Page 15
Story: Orders and Obsessions
“F**k! I almost gave up everything I had been working so hard to suppress. You know the level of control, the years of training it’s taken for my body to not be affected by that shit? Jesus! Then you come along in one moment I almost break it all. I nearly lost control.” I blinked at him, not fully understanding what he was talking about but my hunch was that it had something to do with his vow.
“I cover for you again, stupidly, and how do you repay me? By stealing my car and taking my ring. Jesus, if you were anyone else, you would have been gone by now and never thought of again.”
“I’m sorry, Mason.” I reached for his arm, but he pulled away.
“I’m giving you forty-eight hours to say goodbye while I make the arrangements and talk to the judge. I’m sorry, Riley, but I have to stay professional, and it seems that I can’t do that around you. You can’t be a diamond among the rocks.”
“I get it,” I said sadly. I turned back towards the door, but my fingers were still wrapped around the handle. I told him, “She’s lucky, your fiancé,” and pointed to the ring he was holding. He raised his eyebrows and looked at the ring.
“It’s not—” he stopped, not sure if he wanted to tell me what was on his mind. “It was my mom’s ring. She died when I was young.”
“I’m sorry,” I said quietly before leaving his house.
I chose not to tell anyone I was leaving and instead went back, lay down in bed, and fell asleep until morning.
I took a cold shower because I didn’t want to take a warm one in the staff quarters again, and I ate a banana that looked pretty brown. It was actually one of the better meals on the whole bootcamp campus.
At exactly five hundred hours, my boots were digging into the ground in the field, and Mason was checking out my uniform like he does every morning. It was strange to know that tomorrow morning would be different. I would probably be sitting in the back of my uncle’s police car, handcuffed, and scared out of my mind about what was going to happen next.
I was being judged by the one thing that had gotten me sent away in the first place on my last day of freedom. But I couldn’t be angry because he had given me many chances and I had messed up every single one of them.
He made us march for half an hour, chanting to us as we walked on wet dirt and bumpy ground. I saw Jake looking at me from across the street and wanted to go tell him what happened with the ring, but he was on a different queue because he was taller than me.
Mason started yelling orders for the obstacle course pretty quickly.
I climbed over a ten-foot fence using my arm strength and then dropped to the other side. I ran, dodging used car tires, crawled under barbed wire that tore at my clothes, rolled around in wet mud like a pig, and climbed up a single thread of rope, ringing a bell at the top before jumping back down.
I was cold and sweaty, my lungs were gasping for air, and the ropes had burned my palms. Mason yelled for everyone to run forty laps of the track just when I thought it was over.
“What’s going on?” Jake ran slower on purpose so he could jog next to me.
“I’m being sent away tomorrow morning,” I told him with a sad tone.
“Shit Riley, that sucks,” he said in a low voice.
“Jake, Rivers, you both just got ten more laps,” Mason yelled. I rolled my eyes, wiping the sweat off my forehead but continued running. “Gibbins ten extra laps. Pick up the pace Michaels.” Mason shouted again.
“Damn he’s in a bad mood today.” Amber whispered to Jake and I.
“Seems pretty normal to me.” Jake replied.
Amber joked, “He needs a good f**k.” We all started laughing, and Mason ran over to us.
“Drop and give me twenty!” We fell to the ground, having trouble doing the push-ups after the obstacle course and running on the track. The bootcamp today was terrible.
***
“So guys, I’m leaving tomorrow. I broke too many rules, and this is my last night of freedom.” Everyone in my dorm stopped what they were doing and looked at me.
“Riley, you can’t go!” Raven said.
“I don’t really have a choice.” I laughed, even though it wasn’t funny at all.
“Well, if this is your last night of freedom, we should go out and celebrate it by getting really drunk and forgetting everything.” I could feel my eyes lighting up with mischief.
“Let’s do it!” I said.
I had six beers and four shots of vodka. The little pub down the road was just as busy as it had been the last time. Since it was the only pub for miles around, it seemed like it would never go out of business.
“I’ll really miss this place,” I said to Maddie, who was sleeping next to me at the table.
Sierra laughed and said, “You’ve been here twice.”
“No, Sierra, shh.” I put my index finger over her lips, and she turned her eyes inward to look at it. “Why did he have to go to his stupid commander? I hate him for sending me away.”
“You did take his ring,” Sierra said behind my finger.
“Shhh. We don’t want to hear the facts. We were friends.” I took another shot. Amber and Sierra both laughed.
“Nobody is friends with the Lieutenant,” Amber said quietly. I shrugged.
“Maybe we weren’t, but we could have been. If he hadn’t been so scared of breaking the rules.” They all laughed again.
“Yeah, we could all be friends with him … in a different life,” Sierra said.
“I know what,” I said, and then I burped. “No” isn’t going to work for me. Mason is going to be my friend.
“Hey, Mason!” they yelled with joy and laughter.
“No. More than friends. I—” I slurred and burped again. “I am going to—” I held my finger up in the air. “Seduce him.” I put my finger down on the table. The girls started to laugh.
“I’m only behind this plan because I know you’re leaving tomorrow anyway, so what harm can come of it?” Amber said in a funny voice. I agreed and nodded.
“Let’s go.” I stood up and swayed back and forth on the spot. Sierra put her hands on my body to keep me steady. But as soon as I got my balance, I left the bar. I was a girl on a mission and couldn’t be stopped.
I could hear the girls behind me talking and laughing, but I ran ahead down the dark dirt road back to boot camp.
I pulled on the door handle to get into our shed, and everyone else followed me in a few seconds later.
As Raven lay on the bed, she asked me, “Riley, you can’t be serious. What are you going to do?”
“I—” I took off my shirt and bra and threw them across the room.
“Am going to—” I took off my trainers and slid down my jeans and knickers. I stepped out of them and pushed them aside with my bare foot.
“Take off all your clothes.” Raven looked at my body and nodded.
“Girl, you’ve already done that,” she said with a laugh.
“I cover for you again, stupidly, and how do you repay me? By stealing my car and taking my ring. Jesus, if you were anyone else, you would have been gone by now and never thought of again.”
“I’m sorry, Mason.” I reached for his arm, but he pulled away.
“I’m giving you forty-eight hours to say goodbye while I make the arrangements and talk to the judge. I’m sorry, Riley, but I have to stay professional, and it seems that I can’t do that around you. You can’t be a diamond among the rocks.”
“I get it,” I said sadly. I turned back towards the door, but my fingers were still wrapped around the handle. I told him, “She’s lucky, your fiancé,” and pointed to the ring he was holding. He raised his eyebrows and looked at the ring.
“It’s not—” he stopped, not sure if he wanted to tell me what was on his mind. “It was my mom’s ring. She died when I was young.”
“I’m sorry,” I said quietly before leaving his house.
I chose not to tell anyone I was leaving and instead went back, lay down in bed, and fell asleep until morning.
I took a cold shower because I didn’t want to take a warm one in the staff quarters again, and I ate a banana that looked pretty brown. It was actually one of the better meals on the whole bootcamp campus.
At exactly five hundred hours, my boots were digging into the ground in the field, and Mason was checking out my uniform like he does every morning. It was strange to know that tomorrow morning would be different. I would probably be sitting in the back of my uncle’s police car, handcuffed, and scared out of my mind about what was going to happen next.
I was being judged by the one thing that had gotten me sent away in the first place on my last day of freedom. But I couldn’t be angry because he had given me many chances and I had messed up every single one of them.
He made us march for half an hour, chanting to us as we walked on wet dirt and bumpy ground. I saw Jake looking at me from across the street and wanted to go tell him what happened with the ring, but he was on a different queue because he was taller than me.
Mason started yelling orders for the obstacle course pretty quickly.
I climbed over a ten-foot fence using my arm strength and then dropped to the other side. I ran, dodging used car tires, crawled under barbed wire that tore at my clothes, rolled around in wet mud like a pig, and climbed up a single thread of rope, ringing a bell at the top before jumping back down.
I was cold and sweaty, my lungs were gasping for air, and the ropes had burned my palms. Mason yelled for everyone to run forty laps of the track just when I thought it was over.
“What’s going on?” Jake ran slower on purpose so he could jog next to me.
“I’m being sent away tomorrow morning,” I told him with a sad tone.
“Shit Riley, that sucks,” he said in a low voice.
“Jake, Rivers, you both just got ten more laps,” Mason yelled. I rolled my eyes, wiping the sweat off my forehead but continued running. “Gibbins ten extra laps. Pick up the pace Michaels.” Mason shouted again.
“Damn he’s in a bad mood today.” Amber whispered to Jake and I.
“Seems pretty normal to me.” Jake replied.
Amber joked, “He needs a good f**k.” We all started laughing, and Mason ran over to us.
“Drop and give me twenty!” We fell to the ground, having trouble doing the push-ups after the obstacle course and running on the track. The bootcamp today was terrible.
***
“So guys, I’m leaving tomorrow. I broke too many rules, and this is my last night of freedom.” Everyone in my dorm stopped what they were doing and looked at me.
“Riley, you can’t go!” Raven said.
“I don’t really have a choice.” I laughed, even though it wasn’t funny at all.
“Well, if this is your last night of freedom, we should go out and celebrate it by getting really drunk and forgetting everything.” I could feel my eyes lighting up with mischief.
“Let’s do it!” I said.
I had six beers and four shots of vodka. The little pub down the road was just as busy as it had been the last time. Since it was the only pub for miles around, it seemed like it would never go out of business.
“I’ll really miss this place,” I said to Maddie, who was sleeping next to me at the table.
Sierra laughed and said, “You’ve been here twice.”
“No, Sierra, shh.” I put my index finger over her lips, and she turned her eyes inward to look at it. “Why did he have to go to his stupid commander? I hate him for sending me away.”
“You did take his ring,” Sierra said behind my finger.
“Shhh. We don’t want to hear the facts. We were friends.” I took another shot. Amber and Sierra both laughed.
“Nobody is friends with the Lieutenant,” Amber said quietly. I shrugged.
“Maybe we weren’t, but we could have been. If he hadn’t been so scared of breaking the rules.” They all laughed again.
“Yeah, we could all be friends with him … in a different life,” Sierra said.
“I know what,” I said, and then I burped. “No” isn’t going to work for me. Mason is going to be my friend.
“Hey, Mason!” they yelled with joy and laughter.
“No. More than friends. I—” I slurred and burped again. “I am going to—” I held my finger up in the air. “Seduce him.” I put my finger down on the table. The girls started to laugh.
“I’m only behind this plan because I know you’re leaving tomorrow anyway, so what harm can come of it?” Amber said in a funny voice. I agreed and nodded.
“Let’s go.” I stood up and swayed back and forth on the spot. Sierra put her hands on my body to keep me steady. But as soon as I got my balance, I left the bar. I was a girl on a mission and couldn’t be stopped.
I could hear the girls behind me talking and laughing, but I ran ahead down the dark dirt road back to boot camp.
I pulled on the door handle to get into our shed, and everyone else followed me in a few seconds later.
As Raven lay on the bed, she asked me, “Riley, you can’t be serious. What are you going to do?”
“I—” I took off my shirt and bra and threw them across the room.
“Am going to—” I took off my trainers and slid down my jeans and knickers. I stepped out of them and pushed them aside with my bare foot.
“Take off all your clothes.” Raven looked at my body and nodded.
“Girl, you’ve already done that,” she said with a laugh.