The Veteran Left Behind - ON HOLD

Chapter 13

On the way home, Ben realized he could call the local VA to see if they had a canceled appointment he could take. He looked at the time and hoped he wasn't too late. Ben dialed the VA number as Radcliff silently drove.

"Hello, thank you for calling the Falcon Veteran Clinic. Please listen to all the menu options as they have may have changed. If this is an emergency, hang up and dial 911....."

Ben waited through all the prompts until the "Mental Health Clinic" came up as number four. He dialed it and waited through three rings. Elevator music suddenly came on.

"I'm going to be on hold forever," muttered Ben.

The rest of the car ride, his ear sat on the speaker feeling sore and his arm grew tired holding it up for so long. The music was still playing when Radcliff pulled up to Ben's house. Ben shut the phone and unbuckled his seat belt.

"You sure you will be okay."

"Yep, I'll be fine. Thanks again for doing this for me."

"Anytime, man. Want me to help you out?"

Ben shuffled his feet through the open doorway. He gingerly put his feet on the ground and pulled himself up with the car door.

"I think I can hop in my house."

Ben shut the door before Radcliff could argue. He limped to his house gritting his teeth through the pain not wanting burden anyone anymore. Ben got to his door and at waved Radcliff. Radcliff returned the wave and took off in his car. Ben watched him go down the street and grabbed the car keys from his shorts. He hopped to his car and saw his cane was inside when he opened the door. Since the VA wasn't going to answer his call, he was going in there.

Ben took off and headed to the VA clinic. When he arrived, the parking lot was packed. Ben parked towards the middle of the parking lot and grabbed his cane. He gingerly put his foot down and pulled himself with the cane to get out of the car car. He walked carefully to the clinic and through the doors.

It was bustling with activity. Ben swallowed down the anxiety and walked straight back to the elevators. He slowly made his way to the mental health clinic. When he walked towards the desk he groaned seeing the long line of veterans waiting. Ben looked down at his leg and hoped he could stand for that long. He stood behind an older woman and looked at the desk to see who was working. The woman he blew up on yesterday didn't seem to be there. Ben adjusted his leg and put both his hands on the cane trying to relieve the pressure on it with his head down.

"Did an IED do that?"

Ben shot his head up and saw the older woman he was standing in front of was speaking to him.

Did she just ask me.......

The older man she was with snapped his neck to the side looking appalled.

"Eveline, these young vets don't like talking about it."

Ben felt jaw tighten. His brain seemed to be going a mile a minute with a mixture of emotions. Embarrassment, anger, depression, fury, sadness....all the emotions he could never process verbally. Ben felt himself starting to withdraw. The pain in his leg was becoming unbearable. The memories flooding him like a picture book being flipped through quickly was overwhelming him. Ben took a step back and almost ran into the veteran behind him.

"Sorry," muttered Ben as he stepped away from the line.

He quickly walked over to the elevator and pressed the down button a few times. The elevator doors slowly opened. Ben pushed himself in and hit the ground level button. He started to feel sweat accumulate on his skin. His eyes darted looking for any danger. He was all too aware of the creaking elevator sounds, the slow speed it was going down, and his heart beating in his ears.

Ben walked quickly out of the VA clinic and towards his car. A man in uniform was standing in front of it. Not just any man. Nelson.

Ben stopped in his tracks. He looked how Ben remembered him. Standing tall and proud. A smile playing on his lips looking directly at Ben.

Ben continued to stare at his smiling face.

"Nelson? Nelson!"

Ben lunged forward almost causing himself to fall. He looked down to get his footing and looked up. He was gone in that split of a second. Ben stood there next to his car staring where Nelson was just standing.

No, this isn't happening.

Ben took a step towards his driver's side almost waiting for Nelson to reappear. He sat down in his car, not being as careful as he should causing pain to flood his leg.

"Arghhhhh," he yelled hitting his steering wheel with his palms.

Ben heaved in a few breaths trying to collect his thoughts. His brain was foggy. He couldn't think straight. The pain in his leg was still sharply reminding him it was there. He patted his pockets for his keys hurriedly. He heard them softly clinking in his cargo pocket. He shoved them in the ignition and started his car. He looked around and didn't see Nelson anywhere.

"I just need to go home and sleep," he breathed as he drove out of the parking lot.