Story Book Romance Chapter 6

  Andrew spent the rest of his leave drowning his emotions in the many forms of available liquor. Amazing what a military id would get you these days. Thinking about Amber only made things worse. It certainly didn't help that he would see her, or her house, or her family everytime he stepped outside. In fact, stepping outside the house was just a bad idea. His reputation of being the biggest stoner in Hudson was still a topic of discussion, as was his police record. The Army had done alot for him. It gave him a chance to prove the type of person he really was; brave, honest, caring. During Basic all he had thought about was comming home, seeing Amber, seeing his family but now he couldn't wait to get back on Post. Things were just too much here. He'd forgotten how hard it was to deal with his parents. He felt bad for his brother, having to deal with this on his own. The twins were too young to remember most of the worst stuff, and they didn't really understand what was going on now. They didn't know how lucky they were.

  Finally leave was over and Andrew wasn't sad to say good-bye. He imagined it would be harder to leave them once he knew what he was returning to, but that wasn't the case. He couldn't wait to get back to his barracks room where they could drink all night and go to formation with wicked hang overs every morning. Thinking about Amber still stung, but he shrugged it off outwardly, saying that there were plenty of girls in Hawaii. His Dad slapped him on the back for this comment, but all Andrew wanted was to lay in bed and cry. He had loved her, had given her everything she had wanted. Sure, he wasn't always the nicest guy and a bit jealeous at times, but that was no reason to cheat. Especially considering the situation.

  The flight back was uneventful. The night of his return however was not. Everything was a blur in the aftermath. The amount of alcohol consumed had to be illegal. The number of prostitutes fucked was deffinately illegal. The amount of weed smoked? Well, that's just better left unsaid. All things considered, this was a pretty stupid idea. If they did a drug test, no one wanted to find out what would happen. Andrew wasn't really sure if he was drinking away his emotions over Amber, or if he was drinking away the idea of Iraq. He wasn't sure which was worse. Shrugging, he took another drink of vodka and lost himself in the flashing lights and blaring music of the club. Dressed in his standard tee-shirt and black dickies it was a wonder they let him in. He laughed at the "rap" music playing. This wasn't real rap. This was stereotype sellout rap. He could do better. He had done better once. Back when he had time to express himself in a way other than firing an M4.

  The night passed by in a whirl of color and before he knew it, he was standing at attention. A wave of nausea passed over him, and just when he thought it would stop, he rushed to the back and puked his brains out. Standing up straight, he saluted the approaching sergeant.

  "What the fuck is wrong with you Sylvester?"

  "I'm not feeling well this morning Sergeant, sir."

  "Obviously. Head back to the barracks. You won't be any use to us if all you're gonna do is throw the fuck up today."

  "Yes Sergeant. Thank you Sergeant."

  A sigh of relief escaped Andrew as he walked slowly back to his room, stomach churning. Was the temporary forgetfulness of the liquor really worth this hangover. He was still contemplating the fact as he passed out on his bed, boots and ACU's still on.