All too soon, the school year came to an end and we were forced to go our separate ways. It had always been a tradition in my family to join the military and I was no different. Being brought up in that life, I had made the decision a long time ago to follow in my father’s footsteps and joined the army. I was starting basic training at Fort Benning in Georgia. Bella had been accepted into Harvard Business School in Boston seeing as how she was hell bent on getting out of Forks as soon as she could.
Our parting had been bittersweet and we had promised each other faithfully to stay in touch. To our credit, we did stay in touch by text, email and phone calls. My training was gruelling and time off was at a minimum. Then one Friday, six months after training had commenced, I had four days off and I used them to surprise Bella at her dorm.
Earlier in the day she had told me that she was staying in that night and painting her nails so I felt confident that we would be able to catch up in person. I could barely contain my excitement at seeing her again and hoped that this time she might see me as something more than a friend.
As soon as my plane had touched down, I had hailed a cab and directed it straight to Bella’s place. I decided I could check in to the hotel later, but I couldn’t wait any longer to see her. I was still wearing the army fatigues that I had donned early in the morning and hoped Bella wouldn’t mind that I hadn’t taken the time to change into civilian wear.
On my way through the university grounds, I came across a flower bed with pale pink and white tulips, Bella’s favourite. I surreptiously reached out and snagged a handful of the not quite open buds to give to my girl.
I found her dorm room easily and was just about to lift my hand to knock when I heard the sound of Bella moaning coming from the other side. My heart plummeted at the sound. Bella had told me only a few days ago that she had broken up with yet another boyfriend before it had gotten serious because it just hadn’t felt right. Judging by the sounds coming from the room beyond, Bella had quickly found someone else to replace the loser.
My hands clenched at my sides, mirroring the pain in my heart, as I watched dispassionately as the mangled remains of the flower posy scattered over the floor in front of Bella’s door.
Thank God I had not told Bella I was coming. It would have been too mortifying to have blurted out my feelings for her only to find that she already had someone else in her life. I leaned my forehead against the door just to catch a whiff of the heady scent that was Bella’s and then I was leaving. No sooner had I rested my weight against the door than it sprang open, the catch obviously unhooked. What greeted my eyes was like a scene from my favorite porn movie.
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