She's My Bodyguard

Nineteen

Almost seven months of waking up, puking my guts up, intolerable mood swings, and made to not do anything...

I was going stir crazy.

Mason has been insufferable. Since we went to the first visit, it was like he was walking on glass around me. Spit hadn't let him near me much either, which didn't help much. I'd been falling asleep on the couch more often than not these last two weeks because he wouldn't touch me.

I was in the home stretch now. I just wanted this little monster out of me so I could sleep without the gymnastics in my belly.

I needed the little bastard out so I could go back on my medication. Sounds horrible, I know, but it was the truth. It's not that I didn't want the baby. I just wanted it out of me.

Agnes had became a mother hen, chiding me if I even looked like I was going to run out of the house. A short half-mile walk down the trail was as far as I went with her.

"What's the pregnant lady concoction today?" Agnes asked, already started on dinner.

"I'm really not hungry for the first time throughout this whole thing." She hummed, ushering me to go sit down.

"A sign the little one might be on its way soon." She went back to the kitchen, and came back with a cup of apple mango tea, placing it right on top of my bump. Her humor was definitely the one thing getting me through this. She literally put dishes on my stomach since I couldn't help myself up, and was rather amused with herself.

"I'm making chicken Alfredo with broccoli if you do get hungry later." She opened the door to let Spit go for his perimeter run, but he wouldn't budge from my side. "Possibly another sign."

"Are you kidding? He's been glued to my side since before we found out." I scratched his head. He whined slightly when I stopped. The door opened and Mason came in. He looked disheveled, like he'd been out drinking.

"Sorry... Lucifer was in town." It was his only remaining brother from his squad. If I could, I'd be in the same position.

"Did you have a nice time?" I kept petting Spit to keep him from growling or snapping at him as he came to sit beside me.

"He's going through a divorce... Mostly him drinking away his misery." He eyed Spit, who was glaring at him.

"Behave." I told the dog, which elicited a whine. "Dare I ask the reason?"

"Same reason I never had a woman warm my bed for several years. Night terrors." He sighed, kicking his feet up. "His have been becoming worse as of lately... They always do around this time of year."

When his squad went down in the exfil... Their helo went down and he and Lucifer were the only ones who were miraculously alive.

"That's why you've been sleeping out here or the other room..."

"Exactly. I didn't want to hurt you." Normally, I'd be fine. Right now, not so much.

"She knew what she was signing up for when she agreed to marry a soldier. A front line, none the less." He shook his head.

"Brenda has always been a greedy bitch. It had to be all about her. When he accidentally knocked her up, she went behind his back, got an abortion, and didn't even consult him. Even though I'm all for women's rights, I don't think she wanted to be stuck with him forever like that." I blinked. "And no, I don't think of you that way. I'm not insinuating that you're stuck with me, I'm just explaining the way it is with them."

"Why would he marry her knowing that?"

"Love blinds people. He did love her, she only loved his money." Agnes peered out and announced that dinner was ready. If anything, her garlic bread made my stomach rumble.