Read Grace: a Cinderella Story :: Chapter Six Part Two

. It was as if all his anger had bubbled up at this moment, and he lost sight of reality, pulling the knife out of the enemy’s hand and slashing the man’s face in half. His eyes went wild like an animal; he wasn’t himself, he was out of his body and in that of an evil, maniacal killer, and nobody could stop him. He slashed the enemy’s mouth in half; letting out a guttural scream, and Dave laughed, he actually laughed at the scream of pain from the enemy, before jabbing the knife into the combatant’s chest, near where he guessed his heart might be. The man groaned throatily, painfully; Dave stood up and, in a moment of graciousness, shot the man through the head, rather than continue to torture him. Besides, there was no time for that. The other men were still engaged in a firefight with the enemy, and Dave snarled, still in the form of a rabid bear, charging another fighter who had been engaged with Lakes. He shot the enemy in the back of his neck, and his blood splattered all over Lakes. Dave grinned, his eyes wild. Lakes paled in fear of his own teammate, but nodded his gratitude, nonetheless. Dave heard another man shout in pain, and turned to see that one of them had been shot in the side. Before the enemy could finish him, another of the men shot him in the head, killing him instantly. The gunfire stopped. The men looked around themselves. They had two wounded, but none dead, and they were all looking to Dave for guidance. They looked both deferential and in horrible fear and terror. Dave exhaled, forced the grin from his lips, and attempted to ground himself back in reality. He was amazed at the feeling of euphoria flowing through him. He had no idea being a monster would feel so good. “The wounded stay here with one of the healthy,” Dave announced. “The rest of you three, come upstairs with me.” The six men didn’t dare disobey him. He had spoken with such authority, and had managed to keep them from getting killed so far, anyway. He led the three up the steps slowly, cautiously. “Hey, Sarge,” one of the guys whispered, and it took Dave a moment to realize he was speaking to him. He turned slightly to catch the guy out of the side of his vision. “I guess we’re finally getting some action, huh?” The guy looked terrified, like he was trying to convince himself that this is what he wanted, and desperately needed Dave to go along with it. “Oh yeah,” Dave agreed, smiling at him. The guy smiled slightly, relieved. “And we’re doing great.” They continued making their way slowly upstairs, pausing outside the curtain that separated the stairs from the upstairs living area. Dave motioned for them to stop, and he listened. He didn’t hear any movement on the other side of the curtain, but he knew that didn’t mean anything. He turned to face his men and, although he didn’t dare speak, they all understood by the hardness of his stare what he was communicating. This is it. We may die. Let’s go. Dave charged into the room, ignoring the pain from his wounded leg, and gunfire immediately ricocheted around him. The other men followed him, and everything was a blur as they engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the enemy combatants, tackling them to the ground as adrenaline spiked through their veins. Two of them were shot in non-essential areas, but they kept moving, their adrenaline spurring them on. They had nearly won the fight when a shot hit one of them in the head, sending him to the ground. “No!” shouted Dave, whirling around to face the sniper. He had been hiding behind the curtain on the opposite window, waiting for the perfect opportunity, and as soon as they had slowed down, he had it. Dave lunged at him, and felt a bullet whirl past his shoulder; he didn’t stop. The sniper wouldn’t give up the gun without a fight, but Dave had him engaged so that it was in the air above them, bullets puncturing the ceiling. The sniper seemingly couldn’t stand, possibly having been shot in the leg by Dave earlier, and Lakes rushed over and kicked him in the stomach, finally resulting in him releasing the gun. Dave stood up quickly and aimed it at the sniper, firing it without looking at him. His entire body dropped to the ground instantly, blood pooling around his head. The two men and Dave breathed heavily, as the man who had been shot lay on the ground. Dave ran over to him, and felt his chest; he was amazingly still breathing, though Dave wasn’t sure how after getting shot in the head. The air around them was surprisingly still. Dave looked around them, in the wreckage of the building. “We need to get out of here,” he said. They all wondered: is it over? Was that it? They didn’t know. But Dave was right. They had to get out. Dave and Lakes hoisted the shot man up by the arms and dragged his limp form with them down the stairs. There, the other three joined them, looking at Dave in question. Was he dead? Dave shook his head at them, answering their unspoken question. They fell in line behind him. The seven of them stepped into the outside air, and were hit by a blast of sand. “A sandstorm,” Dave chuckled lowly. “The terrorists couldn’t handle a little sandstorm.” The man who had earlier looked desperately to Dave for approval laughed lightly. He was one of the two left uninjured. The seven of them walked slowly back towards the base, hoping it would still be intact. As soon as they were within eyeshot of it, medics ran out to meet them. They started throwing the injured onto stretchers. One woman tried pushing Dave onto a stretcher, but he held back. “Don’t worry about me,” he told her. “Get the wounded.” The woman pointed at Dave’s leg, which was now bleeding so much the blood had started pooling in his sock. Dave turned and threw up into the tumbleweeds. The woman grimaced and he allowed himself to be pushed down onto the stretcher. He closed his eyes, and his adrenaline began to fade away quickly. ⧫ “You didn’t want to go into Kuwait at all. You threw a fit about it to your father,” Peregrine ranted as Dave sat in a makeshift hospital room on-base. “Now you want to go back into the fight?” “They need my help,” Dave spoke hoarsely. He was a little dehydrated from losing so much blood, and breathing in more sand than he’d initially realized. “How arrogant can you be? You really think you’re the one who can save all these men? You went in with seven men and five of them walked out wounded.” “They’re not dead,” Dave pointed out. Peregrine sighed. He sat down on the end of the bed. Dave raised his eyebrows. He had not invited him to do that. “Hey, Charming!” A man by the name of Yukon who Dave knew well enough came through the curtain into the room. “Heard you went nuts out there. You gouged a terrie’s eyes out? Just for fun?” Dave looked back at Peregrine, saying nothing. Finally, he said, “It was crazy out there. I just did whatever seemed right.” The guy snorted. “Well, you made a lot of guys feel safe. You’ll get a medal for this.” Dave didn’t want a medal. He wanted to go back in. The guy turned to leave after a few minutes of basically talking to himself, and Peregrine addressed him. “You gouged someone’s eyes out?” “No,” Dave answered. “Just a rumor.” “Look,” Peregrine sighed as though he were speaking with an underdeveloped child. “You can’t go ‘back in,’ because there is no back in. We’re pulling everyone out. This was supposed to be a peacekeeping mission. Light warfare. This isn’t Yaralta’s fight, and you know it.” Dave closed his eyes. He did know it. The people didn’t want this fight, and intellectually, he didn’t, either. It was the euphoria he’d felt that made him want to do it again, if he were being completely honest with himself. “You’ll get your medal,” Peregrine finished, like that was the reason Dave had wanted to go back. Like he’d done it all for a piece of metal announcing that he was brave, which would get thrown into a drawer or hung on a dress uniform he’d hardly wear. “Tell my father I’ll finish out my two years in the Royal Army and then go to college, according to his wishes,” Dave said sharply. “You’re dismissed, Peregrine.” Peregrine opened his mouth, as if to give a retort, but closed it before he could. Good. He knew better. ⧫ Dave sat on a pier, feet dangling over the edge above the water. Ella sat next to him, not touching him but comfortably close. Dave stared out over the water quietly. Ella stirred restlessly beside him. “What happened between you and that actress?” she questioned suddenly. Dave raised his eyebrows and turned slightly towards her. “You’re wondering about Danielle?” “I looked you up online,” Ella confessed. Her eyes were searching. She wanted to know. Dave smirked. “You’re jealous,” he accused her. Ella flushed. “I’m not jealous. I’m just curious,” she insisted. “You are jealous. I can tell by your face.” “I’m not! I told you, I was just wondering. Forget I said anything.” Dave sighed and leaned back, resting on his arms. “Danielle cheated on me,” he explained. “I wish her the best.” He hadn’t gone into all the details, but he figured it wasn’t necessary. The truth was, he and Danielle were never really meant for each other to begin with. He had dated her for two years while in college, but there was no passion between them. It was like they were friends who were lonely enough to convince themselves they belonged together. He had been happy with her, and she with him, but there was no spark, no ardor. When she cheated on him, he had been heartbroken, but he recovered relatively quickly. He had paid little attention to her actions since their breakup. “Oh,” Ella acknowledged. She hesitated, and Dave watched, amused, as she fiddled with her hands in her lap. “Now what’s wrong?” he asked. “Nothing! Nothing. It’s fine.” “You’re a bad liar, sweetheart.” “Ugh. Fine. I was just wondering what it is we’re really doing,” Ella explained, looking away from him, embarrassed. Dave understood what she meant. She wanted to know what their status was, if there was any future to their relationship, whatever that may be. Were they to remain friends? They had already crossed that barrier, thanks to Dave’s pure, unadulterated audacity and willingness to take action to get what he wanted.

Dave tenderly put an arm around Ella’s tense shoulder and slowly leaned down to kiss the top of her head. She stiffened, but relaxed after a moment. “What do you want us to be doing?” Dave asked huskily, peering into her eyes. “I don’t know,” Ella mumbled. Dave laughed. “Well, when you figure it out, let me know.” Ella rolled her eyes. “You’re so annoying,” she complained. “Is that all I am?” “You’re cocky and selfish, too. And smug.” “What else?” “Infuriating. You’ll just say anything. You’re impulsive and bothersome.” “And you’re blushing,” Dave pointed out. “Luckily, you’re a regular ray of sunshine, so you can balance me out.” Ella scoffed. Dave smiled at her wistfully. “You’re an equally frustrating ball of fire, and you know it. Luckily, you’re also hot, so I suppose I can give you a pass.” “You’re literally the worst.” Dave attacked Ella with his mouth, kissing her into silence. She was initially surprised, but allowed the assault nonetheless, returning the kiss with equal fervor and excitement. Dave chuckled, pushing her down so her back rested on the pier, kissing her passionately, until they were both out of breath, before releasing her and returning to sitting out watching the bay, as if nothing had happened. “I hate you,” Ella grumbled, moving back into a seated position. Dave smiled. “I hate you, too,” he said affectionately. They sat in silence as they watched the water in front of them. Dave hardly knew Ella, really, but he didn’t care. He wasn’t in a rush. He figured he had plenty of time to get to know her, and he had already decided that he would. She came almost close to matching his energy, and that was enough for him. As they watched the sun set in front of them, Dave pulled Ella close and leaned down so his lips were next to her ear. “You’re still more beautiful than the sunset,” he whispered. Ella blushed. He chuckled and released her. “You’re dumb,” she mumbled. “I’m smarter than you.” “You are absolutely not.” “I could beat you in an IQ test.” “No you couldn’t.” “Wanna bet?” Dave found an IQ test online, but before they could proceed, Ella’s eyes widened as she checked her watch. “Shit,” she said. “I have to get home. I have to make dinner.” “Why? Can’t one of your sisters or your stepmom do that?” Ella wrinkled her nose. “As if. They wouldn’t know how to find the oven.” “Pretty big thing to not be able to find.” “Look, the sun will still set, with or without me here.” “Yeah, but I’d much rather you be here for it.” “You can’t always get what you want.” “I can and I will. Keep fighting it. You’re making it interesting.” Ella blushed once again and started getting up. Dave didn’t try to stop her. “I’ll text you,” he told her. She hesitated, as if she were pondering a response, but left for her car without saying anything. Dave stared out at the setting sun, his smile fading as he heard Ella’s car pulling out behind him. He had barely been able to get her to take this time out of her life to spend with him. He had the feeling something was up with her home life, but he didn’t want to question it, not yet. Not until she actually trusted him, instead of just dancing around his questions like her life depended on it. “I know you sent her, Mom,” Dave whispered into the sky. He leaned back on the pier and allowed the darkness to overtake him.