"How ya feeling?" Zuss asked me as he and Aiello helped me clean my bloody and bruised face. I smiled at them both and let out a silent chuckle. "Like a million dollars."
I had been out cold for a few hours. My body was aching, but it could have been worse. Pierson could have killed me. It was just a small punishment.
"He's a bastard." Aiello angrily muttered as he cleared up the dried blood on my bottom lip and chin. I closed my eyes and sighed. "Maybe next time I should make sure he's not around." I half joked.
"Well, you weren't wrong, Green. Just can't believe he could beat a woman like that and not care." Zuss said. I shook my head slightly and opened my eyes.
"He was drunk. He probably can't remember shit." I told Zuss and he simply nodded.
Daniels and Stiles entered the tent and walked over to us. "Pierson's calm. And when I say calm, he's passed out from the drink." Daniels said to me. I shrugged my shoulders at his words and looked up at him. "Not surprised." Was all I could say.
"On the bright side, Green, you still have your same pretty face." Aiello grinned, all I could do was blush in return.
Once they cleaned my face, I thanked them and stood up. I could still function. It's not like he did THAT much damage. But still.
I unzipped my jacket and rolled up my shirt to reveal the dark purple bruise on my abdomen. "Shit..." I mumbled quietly and pulled my shirt back down.
It was a good job I couldn't see my back.
"He won't remember a thing when he wakes up. I wouldn't mention it or remind him." Daniels said and I nodded my head at him.
I sat down on the table and stared at the floor. "He reminded me of my previous lover." I said quietly. "The things he was saying. I mean, it was my fault anyway. But still, he reminded me of that awful man." I explained to the boys.
They stayed quiet and listened to me continue.
"He... He made me feel so weak. So small." I stumbled over my words and lowered my head in embarrassment.
"Guys," Aiello began and turned to the others, "Could you give us a second?" He asked and they nodded.
"Sure. Let's go get another coffee." Daniels said and pulled Zuss and Stiles away.
Aiello sat on the table next to me and lifted my head to look up at him, using his index finger under my chin. My gaze met his and my heart melted at his beauty. I gave him a little smile and watched as he did the same.
"He won't ever hurt you again." Aiello said, referring to Jason. I nodded my head at him and he gave me a stern but slightly gentle look. "I will make sure of it." He told me and I couldn't help but blush at his words.
I nodded again and tried to hold back the tears that were brimming. He pulled me into his embrace and I rested my head against his chest, listening to his heartbeat.
"You are so brave." He muttered into my hair, "You stood up to a fucking Sergeant, Heidi. You stood up to two men." He continued as I wrapped my arms around him.
He kissed the top of my head and ran his hand through my hair in a soothing motion.
There was no point in hiding my feelings for Frank Aiello. There's something about him.
I slowly moved away from him and our eyes locked once again. "Thank you." I softly said to him, my voice just above a whisper. He grinned and his hand cupped one of my cheeks. My gaze slowly moved to his lips and I was about to move closer to him.
I heard footsteps approaching our tent and the sound of Zussman laughing. Aiello slowly pulled his hand away from me and I stood up from the wooden table.
Luckily, they didn't see a thing when they entered the tent.
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"Let's go! Let's go!" Pierson ordered as we pushed ahead. We took out as many Krauts as possible and advanced to the buildings up ahead.
I clutched onto my STG-44 and sprinted with the others, trying to avoid taking damage. I found cover and began firing at some of the enemies on the MGs.
"MGs are clear!" I yelled out to Pierson and he nodded in my direction.
I ran ahead and reloaded my assault rifle, making sure to find more cover.
"Shit!" I heard one of us scream out in agony. I looked around frantically to see one of our own on the ground, a huge wound on his shoulder. I dragged him to cover and began working on his wound. "Zuss! Stiles! Cover me!" I shouted to them and they obeyed.
"You're gonna be okay." I reassured him and slowly moved his hand away from his wound. I pulled out my small first aid kit and grabbed some pliers. His eyes widened in fear but I calmed him by pushing a cigarette in between his lips, lighting it for him. "Trust me." I told him and he simply nodded his head slowly. I began digging for the bullet, hoping it wouldn't be in hundreds of fragments. His screams made me wince and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't ignore them.
I pulled out a huge fragment of the bullet and tossed it to the side, flicking the blood from my hand. "Nearly done..." I said to him quietly. I let him calm down a little before digging for the other piece, his screams became louder and louder. I tried to hurry as best as I could as I needed to ensure he wouldn't bleed out. I quickly pulled out the last piece and wasted no time wrapping his wound in a gauze, tying it tightly to prevent any loss of blood.
His heavy breathing filled my ears and I looked up at him with a reassuring smile. Two soldiers sprinted towards us and helped the guy off the ground. "We'll take him to the CCP!" I nodded at them and got up from the ground, wiping the blood on my uniform.
I pushed ahead with the others and we got to the entrance of the house filled with the enemies. "Daniels! Get the door!" Pierson yelled and Daniels obliged. He kicked it down and Aiello wasted no time
tossing grenades inside. We waited for them to explode before rushing inside, taking the rest of the enemies out on the ground floor.
"Daniels! Zussman! Take the rest out upstairs!" They quickly moved up the stairs and the rest of us waited for Pierson's next order.
"The rest of us will move to the next house. Let's go!" We followed as he lead the way.
I aimed my assault rifle at the enemies who were guarding the entrance and took them out before they could injure or kill any of us.
We made it to the door and I waited for Pierson's signal. He gave me a silent nod and I quickly kicked down the door. Stiles tossed a smoke through and that was our cue to move inside. I fired at any Kraut I could see and hoped they couldn't see me.
"All clear!" Reynolds yelled to us and we stopped shooting. "Green and Aiello! Clear upstairs!" Pierson yelled.
I led the way and moved up the stairs cautiously. I slowly opened one of the doors and found to Krauts already dead on the floor. "I'm guessing they were the ones on the MGs." Aiello said as we moved to the next room. Clear. We shifted over to the final room and Aiello slowly opened the door to reveal a Kraut laying on the ground, slowly bleeding out from a bullet wound. He didn't bother to shoot us, he just led there coughing up blood.
My face slightly softened at the sight but he glanced up at us and scrunched his nose at me. He muttered something in German and flipped me off. I looked at Aiello and simply fired a single bullet into his skull, putting him out of his misery.
"Upstairs is clear, sir!" I yelled as we hurried down the stairs. Pierson nodded at me and we ran outside to take the other enemies down.
—————————————————————
"Green!" I turned around and saw the guy I saved earlier. He limped over to me with the support of two other men and gave me a weak smile. "I just wanted to say thank you. I would have been dead if it weren't for your help." I smiled at his words and gave him a slight nod.
"You don't need to thank me. Just rest up for me." I told him and patted his shoulder.
He nodded and got ready to leave, "Yes, ma'am." He said and limped away. I smiled as he walked away and made my way back to the tent.
"There she is." Zussman smiled as I entered. I chuckled lightly and watched Aiello glance up at me from the game of poker they were playing.
"You playing?" Aiello asked me whilst he shuffled the deck of cards, not taking his eyes off me. I sat down next to him and Stiles and a smug smirk appeared on my face. I also noticed the flasks of whisky, I couldn't turn it down. "Course I am." I replied and he handed out the cards, throwing me a wink. "Prepare to lose." He grinned with pride and I glared at him. "We'll see."
"Yes! I finally managed to beat you at your card games!" I slammed my flush down on the table as Aiello stared in surprise. The others had gave up after two games, they must have got tired of Aiello's poker face.
"No way..." he mumbled in disbelief, "Poker is my game!"
I laughed at his salty attitude and helped him put the cards away but he grabbed my hand to stop me. "One more." He said lowly and let go of my hand as he shuffled the cards. He stared at me daringly and began to deal them. I kept eye contact with him the entire time until it was my turn.
He clicked his tongue as he looked at his cards. "If I win, I get a kiss." I crossed my arms and raised a brow at his statement.
"And if I win...?" I asked but he laughed at me, shaking his head. "You aren't going to win." He interjected as I rolled my eyes.
"If I win," I tried again with a stern tone, "you have to tell me all about Kasserine." His sly grin faded and his eyes turned dark as he looked at me.
"Yeah, you definitely aren't going to win this one." He uttered. I knew I wasn't going to win anyways, but I just wish I could have asked Turner what really happened. Are we really in that much danger with Pierson in charge? Well I am battered and bruised now that I think of it.
"Green." Aiello snapped me out of my thoughts, he had won. He must have won whilst I wasn't thinking, I must have just been playing absentmindedly. "Shit." I stared at his cards on the table. "A royal flush. You got lucky." I said to him. I also noticed that it was just Aiello and I in here. He had that stupid grin on his face.
I stood up and walked over to him, his eyes looking up at me, following what I was doing. At point I'm standing right in front of him. "Green..." He trailed off but soon stopped when I sat on his lap, straddling myself facing him. I had no time to worry about my cheeks warming up. I grabbed the collar of his jacket and pulled him closer to me, our lips nearly touching. My heart was racing, his breathing unsteady. I felt something pushing up against me and noticed Aiello's flustered face. I don't know where all this confidence came from I swear. It must be the whisky... But a deal is a deal.
I leaned in and pushed my lips to his. He tried to hold me closer for more but I got up from his lap.
"I'm supposed to be the dominant one." He finally spoke and I turned my back to him, hiding my smile. "You're such a tease, Heidi."
"You wanted a kiss." I replied back, removing my jacket, "I gave you a kiss, Frank." I stared at the bruises from Pierson in the mirror, Aiello's gaze still on me. My eyes meet with his through the mirror, "did you want more?" I asked, giving him innocent eyes.
This whole time, he was making me blush and squirm beneath him. I just wanted him to taste his own medicine and see his reaction. It's working, I'll give it that.
He stood up and walked over to me, his eyes looked me up and down with an expression I couldn't quite put my finger on. My back was touching his front, both of us looking at each other through the mirror. He put his hands on my sides and trailed his fingertips down them lightly, ticking me and making me squirm beneath him.
He chuckled at the sight of me and lowered himself to my ear, still making eye contact through the mirror. "Where's the dominance now?" He taunted. I looked away from his gaze but his hand gently grabbed my cheeks and brought my gaze back to his in the mirror.
He was making me feel some type of way and I honestly loved it. It wasn't a violent dominance.
"Whisky sure makes you pretty confident." He groaned in my ear.
I was melting beneath him. How could I be so silly and think that he wasn't good at this? Stupid whisky. Stupid deal.
He slowly backed himself off from me and sat back down in his chair, drinking more from his flask.
"We're back!" Zussman exclaimed as himself, Daniels and Stiles made their way back through the tent. "Who won?" He asked as he looked at Aiello and I across the room.
"Green won." Aiello lied with a smile. "She beat me at my own game." He praised, giving me a glance from the side of his eyes.
I turned to everyone, mentally praying that I wasn't such a mess.
"Nice! No one ever beats Aiello at card games." Daniels high-fived me.
I grinned and nodded, "I'm just too good."
————————————————————————
Note to self: Never drink whisky
It had been a couple of hours since that thing happened with Aiello and I. Safe to say the group didn't suspect a thing.
I decided to walk to the lake and clean my wounds. The others were all talking about their dream women, mainly celebrities such as actresses.
I felt someone watching me from a short distance, but my head was telling me to ignore the stare. Until he cleared his throat.
I turned to see Pierson, arms crossed and a firm stance, watching me clean my wounds that he had inflicted.
Shit.
"Aren't you supposed to be getting ready for curfew, Green?" He pondered with a frown. I nodded to him and turned to leave.
"Sorry, Sergeant." Was all I could reply with and began to walk away from him.
He grabbed my arm with a bit of force, "Wait." I froze in place, too scared to face him.
I heard him let out a small sigh, "Can you turn around... Please?" I was so shocked, I thought he would order me to or even not say please.
I turned to face him, he looked at the bruises and some dry blood that were exposed.
"I've never hit a woman before..." He admitted and let go of me. I didn't know what to say to that. I just stood with my arms crossed uncomfortably. He ran a hand through his hair in annoyance. "Turner would kill me if he saw this." He muttered to himself. Of course he would.
"He really cared for you, y'know?" He continued as he stared at me with an intense look. I nodded, trying to hold back any emotions.
Pierson put his hand on my shoulder, looking down at me with a look I couldn't quite put my finger on. I just stood there and didn't plan to move just in case he hurt me again. This guy already pisses me off.
I look in the distance and see Aiello staring at us both. As soon as our eyes meet he walks away. But Pierson didn't notice. He wouldn't take his eyes off me.
"Go." Was all he said. And with that I quickly left and made my way back to the tent.
"Hey look who's back." Daniels smiled as Zuss and Stiles turned to look at me and wave.
Aiello was no where to be seen.
"Hey! Where's Aiello?" I asked and they shrugged.
"He said he had to go do something." Stiles answered with a confused expression. I tilted my head at his answer but thought nothing of it.
"Yeah my bad, I was writing a letter home to my girl." Aiello announced, clearly hearing our conversation.
His girl?
"Your girl? You didn't tell us about this?" Zuss questioned, whilst he was side eyeing me.
Aiello chucked and his eyes darted to me. "Yeah. I have a girl. I just don't often talk about her, not like I need to. Don't need you boys getting jealous of me. She's really pretty."
All I could do was stand there and take the pain that was tearing my heart apart. He must have noticed I was taken back by all this and his smirk got wider. "Sorry, Green." Ouch.
The group sat in silence after that. Zussman wouldn't stop giving me worried glances and Daniels and Stiles were just sat confused.
"Get some rest guys!" A solider shouted from outside as he strolled around to all the tents.
I noticed Aiello had moved his sleeping bag to the other side of the room too. I tried to hold back the tears that were ready to fall and laid down.
Did all of this mean nothing to him?