Fraternizing (27 page)

And it felt good.

She turned around
and walked back into the bathroom, slamming the door with all her might. A
small victory had been won, but I was sure that a larger battle was lurking
ahead.

About fifteen
minutes later, Dalton came knocking on my door. His blond hair neatly styled,
while mine was thrown into a damp ponytail.

"You
ready?" he cheerfully asked, stepping into the doorway and holding the
door open for me.

"Hell yes. Get
me out of here."

"What
happened?"

"Do you even
need to ask?"

I stepped out of
the room and waited as he shut the door.

We walked to the
chow hall with minimal conversation. Dalton would comment on the weather, the
passing birds, or even the cars in the parking lot-- anything to keep from
walking in utter silence. I answered, trying to be polite, but I couldn't carry
on the conversation. I was boiling—angry
at
so
many people and unable to figure any sort of way of dealing with it.

We walked in and
grabbed our food, then sat down at the first available table. I played with my
food while my mind darted back to Alex, Angelica, and Castillo.

"Earth to
Cassie." He waved his hand in front of me, breaking me from my daydream.

"Cassie? You
never call me that."

"Well, I had
to get your attention somehow. And anyway, I like your first name better. What
the heck is going on with you? And don't tell me nothing because I'm no
idiot."

I exhaled a deep
breath. I did not want to go into the ins and outs of everything that was
irking me. I didn't want Dalton to know what I had been up to. I didn’t want
him looking at me differently.

"I'm just
sick of Angelica and her petty shit, that's all. I keep thinking about how much
longer I have to live with her, and it's starting to really bother me."

"Well, you
could always ask for a different room assignment."

"And cave to
that bitch? I don't think so."

He smiled and
lightly shook his head. My answer seemed to placate him, and that was all I
really needed. I wasn't about to delve into my transgressions in a military chow
hall where ears were as wide as the days were long.

I picked over my
food, eating very little before I was ready to head back to my room and dig
back into my study manual. Dalton put me on his back and ran us all the way
back, finally giving me a reason to laugh. I hadn't joyously laughed in what
felt like forever. Not since Alex had hastily checked out. When we got back to
the room, Angelica was gone.

Thankfully.

Dalton followed
me in, plopping down on my bed as I grabbed my manual and sat down next to him.
His eyes bore into me, but I kept my head down, trying to ignore the fact that
I knew so much more was coming.

"Cassie,
talk to me."

I didn't look up
from my manual. Instead, I turned the page and tried to focus even harder.

"I can only
imagine you hate living with Angelica, but that's not the end of it. And I
wasn't going to push you to talk in a crowded chow hall, but now it's us. Talk
to me." His voice was a soft plea, and it cut down to my bones.

I felt awful for
leaving him in the dark, especially since he had dug into his closet and shared
deeply personal information. I’d never had a shoulder to lean on, a confidant,
a
real friend. I looked at him and found nothing but
compassion in his eyes. The longer he looked at me, the weaker I became.

"You haven't
been yourself all week. I've been worried, but I didn't want to push you."

"I've been
fine. Have you seen me crying?"

"People
don't have to cry to show their hurt, Cassie. What's going on with you?"

I stood. Walking
to the bathroom, I internally debated telling him or not. Before I could come
to a conclusion, he spoke again, this time jolting me back into reality.

"This has
something to do with Sgt. Cruz, doesn't it?"

Prickles shot up
all over my arms as the hair on the nape of my neck stood at attention. I
didn’t want to turn around and face him, but standing there like a statue was
just as incriminating, so I finally turned and looked into his eyes.

"What makes
you say that?" I meekly asked, hoping to fend him off.

"Well, by
your reaction, I would say I'm right. And anyway, we're friends. I've gotten to
know you well since combat training, and I can read you. I'm pretty good at
that, you know."

The smile he
gave, and the sincerity in his eyes, cracked me. I couldn’t stand to lie to him
any longer, or omit anything that I knew was already true.

"Yes. This
has to do with Cruz," I finally said, feeling the weight of the world
leave my shoulders with every word.

He patted my bed,
scooting over and making room for me to sit down.

"What
happened?"

I filled him in
on everything. From the night we met at Coyotes, to the formation, clear up
until Alex's sudden mood change. The information had been stored in me like a
stuffed box, ready to burst. I never thought I’d be so relieved to tell someone
about what was going on between
me and my instructor,
but I was, and Dalton was supportive. He pulled me into a hug, holding me close
while he rested his chin on the top of my head.

"You poor
thing. Why didn't you tell me? I can't even imagine having to walk around holding
all of that in."

"I was
scared. We can lose so much if this gets out."

"I know
that, but seriously, you have to have an outlet."

I pulled away
from him, wanting to look into the only friendly face in my life at the moment.

"So what
happened with Angelica this morning? Because between making breakfast plans and
meeting up, you were different, and not in a good way."

"I guess I'm
not the hard ass I think I am, huh?"

"Nope."

I scooted back on
my bed, crossing me legs Indian style while facing him.

"Well, Alex
hasn't spoken to me in over a week. Okay, whatever. But I saw Angelica in the
parking lot with Sgt. Castillo this morning, and when she came back up here she
was telling me that all of the instructors went out last night to celebrate
Alex's NCO of the Quarter award--"

He laughed.

"Can I just
say it's super weird for me to hear him being referred to as Alex? That's all. Go
on."

I smiled at him,
realizing that it was probably a little weird since we typically went by rank
and last name.

"Sorry. Anyway,
she let me know that according to Sgt. Castillo, she and Sgt. Cruz," I
emphasized his name, "fucked in her Jeep last night."

"What the
hell? Do you believe her?"

"I don’t
want to. Angelica and Castillo have nothing but hate for me. I wouldn't put it
past them to come up with some shit to try and catch me...or break me."

"Hmmm. Well,
I think you should just be forth coming and ask him."

"He won't
respond to me. And I don’t really think I should. We aren’t together. We've
never been a couple, so what's the point? If he wants to fuck everything
walking, that's his right."

"But what
about you? I know you're looking at it as just fucking, but from everything
you've just told me, I think it’s a little more than that."

He had me.

He had me pegged,
and I absolutely hated it.

"Look. I saw
you happy, probably the happiest I have ever seen you while your little cat and
mouse game
was
going on, but now you’re the lowest
I've ever seen you. So, I think you owe it to yourself to at least try and find
your footing where he's concerned."

"I'm not
chasing anyone."

"No one said
chase. But you should definitely ask. At least put the rumor to rest."

"I've tried
contacting him. He won't respond. There's nothing else I can do."

"I bet if
you were blunt with it, he'd respond."

His words blared
out like a neon sign. Of course being direct would back him into a corner, and
I’d seen Alex backed into a corner. He got aggressive. But if I was going to
put my mind at ease, I had to do it.

"You're
right. Hand me my phone please."

I took my phone
from Dalton and typed out a text to Alex.

Chapter 17

Alex

Cassie: You ditched me and started
something up with Castillo? Way to not fuck and run, Alex.

Her text woke me
out of my drunken stupor. Last night had been an awful idea.

Fuck!

And now, somehow
Cassie knew about, or at least she’d heard about what happened between
me and Castillo
. The only person who could have told her
would have been Castillo herself, and it infuriated me. I didn't want her
anywhere near Cassie, and I certainly didn't want her throwing that fucking
mistake in her face.

I read the text
message a few times, thinking about how their interaction must have gone, and
grew more and more angry by the second. Of all the people to be completely and
utterly stupid with, why the fuck did I have to do it with Castillo? Why did I
have to be stupid in the first place?

My heart was
racing with every thought. I knew I still wanted Cassie, but how could I have
her and keep my standing in the Marine Corps? Even after she graduated, people
would look at the situation funny, knowing I had met her through school. The
way I would be perceived in the eyes of my brothers mattered to me; it mattered
a hell of a lot. On the other hand, I couldn't remember ever feeling so
strongly for someone. Cassie had a way with me. She got me to crawl down off my
high horse, shed the rough exterior, and be normal.

I hadn't been
normal since I'd raised my hand and swore to protect my country. My life had
been run by rules, regulations, and consequences. I couldn't and didn’t care to
see beyond them.

Until now.

Now, I wanted to
question things, but I wasn't sure how, and faced with uncertainty, the best
fall back were those rules and regulations that had never led me astray.

I glared at the
text again, trying to make myself respond, but afraid of falling back under her
sweet and enticing spell. Instead, I hit the call button for Castillo. She
answered on the third ring.

"Hello,"
she said. The noise in the background indicated that she was driving.

"What the fuck
did you say to Pfc. Bennett?"

"Wow, Alex. You
make me look like a whore last night, and now you're calling me over your
little
play thing
. You're amazing."

"Leti, I'm
only going to ask you one more time what the fuck you said to her before I
completely lose my shit on you."

She breathed
hard, exhaling deeply into the phone.

"I haven't
said shit to your little girlfriend. But thanks for letting me know I've been
right all along."

"You fucking
listen to me. You have nothing to fucking say to her. You don't even have a
fucking reason to look at her. You work in admin, and unless she has a reason
to see you, you stay the fuck away from her. You understand that?"

My breaths blew
out of my nose like a raging bull. Then it dawned on me that I didn't counter
her when she blurted out that Cassie was my girlfriend and that she'd been
right about it. The thought temporarily seized me, making me think long and
hard about the way my subconscious was responding where my controlled thoughts
were thinking differently.

"Alex, how
far you have fallen. A student?"

"You've been
a manipulative bitch since the days of Evelyn. You go any further with this,
and I'll have your ass taken down, Leti. I promise you that. Back. The. Fuck.
Up."

I hung up the
phone and threw it against the wall. Luckily, in my blind rage, the cover took
the brunt of the impact, cracking and falling to the ground. Riley came rushing
into my room.

"Get the
fuck out, Riley."

"What
happened?"

I turned and
glowered at him. He didn’t relent, instead moving further into the room.

"You're
fucking losing it, Alex. What is going on with you?"

"Where have
you been this morning?" I asked, working furiously to catch my breath.

"What?"

"Where the
fuck have you been?"

"I went on
base to wash and detail my truck before the sun ruined that for me."

"So you were
on base?" That revelation plastered suspicion all over me. In my furor, I
couldn't see anything for what it was.

Had Riley spoken
to Cassie and spilled the beans as a way to punish me? I couldn't be sure of
anyone or anything anymore. The alcohol still coursing through my veins was
contributing to my irrational thoughts, fueling the anger. I grabbed him by his
shirt collar with both hands and lifted him, slamming him against the wall.

"Look
shithead. I fucked up last night. I admit that. But you going to Cassie and
telling her is going to get your ass beat."

He powered up and
worked his way out of my grip.

"Get your
shit together, Alex. I didn't go over to the barracks at all. I didn’t even see
Cassie this morning."

I was breathing
erratically, feeling the haze of my hangover looming over my head.

"Where the
fuck is Jensen?"

I heard the door
swing open a little wider, Jensen standing the frame.

"I'm right
here. And what the hell does Bennett have to do with any of this?" Disapproval
filled his
face
as he looked me over, his mouth
forming into a tight scowl. "You went on and fucked her, didn’t you?”

“That’s none of
your business, Jensen. Stay in your fucking place!” My teeth
clenched
as did my fists as I yelled out the last part, my frustrations seemingly taking
over my body.