played with the plastic. “The explosion was loud
; it shattered glass from the Humvees nearby. Rocks, debris, and steel were thrown everywhere by the blast. The explosion knocked me off my feet, and I landed on the ground. I must’ve been out for a few minutes, because all I remember is waking up and not being able to hear a thing. I touched my ears, and they were bleeding; the blast was
that
loud.” He touched his ears. “I looked around, and there were ashes in the air. I was pinned under a big piece of iron. My hearing came back slowly, and I saw some of my fellow shipmates and soldiers.” He took a deep breath.

Jazmine saw the ache in his eyes
, as if he was reliving the pain through telling her his story. She wanted to tell him to stop, but he needed this. She tried to touch his hand, but he eased away and stood.

“They were hurt, but from what I c
ould tell, nothing too serious. I remember thinking something was wrong, someone was missing. I looked over to the tent and saw her.” He sighed. “Sandra was screaming for help, but there wasn’t anything I could do. I was trapped; I tried to get loose, but I couldn’t. I yelled for them to help her, but instead of helping her, they rushed over to where I was. Between five of them, they lifted the iron off of my body.” He planted both hands on the counter. “I was hurt—could barely walk—I think I crawled, but I made it over to her. I kneeled down next to her and placed her head on my lap. She was screaming, tears rolling down her face.” He closed his eyes, gripping the edge of the counter. “I examined her body to see where she was hurt, because her face, arms, and torso didn’t show any injury, and then I saw her legs.” He opened his eyes.

She assumed he didn’t want to see that moment.

“Sandra had a piece of steel wedged in her leg; it was hanging by cartilage. We wanted to help her, but if we moved her, the leg would detach. I took of my fatigue and applied pressure to her, trying to stop the bleeding.” His fists balled. “I promised her she would be fine.”

“Did she…” Jazmine swallowed before finishing, “die?”
She had tears in her eyes.

“No,” his voice rattled, “but to her, I did.”

She didn’t say anything, she just watched him.

“I promised her that everything would be okay
, and it wasn’t. They amputated both of her legs.” He took a deep breath, his eyes getting shiny.

“But you said one leg.”

“We didn’t know her other leg was crushed, too.” He slammed his fist on the counter. “She believed in me, she was…”

“She was more than just a shipmate, wasn’t she?” Jazmine asked
, curious.

She could also see anger in his red-rimmed eyes. “We got really close while we were overseas, and one thing led to another. Feelings were involved.”

“Why did you let her go?”

“I had no other choice. She didn’t want anything to do with me once we arrived in Germany. I tried to see her after she recovered and was sent home, she wouldn’t allow me to
see her. Sandra lost her legs, and I lost the ability to have children.” His eyes finally met hers. “She hates me, and I don’t blame her, but I know I did everything I could to save her, and that’s what matters.”

Jazmine smiled, and extended her hand
s to caress his. “How long did it take you to figure that out?”

“Twelve weeks of therapy.” He put his other hand over hers. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“You didn’t scare me, I was worried about you.” She studied his eyes. “Javier, you saved me too, and I’ll always be grateful to you. You’re one of the most wonderful people I’ve ever met.”

He gazed at her and squeezed her
hand. “I’m not. I’m only human.”