The Beginning of the End of What I Knew

I guess you could say the tradition started with my dad's dad's dad. Nearly every male in my family went into the US Military. I had two uncles one in the Air Force and one in the Navy, and a great uncle who was also in the Navy, and a granddad who was in the Army, but my great granddad, who started it all, was the first to be a part of the Special Forces when the field grew during the Second World War. My dad was the second.

It was his life; the life he chose, the life he loved. That wasn't to say he didn't miss us when he was deployed, just that he loved his job and the work he did. And when he was home, he spent as much time with us as he could, but he also had his own interests which he shared with me and tried to share with my sister.

One of those things was camping, which we did a little differently to everyone else, because it was more like a game we played when I was younger. He called it 'Survival', where we'd take next to nothing with us, and go hiking and hunting, and it was always up to me to remember and then find where the hidden storage boxes, put in various places all over the woods and containing food and blankets and other items we'd want but not necessarily need, were hidden. It was an odd game, but I found it fun most times. Shooting was another, which he taught me, explaining the different parts of a gun, how to clean them, how to line them up, and then he brought me along with him when he went hunting. It wasn't until I was older that I realized he was teaching me stuff he knew from his job. It became less of a game then, a little more real, more serious, because I realized it was what he did every time he left.

He was different to my friends dad's, but it didn't bother me, it was just an observation I made over the years. The kind of things he taught me and showed me would probably be considered too out there or over the top for a young girl. If people knew, they'd probably even say my dad was paranoid, because who taught those kinds of things without thinking they'd be used in the future? I guess, in a way, he kind of was; who teaches their daughter basic combat skills and how to handle weapons? Who goes camping in the woods every chance they could get and take their daughter with them? Who sets up various sites and bunkers in the woods and stocks them with food/clothes/weapons? Who makes their daughter remember those sites? I liked to think it was his way of making me independent and capable.

My dad could never get my older sister, Natalie, into any of that stuff; she liked civilization far too much to spend much time away from it, but I enjoyed it; I enjoyed the camping, the trekking, the shooting and hunting, the learning to hold my own, all that physical stuff, but most of all, I liked spending time with my dad, just him and me. The funny thing was, I looked most like my mum, but my personality was most like my dad's, while Natalie looked most like dad and her personality was most like mums. Mum pushed me into school work, instilling in me a want to do better, to learn more, and I would, I'd make sure I was ahead in all the school work, so that when dad came back, we'd have plenty of time to head to the woods, like we usually did, and I'd have something to impress him with. I knew those woods better than I knew my own house.

But despite that, I wouldn't consider myself a tomboy; I had long, curly hair, a petite but full figure and a soft, heart-shaped face and I liked talking with my friends, who were all girls; we went shopping, which I liked as much as most girls, and stayed up late gossiping, and dissecting every little movement and word of the guys we liked. When dad came home, spending time with him meant doing those things as well, and I just so happened to like them, and he liked teaching me. He liked sharing that part of himself with me, with someone interested.

He was the strongest, smartest, fastest person I knew, so it never occurred to me that when he left he might not come back. Until the doorbell rang and two men showed up.

The last things I had of my dad was what he taught me, and his dog tags; both I kept with me all the time.

…..

Our next door neighbors, the Eckerts, I'd grown up with, and they understood better than most, because of their mom. When we were younger, I pretended Matt and Jed were my real brothers; I'd always wanted brothers. Our parents got along well, so we were often thrown together, but I liked it.

Being the youngest meant I followed the older kids around and did what they did. Mattie let me play video games with him, and when Jed went to the park to play a game of football or basketball with his friends, he let me come with him. He was much older than me, in his late teens, and a 'big kid' so I always felt lucky when he let me go somewhere with him. He never let me play, because I was too young, and they liked to play rough, but I got to blow the whistle when the ref, one of his friends whose turn it was to sit out, said to, and Jed always stayed later and we played a game, just him and me.

Nat would come along occasionally, and we'd play games by ourselves. We were closer then, and while Jed played some sport or other, we'd go to the swings or the slide, and run and laugh for hours, until Jed had to practically pry our fingers from the monkey bars. We didn't always make it easy for him. But then Nat started having sleepovers with her friends, and I wasn't invited, so I latched myself to Mattie or Jed while she was talking to her friends on the phone, or doing something else by herself. Half the time, she organised to go shopping or to the movies with her friends, and I was too young for any of that.

Mattie was always willing to let me play video games with him, probably because he always beat me. He was only two years older than me, but he was far more advanced at the play station or Xbox than I was.

I was only ten when Jed left to join the Marines, right after their mum died, which just left Mattie. Mattie and I'd grown close over the years, and I really did consider him my older brother by two years. He considered me his younger sister by two years, though sometimes he could be a little protective. That was a negative to having 'brothers'; the protectiveness, especially when I was more than capable of handling myself. When Jed left, I made him promise to write, and he did, though his letters were few and far between, but as far as I was concerned, he was my brother too.

When my dad died, Jed was away still; he hadn't been back at all since he left, and he didn't come back for the funeral, but I forgave him. Mattie was there, and he understood. When people whispered in the hallways at school, pointed me out, and looked at me with sympathy and pity, both things I couldn't stand, Mattie was there to help out. He ate lunch with me, and told me jokes until I was laughing so hard I was crying. He made school better.

I was never really the 'talk about your feelings' type, while Nat had a bunch of close girlfriends who were supportive that she could unburden herself on. I was fourteen, and my friends weren't old enough to understand what was going on with me, why I was pulling away and spending more time on my own, and I couldn't explain how I felt when I didn't even know either; I couldn't just talk the way Nat did, so I relied on someone outside my family who understood what I couldn't say: Mattie.

I wrote to Jed often, though he replied far less, which he apologized for and I forgave. Things eventually got better, but they were still my older brothers. I guess they both thought that, when my dad died, there needed to be protective male figures around for me, and even though Jed wasn't around, he said he'd still kick the butt of anyone who bothered me or Nat. And Mattie was popular, people loved him, and just one well-placed glare had people backing off. Though, it was rare that I was ever bothered, or that I needed Mattie to help. I could handle myself. But I still appreciated it.

I loved them for that.

….

"You're so clumsy," Nat groaned as I practically fell into her car seat after having caught my foot on the bottom because I didn't lift it high enough.

"Am not," I defended, slamming her door to make a point.

She cringed, "Don't do that."

I shrugged at her, waiting patiently for her to hurry up and drive already. The diner would be packed by the time we got there. It always was after football games.

Tonight was no different. People jostled to get a booth, but mainly everyone just hung with each other, speaking to whoever they recognized. Nat and I split ways without so much as a word; we had different friends, though we got along pretty well. I spotted Hayley, one of my best friends arrive, and she started to make her way over when I waved. I went to meet her half way when I heard a very familiar voice.

"Can I get another beer please?"

I spun around, "Jed?!" I squeaked. "No way! Jed!"

He spun around, his face plastered with a vaguely annoyed expression. I guessed it to be directed at the two guys he was standing with. His jaw dropped and he looked shocked. "Harper?"

"Your back!" I flung my arms around him, grinning ecstatically. I didn't even notice the two other guys leave. I pulled back before hitting him in the chest. He looked at me dumbfounded. "Why didn't you tell me you were back?" I demanded, not at all pleased about being left out of the loop. "Six years, Jed Eckert, and I get no word of warning?" I reprimanded.

"I…it was going to be a surprise," he offered up weakly and I shook my head at him, annoyed.

"It's a crappy surprise. That's a lie. It's a great surprise. Six years is a long time." He just looked at me, making me self-conscious. "What? Do I have something on my face?"

He shook his head, "You're all grown up. When I left you were about this tall," he gestured somewhere between his hip and abdomen and I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, believe it or not, that tends to happen," I grinned.

"You must have a trail of boys after you," he grumped, looking behind me as if expecting to see them lined up. I smacked him on the arm and laughed.

"Don't be ridiculous."

"I'm not," he said. "You must be beating them back with a stick."

A giggle escaped my lips as I laughed at the absurd idea of hitting people with sticks. It was a funny image, "Stop."

"I'm just saying, you let them know I own a gun. Actually, I own multiple guns. Tell them that," he grinned, looking like he liked the idea of threatening some poor guy. I leaned back against the counter, turning away, and feeling very short next to him; he really bulked up when he joined the Marines, and I was already short. "Come on, you're my little sister, you're not allowed to have boobs, and no guy's allowed to notice that you do."

"Jed!" I said, surprised, my cheeks warming up. "I'm sixteen!"

"So?" he shrugged.

I sighed, "It's good to have you back, Jed. I missed you," I smiled up at him. He smiled back.

"How's your sister?"

"Bossy as ever," I grumped, rolling my eyes. We both knew how bossy Nat could be, even when we were kids.

He laughed, "That sounds like Nat. And your mum?"

"She's good. Pushy as ever; I think she wants me to be a doctor or an engineer because I have 'so much potential'," I rolled my eyes, "But I'm not interested in either of those jobs. i don't know what I'm interested in, but it's not that."

He nodded, "How's your shooting?"

"Sharp as ever," I grinned devilishly.

"Jed Eckert." A voice said, and I looked around Jed's massive chest to see Toni leaning against the counter too, smiling at him.

I took it as my cue, "I'll see you later, Jed."

"Yeah, okay," he waved and I headed to find Hayley, walking past Mattie and Erica. I waved.

"Good game, Mattie," I said.

"Wasn't it?" he agreed, grinning and I rolled my eyes.

"Modesty at its finest," I laughed and he reached out to ruffle my hair, but I dodged his hand. "Your reflexes are slowing," I mocked.

"Twerp," he replied.

"Slowpoke. Good seeing you Erica," I smiled, having spotted Hayley at a table with Taylor and Bec, who shuffled to the side so I could sit, and just as I did, the lights went out.

"Power outage," I shouted over everyone, as it got louder. We got, even though I only just sat down, and headed for the door, accidentally bumping into people as we went, and losing each other in the throng.

I couldn't see much and the next second I was walking right into someone, "Sorry," I automatically said.

"That's okay," was the reply. Male. Somewhat familiar, though most voices around here are.

"I can't see anything," I explained.

"Here," he said, and suddenly long, rough fingers were gripping my own, leading me through to the door and out to where there was more light from the moon.

"Oh," I blinked, no longer squinting to try to see. I turned to him, recognizing the brown hair, and defined, wide jawline. "Thanks Robert."

"No problem," he smiled, kind of lopsided, and then I heard Nat calling to me.

"Get your butt over here," she called.

I rolled my eyes at Robert. "So bossy," I muttered, before doing as she asked anyway.

"Bye," he called after me.

"Bye," I replied

"Too much bye-ing not enough walk-ing," Nat called. "I want to get home, some idiot spilt his coke all over my shirt."

So, please review and let me know what you think!

I know this chapter was a little boring, but bear with me - it'll get better. Hopefully.

Anyway, hope to hear from you.