Lauren and Landon were upstairs listening in to the conversation that was happening downstairs in the living room. They both knew that what they were doing was wrong, but they wanted their favorite and only uncle and aunt to actually be together. Lauren grabbed Landon's hand and squeezed it because that was the only way that she could get her message across to him.
She whispered to him, "They're going on a walk!! We should follow them."
Landon turned his head towards the voice. "We can't do that. That's wrong. Let them do their thing and then we'll ask later." he whispered back.
"But-"
"No buts, Lauren. Now come on. Let's go back inside. Let them do their thing."
~~~~~~~~~
Emileigh and Bryan walked out together and walked in the same direction. "Where do you want to go?" Bryan asked Emileigh.
"Anywhere quiet." Emileigh answered.
Bryan knew just the place. They walked to the restaurant where they had gone for their first double date.
Emileigh looked at him with confusion on her face. "I said I wanted somewhere quiet."
Bryan smiled to himself and then he answered Emileigh's unasked question. "This is a quiet place. It's not very busy in the mornings since many people are sleeping in or going to work. I always come here when I need to think. I usually do it in the mornings, when everybody else is asleep. It's a great place to be."
Emileigh studied Bryan as he said this. He was looking beyond her, obviously distracted. It was as if he was saying this in a forced manner. He hadn't wanted to tell her that, she knew, but it meant a lot that he did. In many ways, Bryan reminded her of her ex-boyfriend, the one who ruined her life by breaking her in the worst way possible. But there were many other things that made Bryan stand out.
The complete honesty in which he said and did things was something her ex-boyfriend didn't have. The look of pain in his eyes told her that he had much that he didn't want to say. But something also got to her. She saw something else in his eyes. It was worry and disgust and it seemed like he was always looking over his shoulder, like he was afraid of something. This behavior she didn't understand. Emileigh knew Bryan was a soldier, but she didn't think it was that. Or was it? she thought to herself.
Bryan came out of his trance and looked at Emileigh. It was obvious that she was deep in thought. He stood there, waiting. Throwing glances at her every once in a while. He wondered what it was that those eyes touched with pain were hiding. He wanted to know her story, why she had come here in the first place.
She was beautiful, he thought. Her eyes were capable of seeing right through you. He knew this well. The first time that Emileigh had looked into his eyes, Bryan felt that she already knew what was going on. It was something that he had never experienced before, especially when meeting a girl. She was definitely different.
Snap out of it, he thought. You're not going to get anywhere with her. You've already got problems. No girl will ever want to be with you.
He looked up and saw that Emileigh was just looking at him. He smiled at her and then asked her if she was ready to go inside. She nodded and he led her to the restaurant.
When they walked in, there was nobody inside. Only a few employees were cleaning the tables, and mopping the floor, so that it would be ready by the time that the restaurant got busy.
Bryan turned to Emileigh and once again smiled. "I told you it was quiet."
Emileigh let out a small laugh. "Okay....okay. I was wrong, but don't judge me. I've never been here before."
"I wasn't," he said, smiling as he looked into her eyes.
It was at that moment that Emileigh felt chills going down her spine. Bryan's gaze made her breath catch in her chest. He looked so good. He was handsome and there was a warm kindness in his eyes that she couldn't quite explain. She had to force herself to look away. What was that? she thought to herself.
"You okay?" Bryan asked, bringing Emileigh back from her thoughts.
She turned to him and smiled. "Yes...everything's fine."
"So...." Bryan started.
"So," Emileigh said in response. "Umm....what's your favorite sport?"
"Soccer. Without a doubt. What's yours?"
"I have two. I love volleyball. I used to be on the high school volleyball team and then, it's soccer. It's funny though, because people are so shocked when they find out soccer is one of my favorite sports."
He chuckled. "I'm not. You're definitely the whole package."
Emileigh blushed with all intensity. She knew it was obvious, but if Bryan had seen the blush on her face, he didn't show it.
"Want anything to drink?" he asked her.
"Not really. I'm fine."
Bryan looked uneasy. He was deciding to tell her what he had told Landon. But if she was hanging out with him, she had to know. "I have something to tell you," he said.
Emileigh was smiling but as soon as she saw his face, her smiled faltered. "What's wrong?"
"I've changed. Sometimes I just lose it. Not in the way of getting violent, but I mean I lose the sense of where I am, in what time I actually am. I'm not sure of this because I don't remember but I think it's happened when Landon was around. I screamed out a name. I can't sleep at night, and it's so bad that sometimes I have to take sleeping pills to sleep. I'm going back in two weeks."
At the last sentence, Emileigh's breath hitched in her chest. "You're leaving again?"
"Yes. I have to."
Emileigh looked into his eyes. All that he had told her worried her. It wasn't normal, but she admired the loyalty he had to the country and to his men. "You're leaving after all that you just told me?"
Bryan looked at her. "I've never had these episodes when I go back. I have them here and to my knowledge it's happened once. So if it happens again, I want you to stay away from me. Usually I'm fine. But I don't want to cause you any harm."
Emileigh felt scared. Bryan saw the fear flash in her eyes. He didn't blame her. If it hadn't been for Landon being there, he knew that he wouldn't be so controlled. He wouldn't blame her if Emileigh would leave the restaurant right then.
He looked up at her. "It's okay. You don't have to be here if you don't want me to. I honestly am not sure if I'm okay. I wouldn't want to be with myself either if I were you."
Emileigh kept a straight face as she answered him, "I never said I didn't want to be with you."
Bryan was surprised by Emileigh's answer. He had expected her to just leave without looking back. Instead, she was still sitting in the same place as him. He studied her face. "I'm sorry. Did I just hear you right?"
"Yes, you did." Emileigh explained. "I'm not going to let that scare me away. You're the first friend I have made here. I'll work my way around it."
As he heard these words, Bryan couldn't help the tears that were rushing to his eyes. He couldn't stop the tears that were threatening to fall down. He cleared his throat. She is something else, he thought.
As he looked at her, Bryan didn't know what to say. He said what he thought was the most appropriate. "Thank you."
Emileigh smiled. She liked Bryan. He was very easy to talk to and she felt safe around him. Don't let that fool you, her conscience told her, it was the same with your ex-boyfriend.
She shook the thought away, knowing that her ex-boyfriend was now a problem of the past. It still scared her and that was why she was more guarded. The determination of not being hurt again was what justified her tough exterior; it was what justified the walls that she had brought up around herself.
"Do you want something to drink?" he asked her.
She shook her head slightly. "I just want to sit and talk."
Bryan nodded, and they did just that. For the next two hours, all Emileigh and Bryan did was talk.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lauren was impatient to know what had happened.
"Lauren would you please stop pacing back and forth?" Landon asked her.
Lauren looked at him and asked him, "How did you know I was pacing back and forth?"
"I can hear your feet, Lauren. They've been doing the same movement since Uncle Bryan and Emileigh left."
Lauren finally sat down. "I'm just nervous."
Landon chuckled. "I know, but let them be. They'll come back eventually."
Lauren turned to look at Landon. "You're so patient."
Landon turned his head in her direction. "I have to be. This is how I am."
Lauren thought about what Landon had said. "That definitely is a good thing. I don't know many guys who are patient."
"I think I got it from my dad. He was a very patient man."
A smile reached Lauren's lips. "It would have been great to meet him. From what you've told me, your father sounds like a great man."
Landon nodded. "He was. He always put his family first and he was the best of fathers. I admired him so much. I promised myself that when I became a father, I would be like my own dad. I still miss him. And this might sound crazy, but sometimes I feel that he's standing right there, encouraging me to keep going forward."
"That's not crazy. It's natural. I believe that sometimes they do come down to visit us. Just for a little while, you know?"
"Yeah." Landon searched his way over to Lauren. When he was sure that Lauren was in front of him, he searched for her hand. He took a breath and then he said, "Thank you. Thanks for understanding."
Lauren couldn't help but look at him. Despite Landon being blind, she felt his intense look. The way that he was keeping his eyes steady made her feel like he was looking into her soul. Despite herself, Lauren looked away. She didn't understand the effect that Landon had on her. It was different. She had felt nothing like it.
"You okay?" Landon asked, when he didn't get a response.
"Yeah." she said, barely above a whisper. "You don't have to thank me for anything."
"I thank people. It's what I do."
Lauren smiled. "I know. That's what makes you so amazing. Not many people thank others, even when they know they should have thanked them."
"I'm sure that's not true."
"You'd be surprised."
"I'm not easily surprised anymore." he said without thinking.
Lauren looked back at his face. The expression on Landon's face was filled with seriousness. I guess that's what years of rejection does to someone, she thought.
"Lauren," he said after a long pause.
"Yes?"
"Promise me you'll never give up on me. Promise me that, no matter what happens, you won't be like the other people that turned their back on me. Promise me you won't ever leave me."
Tears filled Lauren's eyes. The fact that Landon had to ask someone to promise him these things broke her heart. She looked at him and she said, "I promise, Landon. I promise I won't be the one to hurt you like many others have. I promise that I'll always be here."
Lauren was overcome by the impulse to hug him. She went over to him and wrapped her arms around him. "They were stupid to not see how amazing you are."
Landon was surprised by this action. Lauren was hugging him. He wrapped his arms around her. Everything felt just right.