Katrina Ch. 03-04

He had to leave and be back on base before morning. He told me he would see me again, a couple of days before Christmas. We stood up and I thanked him for caring and gave him a big hug.

Mom came back in the room with Alecia and he said goodbye to mom and kissed Alecia on the cheek. She smiled at him again. I missed him as soon as he left. Mom looked at me and said, "You really do still care for him don't you."

"Yes, but I'm not sure how he feels about me right now. Things have changed, Mom. I have a child now."

"Time will tell, Honey, Time will tell," my mom said.

****

Life was back to normal. I was working at the hospital and on furthering my education. We were also preparing for Christmas. I knew that Jeff would come by to visit and was excited about it. He did call me once a week and we talked. He asked me more questions about Brad, Tony and Matt. Things about them playing sports and possible classes they took. I told him what little I knew.

I asked him what he did on his days off and he said he used them to rest up and get things done. His laundry and his room had to be extremely clean since he lived on base. He also said once in awhile he might take a short jaunt with his pilot friends.

It was the week before Christmas when I got a weird phone call. Lori had answered it and said it was for me; it was a woman. I never received many calls, except from work or if Jeff called me, which was about once a week.

I answered the phone and the woman on the other end said, "Trina, this is Julie from college..."

Before she said another word I interrupted and asked her how she got my number and why she was calling me. I remember seeing her fucking Matt, and then standing there with him when he said she was his witness to what was happening to me.

"When I first met you and we were friends, you gave me your home phone number. I called to apologize for having sex with Matt and to tell you what happened yesterday. You knew I always thought Matt was kind of cute and he told me that he and you were no longer a couple. That wasn't the first time I was with him," replied Julie.

"So why are you calling me now to tell me this. It's a little late isn't it? Besides, we are no longer together so you can have the bastard!"

"Trina, I haven't even talked to him since that night he set you up. I wasn't part of it; he asked me to take a ride with him to his apartment and that's when I saw Brad and Tony having sex with you."

"So I was set up! Why did he say he did it?" I asked.

"He wanted you out of his life so Brad spiked your drink and you know the rest. I didn't know anything till Matt told me when he was taking me home. He said I was his witness if you ever started any trouble. I told him to go to hell and I don't speak to him anymore."

"So why the sudden urge to call me? I haven't been around for months. I'm through with Matt and have gone on with my life."

"Yesterday, Brad and Tony were beat up in the locker room. The police report said that a man in a sweatshirt was going through the lockers and stole some of the guys' wallets. He was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and a winter face mask.

"Tony and Brad saw him and went after him. He did some kind of Rambo shit and broke Brad's jaw and then kicked Tony in the balls. He kicked them both one more time and then left before anyone else saw him. The surveillance camera caught the man outside the back of the locker room looking at the wallets. He was wearing gloves so there weren't any prints.

"What has any of that got to do with me? I'm not even at the school anymore? I don't care what happens at that school. I'm happy they got what they deserve. Too bad Matt wasn't in there too."

"Trina, the so called "robber" threw all the wallets in a trash barrel. Everything was still in them including their money. The only thing he kept was Matt's wallet. They also recovered his cell phone, but the sim card had been removed. The pictures he took of you with Tony and Brad were still on it. I thought you should know. By the way, I really am sorry for what happened and I would never have testified against you."

"Thanks for calling and letting me know what happened. I understand you didn't have to do it and I appreciate it. Hopefully, they'll never get posted. If they do, it could lead back to the robber."

"One last thing; the campus police were interviewing a number of people and asking if anyone might have an idea who might have done this. Matt told the police that he had an argument with you a few months back. They may call or question you. It was on our local news; they have no suspects."

We said our goodbyes and hung up. I was a bit worried that those pictures were out there and I had to wonder why the thief only kept Matt's wallet and sim card. I have to admit to myself that the only person to ever protect me was Jeff, but he was at the Air Force base. I did tell him about the pictures and the two guys who used me. Now I had to wonder if Jeff could be involved.

I told my mom about the robbery when she got home. She already knew about it and told me what they said on the news. They said they found the wallets in the trash and nothing was taken out of them. She never mentioned that Matt's sim card from his phone and wallet were the only things taken. I didn't mention that to Mom either.

Both Tony and Brad were in the hospital and expected to make full recoveries. However they would miss playing in the bowl game. The campus police were looking to see if the bowl game had anything to do with the assault. Neither Brad nor Tony were star players, but were starters.

I did get a call from the campus police. I told them what I had heard on the news. I didn't tell them that Julie had called me. I played dumb when they asked me about Matt. I did tell them that we had a child together and we both have since moved on. I told them about my settlement and that we were not to contact each other. I answered a few other questions for them and they thanked me for my time.

****

Jeff showed up at the house for our early Christmas with him. Since we were having our traditional Christmas dinner in two days Mom ordered in some pizza and chicken wings. Afterwards we all went and sat by our tree. I was holding Alecia and Jeff said he had brought us all presents. He handed one to Mom first.

"Jeff, you didn't have to do that," said Mom.

"But I wanted to Mrs. Whiting," he replied as Mom opened her present. It was a colorful, Satin Caftan for ladies and with kimono sleeves.

It looked almost like a dress, but mom thought of it more as a fancy robe or even a nightgown. It was different shades of blue prints.

"It's beautiful Jeff," Mom said with a smile.

"It's from Afghanistan. I hope it fits. It's kind of a, one size fits all," replied Jeff.

Next Jeff handed a present to Lori. She was excited as she opened it. The box said it was an extra long "Hijab/Prayer Dress for the Modest Lady." It was black and covers the whole body including the head and a veil for the face.

Jeff said he bought it for Lori because she could wear it as school project explaining how the young women in other countries dress. He gave her a book explaining the different dress codes and the penalty for showing different parts of their body.

Lori thanked him. She said she was doing a project at school on the Middle East and was sure this could be the highlight of her project.

Next, it was Pete's turn. He received a book on some of the ammunition used in the war as well as some "used" mortar rounds. He had a dozen different size rounds including those fired by a tank. They had all been fired or were without gun powder. Needless to say he was a very happy young man.

I opened the present he got for Alecia. It was a homemade knitted outfit as well as a soft little stuffed lamb. I thanked Jeff and handed the lamb to Alecia. She was already holding it tight.

Now it was my turn. I opened the small package and in it was a beautiful emerald necklace. "It's so beautiful Jeff," I said with watery eyes.

Then I noticed another small box and in it was a matching emerald ring. I was stunned when I opened it. I looked at Jeff with my mouth open.

"It's a friendship necklace and matching ring," said Jeff. "I bought it in Paris when I was on one of my leaves overseas. I saw it and thought of you. I was going to surprise you and send it to you but that's when I heard about Matt and then the baby.

"I wasn't sure if I should send it or not. I didn't think Matt would like you receiving a gift like this from another man, so I just put it away until now. I hope you like it."

"Like it! I love it!" I said as I reached over and gave him a big hug. "Mom and I went shopping and bought you a few gifts but they're not nearly as expensive as what you got us."

He opened his gifts, which were a nice Timex watch and a couple of nice dress shirts. He thanked us and told us we didn't have to do that; afterwards he got up and hugged Mom and then me. Lori gave him a hug and Pete went to shake his hand when Jeff grabbed him in a big bear hug and gave him a manly pat on the back.

"Darn! You're strong!" said Pete. Jeff just grinned at him.

I asked Jeff if we could go for a short ride. I wanted to talk to him about something private. He looked at me and I figured he knew what it was about. He said goodbye to my family and Mom took Alecia. I told her I'd only be about an hour.

We drove to a small diner and ordered some coffee. Jeff also got a piece of pie. "Ok, what's on your mind?" asked Jeff.

"Jeff, we've been best friends like, forever. Would you lie to me if I asked you a few questions?"

"Trina, there may be things I wouldn't tell you, but I would never lie to you. I have always been honest with you. What're your questions?"

"Did you hear about the break-in at the university? If so, were you involved in any way?" He took a bite of pie and a sip of coffee and a slight smile was on his face."

"I'll be honest here. I never heard about it because it wasn't on our local TV at the base but I do know about it." He reached in his shirt pocket and handed me a sim card. "Just so you know, I never looked at it."

"Why, Jeff? Why would you jeopardize your future like that? What if you had gotten caught? I could never live with myself knowing that I was responsible." I was nearly crying when I said it.

"After you told me about Matt and how he had set you up, I couldn't get it out of my mind. I love you Trina! I've loved you my whole life but was always afraid to tell you. I was afraid you didn't feel the same."

"So you did do it for me. I have always considered you my best friend. I guess I didn't realize that I really loved you and how much, until you came to the house last month. It was one of the greatest moments of my life when I saw you at the door. How did you even get there and did you really beat up Brad and Tony?"

"I had a day off so I asked a pilot friend of mine if he would take me to the university to see an old friend for a couple of hours. We flew to the airport and I leased a car and drove to the university. My friend said he would wait at the airport for me. He had some friends he would hang out with.

"As you probably know I wore a hooded sweatshirt that said Michigan State University and a mask over my face, for when I approached the cameras. I went into the football locker room and started breaking into lockers. Believe it or not, most were open. I grabbed wallets and looked at the drivers licenses and threw them in a gym bag.

"I wore gloves so I wouldn't leave any prints. I came across two wallets with the pictures of Brad and Tony. They were located next to each other in the locker room. It was then, after seeing their pictures that the two assholes came into the locker room and right at me.

"I hit asshole Brad in the jaw and he dropped right to the floor. I kicked Tony in the gonads and he went down. I asked him which locker belonged to Matt and he wouldn't say so I kicked him in the ribs and stood on the neck of his friend. He told me which locker was Matt's and I took his wallet and cell phone.

"I kicked them both one more time before leaving out the back door. I dropped all the wallets except for Matt's in the dumpster. I didn't take anything out of them. I opened the phone and took out the sim card and threw the phone in the dumpster."

"What did you do with Matt's wallet? I hope you don't still have it."

"No, I drove through the nearest slum area and threw it out the window. I'm sure someone found it but I doubt if they'll return it." Jeff was sort of smiling. "I couldn't let anyone hurt you and not pay the price. If Matt would have come in, I would probably have come close to killing him for what he did to you. I drove back to the airport, ate lunch with my buddy and his friends and went back to the base."

"Promise me, you will never do anything like that again; please promise me."

"I will do my best to protect you no matter what it takes. If Matt never bothers you again, then everything will be cool. Look, I hate to leave you but I have to get back to my parents house; I'm late already. I'll call you for New Years."

He dropped me off at the house and kissed me goodbye again. The last thing I said to him was, "I love you Jeff."

End of Chapter 4

Comments are welcome and appreciated

DG Hear