Shot Throught the Heart

twelve

When I got home, I saw that moms car was parked in the driveway along with Dominics. I parked out front and walked right into the house, a little concerned the front door wasn't locked. Guess that's what happens here when crime is almost non-existent. I barely shut the door behind me when I found Peyton coming out of the living room. She jumped a little when she saw me but came over to me and pulled me into a hug.

            "Hey, you okay?" I asked wondering what was up with the display of affection.

            "Yea, this morning was rough with Dominic and I just could use a hug from you." Peyton said so I just held onto her tighter.

            "I'm here for however long you need." I said and rested my cheek on Peytons shoulder.

            "Where were you all day?" Peyton asked and slowly pulled away from me.

            "I went for a run after getting all of dads stuff out of the truck then went and got a tattoo. As I was finishing up, I ran into Mallory and we actually had a conversation about things, clearing the air between us, at least for now. There's more I want to talk to her about but we laid it on thick and I think we both needed a breather." I said.

            "It's about time, that girl is still in love with you Daniella, she always has been." Mom said from the living room. I gave Peyton a smile and wrapped my arm around hers as we walked into the living room together. Dominic and mom are both spread out on the floor with the content of the boxes all over the place.

            "Did you read your letter yet?" Dominic asked as I sat down on the floor near them to take stock of everything they pulled out so far.

            "No, I'll read it when I get home before I leave. I can't read it right now. Today was the first day since I got home I haven't felt numb and I needed it." I said and ran a hand through my hair.

            "Let's see this tattoo then." Dominic said and moved closer to me.

            I pulled my sleeve up a little bit to show them what I got. I didn't have to explain it much to them as they all knew what the poem meant to dad and I. After they all got a good look in, we moved on to going through the boxes. I started to go through a box of pictures, taken them out of the frames and collecting them in a pile next to all of the patches and challenge coins dad had. The only one I didn't take out of the frame was the photo of mom and dad from their wedding day. When I came across it I turned around and handed the frame over to mom. She gave me a watery smile and held onto the frame tightly before setting it down next to her on the couch.

            It took a a little while to go through all of the boxes. By the time they were empty we were all ready for dinner. Peyton ordered us some Chinese food and we all took a break when it got delivered. As I was in the middle of eating, I was also checking my emails from the day and found out there is a plane going home to Fort Benning that is leaving on Saturday morning if I wanted to jump on it. I made a few phone calls and made the arrangements and got the rest of the details together before hanging up. Once I had all of that sorted out I sent my flight information to Morgan and asked if she could pick me up from the airfield. It didn't take long for her to answer a yes and I put my phone down to finish off my dinner.

            When I finished up dinner I told my family about my travel plans and we all were pretty quiet now that I have an official plane ticket back home. It was then that I asked if we could take a trip out to dads condo tomorrow to go through some things while I have time. Everyone agreed and I let out a quiet thank you before I went back to the living room. Looking around there was only a few things I wanted to take home with me. Dominic joined me a few minutes later as I collected most of the pictures up.