Letters To My Soldier

Letter Twenty Seven

July 2019

I wait patiently for him, because he needs this, his expression desperate.

And when his voice starts to come back to him, what he tells me, what I've been waiting to hear ever since that first summer, renders me completely blind to anything else but him.

"I love you."

~X~X~X~X~

"I love you too," I say with a trembling hand caressing his face. I refrain from crushing him into a hug and kissing the hell out of him, because he must be in a lot of pain, but also because we need to talk over things. There are still things that need to be cleared up.

"Hold on Heath, let me get the doctor," I run to the door and spot some nurses at their reception area. They run into the room and try to calm Heath down who is still trying to form words, but after speaking to me his voice had given out.

Eventually, Heath becomes exhausted while the nurses finish up the tests and promise to have results back in two hours. Once they leave the room, I sit in the chair I occupied before and grasp Heath's large hand.

Heath squeezes my hand lightly and asks softly, "Water?"

I reach over to the side table ad pick up a cup of water I filled while they were taking tests, and hold it up to his chapped lips. He takes huge gulps and I place it back on the table when he's done.

"Priscilla," he says, his voice much clearer, "I'm so sorry-"

"Shh, Heath, we'll talk later okay?"

"But-"

"Later."

Heath's ears turn pink and his eyes get a little red and puffy as well, as if he were going to cry.

I've never seen Heath cry and I never wanted to. His emotions and the medications were getting to him when they were usually locked and bolted shut.

"Please don't leave."

"Heath-"

"I have no right to ask you that, because I did the same to you. I was stupid and frightened because so many people have left me, and I didn't want to see you leave me. So I left, and I'm so sorry," he rasped out slowly.

"Heath," I whisper and wipe a stray tear off his cheek, "I would never leave you. You know that right? Never. You'll never be alone again."

His breathing became even again as I continued to rub my thumb under his eye where a tiny new scar had formed from his last deployment.

"Stay with me?" he asks drowsily.

"I am."

"No, come closer," he says and I feel his hands lightly grip my waist, though he doesn't have the strength to pull me down next to him like I assume he wants to do.

So, I lay down next to him and am careful to avoid the tender spots from his injuries.

His breathing evens out quickly once we're comfortable and I trace patterns on his chest while listening to his light snores.

~X~X~X~X~

"You think we should wake her?"

"No, they look peaceful for the first time in months."

"Well, I have a date to get to so..."

I hear a light scoff and footsteps walk closer to the bed.

"Have fun," I identify the voice as Rebecca, "Just ditch your best friend after he's been out for months and go on a date with some slut."

"Look, if you're jealous than just say it. Otherwise you're coming off as a real jerk," Mike says.