Don't fear the reaper - Captain John Price

XXI

Heavy clouds were slowly floating over the sky. The rain had already stopped, but curious eyes were looking up at the sky wondering if the drops of cold rain would fall onto the ground at the very next moment. London was quiet. Christmas lights were shining out from the windows as the night fell on the city. Happy smiles of the families inside of their little nests, and kids' laughter during the happiest festive season were taking over the city from the inside even during the grayest weather.

A dark car of the captain stopped near the one-story house in the quiet neighborhood. Curious neighbors were peaking from behind the dark curtains of their houses, just to catch for a moment the people who were walking towards a lonely house. The tall grass at the front was the main signal about the lifeless silence in every single room of the building. Amelia was sure that her mother visited a property once in a while, to make sure that uninvited guests didn't start living in it or that the building was still standing on the cold land.

The stale air of the building was the first thing that welcomed the two inside of the house. Bright yellow light brought life back to the building, as the footsteps echoed in the hallway. A brunette took a deep breath in, feeling as if her past life was haunting her from every corner, as her brown eyes were running around trying to remember how the place looked back in the days when she left it. Countless boxes were placed in the rooms hiding the personal items of a woman. Clothes, photo albums keeping the happiest moments, books, and every single piece that was important so long ago, in her previous life. Back at the base, her whole life could fit into a small military backpack, and now, Knight was transported back to the days of packing the bags to serve the first year in the army.

"It's a three-hour ride from here to Hereford, love," Price looked at all the boxes in the living room, and then back at Amelia as if trying to remind her that she wasn't going to the other side of the planet anymore and could get anything she needed from the house any time of the year.

"I haven't been here in a while," A brunette softly whispered, as she finally found the courage to go through the first box in the living room. Understanding that it might take a long time, a woman found a comfortable spot on a dusty carpet while her eyes looked back at the captain. "But don't worry John, I won't take forever to pack a bag."

"Take your time. Down worry about it, darling," John's deep blue eyes looked back at the woman, letting a hint of a smile appear on the edges of his lips. He knew how hard it could feel to come back to the life they all once had, outside of the army. But sometimes it is important to bury the past, just to feel free in the present.

Price let himself take a seat on the couch that hadn't seen the warmth of a human body for days. A layer of dust on a coffee table was screaming about the absence of a brunette in her own house, as years were passing by. Once it was filled with voices and laughter, but now it was in the past. One box on the floor was getting opened after another, as Amelia was trying to find at least something to pack inside of the large bag just to remind herself who she once was in the past life.

"What did you do before joining the army, Lia?" The gaze of the captain's eyes was running around over the book titles on the shelves as if he was in the library. Huge cardboard boxes were full of memories from Amelia's childhood. Pre-school days, smiling at the camera surrounded by strangers, and eventually, from the countless photographs the smile faded away, as the years passed in Knights life. Amelia closed a box with photographs as if she was burying it deep under the ground, and looked up at John.

"Tried to build a normal life. I joined forces at 20, later than Johnny did," Her eyes were looking back at the man just for a moment as if a woman was afraid that he would know a little bit more than she wanted about the pain of her past. Finally, after sitting on the dusty floor of the house for the last hour, a book filled a bit of space in the bag.

"So what pushed you to do so, dove?" Price had a long history of the men in his family serving in the military, and it did help him to find his place in the British army back when he just joined it at sixteen years of age. But, the captain always wondered what was pushing the people around him to make the decision they did and join the forces. The house of a brunette looked as if she was trying to escape from her past life, and the army helped her the best in this mission.

"You know, John, I wanted to help my country and save people more, than I wanted to find myself here," Amelia lost herself in her thought for a while. The past was screaming at her from every corner of the house, and the only thing a brunette wanted to do with it – was to burn it down to the ground with the memories inside of her head.

Knight couldn't find any strength inside of her to go through any more boxes that were spread all over the place. Photographs, books, and even the smell of the perfume she used to wear a couple of years ago were hunting her like ghosts of the past she was trying so hard to forget about. Life in the army was intense. One wounded soldier after another was keeping Amelia occupied with her job, leaving not even a single moment to think about her civilian life that was buried in the ground by a woman herself such a long time ago.

But now, surrounded by the past, a lonely tear traveled down her cheek. A brunette was mourning her old self, along with the life that she left in a moment. Hopes of her parents in their child, a building that never became a home, sweet memories of her childhood, every friend that she gained along the way, and the dead fiancé. The emotional wave had taken her over, but a woman promised herself a long time ago to never show the weakest side of her, even in front of the man whom she loved more than her own self.

"Looks like you don't have much stuff in here, eh?" John's voice brought her back into the room, as the captain tried to break the pressure that was building up in the room so fast. He looked at her bag, understanding that maybe it wouldn't get any fuller no matter how many hours they spent inside of the house.

"This place has been empty for years," Amelia took a deep breath in, trying to calm herself down and prevent the possible tears from building up in the corners of her eyes. A woman was surprised that after years of encountering death on a daily basis, such little things as her own past would bring instability to her emotional state of mind. She had to take a couple more deep breaths as the walls felt suffocating, and kept her eyes closed, thinking about the possibly better future. "When I retire I'll be living in the middle of nowhere and baking bread every morning."

"All alone by yourself?" The captain couldn't help but notice how a brunette's mood changed like the weather since they walked inside of the house. His large hand was slowly, almost carefully running up and down her spine, trying to bring comfort to her.

"You'll never know what a surprise life can bring you, captain," Finally, Knight took control of her emotions and threw every other thought away from her head. She looked back at the man whose eyes were on her, with a thankful smile on her face.

But, how bad she wished that life surprised her with him, and not with anyone else. Amelia knew Price was a complicated, stubborn man, and the captain first before any other things in his life. Some part of her knew that the closure with the man would never result in anything else other than an intimate relationship, that helped them both to recharge from the hardest days. But, the brunette's completely different side was aching with the deep feelings for the man inside of her chest, as his lips covered hers and brought the first moment of Knight's happiness in the old house after a long time.

At the end of the day, every single person in our large world wants to feel needed, taken care of, and loved. Even such a tough man as Captain John Price.