Page 16 of The Burning
Austin stuttered a little bit. “My MOS is infantry.”
The most dangerous assignment.
Just like Phillip, Kael, Mendoza . . .
“Austin . . .” I continued walking, slowly. It was all I could think to do.
“I’m not as smart as you, okay? I was never good at school, you know that. I barely made it through high school. This was my only option. The Air Force wouldn’t even take me, and even with the Army, I fucking failed the ASVAB the first time I took it. I’m lucky I even got in.”
“Lucky?”I scoffed, eyeing the wide front door and looking through the glass wall to the parking lot. It was barely raining anymore.
My heart ached as it hit me that he had taken the enlistment test more than once. This wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment choice. He had been trying to enlist for some time and obviously hadn’t felt like he could tell me about it.
“When was that? When did this start?” I asked.
He sped up as I did, not letting me avoid him. “A few months ago. I’ve been going back and forth. I know I should have told you. I just knew you would be mad. It’s not like I was going to keep it from you forever. It just happened, even Dad’s reaction . . .”
I shook my head. “I’m not mad. Well, I am. It’s more complicated than that. I’m confused why you left me out of a life-changing decision. Is Kael the only one who knew?”
I must have really pissed off something in the universe because right as I said his name, Kael appeared in the doorway of the waiting room. He clocked Austin and me immediately. His eyes went to my brother first, then quickly to me, confusion taking over his otherwise stoic face. His demeanor always showed that he knew exactly where he was supposed to be and exactly when he was supposed to be there. It was more than an Army thing; it was a Kael thing. We were at least twenty feet away from each other and I could already feel his energy consuming the space. I tried to fight it, to push down all the things that were happening to my mind and body as he got closer and I had no exit plan. I needed to look like I wasn’t surprised to see him, even though we were in an emergency room, and I was very much surprised to see him.
I straightened my posture and took a step backward, shocked inside but not showing it, that he was standing there, right in front of me. It took me a few seconds to notice that behind Kael was Mendoza, and they were both dressed in civilian clothes. Kael looked so different in his everyday clothes than his uniform. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Except both sides of Kael were good, for the most part. Besides the fact that he was a liar and had completely betrayed me. If anything, he was more like Damon Salvatore fromTheVampire Diaries, with two distinctly different sides when in love. Not that Kael was in love with me . . . and definitely not the way Damon loved Elena Gilbert. I wasn’t even sure that type of love even existed in reality. And in reality, Damon would be in prison.
I had imagined that when I saw Kael again, it would feel like a gut punch. Instead, it was a slow pain, seeping into me. Processing my shock, I found myself fighting against my own emotions, needing to remind myself that he was bad. He was bad for me and he was a traitor. Looking at him standing in front of me, all I could think about was the way the sun hit his coffee-colored eyes and the way his quiet laughter filled my small living room.
I had planned out this scenario over and over in my head. What I would say, what he would say. What I would be wearing, which was far from the work clothes I was in now. In my dream scenario, I was beautiful, glowing with post-breakup pride and sleek hair, a pretty dress and high heels that made my short legs appear longer. Clearly my imagination was far-fetched and I’d had unrealistic hopes because I can’t walk ten feet in high heels, but alas . . . there I was and there he was. I was heartbroken all over again and could almost feel the rain soaking me from the last time I saw him.
I wished Kael had been wearing his uniform instead of street clothes because it would have made it a tiny bit easier to pretend he was just another soldier and not mine.
Not that he was mine . . . anymore.
But in black Nike sweatpants and a fitted light T-shirt, part of me wished he was.
Finally, I looked at Mendoza, who was clear as day staring at me. His shirt was the same red color as his eyes, which matched the red of the blood seeping through what looked like a white T-shirt wrapped around his hand. The blood sent a wave of shock through me, but Mendoza’s face was relaxed with no sign of tension or a care in the world.
“What the hell happened?” Austin asked them.
Kael looked back at Mendoza, down to his hand, and then met my brother’s eyes. He was so calm considering where we were and the amount of blood coming from Mendoza. “His hand needs stitches.”
“So he says,” Mendoza said, a smile curling the corners of his lips.
“What the hell, man?” Austin’s concern for his friend was obvious in the way he moved closer to him.
“It’s not a big deal. Shit happens. People hit shit.” He shrugged.
Austin chuckled. “Yeah . . . right. Looks like a big deal to me.” He pointed at his hand.
Kael rolled his eyes and leaned his head back all the way, looking at the ceiling. He was doing everything possible to avoid looking at me and I couldn’t seem to stop looking at him.
“This is just a regular Tuesday, man,” he groaned sarcastically.
“It’s not even Tuesday, bro.” Austin smiled.
Were all men this ridiculous?
Mendoza lifted his hand a bit and a drop of red dotted the floor. He swiped it with his sneaker. I started to feel a little panicked, even though the three of them were being so causal.
“You guys should go check in, it takes forever.” I kept my eyes on the sheet vinyl flooring and pointed at the now smeared drop of blood.
