Closer

Ali finally goes over to Bengt's house. What goes down?

    When the door opened, a small bell chimed from above the door. It must have been the signal for Bengt coming home considering he couldn’t just shout that he was home.
    I heard footsteps come from farther down inside the house. Suddenly, from around a corner emerged a tall woman who look almost identical to Bengt, only she had long hair that was gently curled and a flower-patterned dress on. She was very beautiful.
    I expected her to speak, but she began doing Sign Language to Bengt. It then became clear to me that this woman was also mute. Since I didn’t exactly know Sign Language, I replied on my mind reading powers to figure out what they were saying.
    ‘Good afternoon, sweetie,’ the woman said, ‘How was your day?’
    ‘It was great, mom,’ Bengt replied.
    Mom?! No wonder they looked so much alike.
    Bengt’s mother looked at me and gave a smile. She turned to Bengt and said, ‘Who is this cute girl friend of yours?’
    She clearly separated the “girl” and “friend” which I was really thankful for.
    ‘This is Ali,’ Bengt introduced me, ‘This is the friend I have been talking about.’
    “Hello,” I said politely.
    The woman gazed deep into my eyes, which made me lean back in nervousness. Was she testing me or something?
    ‘Is this the mind reader?’ she asked.
    ‘Yup,’ Bengt said with pride, ‘That is her.’
    I slammed my palm into my face. Really, Bengt? He just had to tell his mother that I was a mind reader. What did she think of me now?
    ‘Tell me,’ she said to me, ‘What am I thinking of right now?’
    She really was testing me. She thought of a few things and with a sigh I answered.
    “You are thinking of your favorite color, which is red. You are thinking of how cute my sweater is, and you are thinking of what you are going to make for dinner.”
    Bengt’s mom clapped with excitement. ‘How exciting!’ she exclaimed, ‘This is truly fascinating! I thought Bengt was simply telling his tall-tales again. Nice to meet you, Ali. My name is Emelie, and you may call me by that name.’
    “Nice to meet you, Emelie,” I said, shaking the woman’s outstretched hand.
    ‘Well, you two have fun,’ she said with a smile, ‘I’ll have dinner ready in a bit.’
    Bengt gave her a quick hug before motioning me to follow him. I followed closely behind him as he walked up the stairs to his room. He opened it, and closed it after I got in. With a playful gait, he hopped onto the bed and sat cross.
    I hesitantly sat the same across from him on the bed, and we stared at each other for a few moments. All was silent, but I’m sure it wasn’t hard to be silent when you were mute.
    “So,” I began, “Your mom doesn’t care if the door is closed? I mean, I’m a girl and you’re a guy… she doesn’t think anything of it?”
    ‘Why would she?’ Bengt asked, generally confused, ‘She trusts me to make the right decisions on my own. And this way we can talk without her listening. She is a huge eavesdropper.’
    “I see…”
    The room once again fell into silence. The only thing I could hear was the soft wind outside blowing against the glass window. I kept looking downward, not really wanting to meet his eyes.
    Bengt broke the silence this time, ‘Want some gum?’ In his outstretched hand was a package of original bubblegum, and by the way his mouth was moving, he had already popped a piece into his mouth. I thanked him and took one, popping it into my own mouth.
    “This house is really nice,” I said, “I always wanted to move over here, but my mom makes the worst financial decisions.”
    ‘It really is nice,’ Bengt agreed, ‘It’s definitely better than what we had in New York. We lived in an apartment building with loud and rowdy neighbors. It was a torture to get up early and go to school, you know?’
    “Sounds like a pain,” I replied.
    Silence once again neared its ugly head. Why was it so awkward? Maybe it was because I had never been over to a friend’s house before, and I was so nervous that I might just pass out. Maybe Bengt has never had a friend over either, and I’m just being stupidly nervous over nothing. Still, I had to think of more things to talk about.
    Bengt beat me to the punch, however, when he said, ‘So, why did you have such a big bag?’
    Great. He decided to break our awkwardness by asking about something I clearly did not want to talk about.
    I sighed. “Look, Bengt, I really don’t want to talk about it. It is something that you probably wouldn’t want to know about anyway.”
    ‘Why not let me decided on that?’ he said, ‘I want to know more about you.’
    I blushed. Oh perfect. Now I am embarrassed. I gave him a sneer and said, “What if I don’t want you to know more about me?”
    ‘Let’s make a deal,’ he began, ‘I’ll tell you about me, if you tell me about you. How’s that?’
    “Doesn’t sound very fair to me.”
    He gave a laugh. ‘You aren’t the least bit curious as to where I come from?’
    “You come from a loud and rowdy apartment in New York. That’s all I need to know.”
    He laughed again. ‘I wasn’t born in New York. I was born in Sweden, but if you really don’t want to know…’
    I rolled my eyes. He was trying to bait me in, and to be honest, it was working. I slowly turned my head back towards him. “So, you were born in Sweden, you say?”
    A smirk graced his face. ‘I knew you were interested.’
    “Yeah, yeah,” I murmured, lying onto my back with my head over the edge of the bed, “Keep on talking.”
    ‘Not until you promise to tell me about you,’ he said, ‘Deal?’
    “Yes, whatever!” I shouted.
    He smiled again and started, ‘I was born and raised in Sweden, in the countryside between Uppsala and Stockholm. We lived with my mother’s father, however, he strongly opposed of my father. Naturally, that meant he strongly opposed of me. My father didn’t live with us for that reason.     Anyway, whenever my mother went out, I would be stuck with my grandfather. He told me many terrible things about my father. He even told me that I wouldn’t have existed if he had a say in it.
    One day, he was bad-mouthing my father, and I had gotten tired of it. Since I was born a mute, I could not tell him to shut up. However, I did know where the knife collection was kept.’
    A smile grew on my face as I said, “You didn’t.”
    ‘I did,’ he said, smiling back, ‘It was the one thing my father had taught me that my mother was angry about for years. I had picked one out if its case, and just as he turned to face me, I threw it. It stuck directly into his leg, and he fell to the floor. My mother had come back just in time to stop too much blood from coming out. She looked at me and suddenly took a step away. I asked her what was wrong, and she told me that I had looked so impassive, that I was inhuman.
    My grandfather kicked us out after that. My mother and father reunited and decided that we would travel to the United States to get as far as we could away from our family. I was about ten years of age when that happened. We had moved to New York at first, and that is where I learned my English. Finally, we moved here, and this is where we are staying, hopefully.
    We still get calls from my grandfather, oddly enough. He really does love my mom, but she wants nothing to do with him if he wants nothing to do with my dad or me. And ever since then, my mother taught me about compassion and things like that. I guess she didn’t want me turning out too much like my dad. My dad is very impassive and rarely shows his feelings. In fact, sometimes my mother considers him a little heartless, but she loves him anyway.’
    “That sounds like a rough childhood,” was all I could say. I didn’t know anything to say after hearing all of that. It must have been really hard to be told almost everyday that you were unwanted. That makes me feel like I have something in common with Bengt.
    ‘It was very rough,’ he agreed, ‘But I’m glad I went through it. It made me who I am today.’
    I smiled and patted him on the back. I had no idea why, but I felt closer to Bengt in a way. I didn’t have such a rough childhood like he did, but I still felt close.
    ‘Your turn,’ Bengt reminded me, ‘Start at the beginning, even if I know it.’
    “Fine,” I sighed, “When I was five, I found out my power. And ever since then, I had been switching schools nonstop because of it. I had hated my power because it caused me so much pain. I couldn’t have friends, I couldn’t get good grades, and I could not blame anyone but myself.
    My home life was worse, though. My mother would get mad at me for constantly causing so much trouble. She had kicked me out twice before. One time was for bad grades, and the other time was for sassing her. Each of those times, I had no idea what to do, so I stayed close to home.
    After that, I had decided that I should try and get better, but then I formed a plan. I would listen and write down the secrets of my classmates so I couldn’t be targeted again, at least, not without major repercussions. I had told my mother that I was going for Honor Roll in return for school supplies. I held up both mine and my mother’s end. Everyone at school knows it was I who had done it, but no one will take a shot at me.
    Life was pretty solitary, until I met you, Bengt. And for once I thought it was nice to have a friend. I was feeling pretty good about myself, that is until this morning…”
    I had stopped for a moment. Was I really going to tell him that I was kicked out? What would he say? What would he do? As I was thinking, I saw Bengt give me a confused, yet curious look.
    ‘What happened?’ he pressed.
    “I found out that my mom threw away something precious to me,” I continued, “I questioned her about it, and she confessed her crime. I had yelled at her, and for that she… kicked me out once more.”
    Bengt made a mental gasp. ‘She didn’t,’ he said in disbelief.
    “She did. And know I am a homeless little girl with a bag full of belongings and nowhere to go.” I felt pretty pathetic at this point.
    The silence was maddening. If I thought it was awkward at the beginning, it was way more awkward now. Bengt’s face was very hard to understand, and his mind was full of buzzing.
    ‘You know,’ he began, ‘You could… stay here.’
    My head popped up quickly. “Excuse me?” I asked.
    ‘You can stay here with me,’ he repeated, ‘That is, if you want to.’
    “I can’t stay here, Bengt,” I said politely, “Your parents would more than likely freak out.”
    ‘That isn’t true,’ he said, ‘What they don’t know won’t hurt them.’
    I scoffed, “Are you seriously thinking that they won’t find out? I think it would be obvious.”
    ‘Really?’ he asked, ‘Would it really show on my face?’
    The way Bengt’s face looked so apathetic, it was chilling to my nerves. He really did look inhuman with it.
    “What if they find out?” I argued, “Then you would be in so much trouble.”
    ‘It’s not an option,’ he said, face still hard, ‘You are staying here, alright?’
    “And you just get to decide this for me?”
    ‘Yes.’
    I felt trapped. How could he just decide this? Sure, it was a nice thing to do, and I could respect that, but it was too risky. I’m sure his parents would definitely flip out if they found out that I was staying here. They would especially flip out if I stayed in his room the whole time. I had no idea what he was thinking, other than the fact that I would be staying here no matter what.
    “If I stay here,” I began, “How would I get to school without your parents noticing?”
    ‘We can figure out the details later.’ he smiled.
    That was typical male attitude. There was no plan, which meant that I was most likely going to be found out very quickly.
    A knock was heard on the door, and it slowly opened to reveal Bengt’s mom, Emelie. She peeked her head around the door with a smile.
    ‘Dinner is ready. Will you be dining with us, Ali?’
    “Umm, sure,” I said with uncertainty.
    She smiled. ‘You won’t have to feel intimidated because my husband won’t be home until late.’
    “I see…”
    Bengt took a hold of my hand. ‘Come on. It’ll be alright.’
    I sighed and followed him down the steps.

…

    After dinner, I laid on Bengt’s bed with my eyelids slowly closing. I was so tired that I had barely noticed Bengt moving along his room, maneuvering my things into his closet so his parents wouldn’t see them. I yawned and realized that I’d most likely have to sleep on the floor. Good thing I brought blankets and a pillow.
    As I was getting up off my butt to get my things, Bengt pushed me back down onto the bed. I tried to get back up, but he held me there.
    ‘You can take the bed,’ he said to me, ‘I’ll sleep on the floor.’
    “No, you take the bed,” I argued.
    ‘You are the guest.’
    “This is your house.”
    ‘Ali, take the bed.’
    “No.”
    ‘Yes.’
    “No, Bengt!”
    ‘Yes, Ali!’
    This was getting us nowhere. I was about to assert my dominance when footsteps were heard coming up the stairs. Before I had time to react, Bengt pushed me into the bed and climbed in with me.
    ‘Shh!’ he commanded while throwing the covers over us and wrapping his arms around me. I froze from the contact. I got why he did it though. I know I was no twig, but Bengt was bigger than I was with those muscles that I think are a little too buff for a sophomore. That’s all I’m saying.
    Anyway, I listened intently as the door creaked open. I didn’t have to look to know it was Emelie. I heard her thoughts from all the way across the room.
    ‘Aw, my Bengt is the cutest thing,’ she thought, ‘I wonder where Ali went. She didn’t even say goodbye…’
    I mentally face palmed. I really wished we had a plan so stuff like this wouldn’t happen. I hoped I could explain myself tomorrow.
    She left, and Bengt looked at me sheepishly. I scowled at him.
    “Great, now she thinks I’m rude,” I said, “I hope you are happy without a plan.”
    ‘I know we need a plan,’ he replied, ‘I’ll think of one in the morning, alright?’
    “You better,” I said as I rolled over on my side. I might as well take the bed. He deserved a little punishment in my opinion.
    He rolled over, but he did not roll off the bed. I waited for a few more moments for him to leave, but he didn’t. I looked over and found him asleep right next to me. I heaved a huge sigh because he had trapped me against the wall. There was no way I was going to get out to sleep on the floor.
    I rolled onto my back and stared at the ceiling. Was this really okay? Could I really stay here? I knew I couldn’t stay forever, but maybe for just a bit? I mean, I did not want to go back to my mom so soon. There was no doubt in my mind that she will be looking for me eventually. I just wondered how long it would take her to start caring this time.
    I let loose another sigh before looking back over at Bengt. He seemed to be dreaming. I had never read a mind that was dreaming before. I closed my eyes and let his dreams flow into my thoughts.
    Suddenly, I saw a forest with tall trees, and I saw Bengt running through them with a horrified look on his face. I couldn’t do anything but watch as something invisible chased him. He tripped and fell to the ground, and that was when I tried my best to get to him. I knew it was only a dream, but somehow it felt so real. Maybe it was because it was Bengt’s dream that I was seeing and not my own.
    Something struck at him and made deep gashes in the arms that he had held up to defend himself. I watched the blood pour out of his arms, and then had snapped out of the reading. I was all of a sudden smothered against the wall because Bengt had decided to lay flat on his back.
    I looked at his wide open eyes and saw pain in them. I reached my hand over and gently petted his arm.
    “You okay, Bengt?” I asked.
    He nodded and rolled back over. It was midnight and neither of us could sleep after that.

…

    When I woke up, Bengt had already left the room. It was just me, Myself and I in there. I yawned, sitting straight up. After stretching properly, I got up and got myself dressed. Bengt was more than likely eating breakfast, so I was sure to be alone. I couldn’t risk going out of the room for fear of being seen. I guess peeing could wait until I got to school.
    When I was fully dressed in new clothes, I got my school things into my backpack and opened up Bengt’s window. Not a soul was seen, so it was a good opportunity to sneak out the window. Just as I threw a leg over, Bengt entered the room.
    ‘What are you doing, Ali?’ he asked.
    “I’m going to wait outside for you, okay?” I said.
    He nodded and walked back out of his room. I threw my other leg over and jumped onto the fence to his backyard. I then jumped onto the ground and waited. Sure enough, Bengt walked out only a few moments later with his bike.
    ‘Ready?’ he asked.
    “I guess,” I said, giving him my bag to put in the back. I got back onto the uncomfortable handlebars once again, he pedaled to school.
    “Hey,” I started, “Will this be what we do in the mornings?”
    ‘I guess so,’ he replied, ‘It seems like a good plan. Perhaps we can let you come over everyday, and then you can pretend to leave. That way you can climb back up to my room without my parents thinking you are rude.’
    “Sounds pretty okay to me,” I yawned, “Won’t your parents get annoyed if I come over everyday?”
    ‘No,’ Bengt said with confidence, ‘They are happy that I have a friend I want to spend so much time with. They are alright with it.’
    “If you say so.” Skepticism filled my voice. It would only be natural if they got sick and tired of my face. Even if they might be fine with it now, they wouldn’t be after a few months.
    Did I really want to be gone for months? I’m sure my mother would be looking for me. Perhaps she is looking now. Maybe she’ll wait for me at school to ask where I’ve been. I didn’t want her to find me just yet. This is her punishment for throwing Barry away.
    Speaking of Barry, I hadn’t introduced him to Bengt yet. I should probably wait until it is the right time, but when is that time? I could show him tonight, or maybe after a few nights. It should not be this hard to show off a stuffed animal. Then again, Barry isn’t just some old stuffed lion. Barry has been with me through thick and thin. He’s my best friend. And there is nothing wrong with showing a best friend to another friend.
    I smiled to myself. Tonight would be the night I show off Barry. I was excited to finally show Bengt to Barry. I wonder how Barry will take it. Barry has always been so nice, and he would not be mean for nothing. No doubt that Barry would be his perfectly gentlemen self. What about Bengt? What would Bengt think of Barry? Perhaps I should give Barry a little brushing before I show him off.
    We arrived at school, and I gladly hopped off the bars. Those things always made my rump sore. I grabbed my bag and slung it over my shoulder. While Bengt put his bike up, I waited for him. I might as well let him walk me to first period, considering we had it together.
    First period went by in a flash. The only thing remotely different was that Mr. Skylark kept glancing at me and thinking of why I got kicked out. If I told him that it was over a stuffed animal, I bet he’d shake his head. Or perhaps he would laugh. Who really knows?
    Second period went by just as quick, followed by Brunch, third period, fourth period, and eventually Lunch. I sat with Bengt and the guys again, only this time, I felt better. I felt more at ease than I was the other day. Mark clearly saw this and commented on it.
    “You seem happier, Ali,” Mark said, “Did something good happen?”
    My smile faded. I did not want the guys to know I was feeling better. No doubt that they would be angry by it. “Nothing in particular happened. Why?”
    “Just asking,” he answered, “You just seem to be more at peace. Whatever it is, I’m happy for you.”
    I murmured a ‘thanks’, but that was all. The other two, Trevor and Greg, were in their own little world talking about soccer. I was glad they did not hear mine and Mark’s conversation.
    Hours later, I was once again meeting Bengt by his bike. I did not see my mother anywhere, so I figured she was either not looking for me or not smart enough to check the school. Honestly, both are very good reasons at this point.
    Bengt pedaled us to his house, where I once again saw Emelie, Bengt’s mom. She was excited to see me again, and I explained to her that I left in a hurry and forgotten to say ‘goodbye’. Emelie was very understanding. Even if I only knew her for a day, I felt like she was a hundred times better than my own mom. It was wrong to think that way about your own mother, but I couldn’t help feel that way. I’m sure that if I was in Bengt’s situation, my mother would not have cared if I was subjected to that kind of torture.
    I was sitting on Bengt’s bed when he left to use the restroom. I felt that it was the perfect opportunity to bring out Barry and hopefully introduce the two. I hopped off the bed and took out both my brush and Barry. I sat back on the bed and brushed Barry’s mane with contentment.
    It had been a while since I felt like that. Once upon a time, it was only when I brushed Barry that I could feel that sort of calming. However, I have been feeling a bit more at ease whenever I talk to Bengt.
    He and Barry are a lot alike, I realized. Both were great listeners, both made me feel calm, and both are my friends. Of course I’d never compare Barry to anyone, but if I did…
    Bengt came in and closed the door behind him. He eyed the lion on my lap and raised a brow. ‘Is that who I think it is?’
    “This is Barry,” I said with a smile, “He might be a little dirty, but I cleaned him as best as I could.”
    Bengt reached out for him, but he drew back in uncertainty. ‘May I hold him?’
    “Sure…” I reluctantly handed Barry over. I never let anyone hold Barry other than me. This was a whole new experience for the both of us, Barry and I. I watched as Bengt gently pet his mane.
    ‘He is very soft,’ Bengt commented.
    “Isn’t he?” I agreed, “I brush him at least four times a week. He is very pampered, if I do say so myself, but he deserves it. He’s been through just as much as I have.”
    Bengt handed him back to me, and I cradled him in the safety of my arms. Bengt took a seat next to me and said, ‘I can see how much you care about him. The way your eyes lit up as you spoke gave it away.’
    “Really?” I asked. I had no idea my eyes lit up when I spoke about Barry. I wondered if they lit the same way whenever I spoke to Barry about Bengt.
    ‘Yeah,’ Bengt said, lying down on his bed, ‘I wish that I will be able to do that about something, or someone, one day.’
    I laid next to him and gave him a pat. “I’m sure you will find it. You just have to keep looking.”
    The two of us laid there for what seemed like forever, and I felt something deep within the cavern of my heart. I felt that Bengt and I had gotten closer than ever before. And for once, I wasn’t afraid of that.

Author's Note

This is literally the longest chapter in all of the novel. I hope you liked it.