His Purple Heart

19 - Be Sure

/ Trystan /

I quickly zipped up Debra's sweater and keeping my movements slow, I sat up on my knees. I lifted both hands in the air, but made sure to keep my body in front of Debra to protect her.

"Stay still, Debra. Don't move." I spoke in my no-nonsense tone, hoping she would listen. Her scream from a moment ago was still echoing in my mind. I didn't like the fact that she was afraid and that I had been the one to put her in such a dangerous position.

She looked at me, her eyes filled with trepidation. I saw her lips tremble just before she lifted her hand to her mouth to stop herself from screaming again. She was so brave. So brave. My precious Debra.

"Turn around," the unknown assailant said.

I complied, making sure to keep my movements subtle. If anything, I didn't want anything to happen to Debra. So I had to to assess the situation and get it under control as quickly as possible.

I came face to face with the man I recognized from the files Brandon had given me in the alley where I'd first tasted Debra's skin. I had every intention of continuing to kiss her skin, so I had to get us out of this one alive.

The man's name was Zachary Alvarez. A dangerous criminal known for abusing women and animals. He also had a few other misdemeanors and several DUIs. I could tell by the way he held the semi-automatic that the man was well versed in how to use it and that he wouldn't hesitate to fire at us.

That didn't sit too well with me, considering I was on my knees on the grass and Alvarez was towering over me a distance away, just out of reach to take him down safely.

"Listen man, we were just getting out of here," I said.

"I saw you looking at my woman. What do you want with her? Did Anthony send you?" Alvarez stepped closer and pressed the cold barrel of the gun into my forehead.

I heard Debra gasp and then I felt her grab on to my shirt, but she didn't say anything. "It's okay, baby. Let me handle this."

"Shut up." The gun was pushed harder into my forehead.

Alvarez wasn't a big man. He was thin and tall with a goatee. His eyes glinted with maliciousness. He looked and sounded like a guy that lived on the street and had seen a lot of shit. But so had I.

"Okay, we're going to leave now." I made a move to standup, but I saw Alvarez's finger curl around the trigger. I sat back down.

I didn't want to talk to Alvarez or tip him off about why Debra and I were really there. But I also didn't want to take the risk of taking Alvarez down and it went wrong. I had Debra to think about now, not just myself.

"Did Anthony send you to spy on my woman, man? You tell that piece of shit that she's doing just fine and never wants to see him again. You tell him that," Alvarez spat.

I had always been a man who relied on my own judgment. Something was telling me to wait it out, so I did. Yet at the back of  my mind uncertainty crept in and I had to wonder if I was doing the right thing. I had failed my entire unit by relying on that same judgement and look what that had gotten me. A missing leg, dead comrades, an alcohol problem... a dead sister.

I'd made a judgment call that had cost good people their lives. I wasn't a complainer. It wasn't my style. I dealt with everything head on and then tried to move on with my life. But there was no moving on from what happened to me that bright and faithful day in Afghanistan. It had become a part of who I was and I just simply accepted that and I would always carry it around with me.