Chapter 2!
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Now that it's over
I just wanna hold her
I'd give up all the world to see
That little piece of heaven looking back at me
Now that it's over
I just wanna hold her
I've gotta live with the choices I made
And I can't live with myself today
-"Lucy" by Skillet
I met Elizabeth on my way home from the restaurant where I was waiting tables.
I was texting Tucker on my phone (he was currently in Las Vegas) when suddenly, someone rammed into me, causing my coat, which was slung over my shoulder, to flutter to the ground, along with the numerous papers the person was holding.
"I am so sorry," I rushed to say as I knelt down to gather the papers (important looking papers, I might add).
A giggle sounded, and the person- definitely a girl- handed me my jacket.
"No problem. I wasn't looking where I was going either," she said as we stood, and I handed her the papers.
I glanced up from the concrete and finally got a good look at the girl.
She was around my age, which was just under twenty at the time, and had curly hair that fell somewhere between bright red and dark brown; it was a unique shade that intrigued me, as did the rest of her appearance. She was a bit on the pudgy side, but she was far from fat, and she had pale skin covered with freckles. Green eyes peered at me over the edge of her oval shaped, iron rimmed spectacles. She wore a Green day T-shirt and jeans speckled with paint; at first glance, her appearance made her look younger than she was, but upon further inspection, you could see that she was in her twenties, and it was the free spirited aura surrounding her that truly made her seem younger.
"I'm Ben," I greeted, shaking her hand (it was a bit calloused, but it was more like the hand of someone that held onto a pencil often, causing the wood to make their skin feel rougher, than the hands of someone that did a lot of physical labor, like mine when I used to do construction). "Ben Wheeler."
"Elizabeth Sheridan," she responded. "I know you. You work at the little restaurant on the corner, the one that does karaoke and plays old timey music. I go there all the time!"
"That's why you look familiar!" I exclaimed. "You're in there almost everyday. I think I waited your table a few times."
She nodded. "Yeah. I thought you were cute, but I could never tell because you were always running around. Now that I'm getting a better look… I was right."
Ben Wheeler was not one to blush, but I felt my face heat up at her compliment.
"Thanks," I said, trying to force the crimson color to seep back out of my skin. "You're pretty cute, yourself."
If there was one thing I knew about Elizabeth right off the bat, she was not one to beat around the bush. She jotted something down on a notepad and handed it to me.
"Call me some time," she suggested before continuing on her way.
I'm pretty sure I stood there blinking at the wall beside me for ten minutes before my feet decided to move, and I continued walking with a bounce in my step.
Even back then, I was always the one night stand kind of guy, but I could see myself having a relationship with Elizabeth. I'd only truly known her for all of two, maybe three, minutes, but there was something about her, and I found myself wanting to get to know her better.
From the first date, Elizabeth and I hit it off. We would go on multiple dates a week, some of which weren't even dates. They were just us getting together, talking, walking, having fun, even something as simple as listening to music on a bench in the park. It wasn't love at first sight or a fairytale love; in my eyes, it was even better. We slept together after nearly two months of dating, and the following day, it wasn't awkward, like one night stands were. Neither of us slipped out before the other awoke; neither of us regretted it. In fact, nothing really changed after that.
Until two weeks later…
I opened and closed my mouth like a fish, and I could feel the fog in my brain slowly starting to clear away as the news set in.
"Pregnant," I repeated. "You're…"
"Pregnant," she reiterated.
That's right. Ben Wheeler got a girl pregnant before Angela.
Most young couples with unplanned pregnancies would've either freaked out, stared at each other awkwardly for another half an hour, or vaguely tried to figure out a plan or a compromise or something, even though the planning stage would seem more like fumbling in the darkness.
Elizabeth and I did the exact opposite of most of those things.
A smile stretched across my face, and Elizabeth joined me with a grin of her own. I lifted her off her feet in an embrace, and we cheered so loudly, the neighbors came over to complain (some neighbors were more lenient when they discovered our reason for cheering while others simply grumbled and tried to put up with it for a few more minutes).
We were young. We had barely begun growing up. Neither of us were incredibly mature; neither of us had well paying jobs or lived in child-safe environments. We weren't what anyone would consider model parents.
Yet. We had nine months to figure everything out. We had nine months to learn how to be good parents, and Elizabeth and I knew we could do it.
I pulled away from Elizabeth and pulled out a notepad (Elizabeth seemed to have an unlimited amount of those). We began jotting down a plan; we were just throwing ideas out there and seeing how well they fit together, but my mother would certainly be proud. You know how she loves to have a plan.
I took Elizabeth's hand and touched my lips against her's. All my life, I'd been confused, irresponsible, acting before I think. I wasn't Danny, who at least knew what to do with his life. I was always the immature one that wouldn't get anywhere in life. My teachers, my ex girlfriends, even my own mother, will agree with that.
But when I was with Elizabeth… for the first time in my entire life, I felt like I could do something right.
It was an amazing feeling, but as a wise man once said, all good things must come to an end.
Thanks for reading chapter 2! Hope you're enjoying the story so far.