War Within Us

chapter 27 . welcoming

Vanessa - International Armed Forces - Kaden Base - A7-S

I couldn't fall asleep no matter how much I tried to. I kept turning and tossing around but to no use.

After some minutes of me fighting against it, I decided it was not worth making myself even more frustrated and I could just wait until I was a bit more sleepy.

I got up from the couch and decided to search some of the cupboards in the kitchen to find some tea or coffee to drink in hopes of relaxing a little more.

I put all my hair up in a bun as fast as I can to get it out my face completely and started my search. At the end, all I found was some peppermint tea and some sage.

I had to drag my eyes away from the little packets of sage before any uninvited memory invaded and paralyzed my mind and tried to push it to back of my mind as I reached for the peppermint tea.

I never really liked peppermint tea but considering the circumstances I was in, I could tolerate it.

Five short minutes later, I was seated in front of the window that faced the rest of the base with my steaming cup full of peppermint tea filling my right palm that had my throat and nose burning even without having a sip of it.

In my other hand, I had all the notes from the meeting, in hopes of maybe going through them and remind myself everything once more.

I took a sip and felt the tea burn my throat as it travelled through my body.

Skimming through the notes, I very quickly realized I wouldn't be able to handle any more work related anything today and I swiftly let the papers fall on the table I had to my left.

A big breath in and out.

My body relaxed back onto the armchair, all my muscles letting themselves loose.

The warmth coming from the cup that heated my hands reached into the corners of my body and soul, letting a hazy feeling behind for me to drown in.

This was what I needed to wind down and end the night.

I kept drinking the bitter tea, slowly getting used to the ache it left in my throat, I made sure to wrap my hands around the cup firmly. My consciousness kept blinking back and forward with sleep trying to take over me this time instead of me chasing after it.

love you, Nessa

For the first time in a long time, being reminded of the familiar voice didn't break my heart.

It just added to the warmth that filled my body and comforted me more than anything as I sat in this alien place by myself.

The words brought a soft smile to my lips and the next moment I opened my eyes, I felt like all the stress was taken from me, it felt easier to breathe.

I brought the cup to my lips for another sip and to my surprise, I realized it was already empty.

Finally feeling ready to sleep, I left the cup in the sink, reminding myself to wash it in the morning.

I retreated back to the couch that still had the jumbled up blanket from my previous fight with sleep, this time the whole thing looked more inviting than challenging.

I was so ready to let myself slip into sleep but it never happened.

The moment my poor ass touched the old couch, I heard the rough sound of an engine getting closer to the house. I would have maybe ignored it if I didn't hear what I heard next.

Brakes.

Someone was here, possibly the very owners of the A7-S.

I debated with myself for a moment on whether I should just pretend to sleep so that I could escape the possibly awkward encounter or I should just put my big girl panties on and deal with it head on.