The Soldier Next Door

The first time I laid my eyes on Paul, I knew he was trouble. The second time I laid my eyes on him, he was trouble. Now the third time… he is dead.

At first, I thought that I was just being unreasonably jealous, but the moment that I saw him try and kiss my fiance, I knew that I was going to do something that is going to land me in a prison cell for the night.

I took my eyes away from them for a second only to find when I looked again that the buff dumbo has his filthy lips against hers.

I need not even hesitate that maybe I am seeing things wrong; I fling the front door open and rush towards him. I grab him by the shoulder and spin him around

“What fuck do you think you are doing?”

“Let go of me!”

If he thinks I am going to let go, then he has another thing coming. I ball my right hand into a fist so tightly that my knuckles are turning white. With the full force of my trembling arm, I pull back and launch my fist straight into his jaw. His head snaps to the side, causing him to stumble backward.

I step two steps closer to him and grab him by his collar, twisting it with so much tension that the buttons of his shirt pop off. I pull my fist into a ball once again and crash it square into his nose. I can hear the bones crack as his head falls back.

He falls back onto his ass into a nearby rose bush that scratches his arm to shit. As I go to pull him up, I hear a voice behind me speak.

“Ethan, stop. He is not worth it.”

Much to my shock, I hear my father as he comes walking up to me. But the buff dumbo goes to grab me from behind. All I hear is my dad raising his voice.

“Ethan, move!”

As I stumble off my feet to the side, I am very amazed as I watch my father smashes his fist underneath his chin and knock him out completely.

I jump up as fast as I can and run over to where my father is standing, rubbing his hand.NôvelD(ram)a.ôrg owns this content.

“Are you okay, dad?”

“I wanted to do that the first time that asshole set foot into my house.”

We all stand there just laughing at my dad; my father might be full of shit, but never did I think he can throw a punch like that.

As everyone starts moving back into the house, I pull my father back.

“Thank you for that.”

“It is the least I can do after acting like an idiot.”

But as he wants to walk off, I pull him back again. I know that he was only looking out for me when he was so opposed to the wedding. I know that he is just scared that I shall get hurt; he does after treat me with more care since he found out about what happened that day. He understands the pain and suffering I had to go through when I lost my leg, but most of all, he understands that I do not deserve to be alone. And I guess that he has seen that Ana shall be that woman that makes me complete.

So after giving him a very much awkward hug and thanking him once again, we also head inside, where we find the others happily laughing at everything that just happened. But the only one not laughing is Ana; she seems quite detached from the situation. It must just be the shock; I did not think anyone could foresee such a thing to have happened.

I walk up to where she stands, very much panicked.

“Boo, are you okay?”

“I am so sorry about that soldier. He is the last person I expected to see.”

“It is not your fault. Let us just forget about it. We have a wedding to plan, and we are running out of days.”

I see she agrees, but if she understands, it is a whole different thing. I know this is all big and scary for her. We both are making such big decisions in our life. We should be doing this together, but right now, it seems that we are doing this apart.

And apart we are definitely doing it; since this whole incident, she has completely withdrawn into herself. So much so that she is agreeing to everything my mom is saying.

Right now, if my mom says to wear a black dress, she most certainly would even agree to it, not even knowing what she is saying.

I hate to see her like this; she is feeling so much pain inside. First, it was my father that did not want to come, and now Paul comes here, causing trouble like this. I can’t help to think that this might also bring back painful memories of Mark. Whatever she is going through, I can slowly see it eating her up inside.

It is not long before she comes up to me, and I can immediately see the tears burning inside. My heart breaks in an instant; it is at this time that I wished that my father had punched him harder. He has come here, and not only did he what should be a happy occasion, but he has also upset Ana to such a degree that it is bringing her to tears.

“Soldier, I am going to go lay down; I am not feeling well.”

“Sure, boo, do you want me to wake you up later?”

“Please, about supper time if you don’t mind.”

“Not at all; you go lay down.”

I pull her into my warm embrace and pull her closer to my chest. I can smell the scent of honey in her hair as I lay my chin softly on her head. Her body is slightly trembling, which makes me squeeze her a bit more tightly. I keep my strong protective arms around her frail body for what almost seems like five minutes. She lifts up her head and seeks my eyes.

“I am going to go to bed; please tell your mom I say sorry.”

“Boo, don’t feel sorry for anything. Just go get rest, and I shall see you later.”

The day goes by in but a blur; I am left to make most of the decisions about cake and flowers, table cloths, and napkins. I never thought that anything could be so damn tiring.

Lucky with Katarina here, we know mostly what Ana likes.

By the time we are nearly done, it is time to wake Ana. I make my way to the room, where I find that she is already awake. But the look on her face tells me that there is something wrong. If her face was troubled before, it has grown somewhat terrified at something I am sure I am about to find out.

“How did you sleep?”

…Ana POV…

With Paul coming here, he did not only make me mad, but he did scratch opens some wound I would have to prefer to stay locked deep down inside of me. For some strange reason, I feel like I am betraying Mark for moving on. Yes, he would want me to be happy, but how can I be if all that I am doing is complicating Ethan’s life. He deserves so much more than the trouble I bring.

If it were not for me, he would not have had to even consider the choice to come back to the Corps. And then the whole thing with his father, I know his father did come, but there was almost the possibility that he won’t. Lastly, this whole damn thing with Paul. Ethan is not a violent man, but he just got into a fistfight over me.

I cannot do this to Ethan; he does not deserve these things to be happening to him.

“Soldier, I need to talk to you about something.”

“What is wrong, boo?”

“The wedding…”

He immediately cuts me off; he is so soft and innocent sometimes. It is the thing I love the most, his love and loyalty. He always fails to see the bad side of things. He believes in a world where people do not hurt and where there is constant happiness for all. So it is with great joy that he tells me of how the day went.

“We actually got a lot done while you were sleeping.”

“No, that is not it.”

“What is wrong? You are making me worried.”

“Soldier, you know how much I love you.”

“Yes, like infinity and beyond. And I love you even further beyond of that.”

“You making this hard for me.”

“Boo, what is wrong?”

I watch as his beautiful brown eyes grow even wider. That perfect head of messy hard and his strong chiseled face is what made me fall in love with him in the first place. He is devilishly handsome and definitely one of the best things that happened in my life.

But he does not deserve this. He does not deserve this drama; he does not deserve the unhappiness it has caused in his home. He deserves better.

“Soldier, I want to call the wedding off.”