Back From Hell (Marine For You Book 2) (Contemporary Military Veteran Romance) Read Online Free PDF

relaxed together. The last rays of sun disappeared and the sky darkened. Night descended upon them. This was the time he hated the most; he felt more vulnerable in the dark and his ghosts wouldn’t let him free.
    “You know, when I was young, I always thought there were monsters lurking within the dark.”
    “I think all kids do.” She tipped her head to the side to look at him. “I was terrified that something was living under my bed. Every night my father would come in and cleanse my room of evil. None of us realize we have no idea what evil truly is until it bites us in the ass.”
    “I couldn’t have said it better myself.” He turned and met her gaze. “Only the evil isn’t under our beds or in our closets. It’s waiting for us out there. For some it’s a robbery gone wrong or a car accident. For me, it happened overseas. A fucking IED stole the life I was meant to have and for what? What did Weber’s sacrifice get us?”
    “Things don’t always turn out how we want them to, and I’m sorry for what happened. It was awful and nothing I can say will make that better, but if you focus on the positives, it will help you get through each day. I’m not going to lie and tell you that one day you won’t remember this because you always will. Things will get easier but it will never go away completely. I told you before that if you talk about it—”
    “I don’t know how to talk about it.” He paused and let out a deep sigh. “How do you talk about the fact you’re responsible for your best friend’s death?”
    “Weber?”
    He nodded. “I thought I was saving him by changing places with him, but it ultimately caused his death. If I’d have left him where he was, he’d still be here…”
    “And you’d be dead,” she supplied.
    “Yes, dead, but Weber would be here with his wife, Cassy, and his son. Crippled but alive.”
    “Stop that.” She leaned forward. “Stop calling yourself a cripple. You’re alive, and yes, you’ve lost two of your limbs, but that doesn’t make you less human.”
    He let out a light chuckle. He was a lot less; he couldn’t do most things he had once been able to do. “The point is, he’d have a reason to fight through this shit.”
    She stared at him for a moment before her eyebrow arched in question. “You haven’t been to physical therapy, have you?”
    “What’s the point?”
    “The point is learning to walk with your prosthesis. Learning to use your prosthetic arm. You’ll be able to get your life back and do whatever you want. You won’t be stuck in a wheelchair any longer and can move around as you wish. Isn’t that what you want?”
    “What I want…” He dragged his hand over his face, the ruff stubble along his cheek rubbed against his palm. “Screw it, it doesn’t matter.”
    “Go on. It matters to me.”
    “I want the life I had back.”
    She reached forward and laid her hand on his forearm. “Then let me help you. You don’t have to do this alone, I’ll help in any way I can, but it starts with you going to PT.”
    “You never give up, do you?” When she shook her head, he added, “You’re going to be an amazing physical therapist. No one will be able to slack off when you’re around.”
    “That’s the goal.” She smirked. “Seriously though, let me help you.”
    “I’m a bigger project than you want to take on.” He brushed her offer to the side and tried to think about anything besides her touch. She was the first person that wasn’t a doctor or nurse to touch him. He hadn’t realized how much he missed the simplest touches of a friend or lover until she laid her hand on his. “Do you know why I called tonight?”
    “Partially, yes.” She didn’t move her hand away from his arm; instead, she let her fingers tease along curve of it. “You were finally reaching out for help. That’s a huge step.”
    “It was selfish.” He closed his eyes. “With thoughts of ending it all, I pulled open the drawer where I keep my