Chapter Eleven
That afternoon, I was informed to stay with Logan until the General called Katie. I tried not to bug him, it was his first day back, so instead, I followed Katie around. And by follow, I mean walk from her desk to Logan's door and back. Yep, that's pretty much it... She has such an exciting job, let me tell you...
Around one, the phone finally rang, "It's him." Katie adds before she answers. "Good Afternoon, General... She's right here... Alrighty... Will do, bye." She places the phone back on the base before she speaks, "The General wants you to go over to the Therapy Building... He'll be waiting for you."
After she finished, Logan stepped out. "Leaving?" He asks.
"Going to have my meeting, I think..." I add, nervously.
"You'll be fine, Care." He gives me a quick kiss before I head out the door. "When it's over, come back here before you go home." He adds as I shut the door and exit the office. When I come up on the Therapy Building, I see the General waiting by the entry. I mutter a prayer under my breath before walking up to him. "Are they in there?" I ask.
He nods, "Yes, but don’t worry, I've spoken to them and they’ve agreed to listen to your story. Then, if they feel comfortable, they'll tell you there's."
"Simple enough." I follow him down the long corridor and into the same conference room that Logan and I once sat in. Sitting near the front are three women. Two of them are brunette's, one of them is blonde. All seem to be of average built.
"Ladies, this is the woman I've been telling you about... Caroline, you may take a seat anywhere you'd like. I'll be right outside if you need anything." The General shuts the door as I sit at the opposite end of the table. They avoid eye contact with me as I start.
"Well, as you know, I'm Caroline... What's your names?" I ask, trying to hide my nervousness. The first woman, sitting on the left speaks up, "I'm Jessica." She smiles. The blonde in the middle remains quiet as the third lady speaks, "I'm Amanda and that's Sarah." She says, nodding toward the blonde...
"It's nice to meet you all... Before I tell you my story, I just want you to know, that this was not planned. The General came to me this morning and asked if I would speak with you. I literally know nothing about any of you, other than your name. So, we'll learn a little more about each other as we go on, I hope..."
"The General said you had been through this before?" Jessica asks.
I nod, "I suppose I'll just start with my story then... When I was in ninth grade, I met a very special someone." The blonde suddenly looks up. "His name was Nick. I actually ran into him in the hallway and it just so happened, he would later join me in English class. His seat was assigned next to mine and that's when we began talking. Nick was a very special person to me. He treated me like a lady, something I wasn't used to, at the time. He was respectful, caring, and a true man. I dated him all the way through high school and after we graduated, we moved in together. Ever since I could remember, he always wanted to be in the army, that was all he ever talked about. So, two weeks after graduation, he enlisted. He was gone a year before he got to come home again."
Amanda speaks up, "He didn’t make it, did he?"
“Oh, he came home. He stayed for a month and during that time, we were engaged. I was absolutely beside myself when he proposed. I wasn’t expecting anything at the time, I was just happy he was home. After that, he went to Afghanistan, and I started planning our wedding. I never thought he wouldn't make it home. A part of me knew that could always happen, but I wouldn’t let myself think about it. He would come home, I just knew he would... A month before Nick was scheduled to come home, for good, two military personnel showed up at my door. They gave me a letter and said, “The Department of the Army sends its condolences in this difficult time.” I can remember him say that to me like it was yesterday…”
The blonde finally speaks up, "Do you know how he died?"
I nod, "Yes when his body was flown in, I met his Lieutenant. He told me that they were sent in on a mission to capture some of the military's most wanted... The guys they were after had taken some kids as hostages and Nick's unit was trying to figure out a way to get them out safely when the building went up in flames. The guys died in the fire, but Nick and the soldiers got all the kids out unharmed. When the Lieutenant started accounting for his team, he realized Nick was missing. He went back in and found him pinned under a beam, clutching a little girl. Nick told them to get the girl out and they did. Surprisingly, they got Nick out as well, but he was badly hurt. He had inhaled a lot of smoke and had been shot twice. He also had multiple stab wounds, from an apparent struggle... He died on site."
They stayed silent as I let everything I had said sink in. Within a few minutes, Jessica adds, "How did you handle it? My husband passed away in Iran a few weeks ago. His unit was attacked in battle..."
"It was hard, Nick was the only thing I had left. My family didn’t really have anything to do with me and I didn’t have any friends. He was everything to me, but when he passed away, it took me a few days to realize that he really wasn’t coming home. I had a lot of issues to work out with myself, my emotions... But I overcame the hurt and guilt with the help of my grief counselor."
"The General was talking about those... Do they really help? Some guy following you around all day?" Amanda asks.
I chuckle, "You’d be surprised... My grief counselor ended up being the Lieutenant of Nick's unit, Logan Cook. He was also Nick's best friend while he was in the army. When Nick died, he made Logan promise that no matter what, I would be taken care of. He kept that promise too, probably longer than Nick ever thought he would."
"Isn't your last name Cook?" Sarah mutters.
I nod, "Yep, I married him two years ago."
Their eyes go wide, "Didn't you feel like you were betraying Nick?"
"At first, I did. Logan and I never had a relationship until I moved here. You see I'm originally from Kentucky. About two months after Nick's passing, his mother showed up on my doorstep. To make a long story short, she hated me. She never wanted him to go into the army and she blamed me for letting him go... That night, she tried to kill me. She had a gun pointed to my head, but luckily I was able to contact Logan before it got out of hand. He got there before anything happened and tried to calm her down, but she wouldn’t listen. He pulled the trigger right when she did, and she passed away. The bullet missed me by an inch and I had a major meltdown, which led me to move away."
"Oh my goodness... So you moved here with Logan?"
"Yes, it was actually the General's idea. I didn’t know anyone and Logan had became my best friend. I felt comfortable with him... Safe."
"So, then you just married him and forgot the whole thing?" Sarah asks, rolling her eyes.
I shake my head, "Of course not. I had a trying time with Logan. After we moved here, he starting wanting a little more than friendship and I told him I wasn't ready for that. I needed time to grieve and he gave me that."
"I just felt so hopeless when I saw the attack on the news... I was praying it wasn't him..." Jessica says, wiping a tear from her eye.
"I know the feeling. Logan was with your husband's. He was their Captain and he got shipped out two days after our second anniversary... I had just told him I was pregnant when he left. When I saw the news that day, I keep telling myself it wasn’t his unit. Then the base called and said it was. I was terrified that history would repeat itself but when the General called and told me that he was alright, I cried... I cried out of joy but also sadness, I knew a lot of families lost their son, grandson, husband, or even father..."
Sarah looks down as she adds, "I think we've all had enough for today..." She stands as I nod. "Agreed... The General will get back to you on when we'll be meeting again." Sarah's the first one out the door as Jessica and Amanda stay behind. "I'm sorry about her. She's had it rough the last few weeks. She had a miscarriage recently..." Jessica adds.
"Oh, that's terrible!" The General comes in.
&n
bsp; "I believe we'll have another meeting Wednesday, around the same time, girls. Have a nice day." One meeting and I already knew who was going to be the challenge... Jessica and Amanda? They just needed time. Sarah? She needs a lot more and honestly, I don’t know if I can help her...
She lost her husband and child, all within a few weeks... How could you not be depressed? How can I relate to her? She's just going to push me away.