Thwarted - 51. Chapter Fifty-One

Mark wrapped his arms around his bent legs and rested his forehead on his knees as tears slid down his face.

“Mark!”

He heard Diane calling his name and shook his head. He didn’t want to hear it. He already knew what she was going to tell him and he didn’t want to hear the confirmation of what he already dreaded.

“Mark, listen to me.” Diane’s voice became more forceful and he looked up. Her tears didn’t bode well. “He’s alive. You hear me? He’s hurt but alive.”

Mark stared, barely able to make sense of her words. When they finally registered, he lurched forward and pulled Diane into his arms. Within moments he felt another pair of arms wrap around both of them, and looked up into Gary’s concerned face.

“He’s alive?” At Gary’s nod, relief swamped him. The rest of what Diane said finally registered and he looked stricken. “How bad is he hurt?”

“Shrapnel damage.” Diane pulled back and looked at him. “They’re not sure of the extent of his injuries, but they’ll be flying him to Germany for further assessment, and to determine whether to perform surgery there or fly him back to the states first.”

“So when will we know more?” At least he was alive. Mark figured they could deal with anything else that was thrown at them.

“Maybe in a couple of days, at most.” Diane wiped the tears from her cheeks.

Mark closed his eyes. It was going to be a long couple of days. Not only did he have Trey to worry about, but he also had the situation between Brent and Jackie. At least having Matthew with him would provide some sort of a distraction.

“As hard as it’s going to be, we should try to get some sleep. There’s nothing we can do at this point, except wait.” Gary made sense but it was hard to contemplate the idea of sleep. Too much was going on in Mark’s mind, that he was doubtful he would be able to fall asleep.

Mark said good night to Diane and Gary, hugged them both, and trudged back to his own room. He lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, with thoughts of everything that could have happened. He knew they were lucky that Trey had only been injured and not killed. It could have been so much worse.

***

The sun shining through the window woke him. He didn’t feel rested he must’ve slept a least a little bit, after laying awake most of the night worrying. He climbed from the bed, pulled his clothes on, and headed downstairs to the kitchen. Gary and Diane were nowhere to be found, but at least the coffee pot was full. He poured a cup and sat at the kitchen table while the caffeine worked its magic and he felt a little more awake.

He was just pouring his second cup, when Gary walked through the front door and into the kitchen. He didn’t say anything as Gary poured his own cup and joined him at the table.

“How’d you sleep?” Gary sipped his coffee.

Mark shrugged. “Not worth shit. Not that I really expected to sleep after that phone.”

“Understandable. Mom didn’t sleep well either and woke up with a headache, so I sent her back to bed.” Gary shook his head and smiled. “She fussed, claiming she needed to get up and fix us breakfast.”

“She doesn’t need to do that.”

“I know that, and you know that, but she doesn’t know that.” Gary smiled. “I finally convinced her that we could fend for ourselves this morning.”

“Good.” He didn’t want to ask but felt he had to. “Is it still okay for Brent to bring Matthew up? He planned to drive my truck with the trailer up and stay until Thursday night. His meeting with Jackie is Friday morning.”

If Gary thought it wouldn’t be a good idea, he’d call Brent and they would make other arrangements. He’d still take Matthew, but he would just figure out somewhere else to stay.

“I don’t see that being a problem.” Gary twisted his coffee cup in his hands. “In fact, it might be a good thing. Having Matthew here will give Diane something — besides Trey — to focus on.”

“That was kind of my thought to.” Mark pushes chair out and stood up. “I’m going to call Brent and see what the plan is and when he plans to be here. Plus it will give me a chance to fill him in about Trey.”

Gary nodded and Mark carried his coffee back to his bedroom. He quickly dialed and waited. He was nearly ready to hang up when Brent answered.

“Hey, any news?” Brent sounded out of breath.

“Everything okay? You sound like you can barely breathe.”

“Yeah I’m fine; I just couldn’t find my phone. I repeat” — Brent paused — “has there been any news?”

“Yeah, they called last night.” Mark swallowed hard. “He’s alive but was injured by shrapnel.”

“Is he going to make it?”

“They told Mom that they weren’t sure how extensive the damage was, but that he should recover.” Mark sighed. “I don’t know more than that at this point.”

“So he’ll be coming home?”

“Yes, but from what I’ve seen and heard in the past, it could be a week or two.” Mark dragged his hand over his face. “I just hope that we’ll only have to deal with the physical injuries, but I suspect we’ll be dealing with PTSD as well.”

“I’ll help. Whatever you need.” Brent became quiet for a minute. “Do you need me to keep Matthew here? I mean, are you going to him?”

“Honestly, I’m not even sure they’d let me in.” Mark hated not having the same options as spouses, but there was little he could do about it. The military simply didn’t recognize their relationship. Granted, they no longer would give Trey a dishonorable discharge immediately upon finding out their relationship, but they could always find other ways to make his life miserable. He shook his head to clear it and focused again on Brent. “Either way, he won’t be brought back to the states for at least a few days. I’m okay to keep Matthew and honestly, I think Mom needs the distraction of having him here.”

“Sounds good.” Matthew started fussing in the background and Brent’s voice became muffled for a minute. “Sorry, Matthew isn’t a happy camper today.”

“I heard as much.” Mark chuckled. “Any idea when you’ll be heading this way?”

“Yeah, we should be there sometime this afternoon. I almost have everything ready to go, but it may take another hour or two before we get on the road.” Brent’s voice became muffled again and then he was back. “How about I call you when we leave?”

“Sounds good. I’ll talk to you soon.” Mark hung up the phone. He looked around the room and then sank down onto the bed. Not knowing what was going on with Trey was going to drive him nuts. He wanted someone to call to find out more, but knew he had to wait.

Hopefully the wait wouldn’t be too long.