Page 15 of The Burning
“He was supposed to call me tonight, but he said in the message that now he won’t be. He’s basically punishing me for accusing him. Even though I didn’t accuse him, I only asked a question.”
Austin made a noise like a grumble, but didn’t say a word. He looked up at the ceiling and rolled his eyes.
“Can I say something?” I asked timidly. I knew Elodie would say yes, but I felt like it was important to ask before giving my opinion.
In return, she smiled, biting down gently on her bottom lip as she nodded her head.
“The whole thing with the messages seems like an intentional personal attack and you should be able to ask your husband about it. You’re the one here dealing with it and dealing with your parents on top of it. So, he should be more sensitive to that. His defensive response worries me if I’m being honest.”
Elodie winced, but I kept going.
“Hear me out. I’m by no means saying that he’s cheating on you, but that kind of thing does happen a lot. The lines are so often blurred and people spend a lot of time away from each other . . . I’m not accusing him or saying I agree with your parents. I’m just suggesting that you investigate a little?”
“Seriously, Karina?” my brother interrupted.
“Investigate how?” Elodie asked me, and I was relieved when she didn’t seem too offended, mostly curious.
“You could message the person’s account yourself? Or keep asking Phillip. But asking Phillip might lead to more trouble than it’s worth before you actually know if there’s anything to be worried about. Plus, he might lie.” I looked at my brother. “And if the guy who sent the messages is lying after all, and you ended up stressed out and in the emergency room because of it, I’m going to find him myself,” I said, meaning every word. “And his wife.”
Elodie didn’t laugh, but I didn’t really expect her to.
She jutted her chin out and up. “Okay, let’s investigate. Even though I have faith in my husband, he’s pissing me off right now.”
Elodie and I smiled, and Austin shook his head.
She looked around a moment more. “How do we investigate again?” she asked, and our laughter filled the small space.
Chapter Nine
The lobby of the emergency room was even more packed than it had been two hours ago. The doctor wanted to monitor Elodie a little longer, and I had to go to work; I hoped that one of her Family Readiness Group friends might be able to drive her home when she was cleared to go. She seemed happy and even a little glowy after they pumped her full of whatever vitamins filled up the IV bag.
Austin offered to drop me off at work and drive her home later in my car when she was discharged. Around Elodie he seemed to become quite the gentleman, and we both appreciated the offer. At the same time, I didn’t know how long it had been since he’d driven, and I didn’t really want to leave him with my car, so I politely shot that down. Elodie sent a text out to her group chat to see if any of her Army wife friends would pick her up. They had all been texting or messaging or whatever for the last thirty minutes, her phone dinging and her fingers tapping on the screen from the hospital bed.
The group of wives on the receiving end all seemed eager to help, and she had multiple offers immediately. The woman who volunteered first was Toni. I thought I remembered her last name, Tharpe, as Elodie had mentioned her more than a few times. Selfishly, I wondered who would pick me up if I was at the hospital and needed someone to depend on. Sometimes, like now, it felt like I was just floating around life alone, surrounded by humans who cared about everyone except me.
As I walked next to Austin, past the rows and rows of green upholstered chairs, beyond ready to get away from the smell of the hospital and the coughing children in the lobby, he asked, “Can I ride with you, or are you so mad that you’re gonna make me walk home?”
“I haven’t decided. Plus, you don’t have a home,” I reminded with a bite, one that he could not only handle, but deserved. Even though I knew he was living at Kael’s, he was technically still couch-surfing.
“See, even more of a reason for you to pity me,” he argued playfully.
I rolled my eyes, and he nudged my shoulder.
“We can talk about it on the way. I can get a ride from your place. I need to get my own car after basic training . . .” Realizing what he’d said, he looked down at me. “Kare, I—”
“Don’t.”
We stopped walking. I looked him straight in the eyes. “You’re going either way, aren’t you? What’s the point of being angry now?”
Even my voice had given in to the reality of it all.
Realistically I couldn’t resign myself to never speaking to my brother ever again. Especially since he would be going to whatever state they shipped him off to soon. There was no way around it; that was the harsh reality of the military. Once you signed, the freedom of making choices was gone. I didn’t want to lose him to the Army, but I also didn’t want to lose him to my anger.
I hadn’t thought much about what Army job Austin might have chosen for himself, and as I asked him, I hoped he would say something like dental hygienist, mechanic, any type of trade he could use in the civilian world.
“What’s your MOS? Please tell me you’re a paper pusher.”
My dad always called anyone who wasn’t in direct combat a paper pusher and I prayed that Austin would be one. It was also more likely that he would be able to get a job after he did his time in the Army that way. I knew from my father talking with his hands over a plate piled with chicken bones that the infantry soldiers worked long, unappreciated hours and were treated like shit most of the time. The abusive culture was something no one wanted to talk about. Not that other soldiers weren’t mistreated, but infantry was mostly considered the bottom of the barrel by people, especially by those who abused their power.
