A Solder's Tale (Book 1 of Something Series) (Completed)

Chapter 22 (Edited)

I walked over to a bag by a tree stump and opened it. In the bag, there were multiple dishes that were made of glass or pottery, most of which had been given to me by Bellie.

"What's in the bag?" Marisol asked, cocking her head to hear the clattering sounds of dishes.

"What do you think?" I asked, moving some of the pieces around before taking out a vase that I would have her smash first. "Use your other senses. That is why you have them."

Marisol frowned. "Dishes?" she asked.

"What type?" I moved some more dishes around after I had placed the vase on the stump.

"Breakable."

I nodded before grabbing the bat next to it and hitting the stump. "What was that."

Marisol frowned and cocked her head. "You hit wood with something," she said. "A bat?" she asked when I hit the bat on the ground. "My dad used to do that when he and my uncle used to play baseball in the yard."

I hummed and nodded before moving the bat towards her, the handle facing her hand. "Reach for the bat. Yes, I know you can't see. You tell me that often." I moved the bat before putting it back in the spot. "Yet, you can hear where it was."

Marisol rolled her eyes but reached for the bat. "I don't know what this has to do with horses."

"It doesn't. However, you need to let go of that pent anger that is in you and blaming yourself for becoming blind."

Marisol snorted and rolled her eyes. "I do not blame myself for becoming blind," she said, confidently. Hesitance filled her voice, and I knew that she did wonder about it.

I chuckled, coldly. "There isn't a day that goes by that I don't wonder what would've happened if I didn't practically beg to be taken into the Army, even though I hadn't graduated high school. Would I have my teaching degree and teach kids how to play baseball? Would I be married to the love of my life, or would I have watched her move onto someone else and just let her go for the sake of staying friends with her? Would I have killed my father and end up in jail?" I paused and sighed. "I know that you have those 'would I's' or 'what if's' going on in your brain. You need to let them out or at least take out the anger that comes with them."

Marisol looked at me her face blank before she huffed. "Fine," she muttered. "If I hit you, do not blame me. It will all be on you."

I shrugged my shoulder and smirked. "I wasn't planning on it."

***

I took a couple of steps back and away from her swinging range. "All right, start trying to break the vase. You are right in front of the stump."

Marisol snorted and rolled her eyes. She swung the bat, blindly, only clipping the vase.

I knew what I had to do, and I knew that I was going to either regret it because she would not speak to me afterwards or be grateful that I got out the rest of the pent of emotion that she had bottled up.

I took a deep breath while she swung again and didn't hit the vase this time. "You call that a swing?" I taunted, causing her to frown. "I could do better than that with a blindfold over my eyes."

"Not helping," Marisol muttered, taking another swing, and this time she only nicked it again.

"A swing and a miss," I said, causing her to glare at me. "What? Why is your pretty little face turned into a glare? You're the one that can't hit the damn vase."

Marisol narrowed her eyes and swung again. Her knuckles were white as snow, and I could see the bat shaking from her anger. If she was an animal, I knew that she would have a snarl on her face and would attack me with the bat.

Please forgive me, I thought, a pit of guilt beginning to form in my stomach. "Maybe it was your fault for going blind. I mean, you can't see where you are hitting, and I was sure that you couldn't see that piece of equipment there."

"STOP!" she screamed and slammed the bat onto the tree trunk, hitting the vase and breaking it into bigger pieces. Tears streamed down her face while she started to hit the vase pieces. "It's not my fault," she muttered. "It's not my fault."

I moved towards her and reached out to touch her. I knew that I should've said something, but I didn't. "Shit," I muttered, hearing a crack as Marisol smacked the bat across my hand, breaking it.

Marisol's eyes widened in shock as she processed what happened. "I'm so, so, sorry," she said. "I-I" She dropped the bat and started to shake from guilt.

"It's fine," I said, grimacing. I placed my hand to my chest and took a deep breath. "Not the worst pain that I have been in. Damn, you got a good arm."

"Can you ride?"

"No," I replied. "You're going to have to lead the gelding back while riding Lib. I'll be on one side."

"I'm-"

"It's my fault, Marisol," I interrupted her. "If I hadn't said those things..."

She placed a mask over her face, not letting me see any emotion. Hurt emanated deep from her skin, and I knew that she thought I didn't want her to prosper. "Do you mean it?"

I shook my head. "No," I replied. "The only reason why I had done it was to make sure that you get your anger out. Believe me, I know that females keep a lot of anger hidden." I paused and smirked. "Speaking of such female, let's go back and let her fix my hand."

Marisol nodded her head before stepping forward. She looked hesitant but she opened her arms and walked closer to me before giving me a hug. "Thank you," she muttered, into my shirt. "Thank you for believing in me."

I placed my arm around her and hugged her tight. "Always," I promised. "I'll always believe you and be there for you."