Courage Under Fire| Band of Brothers

Pre War # 3

Bill looked up when he heard the slamming of the front door that led to the Stewart house, Olivia had just stormed out of the house and was going down the short flight of steps.

"Hey Doll, what's wrong?" he asked, pulling himself away from the small group of friends that he was with playing dice.

"My fucking mother is what happened." She cursed, patting the pockets of her skirt for her pack of smokes, cursing again when she didn't find them.

Amused about how flustered she was, Bill pulled his own pack out and held it out to her.

"Thanks." She muttered as she took it from him. 'She comes in and is acting like she runs the whole goddamn place. Totally overrides Andie."

Katherine McHale was James Stewart's ex-wife and the mother of the twins, Marla and their 5 older brothers and a woman who hated that she birthed two girls and took her anger out on Olivia who was the favorite from the time she was born.

"What is she even doing here?" He asked shrugging off his coat to put it over her shoulders, if there was one thing about Olivia that he would always remember was that she always hated the cold weather. And Philly got to be freezing compared to Charleston.

"Mine and Bobby's 18th birthday, she thinks that because 18 years ago she had to get cut open to have us, she deserves a party too."

Bill was all too familiar with Katherine McHale, she came once or twice a year to see the kids with whatever man she was with at the time. And she always raised a fuss wherever she went. Olivia's hair wasn't done in the right style, the clothes she was wearing were too raggedy. She was too much like a tomboy, she shouldn't be chasing after her brothers or Bill and his brothers. She wasn't the perfect version of the southern belle that Katherine had envisioned.

And Katherine hated it.

"She is sleeping with Marla and me too. We have to say the rosary every night and in the morning."

Bill couldn't help himself. He started laughing, she sounded so defeated and angry that it was almost funny.

"It's not funny Bill! She is sleeping in my bed with me! Do you know how uncomfortable that is?" She questioned as she finally lit the smoke she had in her hand, "She read my diary! While we were at school. She knows everything."

"Everything?" Bill paused in lighting his own smoke surprised, he knew that both Stewart girls and James kept journals and recorded everything in them.

"Mhmm," She hummed through an exhale of smoke, "She threatened to send me to the convent that Aunt Cissy is thinking about joining because I lost my virginity."

"You what?" He was surprised and hurt that she actually did that, especially after it being such a hot-button topic for them and the whole reason why he ended up cheating on her with Evie.

"Yeah, after the deb ball." She answered, her eyes focused down the street to the mail truck that was slowly making its way down the street. From what he had been told about the party from not only Olivia but Robert who went as one of the other girls' escorts there had been a lot of drinking before, during, and after the party, and well into the morning hours.

"Don't look at me like that Billy, it just happened." She didn't feel like she had to explain herself to him, sure, they had done everything but the deed when they were together. And she felt guilty about it but she couldn't bring herself to do it. They had tried, twice, but nothing ever came of it but frustration on Bill's part.

"You can't really be mad about it. You slept with Evie numerous times. You made your choice and I made my own. We are both our own people."

"I know," he admitted as she slid closer to his body for his heat, he knew there was time she wanted to forgive him and take him back then he would make the same mistake with Evie and set them back to square one.