The Soldier Next Door

In life, there is only the present moment, the now. You can’t measure time the way you measure the distance between two points. ‘Time’ doesn’t pass. We have enormous difficulty in focusing on the present; we’re always thinking about what we did, about how we could have done it better, about the consequences of our actions, and about why we didn’t act as we should have. Or else we think about the future, about what we’re going to do tomorrow, what precautions we should take, what dangers await us around the next corner, how to avoid what we don’t want and how to get what we have always dreamed of.

It’s being here now that’s important. There’s no past, and there’s no future. Time is a very misleading thing. All there is ever is the now. We can gain experience from the past, but we can’t relive it, and we can hope for the future, but we don’t know if there is one.

The biggest mistake we make is the one that most of us make; we do not live in the moment enough. 

There is not any improvement with my dad; I think the Doctor is getting even more frustrated than I am. I still firmly believe that the man has no idea what he is doing, but I guess that is just me being unreasonable. But no matter who is what, the concern is that he is not making any progress. Though do I need to take comfort that it is only three days, am I not asking for a miracle in a way?

I think that we have established that those don’t exist, that they are just the mind hoping for something beyond what is extraordinary. Yet, that is part of what should be the hope and faith that one needs to have, and there again, I have shown that I, too, lack this.

What else I have been lacking is being by my mom’s side; I have been so consumed with fighting the battle for my dad that I have not moved from his side. And that is one other thing that I have noticed; I am not the one that should be fighting; I need to encourage him. Well, I am sure if he can indeed hear me, he must have heard me curse about a hundred times by now.

So leaving Matty with my dad, I make my way to Room Number 205, my mom has now been moved out of ICU, and she is stable now. That is by far the best news that we have heard since this whole dreadful accident has happened. This has affected so many lives, even Gibbs that is still here moving between the rooms of my mom and dad, and when he is not keeping an eye, he tries his utmost best to flirt with the nurses.

Now walking in my mom’s room, you would think that awful hospital smell, that smell of pain and death, would not be so prominent, but guess the damn scent is etched into these walls. But I soon push the thought back to my mind as my mom sees me walking in with my crutches.

She only but shakes her head, “You Hunter boys are really all an accident waiting to happen.”

With a soft chuckle, I lean in closer and give her a hug, “Hey, look at you, I think you have more broken bones than I have ever had in my body.”

“Yes, and I don’t even need to become a Marine. Tell, me how is your dad?”

I hesitate for a few brief moments, for I so wish that I had better news for her; she sees my reluctance, and the tears start building in her eyes, “Is he still the same?”

“Yes, mom. Has that useless Doctor not told you anything?”

“I guess the man does not want to upset me, but at least he has you, boys.”

Gently taking her hand in mine, I smile, “How long do you have to stay still?”

“He said another week. Let us just hope your dad is fine to leave as well.”

God, I wish I can say yes, but the thing is that it really does not look well; the swelling has come down but only an inch of a fraction. But hey, at least it is something, yet it is not near enough. What else is not enough is the strength that I have left to carry all of this on my shoulders. Not only is my family torn apart, but I have been for far too long away from Ana now. She, too, needs me now.

So I push my thought away to clear my mind, then my mom gets the biggest smile on her face. I only but frown at her, “What are you smiling about because I can sure do with some of it.”

“Oh, I was just wondering how Ana was doing?”Property © NôvelDrama.Org.

“She is not going to do well because I have not phoned her for a few hours now.”

My mom only but laughs, “She is going to slap you against the head.”

“Thank god she is not here to do it.”

Ya, then there, with complete shock and surprise, comes the flat of a hand crashing against my head, I immediately spin around, ready to give Matty a punch in the face, but as I am about to retract my hand, I immediately drop it.

“Boo, what are you doing here?”

“I could not stand it sitting and having to wait for you to phone.”

“But boo, the Doctor said that you should be resting.”

“I am going to rest when we go fetch your mom and me some coffee. It was a damn long bus ride, and my feet are killing me.”

With that, we leave my mom’s room and start to walk down the corridor, but she pauses for a brief moment and pierces those brown eyes deep into mine, “I am so sorry about all of this, soldier.”

“Ya, next time you tell me something is wrong, I am going to think twice rushing you to the Doctor. Your ‘feeling’ has given us both a heart attack.”

“Come on; I thought it was funny, only up until the hospital phoned you.”

“Ya, and then when you had a little breakdown, it was not so funny anymore.”

She only but pulls me deep into her embrace. With her big belly pressing hard against my sculpted abs, I get lost in the comfort that she brings.

Then I look back into those brown eyes, “Thank you for coming, even though I am going to spank your ass for not listening to the Doctor.”

“Oh, that Doctor does not know what he is doing.”

“Boo, I think it is a general thing; none of them seem to know what the hell it is that they are supposed to practice.”

I step forward, pressing her body against the wall. She splays her hand against my chest and tries to whisper; I only but places a finger against her sweet cherry red lips.

“Ssshhh, boo. You don’t know how much I have missed you.”

I hover my lips over the tip of her ear; the warmth of my breath makes her shiver. Then I take my hand to her trembling cheek. I cannot keep the fight against the thoughts that are running through my mind, which is flooding my senses.

She looks down at my slightly parted lips, and I know what is about to happen. My heart skips a beat, and my damn knees get wobbly. I curl my hand around her neck and tangle the other in her long wavy hair.

Our lips brush softly against each other like little butterfly wings. Her lips dance soft and delicate against mine. But I pull away and hesitate for a moment. She tastes like passion, like pure, unrestrained passion, and I want more.

So we begin to close the gap even more than before. What begins as a small peck becomes more passionate. The rest of the world spins so fast it becomes non-existent. I lean even further into her, and our body melts into each other. It is as if I can feel a fire blazing within me, out of control. We are completely and utterly in sync at this very moment.

Then she presses her lips against mine even harder. Lightning passes through me. I feel lost in a different universe, and she is slowly taking me there. Her cold hand creeps from my neck down my spine and pulls me closer. Her touch makes my body shiver. My heart races. My body surrenders. I give everything to her.

Slowly, she slips her arms firm around my waist and pulls me closer. I want to feel her warmth deep in her depths as I fill her completely inch by inch, pushing her body to a limit beyond diving over a cliff of ecstasy and pleasure.

But as she looks at me, those eyes smolder. I can see the desire that is burning on the edge of lust and a hint of passion. Her craving speaks unspoken from those soft velvet lips that are trembling but a fraction from the arousal she feels that is building within the center of her core. I only have to touch her, but like a feather, and she would explode.

Then from behind us, I hear as someone clears their throat rather loudly; as I turn around with much annoyance, I am faced with Gibbs, that seems to have seen a ghost.

“Ethan, it is your dad.”