Page 67 of My All American Girl

29

SARAH

Ifelt utterly drained as tears streamed down my face. Dean drove us to the hotel in silence, allowing me the space to cry without saying a word. It was comforting to have him there.

When we arrived at the hotel, Dean gently instructed me to wait in the car while he checked us in and got a room. I nodded quietly, wiping my tears with the back of my hand as he disappeared into the hotel’s lobby.

I was spent. Exhausted. I knew I probably just blew my whole career. My friend was seriously injured. I had no idea if Kylee was going to speak to me again. I needed to talk to her, but I wasn’t sure if she was even my friend anymore. That whole situation blew up far more than I thought possible. Lord knew I had been involved in my fair share of skirmishes but never anything like what happened tonight. I was still reeling. I could not believe it.

Dean returned a few minutes later. “Let’s go,” he said. “Can you walk?”

I nodded. “Yes.”

He put an arm around my waist and guided me inside. The hotel was decent, nothing extravagant, but it felt safe and warm compared to the night I had just been through. Dean fetched me a bottle of water from the mini fridge and sat down beside me.

“Are you hungry?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” I muttered.

“I’m guessing you haven’t eaten a solid meal in a few days,” he said.

I shook my head. “Not so much.”

“Sit tight,” he said. “I’m going to order some food and then we’re going to talk about what happened.”

I went into the bathroom and cringed when I saw my reflection. I looked awful. My eyes were puffy and raw. My nose was red as Rudolph’s. My hair was a tangled bird’s nest. It was hard to tell what was from tonight and from the long week trying to survive in the elements.

When I returned to the room, Dean was just hanging up his phone.

“Let me see your hand,” he said. “You know you need your hands to fly.”

“I know.”

He went to the bathroom and returned with a wet washcloth. I sat quietly as Dean tended to my injuries with a gentle touch.

“Nothing is broken,” I said.

“Can you tell me what happened now?” he asked softly.

I nodded, taking a deep breath to steady myself. I needed to talk about it. “We had just gotten back to our room when we heard a commotion,” I started. “At first, I thought it was just some guys goofing off. Then it got serious. I popped my head out and saw what I thought was a fight. I walked into the room and spotted some guys waterboarding Hoffman. I attempted to intervene. It worked. At first. Then it got ugly.”

“How so?” he asked.

The flashbacks to the scene sent a shiver down spine. “They grabbed me and were going to give me the same waterboarding treatment.”

“What the fuck?” he hissed.

“Rolley stepped in to protect me and was rewarded with them all jumping on him. I did what I could to pull them off, but tonight showed me just how small I am. I’ve gone through life thinking I was invincible. My stupidity nearly got Rolley killed.”

“Rolley was protecting his friend,” he said.

“It was my fault,” I whispered, my voice breaking. “I’m always running into trouble and bringing people down with me. Rolley was exhausted. He wanted no part of their nonsense, but when I went to the room, he followed because he’s a good man.”

Dean shook his head gently. “From where I’m sitting, it sounds like you didn’t run into trouble this time. You ran in to help. That’s exactly the kind of quality the Air Force needs.”

I nodded, wiping my eyes with the back of my hand.

“I’m going to need the names of the airmen who were involved in this,” Dean said firmly.