#convoreba

Having just finished unloading all of her boxes, Reba had decided to take the time to explore the town. It was by no means a big town, but she still wanted to familiarize herself with her new surroundings as soon as possible. She had been walking around the town square for a few minutes, distracted him the antique looking store fronts, when she ran into someone. “Shit, I’m so sorry.” Her hands shot out to steady the other. “Are you okay,” she asked, her hands dropping back to her sides.

Reba smiles softly. This isn’t the first time that someone has made an effort to try and understand what she’s been through. “That’s very kind of you. But I’m not sure you could ever really understand. It’s not something you really get until you’ve been through it before. You can empathize but it’s never quite like going through it yourself.”

“I was trying to protect you.” Reba looked down at the ground, not being able to bare the pain of looking them in the eyes. “I know it might not make any sense. But, I knew I wasn’t the same person as before. And I didn’t want to end up hurting you.” In hind sight, maybe she should have realized the decision to cut ties would hurt them just as much. “It’s just...,” pausing, she pursed her lips. “You hear so many stories about how a veteran’s loved ones go through hell in the first months of their return. And I just didn’t want that for you.”

“I don’t talk to you about it because you could never understand,” Reba insisted with a shrug. “It has nothing to do with you not being good enough or not on my level.” This wasn’t the first time she’d had to explain why she didn’t like talking to anyone but her military buddies about what happened while she’d been deployed. There were just things that civilians could never understand. She didn’t judge them for it. As far as she was concerned, it was simply fact. “I just don’t want to burden you with it.” 

“I was trying to protect you.” Reba looked down at the ground, not being able to bare the pain of looking them in the eyes. “I know it might not make any sense. But, I knew I wasn’t the same person as before. And I didn’t want to end up hurting you.” In hind sight, maybe she should have realized the decision to cut ties would hurt them just as much. “It’s just...,” pausing, she pursed her lips. “You hear so many stories about how a veteran’s loved ones go through hell in the first months of their return. And I just didn’t want that for you.”