“I don’t know everything and I’m working on finding out more, but Alex has been removed from the instructor roster and they have him doing busy work in Admin while he awaits court-martial. He’s also on barracks restriction. One of the Staff NCOs came by the house over the weekend to get his uniforms and other belongings.”
“Shit! I need to see him. I need to speak to him.”
“Well, they took his phone, and when I spoke to Gunny Chavez this morning, he said that O’Hara has him under lock and key by other Staff NCOs, and he has a no contact order with you. Gunny is feeding me this information, so I’ll keep digging, and if I can get Alex in touch with you at all, I will certainly do it.”
“Thanks, Riley,” I responded, feeling a flush of depression wash over me.
Alex was absolutely suffering, and I was partly to blame. The entire thing sucked to high heaven.
“When are they discharging you?”
“I think tomorrow. I guess I’ll be stuck in a barracks room too.”
“Yeah, more than likely, but hey, graduation is tomorrow, then I’ll get a couple of days off. I’ll see what I can do. Maybe I can get Nat to run middle man and see you or something?”
“That would be awesome.”
“Everything is going to be okay. I have faith that if any son of a bitch can pull a trick out of the bag, it’s Alex.”
For some reason, those words didn’t settle me, and instead, sent tears running down my face. Dalton swiftly moved to my side and comforted me, holding my head to his chest.
“What’s wrong?” Riley asked. “You’ve got plenty of people in your and Alex’s corner.”
Dalton spoke up for me, filling Riley in on my morning meeting with O’Hara. The more of the story he got out, the angrier I became and no longer needed the warm confines of his body. I got out of the bed and walked, releasing some of the pent-up aggression that was beginning to tear me apart from the inside out. My body was still sore with my chest and wrists still tender to the touch. Every movement took me back to that dreadful night, sending a few more tears gliding down my face.
“Hey, Cassie,” Riley spoke, making me turn around and face him and Dalton. “Gunny Chavez says that Alex is being represented by Captain Hedlund and that he has experience with cases of fraternization. I think he’s in good hands. Hold tight.”
“I’m trying to. I just know that the prospect of everything is killing me and, if it’s doing that to me, then Alex must be losing his mind. He’s a little crazy, you know?”
Riley laughed, and Dalton joined in. “Yeah, I know.”
The guys stayed with me for the rest of their lunch break before they left. Dalton promised to come back as soon as they were excused for the day. I was amazed and grateful for both him and Riley. Besides Alex, they were all I had. I hadn’t heard anything about Smith since all of this had gone down. I wasn’t sure if he’d had a change of heart since all of this had happened, but whatever the case, it was a little odd that I hadn’t even heard Riley speak about him. That made me nervous.
When Alex came back in a fit of fury about someone close to us running their mouth to First Sergeant O’Hara, he’d immediately pegged everyone around as a suspect, even lumping Dalton into it. I knew he wasn’t responsible for whatever got out, but now that I was thinking about everyone around me, I had reason to believe Smith could have spilled. He had walked in on me at Alex’s house and wasn’t immediately all right with what was going on between us. Then my thoughts slipped to Newsome, who must have been blindsided by it all because he wasn’t aware of what Alex and I had before he’d reported the sexual harassment claims against Allen. He could have fed First Sergeant O’Hara red meat.
When Dalton returned that afternoon with a burger and fries since I had been beholden to shitty hospital food for so long, he shared a little more that he had learned.
“You better seriously PT when you get out of here. Sitting in that bed and eating that burger is going to make you unsat.”
“Shut up. I’ve been up and walking.”
“Sure.”
“Anyway, what else do you know?”
“Well, I know Sergeant Riley and Gunny Chavez went to see Captain Hedlund this afternoon. They said they were going to see about allowing Alex visitors. I don’t know how that will go, but they’re going to try.”
“Wait, he isn’t getting to see anyone?”
“I guess not.”
My heart sank. He was basically on solitary confinement when he got back into his barracks room. No phone, no visitors…just him, four walls, and ample space and time to think about nothing good, and slowly but surely lose his damn mind. I hated what had become of him, and how he was being used as the sacrificial lamb to prove a point for O’Hara. There was plenty that Alex and I probably deserved, but O’Hara was taking it to another level—almost like it was personal for him.
In my mind, and certainly in my heart, this was personal for me. I would do everything that I could to make sure that Alex wasn’t alone and wouldn’t bear the brunt of our actions.
“Dalton, you have to promise me that if they let him have visitors you’ll go and see him. I’m not so sure I’ll be allowed.”
“Won’t that be kind of weird?”
“No, you graduate tomorrow. You’ll be at Third L.A.R., and you’ll just be another Marine.”
He sat thinking for a minute.
“Dalton—”
“Okay, Cassie. Okay. I’ll play middle man for you.” A smile spread across his face. He couldn’t say no to me even if he tried.
“Thanks, Dalton. You know I appreciate you so much.”
“I know.”
The door swung open, and my doctor and nurse walked in. “Pfc. Bennett, we will be discharging you later this evening. We spoke to First Sergeant O’Hara, and he will be sending Staff Sergeant Mitchell over to pick you up,” Doctor Copeland informed in a very formal and curt tone.
For some reason, it put me on edge and made me nervous. After what I’d to say to First Sergeant O’Hara earlier, I was confident that he wasn’t preparing to welcome me home. I was sure he was ready to lay his crusade at my feet, and I had to get myself mentally prepared for it.
I nodded my head. “Thank you, Doctor Copeland.”
He nodded. “Lieutenant Pearson will give you all of your medications and discharge instructions. Take care of yourself, Pfc. Bennett. Best of luck to you.”
His words carried a cryptic undertone. I wasn’t privy to whatever First Sergeant O’Hara had said to him, but whatever it was, it didn’t look good for me. I decided that the stone face would come out. When I saw the pit bull, I’d be ready. There was no way he was going to intimidate me and get the pleasure of witnessing it.
Dr. Copeland walked out, but Lieutenant Pearson stayed behind, giving me a sympathetic smile.
“I’ll be back in a while with your meds and discharge papers. Take care of yourself, Pfc. Bennett.”
“Thank you, ma’am.”
She held a tight smile, then turned and walked out of the room, leaving Dalton and me looking confused. The air was stale, and I could feel a storm brewing. Whatever was coming my way, I was slowly, mentally preparing myself with every second. As strong as I thought I had become, I could tell I was going to have to dig deep and make myself that much stronger.
Chapter 3
Alex
The next day was another waste of time. I was sick and tired of fucking paper filing, paper shredding, and just paper all together—and I had the paper cuts to prove it. This was someone’s job in the Corps, sure, but it wasn’t mine.
Gunny Rawls watched me and checked in periodically. I knew he was under the command of First Sergeant O’Hara, so I tried hard to stifle my anger where he was concerned. He was only doing what he was told, and O’Hara was the dick that didn’t think I was fit to breathe on my own. In his eyes, I was a puppy, held on a tight leash, ready to run if given the opportunity. He couldn’t get it through his thick skull that even if he’d let me go—if he turned his back and dared me to run—it would be directly to Cassie.