The Sergeant's Daughter

Chapter One

"Take cover!" yelled Sergeant Jesse LeBlanc to the other marines behind him. We were under attack. Carlos Cardoza, Gabriella Perez, my fellow battle buddies, and I got behind a boulder. "Yall ready?" I asked them. "Hell yeah!" Carlos screamed over the gunfire. "Ooh-Rah!" Gabby called out. "Semper Fi til death right?" I replied. We fired our weapons toward the enemy lines. After what felt like a lifetime battling it out Cardoza decided we should move to another spot. "Let's move! Behind that wall!" He pointed on the west side of us. "On the count of three! One! Two! Three!" I yelled. We took off toward the wall. KAPOW! BOOM!

I jumped to the sound of my alarm and I grabbed my gun in my nightstand before realizing I was in my room and not on the battlefield. I was breathing hard, pouring sweat and my heart was racing. I looked at my phone and the time read 5:30. "It was just a dream," I assured myself. My two dogs Roscoe and Alaska jumped on me and started licking me. "I'm fine guys, it was just a bad dream." I laughed. I got up and let them into the backyard, then went to the kitchen for a glass of water. I sat down on the couch and stared at the tv. I could still hear the gunshots, I could hear my best friends breathing their last breath, I could hear bagpipes playing at their funerals. I have been out of the Marines for a year now and I'm still having some difficulty readjusting to the civilian lifestyle. I moved from California to South Carolina just to get a fresh start. I ran and didn't look back, I left my troubles behind, or at least I thought. I keep having flashbacks of my time in the Marines. I did two tours, one in Iraq and one in Afghanistan and I hated every damn minute of it. I did my best to stay away from where the injured were. The site of bodies bleeding out, those with limbs gone, and those dead turned my stomach. It didn't bother me that we killed the enemy but each time one of ours died it done something to me that I can't explain. The lust I had to have those that killed ours killed grew more and more each minute I was in that hellhole. The memories haunt me. The only thing that kept me halfway sane was knowing that I would see my family back home soon. My family is what kept me pushing and fighting. Without them, I'd probably be dead already.

The sound of my son crying made me snap back to reality. I walked into his room and looked inside. He was in his crib crying and moving. I walked over to the crib, "Hey little man. Mommy's here." I softly said. I picked him up and brought him into the living room. I laid him on the couch so I could change his diaper. "Now where did I put those diapers and wipes," I said looking around the house filled with moving boxes. I found the wipes and diapers after remembering where they were. I changed Henry then fixed him a bottle. I just sat on the couch when Alaska and Roscoe started barking and scratching on the door. "Y'all didn't want in while I was up but I sit down and now y'all want in," I said sarcastically. I opened the door and they bolted inside. "Hey! Slow down we are not at the zoo!" I yelled at them. My neighbors would be over at 7 o'clock to help me pack my things into the U-Haul. Henry fell back asleep after he finished the bottle so I laid him in his bouncer that I kept out. "Roscoe," I called. My big white Labrador came running to my side. My friend Elena encouraged me to go to the shelter and get a dog. She was a huge dog lover and she was big on adopting animals instead of buying them. When I moved to South Carolina I didn't know anybody. The day I moved into my small, single-family house she bounced over from the next yard over introducing herself and her boyfriend Tommy. They became good friends of mine. She knew more about my past and the flashbacks than Tommy did. For some odd reason, I trusted her, and trusting people was not easy for me. Elena also encouraged me to get help. It helped for a while but it didn't exactly help. I needed something else to help me. Roscoe came and sat down in front of me waiting for his instructions. I patted him on his head, "Now you keep eye on baby brother." Roscoe laid beside the bouncer. "Good boy," I told him and patted him one last time before gathering what was left to pack.

I finished packing the last box for the living room besides what I needed for me, Henry, the dogs, and the couch and tv when the doorbell rang. Alaska stood guard and followed me when I went to the door. "Sit," I told her. She obeyed. I opened the door to see my spunky, energetic, athletic neighbor, and her two dogs. I swore she was like the girl who loved mornings, wasn't ever tired and talked nonstop. "Gooood Morning!" Elena marveled. "Do you ever wake up in an awful, grouchy, I hate mornings mood?" I asked. "It's always a good morning for me. I'm awake, I'm alive, and I have the best friends, family, and job in the world." She beamed. "Elena, you make coffee at Starbucks and your friends consist of me, your boyfriend, an infant, and your two dogs Stella and Ren. I said in a sarcastic tone. "Jordan is it that hard for you to say good morning back? I swear you and the Grinch could be roommates. Oh, and Starbucks is awesome! You need to try it." She laughed as she came bouncing in the doorway. "I love Christmas thank you very much! The Grinch didn't!" I shot back. "Alaska!" She squealed as she bent down rubbing Alaska. I hit her on her arm. "Ow, what was that for!" She pouted rubbing her arm. "My little stork sent child is asleep. He's been up since five something this morning." I pointed. "Not my little Hank." She said defending him as she walked over admiring his sleep. I laughed and went to finish packing up. "What's left?" Elena asked looking around. "Our beds, nightstand, the couch, and tv," I said as I taped up the last few dishes. "Great! I'll start taking these boxes to the U-Haul. What boxes you do have?" She said grabbing up two boxes. "Hey Elena, Tommy just texted he should be here in a few minutes to help with the big stuff," I told her as she walked out the door boxes in her hand. Tommy is driving the U-Haul and Elena is riding with me to help with Henry, Alaska, and Roscoe.

At 9 o'clock we turned out of the driveway for the last time and headed towards Chicago, Illinois. This would be a long trip with me, a three-month-old, two dogs who would have to use the bathroom just about every hour or two, and my crazy friend. I haven't seen my family since my mother, Camille died in 2010 from cancer. I miss her a lot. I miss my dad Hank, my brother Justin, and my sister Erin. Erin isn't my full-blooded sister. My mom and dad adopted her. I remember when she first came to our house. She was older than I was but she treated me like her own sister. She was always there for me when I needed her. I didn't get in as much trouble as they did. Erin and Justin, they were a handful. They stayed in trouble. It was funny at times, watching mom and dad scold them. I miss Chicago and I miss the winter there too. I miss everything that I missed out on while serving. I'm honored to have served my country but I've also given up things to fight for others' freedom.