Abandoned by Lee Shepherd

age, and after months of counselling, it was decided that Charles would receive an honorary discharge with full pension for service to his country, as the armed forces decided he was no longer fit for duty.

Chapter 9
    Charles had nowhere to go upon his exit from the army, but due to his savings he had accrued over the last few years, along with his army pension, he was able to immediately put down a deposit on a one bedroom flat. He’d opted to settle down in Lancaster after falling in love with the architecture of the city when he’d visited Marcus’ grief stricken but proud parents to carry out his earlier promise.
    It was here that he started to attend church again every Sunday morning after initially going in to pray for his fallen officer, and forgiveness for not being able to save the young man’s life. Once again he found sanctuary in these familiar surroundings, taking comfort from the words of the Bible, always being brought back to that same verse, Isaiah 49:15.
    Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet I will not forget thee
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    Charles often thought about tracking down his birth mother around this stage of his life, but just could not bring himself to do so: he could not forgive her for abandoning him, for tossing him aside as an innocent new-born, for condemning him to the torture of his youth.
    Charles was at a crossroads in his life. His army career was over, yet he was still a young man and a very long way from retirement age. He pondered what he was going to do with his life from hereon in. He knew he was reasonably comfortable money wise, so he decided to explore options of future career paths, starting by visiting the local Lancaster College nearby, only a five minute walk from his new flat.
    Charles decided he wasn’t in a hurry to go anywhere or do anything after settling in Lancaster. With his lifelong love of animals, and his Combat Medical Technicianqualifications, he decided he was going to put his two passions together and embark on a five year veterinary science degree course. Charles’ mental health issues started to subside over the following few months as he found a real interest in his course, and as he was studying very long hours, he made little time for others, instead choosing to shut himself away from the world out of college hours, and opting instead to study as many books on veterinary medicine as possible. He did, however, make time a few nights a week to go to the gym; he’d recently become a member of the local leisure centre, after realising that exercise is great help in battling depression. He had missed the euphoric buzz he used to feel after his army day workouts.
    Charles, being ever shy, didn’t have much luck with the opposite sex, as he never knew what to say when females approached him. More often than not, he would blush and freeze if any girl showed an interest in him. True, he did go on a few dates in his first year in Lancaster, after meeting girls either in the gym or in college, but many of them never got beyond a first date, due to lots of uncomfortable silences over dinner. Charles also had a bad habit of taking them to the cinema to watch action movies so he didn’t have to make conversation. Needless to say, nothing ever materialised any further, mainly due to his shyness. He wasn’t particularly bothered, as he had developed serious trust issues over the past few years and could never let himself get too close to another person. He instead opted to visit ‘massage’ parlours and brothels to fulfil his physical needs so he didn’t have to involve emotion. To him it was just a business transaction, and that suited him just fine.
    This all changed during his third year of studies when, as he was walking along the long college corridor, he was left totally speechless and blown away as he noticed a young, slim, mousey haired vision of beauty walking towards him. As she