Chapter 52 The Request
THE REQUEST
ZEKE
It didn’t matter what time of day it was back in the States when I called Leggett. I knew he would answer as soon as he saw my name on the caller ID.
“Finally come to your senses?” he greeted on the first ring.
I swallowed thickly and idly wondered if it always tasted so bitter to eat crow. “Yes, sir. I’m sorry for my actions. I’d like to come back.”
Leggett grunted, the closest thing I would receive as far as acceptance went. “You’ll have to come back to Stewart for the time being. My promotion is still being negotiated. Don’t worry, I’ll have you in front of the promotion board in no time, too.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“Are you going to divorce her?”
“What?” Panic set in as Leggett asked the one question that would get through to me.
“Now that you’ve realized your mistake. Are you gonna cut her loose so that you can stay focused on the mission? The Army doesn’t need anymore married pansies. We need human weapons with the ability to kill at a moment’s notice. Get rid of her.”
“General, I ca—”
“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it when you get back,” Leggett interrupted me. “I’ll have the paperwork pushed through within twenty-four hours. Stand by.”
I gritted my teeth as I slipped back into my old self, the obedient servant who never questioned or fought back. A snake reverting back to its shed skin. So much for a new normal. “Yes, sir. I’ll be ready.”
Sleeping alone in my room felt wrong. How had I been so happy for such a short period of time?
Is that what love usually felt like, rare highs in a sea of extreme lows?
I hated the way I still kept an ear out for Maggie.
So much so that I heard her tiptoe into my room hours later. A hoarse whisper cut across the room.
“Zeke?”
I remained frozen in my position, keeping my breathing slow and my eyes shut.
Yeah, looking at her would signify I was awake, but it would also sever the remains of my heart in two, and I didn’t have that in me just yet.
I needed time to slowly sink back into my old habits to keep everyone at bay. Feelings hurt too damn much.
When I didn’t respond, she slowly crept out, taking a small part of me with her.
Leggett must have called in special favors to get the paperwork pushed through in record time because Whittenburg barked for me to report to his office before we were done with first formation.
“Heading back to Stewart, I see,” the staff sergeant read from the paper on his desk. “We were told this is an emergency transfer. That you’re to be on a plane, ready to report back to General Leggett himself by Friday.”
Rather than respond, I stared straight ahead at the spot over his shoulder, keeping my stance rigid. The old me barely spoke, right? There was never anything to say.
“Clear out, soldier!” Whittenburg snapped.
I just reached the doorway when he added, “And good luck to you and your wife. I hope things get better for you back home.”
Home. Yeah, right.
By the time Maggie arrived back at the apartment after her first shift at the salon, I had most of my bedroom packed in boxes.
The furniture all came as temporary pieces anyway.
I listed all the household items we purchased on arrival on one of the housing websites military families frequently used.
Several people were on their way to pick things up.
“What’s going on?” Maggie asked. A tremor made her voice shake, but I refused to look up.
“I’m being transferred back to Fort Stewart. We have to clear out of here within a day so I’d get packing if I were you. I put some boxes and tape in your room.”
“What? We just got here! I thought you said we’d be here for at least a year or two!”
I shrugged as if it didn’t matter. “The Army can do what it wants with me. You’re free to go wherever you’d like.”
“Zeke, c’mon,” she said tearfully. A thin hand grabbed mine before I could pull away. “Don’t be like this.”
As much as I knew it would sting, I had to pick at the freshly formed scab. “Do you love me?” Like the good soldier I was, I focused on something just over her shoulder rather than look her in the eye.
A sob broke free as she answered. “That isn’t fair!”
I shrugged again. “Sometimes life isn’t. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna go pack up the stuff from the kitchen. A few people are stopping by to look through it.”
The hollow feeling in my chest from before, the days that I now called B.M.—Before Maggie—returned as I strode past her.