Winning the Lottery

Ch. 17 Frontline

I sunk to my knees as tears consumed me. Sob after sob escaped my lips. I couldn't catch my breath. I couldn't function. I just sat there and sobbed. I couldn't believe they were gone. Yeah, they weren't the best parents; in fact, they were awful parents, but they were my parents. Past tense. The thought sent me into another hysteria.

Arms wrapped around me.

I pushed the person away.

"Britt, it's me. It's Jake."

I continued to push him away.

"Britt-"

"No. You obviously don't see us going anywhere, so why are you here? Why do you care?" I sobbed.

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about you not telling me that you're deploying in less then nine months. You obviously think that I'm not going to be around then, so why are you here now?"

He pulled me into his arms. "Hey, I never said that. I was going to tell you, okay? I just needed the right time. We'd been so happy and you got shot. I was waiting for a better time to tell you."

I wrapped my arms around his neck as a sob ripped from my chest.

He rubbed my back. "Britt, breathe. It's okay, breathe."

I shook my head. It wasn't okay.

After what seemed like forever, I ran out of tears. I wiped my eyes and pulled back to look at him. "I love you."

"I love you," he softly smiled, running his thumb across my cheek. "Now, you need to call George, okay? Let him know what happened."

I nodded and got my phone out. I dialed George's number.

"Hello?" he answered.

"Hey, George. It's Britt."

"Hey, girl. What's up?"

"Lou and Dad were in an accident. Lou's in recovery. I think you should come."

"Okay. I'm on my way."

"Bye."

I hung up and looked at Jake.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Promise me something."

"Anything," he nodded.

"When you go overseas, you won't do anything stupid, because I've lost my mom and dad and I can't lose you. I just can't, so I need you to promise to be careful. Can you do that for me?" I whispered.

"Of course," he whispered, giving me a kiss.

"No more secrets."

"No more secrets," he agreed, burying his nose in my hair.

He held me for a few minutes.

I stood. "I've got work to do."

"Okay. Mind if I sit with you?"

"Not at all," I smiled.

He stood and took my hand.

I led him from the room and sat at the nurses' station.

He sat with me.

Kristi came up. "Dr. Malone?"

"Yes?" I spoke, looking up from my papers.

"Dr. Michaels told me to give you this," she spoke, handing me a bag full of my father's belongings. "He was going to deliver it himself, but he was pulled into a surgery."