Homecoming (Lesbian)

CHAPTER 16

"Riley, take the shot!" I heard him yell "Take the shot! Riley!" His voice was overwhelmed with horror.

My arm was ripped to pieces, I could taste the blood inside my mouth and my ears were buzzing after the explosion. And their bodies, their lifeless bodies covered in blood and dirt. The blast had let them almost unrecognizable.

The enemy was getting closer, and I looked up. My willingness of living forced me to grab the gun closest to me. It felt as if it weight a ton. I watched the enemy as they approached us and feared I wouldn't be able to fire. He yelled again "Riley! Take the fucking shot!"

And my brain kept repeating 'I am not going to die today. I'm going home. I am not dying today'.

I woke up at three thirty AM. I sat up screaming and then, silence. I was alone in my bedroom, in the darkness, with nothing but my own thoughts. The door opened as my parents stood by the doorway.

"Darling? Are you okay?" my mother asked.

I ran my palm through my forehead to feel the cold sweat. I gazed up. "Yes. Just a bad dream."

My answer didn't seem to please her so I smiled in an attempt to calm them down. They went back to sleep and so did I. The rest of the night was uneventful.

I woke up again at six AM. It was still dark and it smelled of grass because of the dew. I did three series of fifteen push up with my good arm, three series of sixty sit ups, and three series of forty crunches. I put on my knickers, some sweat pants and a hoody and went for a run. I promised myself I wouldn't push me as much as I usually do, it gives me headaches but the pills help with that. Also my arm it's a problem. Still I ended up hitting the four miles in thirty minutes goal. Running helped me relax, it emptied my mind and filled it with only the scents of the morning. The cold breeze, the moist air, the beauty of the sun barely visible in the horizon.

I came back home forty minutes later, took a bath and stood in front of my wardrobe wrapped in my towel noticing I was nervous. Jesus, I was going to see Faye Burton. Faye Burton. For the first time in four years. I decided to go with some blue jeans, a hoody and a brown leather jacket for the cold.

When I went back downstairs, mom was already in the kitchen making breakfast.

She turned around as she heard my footsteps and asked "Darling, you're already showered? At eight AM?"

"Yes, ma'am. I can't really sleep passed six. Already went for a jog, too."

She frowned "Since when do you...?" then she cut herself off. It was like admitting to herself the daughter she sent to the army, was not the one she got back "Do you want scrambled eggs?"

"Yes, please."

I sat on one of the chairs of the breakfast table and watched as my mom cooked. I had never done that, and she noticed, but she didn't send me away. I just wanted to be there with her, to feel home again. When she was almost done, she asked "Riley, could you please go get your brother?"

"Yes, ma'am." I said standing up.

"Riley?" she called out as I was about to walk out the kitchen. I turned "You'd never said 'Yes, Ma'am' to me in your life."

"Sorry."

"No, no, no. It's not bad, it's just... changes, I guess."

I nodded and ran upstairs. I knocked on Connor's room but there was no answer. I knocked again and got a "Go away," from inside.

I tried to open the door but it was locked. I came back to mom and told her Connor wasn't getting up anytime soon. She placed the dishes on the breakfast table and sat as if she was expecting that reaction.