A Soldier's Life

Chapter 55 - The morning after

Scarlett's POV:

Waking up in Y/n's arms is the best feeling. Waking up knowing she was my girlfriend, was even better. She was spooning me, her arm over my waist, holding me close. I could feel her breath on the back of my neck. I turned around in her arms so I could face her. She looked so peaceful beside me as I watched her body slowly raise and lower as she breathes. I admired all the beautiful features of my girlfriend, and my fingers gently caressed her skin, pausing when they reach an old scar on her shoulder. The same scar I had caught a glimpse of in the gym.

I frown when I get a closer look. It looks like it was a pretty bad injury. I wonder how she got it. I hate the idea of her being hurt. I know that is a risk with her job and is something I'm going to have to get used to, now we're together. But it makes my stomach constrict and I have to fight away those feelings of dread. I have already almost lost her once. I can't go through that again.

To distract myself from those thoughts, I place a soft kiss on her nose which she scrunches in her sleep, looking adorable. But she doesn't wake. I move in closer to her, wrapping my arm around her so I run my finger up and down her back and leave a kiss every now and then on her forehead. My mind flashes back to last night and I can't help but smile. It was incredible, I didn't know anyone could make me feel so good. She's perfect and she's mine. I want to be the one to make her feel as good as she made me.

I had been nervous all week about asking her. There was no doubt in my mind what I wanted. But there was a part of me that was terrified she wouldn't want the same thing. I couldn't believe it when she not only said yes but that she also wanted to tell Ava. I love that kid and I hope that she'll be happy that I'm with her mom. I plan to spoil her like she's my own. Maybe one day I can call her my daughter... No, Scarlett, you're getting a head of yourself. You've literally been together less than 24 hours.

Y/n starts to stir, and her eyes slowly start to blink open. When her eyes connect with mine, a wide smile appears on her face which I match. "Morning Angel." She says in a sexy, raspy morning voice. "Good morning." I respond, leaning into her to give her a kiss. "You're my girlfriend." She grins and I laugh at her dorkiness. "I am and you are mine." I chuckled. "Good, just checking." She responds.

My hand subconsciously finds it way back to the scar on her shoulder, tracing the outline of it. "How did you get it?" I asked at a whisper, and she sighed a little. She pulled me into her arms and twisted so she was now led on her back, my head resting on her chest. "You don't have to tell me. I was just curious." I said quickly, worried that I had overstepped.

She didn't talk to start off with, she just lifted her arm and ran her finger over the tattoo on her wrist. It's then I realise that the injury is probably linked to the day she lost her friend. "I was involved in a shelling attack and got some shrapnel injuries. I was lucky, I lost my best friend Dicky in the same attack." She explained. I readjusted, resting my head on my hand which was propped up. With my other hand I rested it on her chest, running my finger in random shapes on her exposed skin.

"Will you tell me about him?" I asked softly and she gave a sad smile. "We met on the first day of basic training and we hit it off almost instantly. Over time, he became like a brother to me. Sophie and Dicky were my family. We were inseparable. Then when Ava came along, he was there every step of the way." She started. I knew this was going to be difficult for her to share. She had spoken very briefly about it when she visited set and on our first date, she told me it was still hard. "I'm glad that you had someone who cared for you so much." I shared and she smiled, her grip around me tightening slightly.

"We were deployed together in Afghanistan and were helping evacuate a hospital when we got intelligence of an imminent attack. The attack started whilst we were still in the process of getting out as many patients as we could. The mortars would fall in a targeted area before the next rounds would fall elsewhere. It became almost impossible to predict where the safest places were." I could feel her body tense underneath me, reacting to reliving the trauma. I lean down and place a kiss on her shoulder and rub my hand along her stomach to help calm her.