The Suicide Project (Rebirth Book 1) (36 page)

“What’s so funny, guys? Did I miss a joke or something?” Her sweetly innocent question made me feel even worse.

“Or something.,” I responded evasively.

Finally getting control of his laughter, he swiped at the corners of his eyes as a few stray chuckles burst forth. His eyes flew back to me as he stood there with his arms crossed over his chest and a smirk on his lips. Staring at me, he finally shook his head as he sighed, “There’s never a dull moment with you, is there Teagan?”

Not really knowing how to respond to that, or whether or not it was worth it to waste my breath trying to explain last nights’ altercation to him, I just shrugged and lamely replied, “I suppose not.”

He still hadn’t answered my question, which I sort of took as a bad sign. Continuing to load food onto my plate, I started pondering my fate and what type of punishment I’d be receiving. I was lost in thought when I joined Kyrie at our table. Biting into my bacon, I glanced up as Sam and Gideon entered the Mess Hall.

“Goooooood moooooorniiing!!” Sam sang gaily to us as he danced towards our table. It cheered me up a little and I shot him a wink while grinning fondly at him. Gideon rolled his eyes at him but he was grinning too. I paid extra close attention to Gideon, trying to see him through Kyrie or Harper’s eyes. His gaze was warm when he caught my eye and smiled at me. His expression was so sweet and adoring that I felt an answering grin tugging at the corners of my lips as they walked past.

Mouth full of pancake, Kyrie nudged me with her elbow as she leaned close to me and whispered, “See? I told you so, Teagan! He always looks at you that way.” Furtively, I glanced over my right shoulder to the buffet table behind me as I chewed thoughtfully. Kyrie copied me, and we both clearly saw that Gideon’s focus was on me as he loaded his plate with food. When he noticed our combined attention on him, his eyes immediately flicked down to his plate but a shy grin hovered over his lips as his face blushed a light pink.

Turning back around to face our food, I winked at Kyrie and whispered, “How’d you get to be so smart, Kyrie?” Dimples flashed at me as she graced me with her angelic smile.

“You can learn a lot if you carefully watch everyone and everything around you.” What a smarty pants. Surprisingly, just like that…my earlier gloomy thoughts started to drift away. I threw my right arm around her shoulders and tugged her close, smooching a noisy kiss on the side of her forehead. She giggled at me, pleased with the little show of affection.

Sam decided to take the empty spot next to me which left Gideon to sit across the table from me. I waved to Harper and Allegra as they entered the Mess Hall. Frowning as I looked at the table-benches, I decided right then and there to make a quick rearrangement so that everyone could sit together if they wanted to. Getting to my feet, I told my companions, “Be back in a sec.”

I darted over to the next table with the intention of pulling it over to ours so that they were flush together. To my surprise, Gideon had anticipated my plans and had followed me to help me push the tables together. Pleased, I leaned into him, snaking my arms around his waist in a quick hug. “You’re such a sweetheart! Thanks for helping. Let’s get one more.” We dragged another table over and pushed it up next to where Sam was sitting. Standing back, I surveyed our handiwork with satisfaction. Now we would all fit. Marisol entered the room next and smiled when she saw the grouped tables. Kyrie patted the empty spot to her right and said, “I’ll save this seat for you Marisol!”

For the antisocial crowd, there were still five table-benches scattered throughout the dining area. There was no doubt in my mind that Leif, Aidan, and Zima would be occupying one of those tables.

Cassidy, Logan, and Gabe filtered in just as Harper, Allegra, and Marisol were seating themselves. Taken aback by the tables that were pushed together, they all stopped short, staring uncertainly at us for a few seconds. Catching my eye and looking anxious, Logan asked, “Do you mind if we join you guys too?” I found it charming that he asked permission because it showed that he was polite and had good manners.

“Of course you can sit with us! That’s why we did this.” I laughed as I asked, “Did you really think I’d say no?” He just shrugged his shoulders with an embarrassed lopsided grin. “Go grab your breakfast and come join us.”

Finished with my own breakfast, I pushed my plate away and reached for my hot coffee. Taking a sip, I set my mug down just as Sam scooched himself over until he was pressed right up against my left side. There were twitters of laughter around us as everyone watched Sam’s antics. Releasing a dramatic sigh, he informed me, “I missed you!”

I snorted before replying. “What do you mean? You saw me yesterday!”

“Yes….but…we used to spend every night together at the smaller barracks. After dinner last night, everyone disappeared into their own rooms. I played video games with Gideon for a while but around 9ish, we decided to see if you wanted to hang out. I wanted to see if you wanted a manicure or a pedicure. But I knocked and knocked on your door and you didn’t answer!” His voice was slightly accusatory as he leaned his cheek against the top of my head and threw his right arm around my shoulders.
Geez…talk about separation anxiety.

It was at this point that Logan, Gabe and Cassidy rejoined us and took seats wherever they could. I noticed Gabe eyeing us suspiciously, as I’m sure I probably looked funny with big hulking Sam draped all over me. My attention returned to Sam as he continued with his story.

“Then Gideon and I remembered what Sergeant Ramsey once told us; about how sometimes you have insomnia, and when you can’t sleep you usually go to the gym to work out some more. So we decided to go to the gym to see if you were there,” He released a disappointed sigh as he ended with, “…but you weren’t there either.”

I caught the panicked look in Harper and Allegra’s eyes, but I couldn’t prevent my outburst of laughter. Sam was just so dramatically funny sometimes. By way of explanation, I simply said, “I went swimming. You’re afraid of the water and can’t swim, otherwise maybe I would’ve invited you along.”

Logan was in the midst of swallowing a mouthful of scrambled egg when he started to choke. Cassidy, who was sitting beside him, had to set his fork down so he could thump him on the back a few times. When he could finally speak, he looked at me and said, “You were in a swimsuit last night…and we all missed it?”

I quickly turned to my right and rolled my eyes for Kyrie and Marisol’s benefit. When I turned back to the front, I saw that Gideon, Logan, and Gabe had the same far-off glazed looks in their eyes. Balling up my napkin, I threw it at Logan’s face and demanded, “Hey! You better not be imagining me in a swimsuit!”

That snapped Gideon out of his daze and he shot a warning look at Logan as he echoed, “Knock it off. Stop visualizing Teagan in a swimsuit.” I didn’t bother pointing out that I was pretty sure Gideon was doing the exact same thing.

Staring at Allegra and Harper, I groaned and muttered, “Good God.” Harper just waggled her eyebrows at me suggestively, and I resisted the urge to throw a balled up napkin at her for her teasing. My glance drifted over Harper’s shoulder and I was surprised to see that Aidan and Zima were both sitting down and eating breakfast at separate tables. I hadn’t even noticed them enter the Mess Hall. The sight of them seated so far away made me more than a little sad. It was my fervent hope that sometime in the near future, Aidan and Zima could finally let go of their hatred and learn to become team players. It had to be a lonely existence here for them when they refused to make friends with the rest of us.

Glancing at the wall clock, I saw that it was nearly time for someone to come along and collect us for training. No sooner did the thought enter my mind than I saw Sergeants Honda and Flynn enter the front doors to the Mess Hall. I felt more than a little nervous when they both flicked glances my way.

Clapping his hands a few times to get our attention, Sergeant Flynn announced, “Everyone to your feet. We’re going to have a little meeting this morning first before heading on over to the gym for our daily training.” A feeling of dread settled in the pit of my stomach as I wondered if the meeting had something to do with me.

Leading the way to one of the large conference rooms in the back, I purposely fell behind and allowed the others to precede me as they followed Sergeants Honda and Flynn down the hallway. Sam and Gideon cast me curious looks, but at that moment, I turned and whistled for Mercer which spurred Gideon into action as he hustled down the hall after the other guys. Together, Sam and I brought up the rear. Even though Sam was unaware of my inner turmoil, I felt a small measure of comfort when he linked his arm through mine.

As we entered the room, I saw that the other sergeants were all there lined up along the front of the room.
Geez! What is this?
The only seats remaining happened to be in the front row to the far left. Taking my seat, I glanced up and made direct eye contact with Sergeant Ramsey who was standing right in front of me. His look was inscrutable as he took two steps forward and crouched so that we were nearly eye level with each other. Reaching out to gently grip my chin in his strong fingers, he tilted my face first to the left and then to the right, and it occurred to me he was probably looking for bruising from last nights’ fight.

Finished with his inspection, he stepped back but Sergeant Kami and Jamie both rushed forward to take his place. Jamie reached out to grip my shoulder as she asked, “Are you okay?”

I felt my face heating up in embarrassment under the weight of everyone’s stare. Keeping my voice low I whispered, “I’m fine.” Nodding in satisfaction when they saw that I was really okay, Sergeant Kami and Jamie turned around to rejoin the other staff. Involuntarily, my head turned to the right and I cringed when I saw that indeed everyone was staring at me with baffled looks on their faces. It took all of my willpower not to slump low in my chair to hide from their heavy scrutiny.

Sergeant Flynn spoke loudly as he addressed everyone in the room. “Late last night, an incident took place in the Mess Hall. We want to show you the video of what happened, at the end of which we’ll be going over a couple of non-negotiable rules that we’ve put in place for your safety.” Looking to the back of the room, he murmured, “Lights please.”

Looking over my shoulder, I saw that Amos had joined us and was currently dimming the lighting in the room. With a remote, Sergeant Ramsey flicked on the large flat screen television mounted on the wall. After pushing a series of buttons, an image of the Mess Hall came into view and showed Aidan and Leif sitting together at one of the tables. This was right before I had walked in on them.

The military staff all scooted off to the side to give the program participants an unobstructed view of the screen. Sergeant Ramsey clicked another button, and audio suddenly filled the room. Everyone could clearly hear them plotting their escape off the base. The room was too dark for me to gauge Aidan’s reaction at getting caught red-handed.

Suddenly, a different camera showed my entrance into the Mess Hall and I blanched when I saw how mismatched and frumpy I appeared. Having no choice but to relive last nights’ escapade, I watched the screen along with the others but cringed at Leif’s filthy half of the dialogue. I hoped someone was making an effort to cover Kyrie’s ears at least.

The television suddenly showed a split screen image; one of me in the kitchen hurriedly searching for tea, while the other half of the screen showed an agitated Leif pacing and swearing just outside the kitchen doors.

As I left the kitchen, everybody’s attention was glued to the screen as the ensuing fight began. When the scene came where Leif had fisted my hair and delivered his cheap shot, there were a few gasps of outrage inside the room. I winced as the sound of his double-slap echoed on the audio feed. Honestly, it looked and sounded way worse on TV than it actually was. Next to me I felt Sam reach over and grasp my left hand, giving it a comforting squeeze of support.

It was at this point that the fight turned nasty. My movements were fluid and graceful as I lashed out from one attack to the next. In the time span of about a minute, the fight was over and Leif lay crumpled on the floor in a small puddle of his own blood. I was filled with dismay to see that the camera actually zoomed in to take a close up of my face as I bent down and sneered, “Who’s the bitch now?”

Suddenly, I felt a wave of anxiety wash over me. I didn’t relish the idea of Kyrie and Marisol seeing this hard and ruthless side of me. I never wanted them to fear me. The lights came back on as Sergeant Ramsey flicked the pause button on the TV. Walking to the front of the room, he spoke. “Lesson one from this video, is that we hear all and see all in this place. Whatever idiotic plans some of you may have concocted in your heads to escape, know that your plan will always fail. You can never leave this place. Maybe later on down the road when you’ve earned our trust, we might grant you permission to go on missions. But more than half of you still have a long ways to go as far as your training is concerned before we’ll even consider sending you on a mission. Work hard, and who knows what the future will hold for you?”

Sergeant Flynn joined Sergeant Ramsey at the front of the room and picked up where he left off. “Lesson two, fighting is strictly prohibited on base unless it’s a training exercise, or a sparring session in the Gym. The type of fighting that took place last night is inexcusable and subject to punishment. That being said, Teagan, you are exempt from today’s training since you will be spending that time fulfilling the terms of your disciplinary action.”

Immediately, verbal protests from various sources started to sound throughout the room, but it was Kyrie who surprised me the most. She had been sitting in the front row on the opposite end of me and at the mention of punishment, she popped out of her seat like a jack-in-the-box, and raced to stand in front of me with her arms outstretched as if to physically block them from delivering their punishment. It was rather cute. Glaring at Sergeant Flynn she demanded, “Why is Teagan the one who’s being punished? We all heard her asking Leif to stop. She even told him that she didn’t want to fight with him. Leif was the one who was doing all the punching…up until he slapped her. After that, it was purely self-defense!”