The Soldier's Girl (Under Editing)

Chapter 5

TAYLOR'S POV

I could see the military airplane on the ground behind the fence as I pulled into the parking lot. As soon as I stepped out of my car I felt the sun beating down on me on this late July day. It looked as if the cement was everywhere, it covered as far as my eye could see at this military airport. I walked toward the crowd of people. The soldiers were the center of attention, everyone was getting their last words with their loved ones.

I could only imagine how Caroline felt. Her one family member was going away for a year and she had to come live with me, who she has only known for month and a half. Once I was in the crowd of people, I wandered through looking for Charlie and Caroline. I felt free since there was no bodyguard tagging along. I finally spotted them, Charlie had his right arm around Caroline's shoulder and they were talking.

I went over and stood by them, not too close though because I wanted then to have their space. I didn't greet them because they were in the middle of a conversation and they needed to get the most they could out of their last moments together. As soon as Caroline saw me standing by them she pulled away and gave me a hug. She put her head on that same spot on my chest. Her eyes looked red like she had been crying.

"Hey you." I said quietly and sympathetically. Soon she pulled away and was back under her dad's arm. I looked all around at families gathered around their soldiers. I spotted a man holding a little boy, what I assumed to be his pregnant wife was standing next to them. I saw a young couple kissing. I saw a man surrounded by many young kids all probably falling between the ages 4 and 12, his wife was on his arm. I thought about how this next year would be for all of them. The young wife would have her baby while her husband was away. The couple kissing would be separated and their communication would be cut off. The many children would be missing their dad while the wife had to take care of all if them alone.

I looked back at Charlie and Caroline. Charlie would spend the next year fighting and wishing he was with Caroline; she was his whole world. Caroline would spend it with me, missing Charlie. I was soon engaged in their conversation and was talking with them in the blazing sun for about an hour. It was announced over a loud speaker that the soldiers had to say their last goodbyes. I instantly got a stomach ache thinking about it.

CAROLINE'S POV

"We'll be boarding in 5 minutes, so soldiers, say your last goodbyes." The speaker rang out loudly. It felt like I had been stabbed in the chest. For the last two months I had been trying to prepare for this moment, now that it was here I wasn't ready. The inside of my nose burned and my eyes filled with tears. My dad went to hug Taylor first and told her thank you. Then he looked me in the eyes and tightly embraced me. There were tears flowing but no sounds were coming out of my mouth, he just kept telling me he loved me and that he was proud of me.

The five minutes passed quickly and soon all the soldiers were being whisked away. I hadn't got the chance to say anything yet. He held my face in his hands one last time.

"I've got to go now. Love you Caroline." He said confidently, I didn't understand how he was so strong, he had probably prepared for this better than I had.

"I love you dad." I said as he turned away. He looked back at me and gave me a sad smile. He soon was in a line with all the other soldiers giving a salute. Taylor stood beside me watching, I knew she was purposefully giving me space. I didn't feel like I was crying anymore because I wore a straight face, but the tears never stopped silently streaming down my cheeks.

I watched as they all walked onto the plane. They all wore the same camouflage uniform and tan boots. I still knew which one was my dad and I saw one last glimpse of him before he disappeared into the vehicle. As soon as he was out of sight I grabbed onto Taylor's arm for support. She had me in a hug as we watched the aircraft lift from the ground and fly into the sky until we couldn't see it any longer. All I could her was the wind in my ears and my mom's voice singing to me in my head.