Alana Albertson - Invincible

Annie awoke and walked into the living area. Vic handed her water and her meds, and she just pushed back her crazy hair and gave me that crooked smile I had first noticed in the lineup that day.

“How you feeling?” I didn’t know which Annie she would be today.

She nodded her head. “Good. Better. I’m sorry about the other night.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Vic and Kyle headed down to the deck. I wanted to go and hang out with them.

Her eyes narrowed at me. “Why are you doing this, Pat?”

“Doing what?”

“Helping me detox. You could’ve just dumped me at the embassy like this.”

I hated being questioned about my motives. “Your parents have been through enough; I didn’t want them to see you like this. It’s the right thing to do.”

“So that’s it? You’re going to take me to the embassy and I’ll never see you again?” Her voice trailed off.

“Yup. That’s the plan.” Truth was, I was stationed in Coronado, so when I came off deployment, I could technically see her again. Her family lived nearby in Encinitas. But that wouldn’t be a good idea. I trained sometimes eighteen hours a day and spent my time off at SEAL watering holes, like Danny’s Palm Bar & Grill. She wouldn’t find me hanging out at the country club with her friends, that was for damn sure.

“What’s your deal? Why don’t you have a girlfriend or a wife? You’re a SEAL. All my sorority sisters would always go SEAL hunting in Coronado and drop their panties in seconds if there were any sightings. You’re gorgeous, sexy, selfless…. Any girl would be lucky to have you.”

Tell that to my ex. “I’m just not interested. Not until I retire. I can’t be responsible for anyone else when I’m thousands of miles away. And I could die. I wouldn’t want to leave a kid without a dad, like mine did to me.”

“He was a SEAL, too?”

“No. He was a piece of shit who couldn’t take any responsibility for his actions.”

She put her hand on my shoulder, trying to comfort me. But I pushed it off. “I need to get some fresh air. I’ll be on the deck if you need anything.”

She shrugged her shoulders and just lay back in the bed and pulled the covers over her head.

I needed a break from her, from this intensity. I just wanted everything to be normal, my normal, before I’d ever set foot in that brothel.

Safe on the deck, Vic handed me a beer. “You good?”

“Yup.” I took a sip and sat down. I didn’t even know how to process all the emotions I was going through. It had been so long since I’d had to think about a woman’s fucking feelings.

Kyle grabbed his own beer and sat next to me. “So have you hit that yet?”

Vic just shook his head. “What this fucker means is that you aren't getting too close, are you?”

“Fuck that, Vic. I just want to know if he’s gotten laid. We’re trapped out in the middle of the ocean, with only one girl and three of us. If I’m not getting any, at least he should be. I mean, you’re sleeping in the same room with her every night. Those walls are thin but damned if I don’t hear any headboards banging.”

“You’re both fucking idiots. I’m not in love and I'm not going to fuck her. Not now, not ever. She’s got someone waiting anyway. Probably. He says he is.”

Kyle laughed. “That chump girly-man surfer? Please. He can’t compete with you. You’re a motherfucking SEAL, asshole.”

Vic motioned his hand toward me as if he was my fucking therapist. “So you are trying to tell me you have no feelings for her? At all?”

“That’s what I’m saying. I don’t know her, really. I mean, half the time she’s out of her mind crazy, detoxing. The other half she’s all moody and withdrawn. She’s hot, for sure, but I don’t have a clue who she is. I don't even think she knows who she is.”

“So you haven’t slept with her?” Kyle asked.

“Are you deaf? What the fuck did I just say? I mean, I fucking met her at a brothel and paid her to blow me. I seriously doubt she’s interested in any man after what she’s been through.”

Vic put his arm around me. “You’re a good man, Walsh. When you get back to San Diego, you guys can meet up again and see if you have any common ground.”

“Not going to happen. I don't want to remind her of this. I was one of her clients. She needs someone stable. And that's sure as hell not me."

“But you deserve to be happy. Not all girls are going to cheat on you like Marissa did.”

“Whatever, man. Your wife cheated on you too. I don’t know anyone in the Teams with a good marriage. And it’s not just about that. Annie is so messed up. She’s going to need a man who can be with her, take care of her, protect her. I can never be that man.”

Kyle pounded his beer and looked toward the guest quarters. “That’s the thing. You rescued her. You’ve been taking care of her. You’re already that man, whether you like it or not.”

Shit. I came up here to relax. Now I just wanted to jump overboard. Fucking idiots.

The three of us had spent so many hours together in silence, watching targets, waiting for action. They knew me better than I knew myself. I couldn’t deny the connection I had with Annie, the sense that we were meant to find each other. I wasn’t talking about some crappy romantic movie insta-love, just this intense feeling we were destined to be in each other’s lives. I saved her. That was enough for me.

The gentle waves rocked beneath me. I lay down under the stars and drifted to sleep.

A few days later, I woke when I heard the thump of Annie throwing herself out of bed. I shot straight up, adrenaline pulsing through my veins and putting me on high alert. She rolled on the ground from her back to her feet and looked around, her hair and eyes wild from sleep and haze.

“I can't fucking do this, Pat. Her nails raked at the skin on her forearms. She rubbed a palm on her thigh.  “I can't. I can't. It's too hard. You can take me back, I don't fucking care. I need it. It hurts.”

She crumpled to her knees and I winced at the sound of bone grating against the rough wood floor, the sound of her breathless sobs. I crouched beside her and laid a hand against her back that was clammy with sweat. Annie shrieked at my touch and cringed backwards.

“Don't fucking touch me!” The sound of her scream echoed off the walls of the room, rang in my ears. “Don't touch me. I don't want anyone to touch me.”

But I didn’t give up that easily.

She shivered. I wrapped her in a blanket and held her. She resisted at first but relaxed in my arms. Her eyes seemed to roll back in her head for a second, which made me nervous, even though I’d done my research and knew that it was normal. I kissed her forehead and rocked her to sleep.

She had her rough days, days where she didn’t want to get out of bed, screaming, crying, and pleading for her next fix. But she got through it. It was brutal to watch her suffering, her body quivering. But the heroin had finally left her body, like a ghost of her nightmare.

Tonight was our last night together. Tomorrow, I would walk her into the embassy when it opened, and then Kyle, Vic, and I would return to our navy carrier. To our life. To our next mission. Without her. Without Annie.

For our last night we had ported in Curaçao, though I wouldn’t let Annie get off the yacht and risk her being seen. Kyle and Vic had gone into town. They’d both be back later, but for the first time since this ordeal had begun, Annie and I were alone.

Matchmaker Vic had brought in food from a local restaurant, since he figured she hadn’t had a good meal in years. A bottle of merlot, two New York strip steaks, mashed potatoes, and chocolate cake for dessert. I guess it was kind of a celebration. A toast to getting her life back.

We sat at the tiny table in the corner of the room. I plugged in my phone so we had some music—classic rock not classical. I wasn’t trying to set a seduction scene however much my dick wanted me to—for now I just wanted to have a nice dinner. Annie sat across from me, her hair pulled back into a low bun. I felt like I was on a first date.

I poured her a glass of wine. Time to make small talk. “What’s the first thing you’re going to do when you get home?”

She lifted the glass to her mouth and pressed her lips onto it. I wanted her lips to press on me. “Oh, I don’t know. Sounds weird, but I don’t want to see my friends for a while. I’m sure they’re all going to act weird around me, or ask me all sorts of crazy questions that I don’t want to answer. Nicole used to joke that if we ever got rescued, it would be like winning the super bowl. You know, ‘You’ve just won the super bowl. What are you going to do next? I’m going to Disneyland.’ But that’s not really my thing. I’d love to go to Lake Tahoe, rent a cabin, hike around the lake. Something outside. I’ve been locked up for so long, just get out, walk, hike, stroll on the beach. Be free.”

Funny. That’s exactly what I liked to do in my free time. Anything out in nature, hiking, camping, exploring. I loved Lake Tahoe—my mom made sure that even though money was always tight, she would save up enough for us to spend a week in a crappy motel there every summer.

“Oh, I also want to adopt a dog.”

“I’ve got a dog, Trigger. He was one of our military dogs in Iraq. He’s a German Shepherd. Retired. Great dog.”

“That’s cool. I wish I could meet him.” She pushed her food around her plate. “Pat, I’m scared of going home. I just wish I could stay here on this yacht.”

“That's not what I would call freedom, being stuck in the middle of the ocean. Why are you scared? Your parents are going to be thrilled to see you. I can’t imagine their pain.” I paused. “And your boyfriend has given interviews about how he’s still in love with you. I’m sure you two will run off and get married. Live happily ever after and have two point five kids with a mini van.”