Touching Scars (23 page)

“Stop the vehicle, Rooster.” He didn’t stop, but he slowed down to a crawl.

All of us were on high alert with our weapons pointed out of the windows. I listened hard and heard it again. Off to the side of a store, I saw the same woman with the guy that always accompanied her. He slapped her across the face then kicked her as she started to crumple to the ground. This time everyone saw what was happening and we jumped into action. Putting the MRAP in park, Marks, who wasn’t one of our bunkmates, stayed behind with the vehicles while the rest of us jumped out and made quick movement towards the beaten woman.

 “Nelson and Holt, you’ve got the Iraqi. Corey and I will check on the woman to make sure she’s okay.” We all nodded in acknowledgement as Rooster barked the order.

The four of us approached the store with our weapons in position. The man was yelling at the woman in their language, which I couldn’t understand. We were about thirty feet from them when I hollered out to get his attention. The guy stopped what he was doing and looked at the four of us with wide eyes. He started shouting something, which again I didn’t understand, and pointing down to the woman on the ground. She had blood trickling from the side of her mouth and was holding her arms around her stomach.

Holt and I pointed our weapons at the man as he backed up into the wall behind him. He was still shouting, and I noticed that everyone in the square had stopped what they were doing to watch us. Some had disapproving eyes, while others were simply curious. Corey and Rooster approached the woman on the ground and knelt down to see if she was alright. As I watched her more closely, I saw that she had her eyes closed. The hands that I thought was clutching her stomach were actually gripping a black remote of some sort. She was praying. Why was she praying?

Everything after that went in slow motion.

As Rooster knelt down to check on her, Corey turned away to face the gathering crowd. I turned to look at the man we had pinned against the wall, and his gaze moved from the woman to rest on me. The smile that spread across his face made my stomach churn. I looked over at Holt as he dropped his weapon and shoved me to the ground, flinging his body over mine. He yelled, “IED, it’s an IED!”

After that, everything went silent. My ears weren’t ringing, but I couldn’t hear anything. Holt’s body was across the front of me and I had to wipe my eyes to clear the dirt that was preventing me from seeing. When I opened them, my mind couldn’t process the scene in front of me. The woman, Corey, and Rooster were no longer there. There was blood on the ground with pieces of what I could only assume were body parts. The man that had smiled at me was slumped over, and was missing two of his limbs. He was dead.

I used whatever strength I had left in me to roll Holt to the side so I could sit up and assess myself and then take care of him. I needed to move fast before the bomb drew any attention from any neighboring Al-Qaida that might be in the area. Then I’d need to go find my two boys. Holt’s body was heavy as I moved him off of me. He was covered in blood and his eyes were open, staring at the sky. I crawled over to him, my heart pounding. Pulling him onto my lap, I saw a gaping hole in his chest and he was losing blood, fast. I pressed my hands over the top of the wound to try and slow down the bleeding and hoped like hell that backup was coming and I could get him to medical.

Holt’s grip was weak as he reached up and held on to my forearm. “Tell my parents, Nelson. Tell them what happened.”

“No, you’re going to tell them yourself.”

His eyes blinked and he was still looking upwards. “I want them to know that I did my job. I want them to know that I loved them.”

His breathing was picking up and I heard gurgling sounds in his lungs. He was dying and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I nodded at him as tears fell from my cheeks.

“Did we save her?” He coughed and blood spit out of his mouth.

I didn’t know what else to say. I didn’t want his last moments to be upsetting so I simply said, “yes.”

“Good.” I put more pressure on the hole and he groaned.

“Goddamn it, hold on Holt. Please hold on, they’re coming, okay? Back up is coming.”

His arm had fallen away from me and now hung limply by his side. His eyes turned towards mine as if seeing me for the first time. He whispered the word ‘brother’, and then his mouth began opening and closing while he tried to gasp for air. His lungs were filling up with blood and he was drowning in it.

“No, no, no, not now. Don’t you fucking die on me! You hold on. You have too much fucking life left. Stay with me.” My words grew quieter as I realized his eyes were empty. He was gone.

I’d blacked out after that. The next thing I remembered was waking up in a hospital bed with bandages all over me, covering the wounds I’d gotten from flying shrapnel. Doctors had come in and out of my room, asking me questions about how I was feeling, checking if I was healing, and whatever else fucking doctors do. I’d laid in that bed for two weeks and barely moved.

I’d learned that Intel had found out the woman we’d tried to save had been trying to lure us for months. She, and a few others, had been waiting for the right moment to make their move. They’d timed everything, knowing when we’d be there, what weapons we would have, and waited until we were close enough before they detonated the bomb. The doctors told me that Corey and Rooster had been so close to the explosion that there hadn’t been enough remains that resembled a body to send back to their families to bury. They said that if Holt hadn’t covered me like he had, I probably wouldn’t even be here. They said it like I was lucky. I didn’t feel lucky, I felt fucking cursed.

Any semblance of brotherhood I’d had with those men was now dead and buried. I was dead too. Nothing inside of me wanted to live. I’d lost my brothers, and I wished I’d died with them. All I had were some cuts that the doctor said some would likely scar, but most would heal and fade away. What about the damage that was done internally? Nothing about my scars inside would fade or heal. I should have died with my brothers.

A firecracker went off outside my window and I shot out of bed. My eyes scanned the dark space, looking for the danger that I knew was there. Movement in the bed caught my eye and I turned toward it, reaching out for the pocket knife I’d set on the desk.

“What’s the matter, Timber? Come back to bed.” Kat’s voice pierced through my confusion. She was yawning and rubbing her eyes. She didn’t see me pick up the knife. Stepping back against the desk, I put it down behind me.

“Nothing’s wrong, just couldn’t sleep. Go back to bed.”

Her arms dropped in her lap, and even in her sleepy state with bed head, she was absolutely beautiful. “I’m going to grab some water real quick. I’ll be right back.”

Walking out of the room and into the kitchen, I filled a glass with water but set it on the counter. I hadn’t been thirsty I just needed to get out of there. I could still hear some popping going off down the street and I tried my hardest to calm my tense nerves. I paced the kitchen a few times and decided that maybe some cold water on my face would help. The bathroom light was bright as I walked in and my eyes blinked rapidly as they adjusted. Turning on the faucet, I put my hands under the water until I felt it run from warm to cool. Splashing it up on my cheeks, I rubbed my eyes with my palms. I felt a light touch on my back and I looked up in the mirror to see Kat standing behind me, concern filling her eyes.

“You have a bad dream?”

“Yeah, you could say that.”

 She moved to my side. “Want to talk about it?”

No, I didn’t want to talk about it. I also didn’t want to push her away again like I’d done earlier. I wanted her close. I wanted to feel her hands on me. Turning to gaze at her, her eyes looked through me like she knew exactly what was going through my mind. I said the only thing I that I wanted in that moment.

“Make me forget, Kat. I need a night that I don’t remember them.”

She tipped her head down once, letting me know she knew what I was saying. As she stepped closer, my hands automatically went around her waist. “Is your dad home?”

“No, he and Alice went to stay at her place since she lives closer to town.”

“Okay.”

She lifted her hands and moved them up the front of my bare chest. Her fingers slipped behind my neck and she pulled me down until her mouth was on mine. It wasn’t a crushing kiss, it was a sweet one. Her mouth opened and it was all I needed for me to dive in and taste every inch of her. Her hands wove through my hair, while my own hands had moved around her back and onto her ass. I pulled her up against me and my cock was resting on her stomach. I felt her rise on her toes and she was grinding against me as if she were trying to get some friction where she needed it.

I lifted her up and she wrapped her legs around my waist. I set her on the edge of the sink and she continued to keep her legs around me. Grazing my hand down her shoulder, I palmed her full breast, realizing she wasn’t wearing a bra. My thumb brushed over the tip of her nipple and I felt it harden into a peak on my finger. She arched into me and moaned.

“Oh God, I need this, Kat. You feel amazing in my hands.” Releasing her, I reached down and pulled her shirt over her head. She was sitting in a pair of black lace underwear and I swear it was the sexiest thing I’d ever seen. The graceful lines of her back reflected in the mirror behind her and I had the strongest urge to touch every part of her body. I didn’t want to end the night without knowing all of her freckles, scars, and perfections. I brought my mouth down and sucked her nipple into my mouth, while my other hand found the other and plucked at its peak. Kat was holding my head to her, silently begging me for more.

“I need to taste you. I want your sweetness on my tongue.”

She started to shake her head no. “I’ve never done that before. What if you don’t like it?”

“Not possible. Just let me take care of you.” My voice was deep and filled with need for her.

I nipped and nibbled my way down her stomach, smoothing my hands over her thighs and coaxing her to spread them for me. When I was kneeling on the floor in front of her, I hooked my fingers in her panties and slid them off of her. I held my breath and looked up at her. Her eyes were full of acceptance and love. Acceptance of me, and what I needed from her, and love, because she trusted me.

“Open for me, Kat. Let me see you.” Her thighs shook slightly as she let me spread her open. “Jesus Christ, you’re fucking perfect.” I looked at her pussy, her lips glistening with wetness. I bent forward and made a tentative swipe with my tongue. It was a salty sweet mixture that I could only describe as uniquely her. Moving one of my hands up just below her hips, I used my thumb and pointer finger to push her further open, completely exposing her clit. It was red and slightly swollen. I could feel my dick pulsing in my briefs; it desperately wanted to be inside of her. Instead, I reached my other hand in, firmly grasped myself and began to slowly jerk myself off. My tongue was lapping at Kat’s nub and swallowing down any juices that went in my mouth. Placing my lips over her I lightly sucked her clit while flicking the tip of it. Kat’s hips bucked wildly. I had to stop what I was doing to myself and hold her down.

“Oh my God…oh…God….don’t stop,” she panted.

I knew she was getting close because her thighs had come up and clamped around my ears. She was completely wild and without abandon. I’d never seen her like this. It was a stunning sight.

“Timber, I’m so close, please… more!”

I added a bit more pressure with my tongue and sucked a bit harder. It was enough to send her over the edge. Her whole body wracked with spasms. She screamed and held my head tightly to her. As she came down, I released her, giving one long lick with my tongue. It made her shiver. Kat’s body was leaning back against the mirror and her limbs hung loose at her sides. I stood, leaned over her and kissed her mouth. I knew she could taste herself on me and it made me grow even harder.

“Take me to bed?” She phrased it into a question.

I picked her up like a child and carried her back to the room. When we were both lying down, Kat came up over the top of me and straddled my hips. I held on to her and looked up at her body glowing in the moonlight. Her porcelain skin shone from the small amount of sweat she’d worked up. She sat up a few inches and yanked on my underwear just enough to let me know that she wanted me to take them off. When they came off, she straddled me again and started rubbing her wetness across my dick. As her hips moved forward and back, I looked down and could see the head of my cock being pushed through her folds. She had her head tilted back and her hair hung behind her in long waves. She was getting off on just the feel of me rubbing on her.

A crackle went off outside and it pulled my attention away from her as I looked out the window. The moon looked blood red instead of having a yellow glow. The sweat on Kat’s chest started to look like trickling drops of blood. I squeezed my eyes shut to block out the images.

“No, no, not right now,” I growled.

Kat’s hand went in between us and she grabbed my cock, slowly sinking down onto me. It snapped me out of wherever I had gone.

“Your pussy is so warm.”

She moaned. “Tell me what you want me to do.”

“Fuck me, Kat. Let me feel you tighten around me as you come.”

My thumb found her clit as she rolled her body back and forth. Her hips were working in a circular motion while she lifted and came back down. I was getting close and my breathing was labored. I’d grown even harder while I was inside of her.

Another fucking firework went off and my body jumped. I rolled Kat off of me and stood up, dragging my hands through my hair.

“Timber.” She was demanding my attention.

“I can’t, Kat. Fuck, I just can’t.” I was so frustrated that I was considering getting in the car and leaving just to escape the sounds.