The Survivor of the 27

Chapter nineteen

I get inside to the kitchen and to no surprise, they're already eating.

  "Your sandwich is on the counter," Tom says with a mouthful of sandwich.

  "Didn't Sharon teach you manners?" I joke. I grab my sandwich and sit down.

  "So, how long have you been in Texas?" I ask, trying my best to make small talk.

  "About a year in a half," Tiffany responds.

  "Do you have any other siblings?" I ask.

  "No, it was just Tony and I. Although he was the younger one, he was always responsible for me. Probably why he went into the Marine Corps."

  She doesn't seem too sad about him. Why? Is she just done with the grieving process? Or were they not close? My phone ends up ringing, taking me out of my spiraling thoughts.

  "One minute," I tell them, excusing myself from the table.

  I walk outside and answer the phone.

  "Hello?" I greet.

  "Hello Mace." It's Jackson! I imminently smile, just from the sound of his voice."I heard you're going into therapy. How ya feel about that?" He asks. My smile falters a little bit. I lean against the outdoor table and sigh.

  "It's totally stupid. They do nothing. I don't know the person and they just expect me to throw my secrets onto them," I vent.

  "You know, I had Dr. Miller. She's actually quite good. She's helped me out a lot. She's helped me with my PTSD, my nightmares, my marriage," he lists.

  "Just try to be open minded, ok kid?" He encourages me. I take a deep breath and sigh.

  "Ok."

  "There ya go kid! That's the spirit!" He cheers.

  "So, how are you feeling?" He asks me.

  "Why does everyone keep asking me that?" I mostly ask myself, but also him. He was always good at answering my questions.

  "Because you were in pretty rough shape. That's why."

  "Yeah but I've been through it before," I tell him.

  "Exactly, and from what General Logan has told me, you didn't speak for months. You just secluded yourself. You stayed in your head. Which is never a good sign. He also told me that you didn't eat and that you never slept," he scolds. I stay silent, knowing that he's right. But I had a good reason.

  Besides, this time was different. I didn't have to watch my teammates die right in front of me. Well not physically at least. Instead, I saw their corps and their dead body's reaching for me and trying to drag me.

  "Look, I wish I knew when you had escaped. I really do. I'm sorry that I was only there for four, while you were there for ten months."

  "Mace," Jackson starts. "What you saw-" I stop him.

  "No. What I saw was nothing. Nothing important. I've dealt with it so it doesn't matter anymore." I'm frustrated and annoyed at this point. I don't want to talk about this. It was in the past now and I wanted to leave that behind.

  "You dealt with it? Or did you just push it down? Did you deal with it? Or did you just choose to forget about it?" Jackson asks. "Mace, I love you and care for you. I don't want to see you go down a path that you can't come back from," he adds.

  "I don't know what you're talking about," I deny.

  "I think you do," Jackson says.

  "Mace! You coming?!" Tom yells from inside.

  "I have to go. I'll talk to you later Jack." I hang up and go back inside. Right before I entire, I let out a long sigh.

  Tiffany ends up staying for a while. Her and the rest of the family watch a movie and hang out. She ends up leaving around 9:30. Once Tom takes her home, everyone gets ready for bed and they retreat up to their rooms. As they retreat into their rooms, I retreat into Felix's office. I didn't sleep at all that night. Instead I was fixated on finding Hassan.

  Come morning, I end up needing a break. I need to look at something other than a computer screen. I walk out to the kitchen and everyone is already up and starting their day. I grab my coffee and look to the oven to read that the time is 8:34.

  "Mace, you look awful!" Sharon exclaims.

  "Thanks, and you look lovely as ever," I say sarcastically. She's in her bathrobe and still has in her curlers.

  "Well at least I don't have bags under my eyes." They aren't new. I've had them since I was a kid. You don't sleep when you've seen what I've seen.

  "Whatever, we have to go to your therapy session. Is that what you're wearing?" Sharon questions with a raised eyebrow.

  I look down to see what I'm wearing. A black T-shirt with gray sweatpants. What's wrong with that?

  "I can go by myself," I tell her. Her and the entire family just look at me and laugh.

  "What?" I ask, throwing my hands up. Actually confused on why they're laughing.

  "Mace, do you not remember what happened the last time you did counseling?" Addison asks.

  "No need to remind me," I tell her, annoyed.

  "You ran away and took down three people who tried to stop you," Addison says laughing. I didn't find it funny.

  "Let's get this over with," I mumble. I'm already walking out the kitchen and out of the door.

  The car ride is weird, to say the least. Sharon was never a mother figure to me. Thankfully though the ride to the city isn't too far. We live about fifteen minutes from the city.

  "You know, if you didn't join the coast guards you would never have to do this." Oh boy, here we go. I roll my eyes and look out the window. Already being done with this conversation.

  "Where did you go? You just left and then you come back all beaten up looking. Your father and I were talking and he wasn't going to say anything. But I would like some answers," Sharon says.

   I stay silent and keep my gaze out the window. I stare at the fields of corn as we drive by. Texas is a beautiful place. I look up to the blue sky, there isn't a single cloud in sight. It brings me comfort and peace. We pull up to the front of the building. I get out of the car while Sharon waits in the car. I make my way inside the building.

  "This should be fun," I mutter under my breath.