Vaughn
I need to get my ass in gear. Grabbing my keys from the table by the door, I run out to get a start on the day. I’m tired as fuck from my lack of sleep, and the less sleep I get, the more the nightmares affect me. I don’t like taking my sleeping pills, but tonight it’s going to be a must or I’m going to lose my mind. I pull up to the pump at the little convenience store we call the shoppette to fill up my car. I climb out to pump my gas and a yawn escapes me. Damn, I’m fucking tired. I need to get this shit under control. The last thing I need is for me or one of my guys to get hurt because I can’t focus. Another yawn escapes me as the pump stops. I return the nozzle and replace my gas cap before moving my car to a parking spot. We all take turns picking up coffee during the week, and today it’s my turn. Pulling the door open, I nearly walk into a female soldier. “Excuse me.” I hold the door allowing her to step through.
“No worries, Sergeant.” I nod and head straight to the coffee station. I know exactly how to make everyone’s coffee just the way they like it. As soon as I’m done, I grab a sandwich from the deli fridge for my lunch, along with a diet soda and a bag of chips. I turn to carry it all to the counter, but I bump into my boy, Remy. “Let me help you with that.” The Major smiles at me.
“Hey, sir. How’s it going?” Remy and I shake hands. I try hard to slip my mask into place but I fear I’m too late.
“It’s going well. How about you?” He looks me up and down.
“I’m doing okay, sir.” I give him a tight smile. I can tell from the look in his eyes he’s not buying it.
“Are you sure? You’re looking a bit tired.” He narrows his eyes at me.
“Ah, you know how it is, sir. Overworked and underpaid. How’s Kenzie?” I try changing the subject, but again it doesn’t work.
“She’s great, actually.” He takes the sandwich, chips, and soda from my hands and walks them back to their appropriate spots.
“What are you doing, sir?” My one eyebrow raised in confusion.
“Buying you lunch.” He narrows his eyes again. “I need to get going, but I have a feeling we need to talk. I’ll meet you at the commissary food court for lunch at noon sharp. Don’t be late.” He says nothing else and gives me no chance to argue, he turns and walks out the door.
“Fuck,” I whisper to myself. I have to figure out how to get around this. I know Remy has some demons of his own, and he’s worked to fight through it, but I’m not sure I want to talk about it anymore than I have. I’ve tried talking to Callen about it and it hasn’t done shit for me.
“Next,” the guy at the counter yells, pulling me from my thoughts.
Shaking it off, I step up to the counter. “My bad.” I put the coffees down on the counter and pull out my wallet to pay the man. “Thanks.” I nod at the guy after paying him. I grab the coffees and put them on the front passenger’s seat. What am I going to do? Remy already sees through me, there’s no way I’m going to be able to convince him I’m fine. That the nightmares haunting my nights are not really there. This is why I keep to myself. I start the car and slam it into drive before pulling out of the parking lot. The guys are going to be waiting. It’s already zero eight-thirty, and we’re usually there by zero eight hundred hours. I’m tired, slow, and bumping into the Major didn’t help.
When I pull up, the bay doors are open and my guys are busy working on their assigned vehicles. There are four bays, and each bay has a vehicle in it. Two are on lifts, and two are regular maintenance. I can’t help but notice there are a few new ones in the yard that must have broken down sometime over the weekend. Guys are always on training missions, so vehicles show up all the time. I’ll have to check them out first thing to see what they need.
I walk through the door and the guys all begin clapping. “It’s about fucking time,” Max shouts from across the shop.
“Fuck you, guys. I ran into Major Bennett at the shoppette. I couldn’t exactly tell a major to fuck off—that my guys are waiting for coffee.” I put the coffees on the counter and they all come running over to grab them.
Everyone but Callen takes their coffee and walks away, to continue working. “What’s up with the Major?”
I look to the ground for a second. “He picked up on my lack of sleep. Asked if I was all right.”
“What did you tell him?” Callen leans on the counter sipping his coffee, like we’re making casual conversation. He knows damn fucking well this isn’t easy.
“I tried to tell him I was fine, but he didn’t buy it. Bastard took the food I was buying for lunch from me and told me I needed to meet him at noon.”
Callen starts laughing. “I guess we know where you’ll be this afternoon.” He puts his coffee back down and walks over to the vehicle he’s working on.
“We have a lot to do. I may not go,” I call out, taking a swig from my coffee. Callen turns back, his brows shoot up, and the face he makes screams really, but I ignore it.
“What? Let’s get to work,” I shout back to stop him from staring at me.
“Fine. I’ll get to work, but you know damn well what that look was for.” Fuck yeah, I do. He wants me to meet with Remy because he knows Remy won’t stop until he feels he’s gotten me to agree to help. I don’t need help. I need sleep. When I’m not overtired, the nightmares stay at bay, but if I’m stressed and not sleeping, well, fuck me, they’re fierce. I shake my thoughts and jump onto my computer. I need to check emails and see what’s going on with some parts we need for vehicles we have waiting for repair before my commander kicks my ass.
After a long ass morning of emails, repairs, parts tracking, and a brief meeting, I’m running out the door late. I was supposed to be at the commissary to meet with Remy five minutes ago. No sooner do I pull out of the maintenance parking lot than my phone rings through my in care system. “I’m on my way. Sorry, man.”
“I thought you were blowing me off. I was going to come drag your ass out of that bay.”
I laugh because he would too. “Nah, I’ll be there in a minute.” I cut the call. I thought about blowing him off, but he would only use that against me to try and prove a point. I’ll have lunch with him, explain I just need a little sleep, and all will be good. I pull into the parking lot a few minutes later, and of course the place is packed. This place is always a zoo at lunch time. It’s why if I don’t pack my lunch, I grab it from the shoppette in the morning. First, I typically work through lunch, and second, I hate dealing with crowds. When I get inside, Remy is already sitting at a table with a large pizza. “I figured we could share a pizza, and since you were late, I took the liberty of ordering.” I laugh and take a seat.
“Thanks, man. Sorry about that. The shop is really busy right now, and I have two guys that are still somewhat new, so they’re slow and can’t do all the stuff Callen and Max can do.” He hands me a bottle of diet cola and I take a slice of pizza.
“No problem. I heard you saw my sister.” Easy conversation, this I can handle.
“Yeah, she was at the same bar the guys and I hang out at. They ended up joining us. Your sister’s pretty cool.” I take a bite of the pepperoni pizza.
He wipes his mouth with a napkin and then places it on his lap. “Listen, I try not to get involved in her life, but I heard her telling her friend that she thinks you’re hot, and that she’s had a great time with you.” Fuck, maybe this isn’t going to be easy conversation. He didn’t call me here to discuss my sleep issues, he’s pissed his sister likes me.
“Listen, I think your sister is gorgeous and yes, we had fun, but say the word and I’ll stay away from her. I’d never disrespect you like that. We’ve been friends for far too long.” Remy and are the same age, and we’ve always gotten along really well. Every time we’ve been stationed near one another, we’ve gotten together.
“I appreciate that, but my sister would cut my balls off if I tried to interfere. My point was to let you know that she likes you. All I ask is that you be good to her. Don’t lead her on if you’re not interested.” He has laughter in his voice. He’s probably right, Brooke is one sassy woman. She adores her brother, but she doesn’t take shit from him, either.
Well, that went better than I expected. “I wouldn’t do that to any woman, especially not your sister. You’re like family, man.”
“Good, now onto more important things.” He takes a swig of his soda. Fuck, here it comes. “What’s up with you and this shit about not sleeping? Are you having nightmares again?”
“Only once in a while. It’s really no big deal.” I shrug my shoulders to try and persuade him it’s really not an issue because it’s not. I’m a little tired, but this is nothing I can’t handle.
His brows shoot up in disbelief. “When is the last time you slept through the night?”
“Night before last. Listen, man. I get it you’re concerned, and I appreciate it, trust me I do, but I’m good.” Crossing my leg, I lean back in my seat. “I’m relaxed, calm, and I’m not easily agitated.” Remy stares at me for a moment, trying to figure out his next move. I can see the cogs spinning in his head. He’s been in my shoes, only he had it worse. It was him who took a bullet—twice. That’s not something you can easily move on from. I sigh. “I spoke with your sister about getting a dog. I need some focus in my life, that’s all. Once I have a dog to take care of, everything will fall back into place. I’m telling you, I’m good.”
“You think it’s that easy?” He crosses his arms and narrows his eyes at me.
“I don’t think it’s that easy, but I think it will be helpful.”
“Okay, fine. Have you spoken to her since the bar?” I shake my head. “What are you waiting for?”
I shrug. “I never got her number.” It’s a lame ass excuse, since I could have picked up the phone and easily gotten it from Remy. “Plus, I know she’s graduating soon. I don’t want to bother her while she’s studying.” Truthfully, I’d love to take her out. I’ve had my eyes on her for years, and was stoked when Remy got back and invited me to his parents for their annual cookout. She was looking mighty fine, as always.
Remy bursts into laughter. “Dude, really? Are you a man or a kid in high school? You should have called.” He shakes his head and pulls out his phone. My phone pings a minute later. He sent me a text with Brooke’s phone number.
“Are you going to tell her you gave out her number?” I have laughter in my voice. “Or is that something you do on a regular basis?”
“First, you know damn well I don’t. Second, hurt my baby sister and I’ll kill you. Third, call her and get the dog squared away. I don’t like seeing you like this.” He stands from the table. “If I don’t see improvement, you better believe we’ll be having another conversation.” He puts his hand on my shoulder. “I have to get my ass back to work. Take the rest of the pizza back for your guys. They’ll love you for it.”
“My guys already love me.” I close the lid to the pizza and we walk out together.
He’s a few feet away when he turns back. “Do me a favor.”
“Anything.”
“Promise me if this shit gets out of control, you’ll get help.”
“Sure.” I muster as much conviction into that one word as I can. There’s no way I’m going to allow this to get out of control.
“Good. I don’t want to have to kick your ass.” He chuckles and walks out the door.
I pull up to the shop. The guys are all standing around looking at one vehicle in particular. “What’s up, guys?” I walk over carrying the pizza and they all turn to face me. “I brought some pizza back.”
Callen comes over and tells me that the two newbies made a mistake on the truck they were working on and now it needs added repairs. The repairs aren’t major, but they’ll put us further behind in our schedule. “Callen, you help them fix their mistake, and I’m going to go check out the last of the vehicles that were dropped off this weekend so we can get out of here at a decent time. We’re working late tonight, boys.” They all grunt and groan heading back to work, but I don’t give a fuck. We’re a team, and if one guy stays late, we all stay late.