Love You Till The End (Robert Zussman x Reader)

10 - Y/N L/N

November of 1943

It's already almost the end of the year. It's hard to believe how fast this year has gone. I felt pretty happy about it ending. I wanted a fresh start and I hoped that the new year would be just that for me.

I started working at the munitions factory again and it's really helped to get my mind off things. Thankfully, Wayne appears to be gone and I haven't run into him.

I've felt much better lately, but occasionally I do wake up in the middle of the night because of a nightmare. The nightmare is usually the same. Wayne is trying to strangle me and I'm unable to fight back. It leaves me waking up in a cold sweat and I feel absolutely terrified. I've gotten better at calming myself down though.

When I stepped into the house after getting home from work today, I was shocked at what I saw. My mother and father were both sitting at the dining table. My mother was in tears while my father looked so dazed. I quickly put down my belongings and went over to them.

"What's going on?" I asked, feeling extremely worried. My mother couldn't speak. All she did was direct my attention to a paper that was on the table and she began to cry even louder.

I grabbed it and began to read it.

"Having submitted yourself to a local board composed of your neighbors for the purpose of determining your availability for training and service in the land or naval forces of the United States, you are hereby notified that you have now been selected for training and service therein."

I put down the paper and took a seat. I put my hands over my face, trying my best not to cry. I had always known he was at risk of getting drafted since he was still required to register because he was only 43, but I tried my best to pretend he couldn't be chosen, yet it had finally happened.

"Y/N," my father suddenly said.

"Yes, father?"

He looked into my tear-streaked face and said, "When I'm sent to wherever the hell they decide to send me, I want you to promise me you'll take good care of your mother and your brother. I know it's a lot to ask, but with me being gone, I'm not sure how often I'll be able to send money."

"A lot to ask? Father, you've been sent off once and now they're having you go to war again. You don't have a choice, but I sure as hell do and I promise you that I will do my best to take care of them," I said. I got up and quickly went to hug him.

"I don't want you to go."

"I know. I don't want to either, but if it means protecting you all, then I'll fight once again," he said. I went back to my seat and wiped my face.

He looked so scared, but I could tell he was trying to hide it. His eyes shined with fear more than ever. He was slightly shaking as well.

"I just hope I can calm myself down once I'm on the battlefield. You all have seen me shake. If I can't control it, I'll make myself an easy target," my father sighed.

"Don't you dare talk about death. I don't want to hear it, Richard," my mother finally spoke while wiping the tears off her face.

"Honey, I know you don't, but every soldier on a battlefield stands on death's doorstep. You just never know who's gonna be welcomed in. I'm hoping to come back home, but I can't act like I don't have the possibility of dying or being wounded," he told her.

It hurt me to hear those words come out of his mouth. He's seen things my mother and I haven't. He knows things we don't. It broke my heart knowing that he was going to have to fight in another war.

My father ended up going to lay down. He asked to be left alone and we respected that. I had no motivation to read or talk about his situation with my mother. I wanted this all to just be a bad dream that I would wake up from. I wanted to wake up and let out that sigh of relief, but this was no dream.

My mother eventually made dinner and went off to work. I know she didn't want to go, but I could tell she hoped it would get her mind off the situation.

I didn't eat much since I couldn't build up an appetite. I just sat at the dining table with my brother so he didn't suspect anything was wrong since my father didn't join us for dinner. We had decided not to tell him what had happened because we couldn't build up the courage to do so. He was still too young and wouldn't understand.

After my brother finished eating, I had him get ready for bed so I could read him a story. When I finished the story, he asked me, "What's wrong with father?"

I didn't know how to respond for a moment, but eventually, I told him, "He just had a rough day at work. Don't worry, okay? Get some rest now. Good night."

"Okay, good night."

I felt like bursting into tears as I walked out of my brother's room, but I took a few deep breaths as I walked to my bedroom. When I walked past my parents' bedroom, I could hear my father crying inside. It was very faint and my heart ached for him as I listened, but I didn't want to disturb him.

I went into my bedroom and got ready for bed. As I laid down, the tears that I had tried to hold back before, we're now being released. I cried as quietly as I could.

I couldn't let this happen. I didn't want my father to fight in a war again. Being on a battlefield sounds terrifying, but I'd prefer if I was there rather than my father. There has to be some kind of a way I could take his place on the battlefield. Soldiers are needed, so why should being a woman matter? If I trained hard enough, I could be capable of fighting as good as a man. I decided that I would go to the local board tomorrow and try to enlist. It was a crazy idea, but I had to at least try the best I could for my father.