His Army Doctor

Nightmares

There he was again. Her father. He came again into their small home in Marush in a drunken stupor in the middle of the night. Delilah came out from her room from studying when all the yelling started. She had just started her undergraduate classes. Delilah’s mother screamed as Delilah heard the first slap from her father. Her father was yelling at her mom, cursing, slurring his words from all the alcohol he had drank. Delilah frantically ran to the bedroom and picked up the phone and called Daniel. He worked at a mechanic shop a couple blocks over. “Daniel, it’s dad again. He’s been drinking and he’s hitting mom.” Delilah whispered in a panic. 

“Go hide Delilah. I’ll be there in just a minute. Don’t come out.” Daniel hung up the phone. 

Delilah tried to stay hidden in the bedroom, but she could hear things escalating in the living room. She couldn’t bear to hear her mother scream again. Delilah ran out of the bedroom. 

“Daddy, stop it! Stop it! Don’t hurt mom!” Her father turned around to look at Delilah while her mother slumped to the ground with blood dripping down her face. 

She had successfully distracted her father, but now she was the target. She tried to run but her father grabbed her by her shirt and threw her down beside her mother. He gave her one swift kick to the stomach as she tried to get up. Delilah lay there helplessly shielding her mother. Her father was getting ready to administer another blow when the back door swung open and Daniel ran in. As always he was her knight in shining armor. Her father was a big man but Daniel was just as big and to his advantage, sober. They wrestled on the floor for what seemed like hours. 

Delilah was finally able to pull herself up to her feet to call the police in the kitchen. The station wasn’t close though and she knew it’d be too late by the time they arrived. One of them would be dead. She grabbed a kitchen knife out of the drawer. She would do what she had to protect her mother. Daniel had her dad pinned to the ground begging him to calm down. That’s when her dad delivered a hard blow to Daniel’s jaw. Daniel fell backwards on his back giving her father a small window of opportunity. Her father pulled a gun out from it’s hiding place under the couch. He kept guns hidden everywhere. War had made him a paranoid alcoholic. They had gotten rid of all the weapons the first time he went to prison, but he always found a way to buy more and hide them whenever he got out. Her mother was a fool in love. She would file a restraining order one day and let him back into their home the next. Her father held the gun up c*****g it as Daniel stood up and realized what was happening. His eyes widened with horror. 

“Dad, no!” begged Daniel.

Her dad pointed the gun at their mother on the ground and pulled the trigger. Delilah screamed. Her mother lay lifeless on the ground in a pool of bright red blood. Her father then pointed the gun towards Daniel. Shaking with anger, Delilah ran at her father with the knife. 

“Delilah, stop!” yelled Daniel. 

Her father turned and fired the gun but it was too late. Delilah had sunk the knife deep in his chest. She had not just immobilized him. She had aimed straight for his heart. There was no recovering from this. His face went white as he collapsed to the ground. Delilah stood over her father in horror realizing what she had done. The worst part was she felt no regret. It was time for this soulless drunk to stop terrorizing them. She only wished she had done it earlier and saved her mother. Daniel walked up to her with tears in his eyes as the sirens began to grow closer outside. “Delilah, you’re bleeding,” said Daniel. Unfortunately, the bullet had grazed her arm, but it was nothing compared to the bloodbath in their living room floor. Delilah fell to her knees screaming and crying while her brother held her. She had killed her own father and she didn’t even care.

“Delilah! Delilah! Wake up!”

Delilah could feel two strong arms shaking her awake. She was drenched in sweat and tears as she woke up and remembered it was just a dream. Well, it wasn’t just a dream. It was a very real nightmare of her past. 

“What’s wrong? Are you okay?” asked Tobias with a concerned expression. He was shirtless standing beside the bed. He really was nothing but muscle under that army uniform. He had ridges and curves exactly where a man should have them and a six pack that you only see on airbrushed actors in movies. And tan. He was really tan for a guy who lives on a freezing cold island. For a minute there, Delilah had forgotten about her nightmare mesmerized by this man in front of her. She was most surprised that his normally harsh, cold tone had a hint of worry in it.

His concerned voice shook her back to reality, “Delilah, do you hear me? Are you okay?” 

Delilah shuttered now remembering what terror she had just awoken from. She pulled off her thick sweater drenched in sweat wearing only her tank top and jogging pants. “I’m fine. It was just a dream.”

“You were screaming your brother’s name,” said Tobias with a questioning tone. “You also kept screaming ‘daddy, no.’” Great, she’s disclosing her darkest secrets to a practical stranger in her sleep. “Yeah, I know. Happens a lot,” said Delilah trying to sound nonchalant, but still trembling. She re-lived that nightmare all the time and it never became any less haunting.

“Delilah, is your dad…” Tobias began.

“My parents are dead, Tobias. That’s nothing we need to dive into right now.” Delilah quickly said. But, before she knew it the emotions began to flood over her. Her eyes began to blur as she fought to push back the tears she could only hope this stranger couldn’t see in the dark. Tobias’ normal hardened expression quickly softened as he  sat beside her in the bed and wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close. 

“It’s okay, Delilah. It’s okay. Please don’t cry. I’m sorry I asked.” Tobias held her as he tried to comfort her. “If it makes any difference, my parents are dead too. So, I do at least understand.” Delilah sniffled up her tears as she continued to hold onto her knees and rock back and forth.

Unless he had murdered his parents, there was no way he understood, but admitting to murder wasn’t exactly the kind of thing you want to disclose to an army general. Delilah just nodded, but she couldn’t stop shaking.

Tobias continued to hold her as she laid back down. He held her in his burly embrace while she cried herself back to sleep. It was the first time in years that Delilah had felt truly secure in another person’s arms.