Dear Jace | U.S. Army

Finally Here

Clarise's P.O.V

I impatiently tap my foot, anxiously biting the tips of my finger nails, awaiting Jace's arrival. I'm excited, no, make that extremely excited, to see him, and yet there is this weird feeling, a sensation in my stomach letting me know that I'm nervous as well. I'm afraid he'll be different. I'm afraid he won't be the same Jace that I fell in love with. But I can only hope.

I snap out of my thoughts as I hear the slam of a truck door from outside. It's him. He's here. Before rushing to the door, I quickly glance in the mirror, checking myself to make sure I'm presentable to his liking. Three knocks on my wooden door, all of them in sync with each other abrupt. I look through the peephole, and sure enough, it's him, Jace, full uniform, the whole nine yards. I swing open the door, a huge smile painted on my fave.

"Hey," He awkwardly says with a wave, not knowing what to say since this is the first time we've seen each other since...he left. His voice sounds exactly the same way as I remembered, just deeper, probably because of all the yelling he did, but I bet that's only temporary.

"My gosh, Jace! I can't believe you're actually here, in front of me right now. Do you know how long I've been waiting?" I say, my words coated with joy as they tumble out.

"Yeah, pretty long time, huh?" He breaths.

"Got that right. Well don't just stand there silly, come in." I step aside as he walks in and glances around the house, taking it all in. The patterned walls, the bar, granite countertops, the loft, the sun room, decorative paintings, everything.

"Still looks the same." He recalls.

"Haven't changed a thing. Do you want something to eat, or.... " I let my sentence drift as Jace places his things down.

"Yeah, sure, but for dinner though. I've been dying waiting for actual food. All I got there was these freeze dried things, and MRE's, and they were tasteless," A smile spreads across Jace's face.

"So, what was it like there exactly?" I ask as we both take a seat on the couch "From your point of view?" I ask, not knowing if my question will set him off or not, since I bet it was pretty traumatic.

"Dark. It was just dark. Not as in dark like scenery and lighting, but the feeling you get when your feet first touch the surface of the ground. It just had that unwelcoming aroma. Here," Jace pulls out a quarter from his pocket, flipping it in the air. "Think of it as flipping a coin. Heads or tails. Do or die. That was how it was. Every second we were out there, only two outcomes. And at any given moment, you could snap. He explains, his voice firm.

I let out a sigh, "God, I can't even imagine to be honest," I gave a quick response, as I myself was overwhelmed just by the sound of how rugged and unpredictable it was. "So, how are you?" I was quick to change the subject.

"Fine," I receive a quick response.

"No, really. Like how are you, are you okay, with you know?" I ask, feeling like I already crossed the line. I still don't fully understand the effects of war, no matter how many times Jace wrote to me or discussed with me about it before he left.

"Don't worry about it. All it was was a simple through and through. Just a few stitches here and there plus a wrap, that's all. They just took me out of the field because there wouldn't really be anything for me to do with a GSW. It was just protocol. Don't worry Clarise, I'm fine, really." Jace reaches for my hand, gently holding it as he looks into my eyes.

"Are you sure?" I ask.

"I'm positive," Reassures Jace.