Forget
Hot water pounded down on Becker's skull as he stood under the full force of the faucet. Steam filled the shower room and the water washed his body free of the grim it had collected. But included in the dirt swirling in the drain was a pinkish stain of blood. He reached for the soap on the shelf and proceeded for the eighth time to scrub his body raw. But with each time he scrubbed the feel of sticky blood remained.
It was everywhere her shirt saturated with it the floor congealing with it and his hands and body covered.
He shook his head and leaned against the cold white tiles trying to bring his senses back. The water had begun to run cold and Becker turned the faucet off. He stepped out and the cold air made goose bumps rise on his skin. Across the room the water pipes squeaked .
She screamed and Becker's blood ran cold at the stomach churning sound it vibrated through his body and made his stomach fall to his feet.
Taking a shaky breath Becker pulled his Shirt on. Wincing slightly as the fabric rubbed against the wound. He smoothed the shirt down and laced up his boots. The whole process was longer than before with his hands shaking he could barely hold one of the laces.
It had been a bad day with a huge creature and lots of wounded team members. Becker himself had a chunk skin ripped off. Now he stood in the lockers trying to pull a shirt over his bandaged shoulder. He heard foot steps and turned to see Sarah standing in the doorway. She took one look at the half on shirt before she crossed the room. Gently reaching up she pulled the shirt up. Now the shirt was on his shoulders. She than buttoned the shirt up. When she was done she reached up and straightened the collar. Her fingers gently grazing his neck.
Becker felt the small tingle run through him as unconsciously he touched the collar of his shirt. Walking out of the showers he entered the main room. Around him he could see the people look away and the few who looked at him would sympathetically gaze. Above him Lester stood on the balcony. The suited man face looked ashen and dark circles rimmed his eyes. He gripped the railing before sifting back to his office to bury himself in paperwork trying to escape only for a few hours reality. Becker walked through the building when he came to the small office. Looking in an employee was gathering up what was in the room. "Excuse me I'll do this." He offered as he stepped in the room. The employee who was new nodded before leaving. From the wall he peeled off a poster of a dragon. From the desk came framed photos of her friends and family. He looked at one that contained a young looking Sarah with her parents. She wore a black gown and cap and proudly showed her diploma. The next showed her with a sister the two sat side by side on a park bench with their hair messed from the wind. Another was of her as a child with some friends. The young girl wore a bright orange headband in her black hair making her look Halloweenish. On her feet were bright red cowboy boots and a bright green dress covered her. She looked like a rainbow. The last was the hardest to look at. She stood next to him. He had his arms wrapped around her waist and she rested her gloved hands on his chest. Snow filled the air around them and Sarah wore a bright red coat with a matching hat. Snow covered her and her nose was red from the cold. Becker put the picture in the box before picking it up. He left the building and continued to the medical bay. The doctors had left and now a single a worker manned the area. Blood had been cleaned from the floor and the metal table where she had been treated.
He was moving as fast as possible. But the body in his arms made going harder. The doctors took her from him and laid her down. He face was pale and twisted in agony. Tears ran down her face and she cried out "Becker" he staggered over to her and her eyes opened taking her hand he felt it moist with blood. Then her groans stopped and her breath became weak. The doctors moved faster. The life left her brown eyes. And she was gone. Becker took a step back and nearly slipped the white tiles were puddled with blood. It looked like a scene from a horror movie.
Sarah's body was gone now. And the room looked clean and orderly unlike the chaos it was only a few hours ago. Lester walked in behind Becker and the younger man turned to meet him. "I've called her parents and their going to come to pick up her things tomorrow. His voice wasn't as dry as it usually was but now emotion began to set in. Becker nodded and was began to leave. "I've arranged for you to have a break. Go and leave and try to forget for a while." Lester said before leaving the room as quickly as he had entered.
Three weeks had passed and now sitting on a lounge chair Becker stared at the ocean. The turquoise blue water lapped the white sand. Young woman walked around in bikinis and in the water a man tossed a child in the water. Next to Becker a woman laughed and took a picture. Another child a little girl sat in the sand building a sand castle. The woman took another picture of the girl. Tears built up in his eyes. And he was thankful for the black sunglasses for hiding the tears. Jealousy traveled through him as the man and his son came up to the woman and girl. The father helped the children build the castle and the woman soon joined them. Dreams of him at the beach with Sarah next to him with children filled his mind. He had flew thousands of miles to get him and yet when ever a tan woman with black hair would come in to his view his heart would skip a beat. Thousands of miles and tons of alcohol couldn't make him forget.
Meeting her parents had been the worst. They were hurt and he felt so guilty for not being able to tell them the real reason how their daughter died. Her mother took the box. She pulled out a picture frame and than handed it to Becker. It was the one of them on that snow filled day. A soft look came over her face "You need it more than I do." she said.
The day was done and the sun had set. Becker sat at the bar. And stared at the cold glass. "So what are you trying to forget?" looking up Becker saw he bartender looking at him. "Nothing." he replied looking back at the drink. "Oh come on I get tons of people with that look here each day trying to get to the middle of nowhere to get away but they never can." The bartender said and set the rag on the counter. Sighing Becker replied "I was supposed to protect someone and I didn't I failed." He said and took a drink. "I failed... she trusted me and I failed her just failed her. " The bartender leaned against the counter before taking the drink from Becker "Your not gonna be able to un-fail her with that or forget. Go back home staying here isn't going to change anything." with that Becker stood up. He walked out to the hotel before packing his bags. It was true. He couldn't forget Sarah with staying on a beach and she didn't want to forget. Because she wasn't worth forgetting.