Brett's POV
My phone buzzed in my pocket, I quickly grabbed it reading over the message. "What are you smiling at? '' Quinn asked me to place a box on the counter. "An old friend texted me about meeting up, that's all" I said nonchalantly. "Are you going to meet up with them?" Quinn asked, walking out of the kitchen toward the living room. I raised my voice so she could still hear me, "Yeah, I am going to head over there now" I said, shoving my phone back into my pocket. I looked over at Santana who was the only person in the kitchen with me. "Is it a girl?" she asked quiet enough that Quinn couldn't hear but loud enough that I could. I cocked an eyebrow at her, "why are you jealous?". Her face turned red and she seemed flustered, not really believing that I could just confront her like that. "No what, um" she said, stuttering. Still having confidence from our earlier experience in the kitchen, I approached her. Lightly grabbing Santana by the waist I pulled her close letting her chest hit mine. I wrapped my good arm around her waist and lowered my lips to her ear. "Don't worry San, nobody compares to you" I whispered. I could feel her shutter against me. I quickly gave her a peck on the cheek and pulled away. I could see that she was smiling, god I could get lost in that smile.
"I'll see you two ladies later, let me know if I can pick anything up for dinner" I yelled out. I gave Santana a quick wink which made her smirk before walking out the door. It feels weird just walking along the streets of New York. I am going to be honest, I have really been struggling with the concept of being out of the combat zone. I have basically spent more time in war then out of war. My mind just races, especially at night. I just lay there psychoanalyzing every noise and shadow wondering if it is the enemy. Then I need to try to pull myself back and remind myself that I am not there anymore. That is one of the most important reasons why I need to see my buddy. He was the closest person I had to family in Afghanistan and one of the reasons why I pushed people so far away.
I opened the door to the gym and made my way inside. "Look what the cat dragged in" Aaron yelled ecstatically walking over to me. "Wow the real world sure put a number of years on you" I said joking around. "shut the hell up" he responded laughing and pulling me into a hug. Feeling Aaron this close made me feel very uneasy. It isn't like I don't want to be around him but being in this proximity brought me back to that fateful day. Aaron pulled away with his smile still plastered on his face.
"Welcome to my gym!" he said, throwing his arms in the air. Aaron's gym was your typical military gym. There were some machines but mostly weights, punching bags and a boxing ring. The color scheme was obviously the 5 colors of the marines. "This place is really nice" I said walking further in, "What's even better is that everyone who works here is a veteran." he said smiling. "Aaron that's amazing" I said inspecting the pictures on the wall. They were all old pictures of the people who work here in the military. I recognize some of the pictures because they were from the tours that Aaron and I were on together. One picture caught my eye immediately and I felt like I couldn't really breathe. I felt lost being pulled back to that day once again. I one day in my whole military career that really changed everything about me. Even more than the mission that I was injured on. I felt a hand on my back pulling me back into reality. "I miss him too" Aaron whispered, noticing the picture that I was looking at. I just nodded not being able to find the right words. I don't think I have even said his name since that day.
"Come on, there is someone else that really wants to see you" Aaron said pulling me from the wall. We rounded the corner walking through a large door into an office. The red headed women jumped up from one of the desks. "BRETT" she yelled, hugging me close. I wrapped my good arm tight around her. Pulling away after a minute, "Carrie you look amazing" I said just as Aaron whacked the back of my head, "Don't look at my wife" he said laughing. "Shut up" she responded pushing her husband. "Thank you Brett," Carrie said, sitting back down behind her desk. "How's recovery doing?" Aaron asked. I just shrugged, "it's going I guess, I'm going to a doctor this week to get an update of everything going on. Hopefully I'll be out of the sling soon" I explained laughing. I was surprised Carrie never asked about my injury but I guess either Aaron told her or she knew just not to ask. "How long are you home for?" she asked. "I am not entirely sure, they said maybe 6 months but it really comes down to what the doctor says." "you're itching to go back aren't you?" Aaron asked, already knowing the answer. I could see Carrie feeling uncomfortable. She is similar to Quinn, Carrie never liked watching Aaron and I flying off to another tour. She always did support us by sending multiple care packages during every tour.
"Well since you are going to be here for a little while, Aaron and I were talking about something" Carrie said smiling. I looked between them before Aaron spoke "I want to offer you a job here. You can work behind the front desk and then when you feel up to it, I was thinking then you could start training people'' he explained. I was surprised by the offer. I mean, I wanted to get a job but then Quinn said I should just focus on recovering. The military is also still paying me but I guess it would be nice to make some extra money. I want to be able to start paying for things for Quinn and Santana since they are doing so much for me. I also realized that I guess I would need something to do once Santana picked up a case.
"Are you guys sure?" I asked, making sure they were serious. "Absolutely, it's the least we could do for you" Carrie said smiling. I nodded, "Yeah I would absolutely love that" I smiled. Aaron clapped "I love that we are working together again". "How's being home?" Carrie asked. "It's been okay, Quinn is really happy I am home and her roommate is intriguing" I explained. The couple both zeroed in on different parts of my sentence. Aaron's eyes widened at the fact I stuttered saying it was okay. He had his own problems so I guess he just knew I was having problems of my own. Carrie on the other hand seemed more into the fact that I mentioned Quinn's roommate. I guess it made sense, Carrie always said I need to find a nice girl and then I would realize that there was more to life then the military.
Before either of them could say anything, I changed the subject because I didn't feel like answering any questions. "My sister is inviting some people over for a dinner party, I was wondering if you guys would like to come?" I asked. I thought it would be nice to know people other than Santana and Quinn. "Oh I love a good dinner party" Carrie said excitedly. "I think it sounds fun, I would love to finally meet Quinn" Aaron said. "And her roommate" Carrie added, smirking but Aaron didn't catch on. He never noticed those types of things, he was completely oblivious.
We talked for a while, mostly discussing how their life had been since Aaron came home. I didn't really discuss my injury or time in the war since Aaron left. I don't talk about that and I don't think anyone could get it out of me. They also got all the paperwork set up so I could start working as soon as possible. I didn't even realize how much time had passed until Quinn called asking if I could pick up Chinese food for dinner. I didn't even realize it was already that time. I said my goodbyes and made my way to the restaurant to grab the food the girls ordered. I think they forgot I had a sling because those girls ordered so much food. I don't understand how in the hell they both keep their figures if this is the amount of food they order all the time. Trying to balance the food on my bad arm, I somehow managed to open the door.
"You two ordered so much fucking food" I said kicking the door closed. I walked past the kitchen and placed the 2 large bags on the dining table. "Ughh finally, where the hell have you been" Quinn said, getting up and placing a file on the coffee table. She walked into the kitchen to grab everything we needed. "I told you I went to meet with a friend, we got caught up talking" I explained. "How was seeing your friend" Santana asked, bringing my attention to her as she walked over to the table. "You wear glasses?" I finally asked about her appearance. Santana had rid her face from every ounce of make up and pulled her hair up into a messy bun. She had on a tight purple NYU tank top and black shorts that showcased her amazing legs. But the most surprising thing was the reading glasses that were perched on the bridge of her nose.
Santana laughed "only when I work" she said pointing to the files that were spread out on the coffee table. "I think this is my favorite look" I whispered so only she could hear me. Of course Santana smirked, "maybe I should wear them more often". I nodded quickly "absolutely" which made her laugh. "Here we are!" Quinn said, handing out the plates.
We decided to just eat at the table since the living room was a mess. "So I invited 2 more people to your dinner party," I said. "Oh the friends you went to meet?" Quinn asked. I nodded. "That's great we have plenty of food, I'm excited to meet some of your friends" She said. "They are excited to meet you too, actually both of you" I said glaring at Santana. "I think it's going to be a fun night," she replied.
"Everyone is coming over at 7:30 so make sure you are both ready early" Quinn said before retreating to her room to go to bed.
I sat on the couch pulling Santana's legs over mine since she was sitting next to me. She seemed shocked by the action but didn't move them. My bad arm laid in my sling which was being supported by one of Santana's legs, my fingertips were drawing little shapes on her knee. While my other arm was on the back of the couch. Santana was biting her pen cap while studying some papers. I tapped a few times on her knee which made her look up. "What are you reading?" I asked. "I got called into a case today, so I am just looking over the eye witness testimony." she explained. "Can you tell me anything about the case?" "A rape and murder in the upper west side" she said nonchalantly. "How do you do it?" I asked. She looked at me confused.
"See the horrors of what people can do and still manage to be okay and smile all the time." I asked. You see unlike Quinn, Santana sees things similar to what I saw being in war. It's not the same but she sees just how bad people can be. When I found out what kind of lawyer she was I couldn't help but wonder about this. Since she seems just so normal unlike me and my thoughts. Santana sat up closer to me, bending her legs but not removing them from her lap. She placed the file on the table and removed her glasses. "What is this really about?" she asked, speaking softly. I kept my hand on her knee, "Nothing I was just wondering since you've seen such bad things'' I said trying to push past this. How was she able to just see right through me? It was like she could just see directly into my thoughts. I shouldn't have asked her but seeing Aaron and the picture today really brought back some bad memories that I have been trying to bury.
She reached her arm up covering my arm that was on the back of the couch. "That's not true Brett, you can talk to me. Coming home from war is not easy" Santana said. Her voice seemed like she was pleading with me. "Santana I really am fine. I just wanted to know more about your job." I said annoyed breaking her eye contact by looking forward. I felt her hand come in contact with my cheek and she pulled me to meet her eyes once again. God she had beautiful eyes. "Do you want to talk about what happened over there? I've realized that sometimes victims heal by discussing their experiences" she said. How the hell does she get off saying I am like a victim. I am not a victim! I've killed people, they are the victims of this war…...not me.
I felt my breath get heavy. "I am not a victim Santana" I said sternly. She seemed surprised by my abrupt change of tone. Before she could say something else, I continued. "I've murdered people, radicals and civilians. There were men that I was in charge of getting home safely and you know what; some of them didn't fucking get to come home. I was their leader, it was my job. AND here I am sitting on an expensive couch, drinking beer, alive. So don't call me a victim." I said before moving her legs and getting up. I didn't have a bedroom to barricade myself in so I made a beeline to the bathroom. I heard Santana get up and follow me. "Brett, I'm sorry I didn't mean it like that. Please" she said. Once I made it to the bathroom I quickly shut the door and locked it. "Brett please open the door" Santana begged as she knocked lightly. I ignored her, sliding down the door to sit on the floor. Every once in a while I could hear Santana knock and beg me to come out. She promised not to ask anything, she just wanted to see that I was okay. I don't know how long I was sitting there but she eventually stopped.
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