The Former Lover [Sequel To Military Minds]

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The house was in darkness when Rebecca returned. After turning her key in the lock and discovering herself alone, she rubbed her shoulders against the chill emanating through the house. Her father and Miranda, she guessed, went to bed some time ago. Glancing at her watch, she realised that it was quarter to ten at night, and padded quietly into the kitchen to fix herself a hot chocolate.

She flicked on the switch and pulled a jug of skim milk from the refrigerator door, immediately pausing in her stance. She had only just become aware that was not alone in the kitchen. She turned her head to observe Miranda leaning back against the sink, her thin arms folded across her chest. She was plainly dressed in a thin grey nightie cut low on her thighs.

"Geez," Rebecca breathed, attempting to recover her regular breathing pattern. She placed the carton carefully on the bench top, before turning the rest of her body in Miranda's direction. "You scared me."

Rebecca caught the flicker of a smirk on the edge of Miranda's mouth. She pushed herself up from the edge of the sink, approaching Rebecca with cat-like precision.

"You fought in the Sunbury war five years ago," Miranda said coolly. Rebecca felt the hairs on the nape of her neck bristle. "It's a shame about your girlfriend."

Rebecca stood dazed, and confused. She was unsure of how Miranda knew what she did. She had never mentioned Megan's name around her, or the fact that they had been in some sort of relationship. She clenched her hand around the top of the carton, and to her surprise, the blue cap flew off. Neither of them took care as it rolled across the white tiled floor.

"Have you been in my room?" Rebecca growled through her teeth, managing to loosen her grip on the carton. "I don't appreciate sticky beaks, Miranda."

Miranda stooped down and retrieved the cap, but stopped inches in front of Rebecca in her path to the bench. "I have my ways." she whispered in the soldier's ear. With that, she screwed the cap back on the carton and was out of the kitchen before Rebecca could retort her snide comment.

The soldier groaned in exasperation. She could not shake the intricate apprehension from her mind. She was aware that Miranda was concealing a secret from not only her, but Glenn too.

She sculled the glass of milk within three seconds flat, wiping the liquid from her upper lip. She decided, as it was Friday night, she would not stay home. She would perhaps visit the nightclub and drink her sorrows away.

Rebecca locked the door behind her as she stepped foot outside the safety of her own house and into the cold. She closed her eyes and inhaled the crisp, night air. Reopening them, the glint of an unidentified object caught her eye. She silently power walked down the bluestone driveway, and was taken aback when her father's Mercedez greeted her. The car itself was black, lurking like a predator with camoufage in the darkness.

She fished the keys from her pocket and unlocked the extravagent vehicle, swiftly dropping into the luxuriously comfortable driver's seat. The interior smelt heavily of lavender from the tree smelly that Glenn had hung from the rearview mirror. Rebecca noticed this as she turned the key in the ignition, and the car vibrated to life.

She was twenty-one now. She had successfully progressed onto the second year of having her green P plates, but what she lacked was her own vehicle. For now, she would have to use her father's.

Rebecca decided to take a quick tour of the town she knew and loved. Little had changed in the five years that the soldier had spent away. The thing that caught her attention were the massive, thick electronic supports that were now fixed into the ground on either side of the train tracks, at least six metres apart. They had stemmed from the electrification program that the government had put in place, including her little town as a Metro station. Formerly they had been V/Line. Rebecca much preferred V/Line.