In the eyes of a Braddock
Authors note: Hi, so this is a one shot, it's how Natalie feels and what she thinks after Sam goes to Afghanistan for the first time (I made up the other sisters names and how old they are because I'm not sure how old they would be). Thanks to giggles811 for the title suggestion (which I used :)). Enjoy
Emily and Milly are sat beside me, fidgeting because they're bored, whispering to each other while I'm trying to concentrate and it's starting to get on my nerves. Mum is knelt down on the ground in front of us, hands clasped together, head bowed, eyes closed, praying.
Sammy is away fighting in the war, protecting our country says mum. Emily and Milly are too young to understand.
Sammy went away two years ago, one year after the twins were born. I remember that day like it was yesterday.
The twins were in bed, asleep, just like I was meant to be. Mum and Sammy were standing by the front door. Talking, hugging, crying (mum more than Sammy). Then nothing. Sammy was gone, just like that. My amazing big brother was gone. Gone. For some reason dad wasn't there with them, he was in his study. I would have thought that he would be there to say goodbye to his only son before he left; maybe he was just too busy and had said goodbye before. Mum made her way towards the stairs, where I was sitting. She sat down beside me and wrapped her arms around me. We wept together, both of us missing Sam already. Sammy will be home soon she promised me. He'll be home soon. I keep repeating that to myself.
He'll be home soon.
That was two years ago and he's still not home. Mum says that everything is fine, that Sammy will be coming home to us soon. That he will write back to us. That he'll be here soon to pick me up from school, to kiss me goodnight. She's been saying that every day for two years now and yet he's still not here.
A lot has happened during the two years that Sam has been gone. My thirteenth and fourteenth birthdays have been and gone, my fifteenth coming up soon. The twins' second and third birthdays have also been and gone. They can talk, walk, run now and Sam hasn't been here for any of it.
The fidgeting is still going on and mum has sat up now. This is what we do every Sunday. We walk to church from our house. When we get there, mum tells Emily, Milly and I to be good and hands Emily and Milly some colouring books and pens to keep them occupied, to make the time go quicker (which it never does) and then she kneels on the ground and prays. Sometimes I join her. We pray for Sammy, for us, for our family, our friends, that we will all be kept safe. But God doesn't seem to answer our prayers, for people that we know who are in Afghanistan keep dying. I just hope that that hasn't happened to Sammy.
We have to write an essay for school on someone who has had a big influence on our lives.
I chose Sammy.
He is the bravest man I know. He has had a huge influence on my life. He taught me so much, told me so much. I think that I have learnt more from Sam than from any of the teachers in my school. Sammy not only taught me about all the things that I need to know in school, he also taught me a lot about life. About what kind of person I should be. I know just what I want to be like when I'm older; brave, strong, courageous, all the things that Sammy is. I want to be just like him.
Although I miss him, I know that by him being away, he is saving lots of lives. At least that's what mum tells me. I keep hearing stories of how men come home from fighting in the war with a missing arm or a missing leg. Those stories horrify me. What if that happens to Sam?
I think of myself as being very lucky. Some girls in my school don't have big brothers to look after them, to protect them and never have. Others have brothers and dads who went away to fight in the war and never came back. They died. The thought of this scares me. Not growing up with him. Not having my big brother see me get married. To kiss me goodnight. To hold me when I'm scared, upset. To look after me when I'm ill. It scares me that Emily and Milly might not have Sammy, our amazing big brother, when they are my age. They're too young to remember what Sammy is like, what he looks like. They wouldn't remember him at all by the time they are my age. Even if I tell them all about him.
They would just forget.
It's been 3 years now since Sammy went away. Maybe Sammy will come home now that he's been away for so long.
Three days later, there is a knock on the door. Mum is upstairs with the twins so I answer it and there he is. The one person who I never thought that I would see again.
Sammy.
I fling my arms around his neck and he picks me up and spins me around. He's home. Home at last. I'm laughing with joy so loud that mummy, Emily and Milly come down to see what is going on and dad comes out of his study. I let go of Sammy and he lets go of me, I step aside so that mum and dad can hug Sam. Dad moves forward first and gives Sam a weird man huge thing. Mum's standing still like a statue, hand pressed against her mouth, tears in her eyes. She steps forward after what seems like hours and hugs Sam, tight. The twins grab onto Sam's legs and hug them. Sammy pulls one arm off mummy and reaches out for me. I wrap my arms around him and he holds me close.
We are together now, together forever and nothing is going to change that.
Nothing.
AN: So, what did you think? Please review!