LifeLine - Chapter Two

Heather Whetherfield

I woke up to the usual blinking of my cell phone's notification light.  I already knew it was a 'good morning' text from Ben.  He always managed to send me one before I woke up.  I laid there for a minute to reply to him before I rolled over to get out of bed.

            I let my feet dangle off the edge of the bed for a second before I slipped my feet inside the fuzzy purple slippers that Ben had bought me for my birthday.  I pushed the blanket that I still had draped over my upper body off and stood up, facing the wobbly feeling my legs always got right after I woke up.  I had to adjust my shorts to make it to where they sat comfortably around my waist and didn't compress my crotch.  His sweatshirt was lying on the back of my computer chair.  I grabbed it and put it on over the tank top I usually slept in.

            The image of myself in the mirror stared back at me.  I could clearly see the "Western Tech" emblem on it, which was the college he wanted to attend.  I giggled slightly at how mis-matched my clothing was and then decided that I needed to start moving around.  I grabbed my brush and brushed out the crazy mess of a hair-do that my bed had given me overnight and then started down the stairs.

            My mother was already cooking breakfast when I turned the corner into the kitchen.  She turned around when she heard me sit down at the table.

            "Good morning sunshine!"  She said very enthusiastically.  I knew she did it just to bug me.

            "Good morning," I said, still rubbing some of the crust from my eyes.

            "How did you sleep, dear?"  She asked while setting down a plate of bacon, eggs and sausage in front of me.

            "Good, I guess," I said as I started to pick at the breakfast.

            She made a slight grunting noise that made me giggle.  Hearing me, she turned around.  "What are you laughing at?"  She asked, fighting her own laughter back.

            "You," I said, choking slightly from trying to eat while laughing, "that noise you made was weird!"

            She stared at me and then changed the subject.  "Are you going to be going out of the house today?"  She sat down across the table from me with her own breakfast.

            "I don't know yet."  I got up to rinse my own plate but had to fix my shorts again to make them comfortable.

            My mom saw me and laughed.  "You know, you wouldn't have to do that if you had a butt to fill those shorts."

            I glared at her and dramatically pushed my butt in her direction.  "I HAVE a butt, thank you very much."

            We both laughed and my mom pulled me into a hug.  "I know sweetheart."

            I smiled and kissed her cheek.

            We heard a knock on the door.  I had a feeling I knew who it was already, so I ran to the door and opened it up.  Ben was standing there with a very large grin on his face.  I opened the screen door and jumped on him.  He reacted quickly to make sure I wouldn't fall.  I squealed and giggled as he kept nudging my neck with his chin, tickling me.

            My mom was leaning in the doorway to the kitchen.  "Hey you two, cut it out."  She said jokingly.

            Ben set me down and walked over to her.  He wrapped her in a warm hug.  "Good morning Mrs. W."

            "Good morning Benjamin."  She looked over at me over his shoulder and winked.

            I walked over behind Ben and wrapped my arms around him.  "What are we going to do today?"

            He grabbed my hands and led me over to the couch.  "I have no idea.  Anything in mind?"

            I looked over to the kitchen to check if my mom was still standing there.  She wasn't so I leaned over and kiss him.

            He smiled at me, "well, are you going to answer?"

            I kissed him again, this time I held it and caressed the back of his neck.  Afterward, I stared into his eyes with my hand on his cheek.

            Our eyes met and he realized what I was hinting toward.  Quietly, he leaned over to me and spoke.  "Are you," I could hear the nervousness in his voice, "are you sure?"

            I kissed him one more time and smiled.  Our eyes were still locked onto one another.  We were having an entire conversation without saying a single word.

            "Heather!"  I heard my mom call for me from the kitchen.

            "Coming mom!"  I got up off the couch and had to fix my shorts again.  I really hated these things.  I walked into the kitchen and saw my mom standing there in her work uniform.  "Yes mom?"

            "Hey, there are a few things that I want you to do while I am at work."  She rubbed a bit of dirt from my cheek from yesterday.  I completely forgot that I hadn't showered yet.

            "I'm listening."  I said.

            "Okay, I took care of the dishes already.  But I need you to do the laundry, clean the floors and vacuum the house please."

            I was following her to the door as she spoke.  "Okay.  I gotcha mom.  I'll get it done."

            She looked over at Ben who was still sitting on the couch and leaned over to me.  "Behave, sweetheart."

            I laughed and pushed her slightly.  "Bye mom!"

            Ben looked over, "bye Mrs. B!"

            I stood next to the door and watched my mom pull out of the driveway and drive down the street.  I shut the door and leaned back against it.  My hair laid softly down my chest.  His sweatshirt was huge on me.  So big to where my hands didn't come out of the sleeves and it made me look like I wasn't wearing shorts.

            "Well then."  He said, staring at me.

            "What?"  I was getting a little shy and blushed a little.

            "You," he looked at me and stood up from the couch.

            "What about me?"  I asked, in fluxing my voice, trying to sound cute.

            He walked over to me and placed his hands on my waist.  He kissed my forehead.  "You are gorgeous."

            My face turned red and I snickered a little.  "Not even.  You're crazy."

            He lifted my chin up with his hand and kissed me.  "Yes.  You.  Are."  He kissed me again and pulled me closer to him and held me tight.  I had one hand on his chest and the other wrapped around him.  I laid my head down on his chest and sighed.

            "Ben?"  I said softly.

            "Yes babe?"

            "I love you."

            He picked me up again and I giggled.  "I love you too."

            I wrapped my legs around his waist and felt his arms cradle me.  One was under my butt and the other was around my waist.  His head was level with mine, so it was easy for me to wrap my arms around his neck.  My hair was hanging off behind me.  I looked into his bright hazel eyes and thought about us.

            I thought about us being together forever.  I thought about all the times we hung out together.  I thought about yesterday and how he acted.  I know his family has an issue with me, but I also know that he doesn't care what they think.

            I leaned over and rested my head on his shoulder.  "Take us to my room."  I whispered.  He kissed as close to my forehead as he could get.

            "Are you sure?"  He asked.

            "Yes."

            He carried me to my room and went to lay me down on my bed.  I released my grip around his waist but kept ahold of him with my arms.  "You're not going anywhere."  I said laughing a bit.

            He leaned back over me and put his hands flat on the bed on both sides of my head.  He lowered himself down to kiss me.  My arms were still around his neck as our lips touched softly with each other.  It felt as if they were dancing.  My stomach felt weird, like there was something moving inside.  I could most accurately describe it as a bird or a bat, fluttering its wings.

            He held himself up with one hand and moved my hair back behind my ear.  I cringed a little as he kissed my neck and cheek.

            "You okay?"  He asked, stopping once he noticed my cringe.

            I looked and him and smiled.  I absolutely love how caring he is.  "Yes."  I kissed him and pulled him face toward me more.

            The heat of the moment took over.  I pulled his shirt off and kiss him more, slightly slipping my tongue out to play with his.  He caressed my sides, slowly sliding his hands into my shirt.  I could feel his damp, nervous palms on my skin.

            "Don't be nervous, Ben."  I smiled.

            He laughed nervously and pulled his sweatshirt off of me.  I was wearing a white spaghetti strap tank-top underneath.  The straps of my favorite pink and white polka dot bra were showing.

            I kissed him more and ran my fingers along his bare back, feeling his muscles in his shoulders.  He was having trouble pulling my tank-top off so I lifted my arms up in the air to help and laughed.  I sat up and looked at him.  His chest was gleaming with a thin layer of sweat as I'm sure my own was as well.  He sat on his knees in front of me, staring at me.  All I was wearing was my bra and shorts.  I leaned over to him and pushed him back.  I didn't care about my shorts from here on out, because I was sure they would be coming off.  I kissed him on the lips and sat on top of him.

            He rolled us over and kissed my neck.  One of his hands was caressing my breast while another was on my thigh, slowly gliding above my shorts.  I moaned slightly and bit my bottom lip.

            "Heather!"  I looked up and saw my mom standing there at my doorway.  I freaked out and pushed Ben off of me.  My shirt was across the room so I pulled the blanket up over me and Ben just stood there with a stupid look on his face.  I could tell he was terrified.

            "Mom!  I thought you were at work!"  My voice was really high pitched and shaky.  I just knew I was in trouble.

            "I was!  We got let off!  I didn't expect to come home and find my daughter being felt up in my own house!"  She screamed.

            Ben was still standing there without a shirt on.  "Mrs. B, I'm so sor--"

            She cut him off.  "Jesus Christ Ben, will you put a freaking shirt on!"

            He shut up instantly and bent over to grab his shirt.  I started to try and talk as he was getting dressed.  "Mom, I didn't know you were going to be home this early."  My voice was starting to get quiet.

            She looked at me and Ben and sighed heavy.  She pointed at Ben.  "You, get out of my house as soon as you're dressed.  Don't come back until she says it's safe for you."  She then turned her attention toward me.  "As for you.  Do you realize what your father would have done to him?”  She sighed.  “Get some clothes on and meet me in my bedroom after you see him out.  Do you understand me?"

            I didn't look at her, "yes ma'am."

            She turned and walked off toward her door.  Ben looked over at me, his face pale from fear.  He started to whisper something but I motioned for him to stop.  I got up and looked around for my shirt but couldn't find it, so I just grabbed his sweatshirt and put it on.  We walked down the hall without uttering a single word to each other.  The door was already opened up.

            Ben opened the screen door and I stepped out on the porch with him.  He looked at me.  His voice sounded really sorrowful when he talked.  "I'm sorry."

            I wrapped my arms around his neck and held him.  "Ben, this was my idea.  Don't worry about it."  I loosened my grip and gave him a long kiss.  "I love you Ben.  I'll try and call you later tonight.  If I don't, just text me around nine."

            He stared into my eyes.  "Okay.  I love you too.  Good luck."  He let out a few chuckles.

            I walked back into the house and shut the front door, but I made sure to leave it unlocked, just in case.  The walk back to my mom's room seemed a lot longer than usual, but I'm sure it was just because of the added stress and the fact that I was dreading this conversation.  I stopped at the doorway and knocked on the wall.

            "Get in here."  She said from inside.  I could only imagine what was going to happen.  I walked in and sat down on her bed without speaking.  "Do you realize what I just went through Heather?"

            I looked up, "mom, we weren't doing anything.  We were just."

            "Just what Heather?!  Because it sure did look like you were doing something in there!"  She walked into the room from her bathroom and threw her watch onto the bed.  "You don't think about stuff do you?"

            I just sat there, quiet.

            "Answer me please."

            "I wasn't then I guess."  I said quietly.

            "You guess?"  She asked, still irritated.

            "What do you want me to say, mom?!"  I exploded.  "I screwed up!  You caught me!  It's not like I'm trying to defend myself!"  I stopped talking and put my head in my hands.  His sweatshirt still smelled like him and it absorbed the tears that were running out of my eyes.

            She looked at me in shock that I had blown up like that.  "You will NEVER speak to me like that again.  Do you understand me?"

            I sat there quiet again, ignoring her.

            She reached over and grabbed my arm, forcing me to look at her.  "I said do you understand me!"

            "Yes!" I screamed with tears running down my face.  She let go of my arm, giving me the chance to walk out of the room.  So I did.  I took off down the hall.

            "Where are you going?!"  She screamed from her room.  I heard her mumble something and then heard her feet stomping down the hall toward me.

            I opened the front door and ran outside, letting the screen door slam back into its natural position.  My mom came out on the front porch and started screaming.  "Heather!  Get back here young lady!"  She realized that she was standing out there in nothing but her bathrobe and angrily went back inside.  The last thing I heard from her was the front door slamming shut.  I pulled my phone out, which was luckily still in the pocket of the sweatshirt, and texted Ben.

            [Got in a fight with mom. Can I come over?]

            I walked down the street toward his house, not bothering to get a reply first.