Darker Days

Chapter Five.

I was freezing, it felt as if it was fucking winter. I turned over to see Andrew was sound asleep as my mom was up getting into her scrubs and she looks at me with a warm smile. I slowly sit up, pulling my blanket closer towards me and look confused at her. 

"Why are you up so early?" I asked her as I stretch and she slips her shoes on

"I have a work emergency, I guess they brought in four new victims and they're all soldiers from off of base." My mom approaches me and kisses my head, "Let Andrew know where I went, I will hopefully be back around lunch time." She say, as she goes to walk away I grab her arm.

"Hold on, you're going to work on some of those things!!" I shout, she hushes me as Andrew stirs around

"Astrid, this is why they even brought me here, so yes." She says as she pulls her arm away, "Nothing will happen, I promise." She smiles and heads out the door.

I sigh as the door shuts and I stand up, I slip on a sweater and my shoes as I walk out the door. It was honestly a pretty brisk morning and the sun was barely visible. I walk past loads of soldiers, making sure my badge with my moms name and title was showing so I could walk pretty freely around the base. I approached the cafeteria room and walked in, many eyes had fallen on me and I tried to ignore them until I was in line and then I could feel someone stand next to me. 

"Well you are defiantly not a soldier." He jokes and I look up at him, I read the patch on his chest, 'Watkinson' it read

"Wow look at you go, you have eyes." I move up in the line

"You are just a little ray of sunshine aint ya." He laughs and I roll my eyes, "Well I'm Watkinson, or Jordan whatever works, I have been assigned to you." When I hear him say that I whip around to face him

"Excuse me?" I ask, my tone full of annoyance and he laughed more

"Your mother said you are a wanderer and like space but she worries about you, so I am assigned to you." He says and I sigh then when I go to walk away he follows. 

"So I guess you gotta follow me everywhere huh?" I ask and he nods, I then go and grab a plate of breakfast and sit at one of the tables that was almost empty and slowly start eating as Jordan sits in front of me with smile on his face, "You look so creepy just staring at me with that smile." I grumble as he chuckles. 

"Why don't we get to know each other?" He suggests and I sigh. "Don't worry princess, I will start this off. I'm Jordan, I am twenty two and this is my second year in the army." He says as I finish my fruit bowl.

"Uh okay, I'm Astrid I am seventeen, I will be eighteen in a few months and I was supposed to be finishing my last year of high school yet here I am." I say and take a bite of the sandwich before trying not to spit it out, I watch Jordan laugh as he eats his sandwich.

"They don't get better so you might as well get used to it." As he spoke two more men approached and sat next to him

"Hiding the ladies from us Jordo?" The one with sharp blue eyes ask as he laughs and Jordan rolled his eyes

"Sorry Astrid, this is JT and Aaron." He says as I take a bite out of the gross ass sandwich again and the boys wave

"She is a cutie." The other said with a thick English accent, "I'm Aaron." He smiles and I laugh

"I am a literal minor for the next seven months." I say and the other guy, who I assume is JT spits his drink out, barely missing me, "Disgusting." I grumble and throw napkins at him

"Sorry you just look like twenty at least." He says as he cleans up his spit as the other two boys are laughing. "You can't tell me you two didn't think it as well." JT says in an annoyed tone

"Nah I did mate, but I had to apparently be the one to embarrass myself around her first." Aaron laughed and JT and Jordan high fived.

"Well I'll be heading out now, it was... nice meeting you two." I stood up, walking to the garbage can and throwing my stuff out as I feel someone grab my arm, I look up and see Jordan

"Where we going now?" He asks with a smile as he interlinked our arms

"I was going back to my room to read." I stare at him and go to walk away and he keeps our arms interlinked as he walked with me, "Do you seriously need to come everywhere with me?" I ask in an angered tone causing him to stop which forced me to stop

"Listen kid, do you think I signed up for this?" His voice was more stern, "I should be on the frontline with my brothers fighting this shit but instead I'm stuck here babysitting." He lets go of my arm and stares at me, I had chills all over my body with how stern he had gotten

"Sorry.." I mumble and keep walking, I hear his boots coming behind me, when I get to the room I open the door and we both walk in. I sit on my bed and he sits on the chair. I pull out my book and lean back and start to read, we were both silent at this point. 

About thirty minutes had passed and Jordan cleared his throat, I look up from my book and he's leaning forward.

"Listen I'm sorry." He says and I put my book down, sitting cross legged on my bed now, he stood up and approached me, sitting on my bed next to me, "I didn't mean to act so stern towards you and call you kid." He spoke softly and before I could speak his walkie talkie went off.

"All personnel available needs to immediately come to floor C now!" It sounded urgent and Jordan jumped to his feet and turned to me.

"Do not leave this room and don't open the door to anyone until I get back!" He says and runs for the door, grabbing my key off the desk and slamming the door, locking it behind him. 

"Hey!" I ran to the door and banged on it as I watched people, mainly soldiers run by my room and I sigh sitting back down. 

My mind scrambled, I grabbed my phone, I went to call my mom and realized I had absolutely no service. Angrily I throw my book across the room and sigh. Why does no one tell me anything ever?! As I was thinking I hear the door unlocking, I see my mom walk in with Jordan and they're both covered in blood. 

My eyes went wide and my mom rushed over hugging me tightly, I hug her back and she looks around the room.

"Andrew didn't make it back did he?" She asks and I shake my head no, "Listen hunny, Jordan is going to keep you safe, okay?" She smiles, and I look back at Jordan who is avoiding eye contact. I hear gun shots in the hall and my eyes and wide and my mom pulls me back into a hug, "I don't have much time left, be brave out there my girl, I love you so much." She kisses my head and walks back, she then turns to Jordan. "I will haunt your ass if you don't keep her safe." She says and he nods.

"I promise you she will be safe." He smiles then stands in front of me, my mom waves and opens the door, as she does I see the bite mark on her arm and tears are in my eyes.

"Mom!" I scream and she blows me a kiss before shutting the door, I go to run to the door and Jordan grabs me, picking me up like I weighed nothing, "Let me go you fucking buffoon!" I shout as tears were running down my face, more gun shots were going off and I start to throw myself around in his arms and he pushes me down so he's holding me down on the bed. 

"You need to calm down before we leave." Jordan says as he looks me in the eyes and try's to get me to calm down. "Grab your bag then we need to go so we don't die!" He says and I nod

He went to guard the door and I sat in my bed, trying to hold in my tears, before I could though I broke down crying hard as Jordan watched sadly. Living life without my mom was never gonna be easy.