Here is an update! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Chapter 10 The next morning I get up earlier than Charlotte and the other girl to avoid them. I walk out of the room before they wake and I sit in the lobby. Soon, more people pile in and soon I see Ben. I smile slightly and he sits next to me, yawning. "Tired much?" I ask. "Yes. And I wish that I didn't have to wake up this damn early," he replies. This makes me laugh and he just smiles at me. Soon everyone piles in, causing it to be overcrowded. We pile onto the bus and I sit in the back with Ben again. We talk until we get to the museum. When we get there I'm glad about it, but kind of disappointed. I was really having fun just talking to Ben. Funny, I haven't had this much fun in, well, ever. Not even with Gen. But she was too hyper to have fun with. She would get too carried away and get hurt every time. When we pay our dues and gets in, everyone has a bored look on their faces, which is probably how I look. Ben looked fascinated, but his eyes tell me he is bored. His eyes seems to use more emotion than his face. Which was really interesting. Well, at least to me. When we finally finished, which was the most boring trip I have ever taken, it was already dark outside. We were in there since probably noon. But that's because we have some nitwits who thought it would be fun to use a small statue to play football with. Luckily, nothing got damaged. The bus driver had taken a nap in the bus while we were in there, so I guess he thought it would be okay to drive at night. Which was fine with Mr. Morris. I sat in the back with Ben again, and since it was so dark, I was getting tired already. Ben notices how tired I look and puts his arm around me, pulling me close. I smile and close my eyes, leaning my head on his shoulder like the night before. I can feel him smile, which makes me feel better than ever before. I soon fall asleep, no dream bothering me this time. The next day, we finally get back to the school, which actually took less time than I thought. I yawn and get off the bus, Ben taking longer to get off. I head home without him, smiling to myself. I open my door to hear a loud bellow. "Alana Renee Davis, where the hell have you been?!" I hear. My father storms towards me, looking oddly sober. "On the field trip. Don't you remember the permission slip?" I ask, not knowing why he is so angry. Then I suddenly remember that he has short term memory loss unless if he doesn't take his medication, which he doesn't. I don't know why I didn't remember. Probably because he's drunk all the time, making it seem like it doesn't matter. "What the fuck are you talking about?! I was worried sick!" "Haven't before," I murmur quietly, but not quiet enough because my father hears it. "What the hell did you just say?!" he bellows, vain popping out of his forehead. I suddenly felt small, even though I don't know how it was possible to get smaller for my size. My father rose to full height, his eyes wide and full of anger. "Umm..." I start. He stares at me for a short moment. Suddenly, he hits me, making me fall to the ground. I cover my face with my arms, yelling at my father to stop. He wails on, throwing blow after blow, kick after kick. It wasn't normally like him to be this cruel to his own daughter. I couldn't fell the pain, yet, but it was painful to even look at him. Soon, he stops, panting like he just ran on the treadmill I got him for Christmas last year. I hear him back away and open the fridge. I hear the sound of a can being opened. Then I hear a door shut, to his room most likely. I open my eyes and pull my arms away from my face. The coast is clear. I stand and blink, tears still falling onto my face. I walk to my room and start pulling off one piece of clothing after another. Then I stand in front of my mirror, looking at the black and blue body that is mine. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Well, another update. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Chapter 11 I look at myself with tears in my eyes. This had been the most brutal of all beatings. I can't believe the blue is even on my body, it's so bright. I pull on my clothes again and grab a jacket, covering my arms. They were even black and blue. I grab a pen and a piece of paper. I walk to the counter of the kitchen and place the paper on the counter, writing, "Went to Genica's house. I'll be back to make dinner. Love, Alana." I don't know why I put down "Love, Alana." I hated him and his drunken rages. I hated him when he was sober. I just hated him in general. So there was only one thing to do: find someone I can trust. I walk out of my house and start walking up the street, looking for a black convertible or at least a sign of Ben. Since Gen is gone, he seems to be the only one I can trust. And I couldn't write "Ben" on the note, or my father would freak out again and try to kill me, again. Finally, I see his convertible, making me smile in relief. Not just because I found him, but because I was about to collapse from the pain. I walk through the neatly trimmed grass, trying to keep the last bit of strength I have to keep me from passing out. I finally get to the door, again, relieved. I knock on it, wincing as I do, and wait, my body swaying from my weakness. "Alana?" I hear. I slowly look to see Ben, him staring at me like I'm crazy. "Thank... God..." I say weakly. "Can I... Come in... Please?" He nods and leads me inside, making me grateful for the support. I fall onto his dark green couch and watch him stare at me. "Are you okay? Did you walk here? And why are you wearing a jacket?" he asks. That last question is very explanatory. It's March in California. Jackets in California make it even worse than it is. "Not okay. Walked here. And, I'll explain, in due time," I smiled weakly. He nods and sits next to me watching me. I soon gain a slight amount of strength to finally explain. And I tell him everything that happened. In the process, I pull off my jacket, wearing black and blue, which started turning purple. He eyes widen in surprise. I see all the fear swirling around in his eyes. "That's not quite all..." I say, my voice drifting off. Before I can continue, he stands and grabs his phone, obviously calling the police or someone. But, now, I don't care. My father deserves to go to jail, I just don't want it to be on the front page of our newspaper. Or on the news. Or even told to the public. Soon I hear sirens coming from down the street, Ben continuously whispering that it's all over. Some sirens pass us. Others stop in front of Ben's house. When there's a knock, Ben opens it to find the police. They come over to me, and start asking me questions, examining some of my bruises, which have become even worse. They grab a gurney and place me on it, saying that I need medical attention. I don't know why, but I do know one thing: I hate hospitals. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This will probably be my last update of the day. But still, update! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Chapter 12 I can't remember what happened in the ambulance. I think I passed out. Or they gave me something to calm down, thanks to the freaking out I was doing. Screaming and shouting, but after that, I don't know what happened. I wake up and see white. I start to freak out again, thinking that I'm dead. But how can I feel my legs? And the rest of my sore body? I can't be dead then. I look around to see an IV needle pushed into my arm. And there's also a cast on my arm. How odd. I look around to see no one in the room. No one came to see me? Not even Ben? Or Gen? I close my eyes, wanting to leave on the spot. Then I hear a door open. I open my eyes and see the one person I've been dying to see. "Gen!" I exclaim. I can't believe it! "Ohmygoodness! Whatthehellhappenedtoyou?!" she asks frantically, not letting herself breath between words. Her eyes are bloodshot from either crying or allergies. Probably both. Her hair is so messy, it takes all of my will power to not rip the IV needle out of my arm just to fix her hair. If you haven't noticed, when it comes to hair, it must be neat, or I have a fit. "First off, slow the hell down! That hasn't seemed to change a bit! Second, my dad is in jail because of what he did, right?" "Yes, he is! Who called the police?! I know you don't have a phone! And I never thought you had any other friends!" "Oh, that's nice to hear. And it was that guy, Ben. He was a senior last year but bombed his SATs and failed his classes, according to what he said," I smile. "Oh, really! Is he here?!" "No, he's at the market in the nineteen hundreds. Yes, he's here, I think." "Yes, I am shopping in the nineteen hundreds, thanks for asking," I hear. I smile when I see Ben. "Ben!" I squeal happily. He walks towards me and pats my head, making me whine. "Oh, hey Ben! Long time, no see!" Gen smiles. "Hey, Gen. How's college?" "Boring as hell!" She laughs and smiles. "Well, I have to hurry back. I have so much damn homework! See ya, Alana! Take care, alright?" "Alright. It's great to see you!" I call after her as she walks out. Ben sits down next to me and takes my hand. I can feel something stirring inside me as he does this. I ignore it and smile at him. "You okay? I hear you gave the medics a rough time," Ben smiles. "Truth is, I don't remember. And how bad was it?" "Internal bleeding and a fractured arm," he says, frowning. "Please tell me that I'm fine now, next to having a cast." "Close. You still have pretty bad bruises. Or, at least they told me. You'll have to stay here for a little while. I'll bring you your homework and stuff like that." "What about my dad? Where will I live? I have no other relatives." "That is what the police with talk to you about. I'm not allowed to say much more until the police talk with you about it." "Wait, what day is it? Is it still Sunday?" "No, it's Monday. You've been out for over twenty-four hours. Plus you had surgery." "Dammit. Well, thanks, Ben." He smiles and pats my head again before walking out. I smile and close my eyes. I soon hear the door open again and I open my eyes, seeing police. "Hello, Miss Davis. I'm Officer Henderson. This is Officer McPherson," the brown haired man says. I nod at them and watch them sit down. "Now, we have a few questions, sweetheart," the blonde woman called Officer McPherson starts. "When did this begin?" I bite my lip and look at them. I squirm in the hospital bed I'm in, seriously wanting to stop talking about it. "It's okay. He's already in the county jail. He can't get to you," Henderson says. I nod and look down at my hand that are tied together. I didn't want to talk to them about it. Finally, I give in, knowing that I need to help them. "It started...around...umm...I think...five or six years," I whisper, stumbling over my words like crazy. Henderson nods and writes down what I say. "Have you told anyone before yesterday or today?" McPherson asks. "Just my friends. They promised not to tell. I just don't want this in the news." I pull my hands up to my face and close my eyes. I can feel the tears ready to burst from the domes that are my eyelids. "Do you have any relatives? Do you know who your mother is?" "No. My mom left when I was really little. And there isn't anyone I know on my dad's side that's alive." Most of my family is dead, really. Grandparents died in the 9/11 attack. My uncle was killed in a car crash. And my aunt died of cancer. I haven't a clue on who or where my mother is. Or any of her relatives. "Then, you'll have to go into foster care." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Foster care! Le gasp!
I'm so sorry that I haven't updated, but I'm on once a week now since school is around and because of all this damn homework! Buuuuuuuuuut... Here is why everyone has Ben waiting for, AN UPDATE! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Chapter 13 "No! I can't!" I stare at them like they are crazy. Foster care is brutal, sometimes, even more brutal than what I went through. Or, at least that's what I've heard. "It's your only choice until you are eighteen," Henderson says. "But, I am." They give me confused looks, like they think I'm lying. "Didn't you look at my records? I turned eighteen last month. I'm about to graduate." I look at them, noting the embarrassed looks on their faces. Damn cops. Some are smart, but these two must be rookies or something. "Well, alright then," they say and stand. They walk out, causing me to smirk. So embarrassing for two older cops to be stupid enough not to look at my records. I know I look almost four years younger than my age, but they seriously need to be smart and not judge on appearance. I relax and wait for another person to walk through my door. No one comes through and I am seriously becoming bored. Even watching television is boring as hell. I check the time to find out that it's only two o'clock. Over an hour left till I get any homework. I groan and close my eyes, drifting off to sleep. When I open them again I hear papers being dropped. I smile as I see Ben fumbling with book and papers. "Fuck," he murmurs. I laugh, making him look up. "Oh, I didn't realize you were awake," he smiles, laying books and papers on the chair. "Just did actually. I guess school was boring," I smile. "As usual. It's like they want to torture us with knowledge," Ben smiles, making me laugh again. He sits next to me and hands me a book. Chemistry. I hate chemistry. "Seriously?" I ask. "I hate chemistry." "Who doesn't?" Ben smiles. "Teachers, scientists, and boring people," I laugh. Ben shakes his head, smiling. Have I mentioned how dazzling his smile is? It's the most beautiful thing alive. In my opinion, anyway. "Well, we need to get to work," Ben says, grabbing a book himself. We work for hours. Chemistry to history to Spanish to Latin to art. Long boring hours of work. And silence. Soon, I throw my pencil down and shut my art book. I comb my hand through my hair. I push the book off my bed, groaning. "Exhausted?" Ben asks. "Yeah. How could they give out this much homework to a girl who just got beaten to a pulp?" I ask. I check the time to find out that it's already nine. Nine?! Holy hell... "Well, you just have to deal with it. Oh, almost forgot. I got you something." Ben smiles and picks up a box wrapped in pick wrapping paper. "Pink? Really?" I ask. "Don't all girls love pink?" "Not this one. It's not that I have anything against it, but it's to girly for me." "Then what is your favorite color?" "Black." I smile and pull off the wrapping paper. My eyes widen when I see it. "A cell phone?" I whisper, shocked. "Yeah. To keep in touch, you know. I figure that you don't have a phone at your house, so I got you this one." He blushes lightly, a faint pink resting on his cheeks. "Oh, Ben... I don't know what to say. Except...this is the best gift that I've ever had! You are by far the greatest guy ever!" I throw my arms around him happily. He slowly puts his arms around me. He smiles and I pull back, grinning at him like an idiot. "What?" he asks. "Nothing," I smile. I fiddle with with the cell phone with happiness. It's so wonderful. So perfect. It's everything I've imagined! Soon, I hear Ben laugh. "What?" I ask. "I've never known anyone who is that excited with a cheap cell phone. It's just really funny," Ben smiles. "So? I've never had a phone. My father threw the home phone out the window because it kept ringing. He had no idea why." Ben starts laughing, causing me to smile. His laughter is the greatest sound ever. Have I mentioned that? It just makes you want to smile and laugh as well. "Well, I think I need to head home," Ben says soon says. "Aww... But I am having so much fun with this amazing guy sitting here keeping me company," I smile. And I was not flirting. Okay, maybe I was flirting a little bit, but a girl's gotta practice. You can't blame me. "Thanks. But, even though I'm having fun hanging out with you, I have to head home. I need to get your homework and yadda yadda yadda." I smile at this and he takes my hand. "You gonna be okay?," he asks, causing my stomach to flip-flop that he's holding my hand. "Yeah, I think I will. Well, that is if they don't inject me with anything," I smile. "Alright then. I'll see you tomorrow." "Great. See you later, then," I smile, his hand leaving mine. He walks out, waving at me. And, it's now I realize that I may be falling for that wonderfully amazing guy. Okay, I'll admit it: I am falling for that wonderfully amazing guy. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Decided to make it a little lovey dovey. It will be that way for a while, and soon I'll go back to the normal stuff. Also, I am now dedicating this story to my bestie who left three days ago and I HAD NO IDEA! But now I do, and this story goes to him. Benny, this story is officially dedicated to you. Hope you see this, bestie!
Another UPDATE! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Chapter 14 The next day, Ben comes early. Like around noon early. And he didn't have a sheet of paper in his hand. "Why are you early?" I ask when he sits down. "Nice to see you to, Alana. And we had a pep rally today," Ben says. "In the middle of the week?" "Oddly enough, yes. And it was a half day, so, no homework." "That's weird. Oh well, at least I get out of this hospital tomorrow afternoon. This place is seriously making me paranoid," I say. "Why?" "I hate hospitals. Death and such swirling in this place just gives me the creeps. That's why I'll never marry a doctor that works at a hospital." "Then I'll be sure to get a job here after I finish medic school," Ben laughs. This makes me stare at him. What did he just say? "What?" I ask, a light blush creeping up my cheeks. "Uh, nothing. So, what do you want to do?" he asks, a light blush on his cheeks as well. "I don't know. It's pretty damn boring here." I look into his eyes and smile. Those gorgeous eyes that I've missed. Absolutely amazing. "What?" he asks, looking at me. "Nothing, just your eyes," I smile, in a trance. "My eyes?" he laughs. "Yes. There're amazing and beautiful. There're so different," I grin. "Thanks. Yours aren't too bad either." "Really?" I ask. Really, I think mine are terrible. They are brown and dull. "Yeah. They are a beautiful chocolate brown," he smiles. "No, they are not. Absolutely terrible. They are so dull. And they aren't chocolate brown. More like shit brown, really." "Whatever, believe what you want. I think they are amazing." I feel my blush getting brighter as he says this. "Shut up," I smile. I bite my lip and shake my head, looking down at the sheets. "You brought it up." "Did not!" I say, looking at him now. "Did too!" he exclaims. And we argue like that for hours, with the occasional break. Sometimes we would start on another subject, but we would continue arguing later. We act like such little kids. It's hilarious if you understand why. If not, that's your loss. By the time it got dark, we were still arguing. Ben looks out the window and frowns. "Time for me to head out, Alana," Ben says, standing up. He frowns at me and turns away from me. I suddenly grab his hand, looking up at him with sad eyes. "Please, don't go. I don't think of lasting another night alone in this room. Please, Ben. Stay," I plead. He looks at me sadly and then smiles. "Fine, I'll stay, for you," he smiles. He doesn't take his hand away from mine, causing my stomach to to do happy flips. He pulls a chair right next to me and sits there, weaving his fingers through mine. This makes my face become hot, Ben getting a worried look on his face. He pulls his hand away slowly, obviously thinking that I'm freaking out. But I take his hand back, smiling at him. I weave my fingers through his, happy that he's here. He relaxes, smiling at me. This is the best day ever, so far. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ More lovey dovey-ness! God, I am a romance freak!
Last update, and I won't update for a week or so again. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Chapter 15 I fall asleep before Ben, thankfully. But, I never have any dreams, so, what's the point? Anyway, I wake up when I hear a ringing. I look out the window to see the sun barely peaking out from the horizon. I look at Ben and he's smiling. "That's not me," he says. I look at him, confused. I grab my cell phone and see that there's an alarm set and going off. I smile at Ben and turn the alarm off after I finally figure out how to unlock the phone. I wrap my arms around him and smile. "Thanks, Ben," I whisper in his ear. "For what?" he whispers back, his arms around my back. "For being here, and getting the phone for me," I smile, pulling back slightly. Our faces are only inches apart, making me hold my breath. I pull back, nervous. I am freaking out. We almost kissed and I pulled back. Why am I so afraid? I don't know why. I just take Ben's hand and sit there quietly. Soon, Ben stands. "I need to head off to school. I'll be back," he says. "Why can't you just skip school today? Then you can stay here and wait for me to get out. Then we could head to my house and clean the vodka bottles out," I say. "I could, but I can't. I want to pass this year." "Pretty please?" I ask, batting my eyelashes. "No." "Pretty please with sugar on top?" "Damn, you are stubborn. You won't give up, will you?" "Not really," I smile. "And you are the stubborn one. Not me." "Me, stubborn?! Never!" "Then stay for me! Please?" He sighs and sits next to me, taking my hand. "You are lucky that I would rather spend time with you than stay at school," he smiles. "Who wants to be at school? Except for those with good grades and geeks." He smiles and kisses the top of my head, causing a blush to creep onto my face. He laughs and pats my head. I fall asleep again until I wake up from feeling someone shake me lightly. "Alana, we can go now," I hear. I open my eyes and see Ben standing with my clothes nearly folded in his hands. He gives them to me, walking out of the room. I pull of the hospital gown and pull on my clothes, glad to be leaving and that my bruises aren't exactly seeable now. "There she is," Ben smiles and pulls an arm around me as I walk out of the room in the clothes I arrived in. I sign some papers and leave with Ben. I get into his convertible and we head to my house. We arrive and I open the door, seeing that a new path between the bottles and cans has been made. "I better start cleaning," I frown. I walk into the kitchen an grab a large black trash bag. I start dropping bottles and cans into the bag and Ben starts some music. I listen as I drop can after can and bottle after bottle into the bag. Soon, the place looks better than it has for my entire life. "Looks great," Ben smiles and takes my hand, leading me out of my house. I lock it when he pauses and then he pulls me to his convertible. "What are you doing?" I ask and he get in the convertible. "Getting in the car, starting the car," he replies. "Where are we going?" "A place." "Where at?" "A city. Just relax. You'll love it," he says, smiling at me. He speeds off from my house. At first, I worry about what my dad is going to do. But then I remember that he's in jail. But then I start freaking out in my mind. Where are we going? I know it's a surprise, but what if he's taking me to the middle of nowhere he'll kill me or rape me?! Okay, unrealistic, but you can't blame me for freaking out. But what will happen? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ What tis going to happen?!
An update! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Chapter 16 I keep a tight grip on my phone as we leave town. Where the hell is he taking me? I really hope that he doesn't have a gun in the glove compartment and a shovel in his trunk. If you haven't noticed, I have a tendency to think of the worst case scenario from time to time. Well, pretty much all the time, really. I just don't put them all on paper. "Relax," I hear, causing me to jump. I nod at Ben but I can't relax. I feel his put his arm around me, causing my stomach to do more happy flips. "Alana, you really need to relax. Just think of it as date," he smiles, causing me to freak out. Say what? A date? Oh, my God! Okay, yesterday was amazing, but now I'm in paradise! Okay, now it's the best day ever! "Really?" I ask, smiling. "Of course. We're going to hang out, as friends," he smiles. Hang out? Not a real date. He got my hopes up, that bastard. That broke my heart. I guess he thinks that I only want to be friends since I didn't kiss him yesterday. "Oh," I whisper and scoot over to the window. I sit there watching everything go by. Soon, we are in another town, except it's bigger than our small town. So, I guess you would call it a city. I watch people fly by as the car zooms through the streets. When Ben parks in front of a movie theater, I hear him turn to me. "We're here," he says. I nod and get ready to open the door when Ben turns me to face him. "Are you alright?" he asks. "I'm fine," I say, even though we all know that when a lass says that she's fine, it normally means something. "No, you're not. What wrong?" Ben asks. I turn away from him and open my door, trying to avoid his eyes. I hear him jump out of his car and pull me onto a bench. I look at him emotionlessly, seeing a worried look on his face. "Alana, tell me what is wrong," he commands. I realize I'm practically in his lap, causing my face to feel hot. "Why are you blushing?" he smirks. "Can we just go do whatever you've planned to do?" I ask, looking away from him. "Sure," he smiles. He places a hand on my cheek and makes me face him. I realize that our lips only an inch apart, making my face even hotter. He laughs for a moment. His arm is around my back and one hand is tracing my jaw line, causing a chill to go down my back. Then, his face gets very serious and our lips have now met. Best sensation ever! His lips are so soft! Why didn't I do this yesterday?! I'm such a crazy chick for not doing this earlier. Ben pulls back and our foreheads rest on each others. "Better?" he asks, smiling. "Definitely," I smile, a blush on my face. I get up and take Ben's hand, biting my lip. He smiles and stands, putting his arm around me, walking into the theater. Okay, officially the best day ever. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I am such a romance freak! If this makes people stop reading, please don't. I am going to start back up on the dream watching in a few updates.