Here we are! The sequel to Neighbors!
Please let me know what you think!
*Side note* There are going to be a lot of flashbacks in this story to clear up any questions that you may have, but fill free to PM me if you have any.
Enjoy!
"What are you doing?" Mal asked as she smiled at her iPad.
"I am doing the same thing you asked me when you first called," Ben said as he looked up from his notebook and smirked at Mal.
Mal scrunched her nose and chuckled. It had been almost three years since their high school graduation, almost four years since Ben found out she existed, and almost two years since Mal and Ben broke up. Distance really was harder than either of them had thought. Whenever Mal was free Ben wasn't, and whenever Ben was free Mal wasn't. They both didn't get a chance to go home for the summer because they were both busy with their school activities for the following semester. They both didn't want to break up, but they both didn't want to hold the other back from living life and having fun. Their breakup was rough, and it was rough because they loved each other so much.
"You think this is the best?" Ben asked as he started to get choked up.
"Ben, I love you," Mal said as she started to cry. "I don't want to break up, but I know that things are hard between us, and it's even harder because we don't even talk much."
"I love you too," he said as he started to let his tears fall.
He was glad that his roommate wasn't in the room, because he didn't want him to see him crying.
"Ben, I love you so much that this hurts," she said. "I feel like because you and I are trying to accommodate each other, we aren't getting to experience what college is like."
"I know what you mean," he said as he nodded his head. "I want you to have fun. I want you to go out with your friends. And I want you to achieve your dreams," he said. "I don't want to break up, but I know one thing," he said, making Mal look at her screen. "If you love something, let it go. And if it was meant to be yours, it will come back to you."
Mal started to cry now. She loved Ben so much and never thought that anyone could love her like Ben does.
"I love you," he said. "I will always love you, and like I promised, you are never getting rid of me because you are my best friend," he said, making Mal sniffle a laugh. "I am going to call you whenever I can, I am still going to tune in to watch your performances, and I am always going to be there for you."
"I love you too," she said as she gave him a sad and small smile. "I will always love you."
Both of their hearts were broken after their breakup, that they didn't call each other for three months. In those three months they had each wanted to call each other, but knew that if they did, they would beg for the other back. They would text here and there, because they couldn't hear each other over text. They kept it that way for a while, until something terrible happened that would rock both of their worlds. It was about three in the morning, and Mal was asleep in her dorm room when her phone went off on the side of her bed. She looked at it to see Ben calling her, and she froze. Her heart began to pound in her chest and she didn't know what to do. The picture of them from the summer after graduation went away, and a couple of seconds later he called again. She took a deep breath before putting the phone up to her ear and answering.
"Hello," she said.
"MAL!" Ben yelled, making her jump at the tone of his voice.
"What? What's wrong?" She asked in a panic.
He sounded scared, and almost like he was crying. Mal's heart started to pound faster in her chest, not knowing what was going on.
"Mal, it's Rosie," he said, and Mal could tell now that he was crying.
He was frantic, and she couldn't understand what he was saying.
"Ben, listen to me," she said as she sat up straight on her bed. "Calm down and tell me what is wrong. What is wrong with Rosie?"
She heard him sniffle, and she could tell that he was driving now. Where was he going?
"She's in the hospital," he said as his voice started to crack. "Your mom called me and told me that, my dad, your dad, and Hadie were on their way to the hospital."
"What?" She asked in shock. Why hadn't they called her? She asked herself. "How long ago did she call?"
"I don't know," he said. "Maybe five hours."
"Are you driving home?" She asked, now realizing why he was driving.
"Yes," he said. "I have to go see her. I have to know what is going on."
"Ben, that is a twelve hour drive, and it's late," she said. "How far are you from me?" She asked.
"I don't know. Maybe three to two and a half hours," he told her.
"Come and get me," she said. "I'm going to get ready, pack a bag, and we can go together," she said.
"Okay," he said. He was kind of relieved that she told him to pick her up, because maybe she would try to calm him down, but he knew how close she and Rosie were too. "I'm going to hurry," he said. "Just send me your location, and I'll call you when I am ten minutes away."
"Okay, but you are staying on the phone with me," she said. "I want to make sure that you are okay and you get here safe."
After about an hour, Ben had calmed down a little bit, but he was still a nervous wreck and so was Mal. Mal's roommate walked in and saw her packing, and grew confused until Mal explained what was going on. Her roommate, Victoria, helped her pack and by the time they were done, and ready, it had been another hour.
"I'm going to be pulling up in about 15 minutes," Ben said.
"Okay," Mal said as she grabbed her purse and bag. "I'll meet you down in front."
"Okay," he said before the line cut, ending the call.
"So, it was nice to hear you talking with Ben again," Victoria said as she picked up Mal's other bag and handed it to her. "He sounds excited, but nervous."
"He sounds panicked and scared," Mal said as she walked to the door. "And so am I."
"I am just saying that I hope you guys get to talking again," she said.
"I just hope we can get to the hospital when visiting hours are open," she said as she walked out of their room. "With the way either of us are going to be driving, I don't doubt it though."
"Just drive safe," Victoria said as they walked out to the front of their dormitory.
There was a loud screech, making Mal and Victoria look to see Ben brake hard in front of the dormitory, before hopping out of the driver's seat and running to Mal. He wrapped his arms tightly around her, shocking her in the process, and he started to cry.
"Hey," she said as she wrapped her arms around his back. "Hey, look at me."
Ben pulled back to look at her with hot cheeks and puffy red eyes.
"I am sure everything is going to be fine," she said as she put a hand to his cheek and started to wipe his tears away. "We're going to go and we'll see her when we get there."
"I'm scared," he said. "I asked what had happened, and no one would tell me."
"We'll try to call Hadie in the car," she said. "Now give me your keys, I'm going to drive."
He nodded his head, before he gave her his keys and wiped his eyes. He grabbed one of her bags, he gave her roommate a weak smile before walking to his Jeep. Mal put her other bags in the back, before hopping in the driver's seat.
"Can either of you text me from Mal's phone when you get there?" Victoria asked as she walked up to the passenger door. "I just want to make sure you both got there okay."
Both Ben and Mal nodded before Mal sped off, leaving her school behind. Fifteen minutes into the drive, Ben started to sniffle, making Mal turn to peek at him. He had his head in his hands, and she could tell that he was really scared. She reached for one of his hands and laced it through her fingers and gave it a light squeeze. He looked at her with his puffy eyes and smiled. He was thankful that Mal had told him to pick her up, because he didn't know how he would do this without her. The rest of the drive was quiet, neither knowing what to say or think, but they kept their thoughts on Rosie and making sure that they got home so they could see her. They reached the hospital at seven in the morning, and quickly saw Hadie and Haden walking into the hospital.
"Dad!" Mal yelled as she and Ben ran toward them.
"Mal? Ben?" He asked in confusion as Mal wrapped her arms around his neck. "What are you doing here? How?"
"Why didn't you tell me that Rosie was in the hospital?" She asked.
"We didn't want you to be stressed before your performance next week," he said as she looked down at his daughter. "We didn't know how bad this was, but…"
"What?" Ben and Mal asked at the same time.
"What happened? Where is she? What's going on?" Ben asked as he started to panic.
"Come on," Hadie said as he patted Ben on the back. "Let's go upstairs and see your family, and they'll tell you what's going on."
Ben and Hadie walked away, leaving Mal and her dad standing outside.
"What's going on?" Mal asked. "I don't care about my stupid performance. Rosie matters more."
"We're sorry," he said. "We didn't know how sick she was."
"What do you mean she's sick?" Mal asked as tears started to gather in her eyes.
"Yesterday, Belle went to get her for lunch and she passed out on the floor of her room," Haden said and he was now getting choked up. "Your mom and Belle rushed her to the hospital, and Adam and I rushed over when they called. When we got here they told us that her stomach was hard and then they ran a bunch of tests on her," he said as Mal's mind was running a hundred miles an hour. "After her test results came back, the doctor asked if she had been acting weird, like not eating, if she was tired more, if she was getting dizzy. Which she was, but we didn't think anything of it because she is growing and I remember you lost your appetite when you were younger a couple of times," he said before he paused. "Mally, they told us that Rosie has leukemia."
Mal froze, and almost fell when the words left her dad's lips. She didn't understand why something could happen to someone so amazing.
"Come on," Haden said as he held Mal up. "We need to be strong for her. She is doing better since last night."
"Why would this happen to her?" Mal said as she started to cry. "She is the sweetest girl ever, and would do anything to make anyone happy."
"I know," he said as he kissed the top of her head. "Come on, let's go up and see her. I bet that she will be so excited to see you."
Mal slowly nodded her head, before she leaned onto her dad for support. They walked into the hospital, rode up the elevator, and up to the peds unit of the hospital. He led her down a hallway and then she heard a familiar and faint giggle coming from behind a closed curtain. Her dad slowly walked around the curtain, and she followed, to see Rosie smiling at Ben as he held her hands. Belle and Adam were standing behind Ben, while Hadie and Seph were standing on the other side of her bed. Ben looked up to see Mal standing next to her dad, and he nudged his head to Rosie, making her turn around and smile brightly.
"Mally!" She exclaimed as she held her hands up. Mal sat on the bed and pulled the now seven year old into her arms. "You're here!"
"Of course I am," Mal said as she pulled away and cupped Rosie's face. She then noticed how pale she looked, and how sleepy her eyes were. "Ben and I came running when we heard you were sick."
"Really?" She asked as she looked between Ben and Mal.
"Of course," Ben said as he squeezed her hand.
"Did you think we were going to stay at school, while our favorite person was in the hospital?" Mal said as she smiled at Rosie.
Hadie cleared his throat, making Ben and Mal look at him.
"Yes?" Mal said as she looked at her brother.
"Um, I'm right here," he said as he gestured to himself.
"Yes," Ben said. "We know. Did we say something wrong?"
Hadie put his fist against his chest, and circled it around like he was wounded. He fell on the bed, making Rosie laugh as she flopped on his stomach, but groaned because she was sore. This was going to be a battle for her, but everyone knew that they were going to be there for her every step of the way.
"Why do you have your hood on?" Ben asked, breaking Mal out of her thoughts.
"Huh?" She asked as she put her hand up to her head. "My hood?"
"Yeah," he said. "Why do you have it on?"
"Oh," she said. "I… um… I ch… I changed my hair," she stuttered.
She hated it. She hated her hair, and didn't know why she changed it. Well, she knew why, but she still hated it.
"Let me see it," he said as he focused on the screen.
"No," she said as she shook her head. "No way."
"Come on," he said as he smiled. "You know you can trust me."
"I know I can, but I hate it," she groaned.
"How can you…" but he stopped when Mal took her hood off and she showed her now bleach blonde hair. "I see."
"You see," she groaned as she threw her hood back on and pulled on the strings to cover her whole head. "I look horrible."
"You do not look horrible," he said. "You are always going to be gorgeous. I just didn't expect you to dye your hair blonde."
"I look like…"
"Beautiful," he said, cutting her off. "Purple hair, red hair, blue hair, or no hair," he said, making her laugh. "You are beautiful in every way, and you can try to tell me differently, but I may have to come and fight you."
"That would be an easy win for me," she said as she scrunched her nose at him. "You would never hurt me, and you would let me win."
Ben chuckled before nodding his head in agreement. He would never hurt her. He did, and still does, love her so much.
"How are things going with Hannah?" Mal asked, trying to change the subject.
"They were, but I ended them," he said, making Mal look at him with furrowed eyebrows.
"Why?" She asked.
He wanted to say his real answer, but he didn't know what kind of response he was going to get.
"We just weren't comparable," he said as he shrugged his shoulders.
"I see," Mal said. She knew Ben had been on dates, and he even though other girls were pretty, but he never had another girlfriend after her. She didn't want to pry in why, because she thought she knew why, and because she was afraid of his answer. But, she also knew that he, and she, were always calling home to talk with Rosie and their families. "Have you called home?" She asked.
"Yes," he said. "I called yesterday, and Rosie is doing fantastic," he told her, making her smile brightly. "And she said that she cannot wait for you to perform so that she can watch it from home."
Since everything happened with Rosie she had gone through over two and a half years of chemotherapy. It was so hard for everyone to watch her go through all of that, but it was helping her, and she was getting better.
"I'm excited," she said as she gave him a small smile.
The show that the performance arts program of her college was going to be about growth. Mal had written a special song for it, and it was going to be the last song they played of the night.
"And as always," Ben said, breaking Mal out of her thoughts again. "I'm going to be watching from here."
Mal laughed as she shook her head. She knew that her family and friends couldn't travel to see her perform, but it meant the world for them to tune in and watch it live.
"I hope you guys like it," she said.
"Do we ever hate it?" He asked.
"I don't know," she said with a shrug. "You guys could just be being nice."
"Mal, I wouldn't have my roommate leave so that there wouldn't be any noise in the room, if we didn't love it."
"Yeah, about that," she said as she pointed at the screen. "Stop kicking him out of the room, that's not nice."
"Well, when he learns to be quiet when I am listening to my favorite artist," he said, making Mal roll her eyes. "He may stay."
She shook her head and laughed. "Are you excited to be going home in two week?" She asked.
"I am," he said as he stretched his arms up. "We moved baseball training to fall, so I am free the entire summer, and I finally get to be home for Rosie's birthday."
"I know," she said with a big smile. "I was talking to her last week, and she said she wanted an Alice in Wonderland themed party."
"That sounds fun," he said. "And I am assuming she is going to want us to dress up."
"You got it," Mal said with a laugh. "Welcome to the birthday parties of Rosie Anderson."
Ben laughed before he sighed and looked back at the screen. "You're still wanting me to pick you up on my way home right?" He asked. "I just want to make sure before I just throw my bags in the back and not organize it."
"Yes," Mal said as she nodded her head. "I am going to go with you."
Ben's smile grew wider when he heard her say that. This was going to be the first summer since they graduated that they were going to be together, and they were so excited.
"It's going to be a good summer," he said.
"Yeah! I know," she said in excitement. "I can't wait to see everyone!"
"Same," he said as he rubbed the back of his neck. "You're going to be home for the whole summer right?" He asked.
"Yep," she said as she nodded her head. "And I am hoping my best friend will give me a ride back so I won't have to drive back alone," she said as she gave him a pouty lip.
"Yes," he said as he laughed. "I will give you a ride back."
"Thank you," she said with a cheeky smile.
"Eh, don't mention it," he said as he waved his hand at her. "You're not that bad of company."
"I take that as a compliment," she told him as she held her hand up.
"So… you're going to be away from Ryan for the entire summer?" He asked.
Ryan was Mal's boyfriend, or what he would call himself to be. They had started talking a year after Ben and Mal's breakup, and he was very persistent in taking her out on a date. She wasn't interested in him in the slightest, but he would push and push. He even tricked her into going on their first date. He had said that it was a group thing, but when she arrived he was alone at a restaurant.
"He isn't a fan of it, but he's going to have to get over it," Mal said as she moved a piece of hair behind her ear.
"What's wrong?" He asked, noticing that she seemed off now.
She shook her head and sighed before she looked at the screen. "I'm fine," she said.
"Tell me one more time, and I still won't believe you," he said as he focused on her. "Come on, Mal. You can tell me anything."
Mal closed her eyes and held her breath. She was about to tell Ben what was wrong, but there was a knock on Mal's door.
"That's actually Ryan right now," she said as she wiped the tear that fell down her cheek. "Can I call you later, after he leaves?"
"Of course," he said. "Call me whenever you can. Love you."
"I love you too," she said before she ended the call and put her tablet under her pillow.
She walked out the door, and opened it to see Ryan standing there with his arms crossed over his chest.
"What took you so long?" He asked as he walked inside.
"I was talking to someone," she said as she closed the door.
"Let me guess," he said as he pulled her tablet out from under her pillow and unlocked it. "You were talking to lover boy." He opened her recent calls and saw Ben's name on the top. "Don't you think it's a little pathetic that he isn't over you yet?" He asked, but Mal didn't answer. "I bet you didn't even tell him that we are engaged."
"Why would I tell him that, when I didn't give you an answer?" She asked as she looked up at him and took her tablet out of his hands.
"Well, you act like you're going to say no," he said as she turned away from him to put her stuff in her backpack.
"I didn't give you an answer," she said again.
She didn't want to say yes, because she didn't know how Ben felt. Ryan may think that Ben isn't over her, but Mal didn't know that. She would break up with Ryan right now if she knew Ben felt the same way she still does, but she was afraid of him.
"Earth to Mal," Ryan said as she shook her head. "What's wrong with you?"
"I just have a lot on my mind, okay," she said. "I have so much to do before I leave in two weeks."
"You're really going?" He asked in confusion. "I thought we talked about you staying here."
"No," she said as she threw her backpack over her shoulder. "You yelled at me, telling me that I was not going. And if I recall, I said that I was going."
"Well, are you going to tell your parents about us?" He asked. "And that we are getting married."
"I still haven't given you an answer, Ryan," she said as she turned to look at him.
"Well, when are you going to?" He asked as he threw his hands out. "I gave you a ring. I asked you. And yet I don't get an answer."
"Yeah," she said as she nodded her head. "I know," she said as she turned away from him and toward the door.
"You know you love me," he said. "What is so wrong with giving me a fucking answer?" He asked as he pulled her backpack off her back.
She turned to glare at him, before he threw her bag on the floor.
"I want an answer!"
"And I am in a rush!" She yelled up at him. "If you want a fucking answer, then you are going to have to fucking wait," she said as she picked up her bag. "I have things to do and I have to get ready to go home!"
"You're not going!" He yelled back.
"Watch me," she said as she turned and walked out of her room.
She left for her rehearsal, not wanting to deal with Ryan. She knew he was going to keep bugging her until she left, but maybe if she asked Tony if she could stay at his apartment for the next two weeks, she could hide from him there. Tony hated Ryan anyway, she knew he wouldn't have a problem with it. She just couldn't wait to be away from him for the summer, and she was hoping that spending the summer with her family, friends, Rosie, and Ben would help her decide which way to go. Or maybe a certain someone.
Until next time my Lovies! xoxo GM