Chapter 45
A/N First and Second heartbreak
Fall was quickly turning into winter. The days were getting shorter and colder. Lizzie was at her desk working on her math, when her Mom came into her room.
"Lizzie, I need to talk to you about something. I had lunch with Sam today and she told me something that is going to be sad and upsetting for you. Frank has been offered a job back in Colorado and they are moving after Christmas while Isabelle is out for Christmas break."
Lizzie looked at her Mom and tried to take in and understand the words she was saying. "Izzy is moving away?" she asked.
"I am afraid so sweetheart. Her Dad just could not turn down this opportunity. It is a good paying job with lots of room for advancement for him. I know this is sad for you," her Mom said. Suzanne stood up and walked over to her pulling her into a hug.
Tears had been threatening in her eyes and once her Mom pulled her in for a hug, the dam broke and she broke down. How could she go on without her best friend? They had been together since kindergarten. Her life was over. She continued to cry uncontrollably.
Suzanne had told Benjamin what was going on. He came home from work and climbed the stairs in search of Lizzie. He heard her crying from her room before he reached it. He walked in and found her in Suzanne's arms crying and inconsolable. He walked over and picked her up and placed her in his lap. She tightened her hold on him and continued to cry.
"Shh, baby girl. I got you. Cry it out," he said as he ran a comforting hand down her hair and back.
Her tears finally subsided and she pulled back to look at her Daddy. "Daddy, I am so sad. Izzy is my best friend. She can't leave me. What will I do without her?"
"I know you are sad baby, it is all a part of growing up. Friends will come and go from your life. You can call and write to each other and maybe we can go visit in the summer," he told her. His heart was breaking for her too. This would be a hard transition for her and he hoped he could be there to help take away some of the pain.
"Can I go over and see Izzy?" she asked as she wiped her tears away.
"Let me go call Sam and I will let you know," Suzanne said as she stood and walked over to the phone.
She hung up and walked back over. "Sam said that we could come over. Let me go get your brother. Clean your face and we will meet you downstairs in a few minutes."
Benjamin and Suzanne walked down the stairs hand in hand. "Will put your game away, we are going over to the Barnes's house," she told Will.
"Mom, why are we going over there? I don't want to go, I just want to play my game," Will whined.
"Will, do as your Mother asked," Benjamin said sternly. Will's defiance and unwillingness had been getting worse since he was about to hit his teens and it was really testing Benjamin's patience.
"Fine," he huffed, as he shut down his game and stomped over to put on his shoes. "Don't know why I have to go, it is not like there is anything for me to do over there."
Benjamin rolled his eyes and controlled his breathing. He looked over at Suzanne who gave him an understanding look. Benjamin had been a teenage boy, but had been a very well behaved one. He wasn't sure if the issue was jealousy with Lizzie or something else. He and his sister were 7 years apart, so he had not experienced some of the same things that he thought Will was.
They arrived at Frank and Sam's. Lizzie bolted out of the car and up the stairs to Izzy's room. She was lying on her bed crying. Her parents had told her about the move when she got home from school earlier.
Lizzie ran in and joined her on the bed and both girls started crying more. Their tears were not stopping anytime soon.
Downstairs, the parents were sitting at the dining room table. "This is going to be tough on both of them," Sam said.
"Yes it will. We have some rough days ahead of us. Is there anything we can do to help you with the move?" Benjamin asked.
"I am not sure yet, we still have a couple of months. The owner has a house available for us, so at least that part will be easy. The girls will be the most difficult part of this. That and not getting to see you guys too," Sam said.
"We will just have to be as supportive as we can with them. Since neither has any real extra curricular activities in the fall, seeing each other more will be easier," Suzanne said.
The girls finally were able to get themselves and their tears under control. They walked down the stairs to find their parents. Will was sitting on the couch watching tv. He had heard the conversation from the kitchen and felt bad for throwing his fit earlier. He knew his sister would be heartbroken about Izzy leaving. He decided he would do what he could to not make her any sadder than she already was.
Days turned into weeks. Halloween and Thanksgiving came and went. They were 2 weeks from Christmas. Both families were making a big effort to put the move out of everyone's mind and on the back burner. They were all determined to make the holiday a festive one.
Benjamin had Billy hook up the wagon. He was going to take everyone on a snowy trail ride. Everyone bundled up in extra blankets. Suzanne had made hot cocoa for them. They rode around the farm singing Christmas Carols and just enjoying the day together.
Christmas was a fun and joyous affair. Everyone had a wonderful time and enjoyed spending time with each other.
Two weeks later, they were all gathered at Frank and Sam's place. All their belongings had been loaded in the moving truck. Izzy and Lizzie were hiding out in the barn. They figured if their parents couldn't find them then they couldn't be separated.
Benjamin and Suzanne had watched them walk off with their arms around each other. The horses had been moved to the barn at the main house a few days ago, so they were not sure why the girls were heading there.
The girls were sitting on hay bales in the loft, when Benjamin found them. They were laughing between their tears and hugging each other. He stepped up the last step and walked over to them.
"Time to go girls," he told them.
They looked at each other and hugged one more time. They all slowly walked out to where the others were and hugged everyone as they loaded into the vehicles.
Lizzie was standing with her Mom's arm around her as she watched her best friend drive away. She turned into her Mom and let her tears come. Her life would never be the same.
January rolled around and school started back up. Lizzie and Christopher had been on several more dates since the movies. Her Dad had finally agreed on their last date to let him pick her up. It was a daytime date. They were going to go skating with a bunch of other kids. They were starting to get serious and he asked her to be his girlfriend,
Spring break rolled around and Benjamin and Suzanne had decided to take the kids to Disney. The Thursday before classes were dismissed, Christopher had asked Lizzie to meet him after school by the football field.
Lizzie walked over to where he was sitting and he didn't stand up, he just stayed sitting. He looked over at her and had a sad look on his face. "Lizzie, I have enjoyed going out with you and I am sad about doing this. I just don't want to hurt you or anything. I think we need to stop seeing each other. It has nothing to do with you. I really need to concentrate on my football. I want to go to college and play and I am spending too much time thinking about you and not enough time training. I am sorry. Please understand and don't be mad or upset."
She didn't say anything, just stood up and walked away from him. She had a math club session that afternoon after school and walked towards the classroom it was held in. She was numb and didn't know how to feel. She was starting to really fall hard for Christopher, so him breaking up with her today was the last thing she expected. She sat down on a bench in the quad area and stared straight ahead. She wasn't sure how long she sat there until Suzanne, touching her arm, brought her around.
"Lizzie, what is wrong? I went to your classroom and one of the other kids told me you didn't show up today," Suzanne asked.
Lizzie turned to her Mom with tears in her eyes. "Christopher broke up with me,"
"Oh, baby I am so sorry. What happened?" Suzanne asked as she pulled her to her.
"He said he wanted to spend more time training so he could go to college to play football. Mom I don't understand. Why would he need to break up with me to do that?" Lizzie asked with tears streaming down her face.
Suzanne rubbed her back and said, "I don't know honey. Let's get you home."
The whole drive home, silent tears ran down her face. She sat looking out the window the entire drive. Suzanne pulled into the garage and touched her arm. Lizzie jerked and looked towards her Mom. She had not even realized they were home. She slowly opened the car door and walked towards the house. Once she reached the foyer, she took off for her room.
Suzanne walked in and straight to Benjamin's office to tell him. He looked up when she walked in and he could tell by her face something was wrong. He stood and walked over to her, taking her in his arms.
She threw her arms around him and snuggled into his embrace. She finally tipped her head back and looked at him. "Christopher broke up with Lizzie today,"
Confusion crossed his face as he tried to understand what she was telling him. He could not imagine what had caused it and he wanted to take her pain away. "Why?"
"Something about him needing more time to train so he could play college ball. I am not buying that. He is just a sophomore; he has plenty of time for that. There has to be something else going on," Suzanne said.
Benjamin was not buying it either and he was going to get to the bottom of it. In the meantime, their daughter was heartbroken and needed them.
They walked up the stairs and found her sobbing on her bed. They pulled her up and both hugged her as she cried.
Benjamin left Suzanne with Lizzie to help her cry it out and he walked down to start dinner. Will walked in and asked him what was going on.
"Christopher broke up with your sister today and she is taking it hard. Let's try and give her some space and sympathy," he said looking at him.
Will was the first one to pick on and tease his sister, but he would not let it stand if someone hurt her. He was ready to rip Christopher a new one, but that would have to wait until tomorrow. He would do what he could to help her.
They were leaving for Florida the next day, so everyone spent the evening packing and getting ready. Lizzie was heartbroken, but was determined to not let it affect their next day she put on a happy face and joined them to begin a fun adventure.
During the day they had a wonderful time and Lizzie truly threw herself into it determined to put Christopher out of her mind and enjoy herself. She only let herself think about him at night when she was alone in her bed. She would silently cry as to not alert Will to what was going on.
Will heard her crying even though she covered it well. He would confront Christopher about breaking his sister's heart when they got home. He just needed to come up with a plan on how he was going to do it.
The Tuesday after their spring break trip, Will had a tutoring session after school. He talked to his tutor and told her that he needed to go meet with his science teacher who was going to help him with his project. She agreed and let him out of his session. Will snuck over to the football field to confront Christopher. He turned the corner and what he saw brought even more rage to him. Christopher was under the stands kissing Clare Turner. So it wasn't extra training, it was another girl. Will walked up to them and pulled them apart . He rared back with all he had and punched Christopher in the face as hard as he could. He connected with his nose and blood went flying. Clare ran off and Christopher stood there clutching his nose.
"You piece of crap, that is for my sister. You are a sorry excuse for a human being and I will make sure everyone knows. Stay away from her," Will spat as he walked away.
He was sitting on the bench waiting for his Dad to pick him up. He was rubbing his hand and realized it was swelling and throbbing severely. He wasn't sure what he was going to tell his parents when they found out and they would definitely find out. Charlottesville was a small town and it would not go unnoticed when the star football player turned up with a broken nose.
Benjamin drove up and was waiting on Will to get in the car. He had received a call from Jeff Smith just before leaving his office ranting about Will attacking Christopher. Will got in and Benjamin turned to face him.
"Want to tell me what happened with Christopher today, Son?" he asked.
"Dad, I honestly just went to talk to him about why he really broke up with Lizzie. When I got to the football field, I saw him making out with Clare Turner. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Lizzie deserved better. I just lost it and punched him," Will told him.
"Well apparently you have a pretty good right hook, because you broke his nose. Mr. Smith is threatening to press assault charges. We are headed over there now to try and calm this down. I understand your reason for doing it, just not your method. How is your hand, it looks swollen?" Benjamin asked him as he picked up his hand to examine it.
"It hurts really bad. I think it might be broken," Will said, wincing as Benjamin pressed on his knuckle.
"Ok, let's go get it checked out and then go talk to the Smith's," Benjamin told him.
Will was checked out and had a boxer's break. He was put in a cast. They left the hospital and headed to talk to the Smith's. Benjamin had called Suzanne from the hospital and told her what all had happened.
Arriving at the Smith's house, Benjamin warned Will to keep his temper in check. Jeff answered the door and invited them in. "Benjamin, since we talked earlier, Christopher has told us everything that happened today. I am not happy that my son has a broken nose, but I understand why Will did what he did. If some guy had done that to my sister, I am not sure I would have not stopped at just a broken nose. Christopher will apologize to Lizzie and will not be happy to be without his car for the next two months. I am so sorry about everything that has happened. I thought his mother and I had raised him to respect girls better. Guess we still have some work to do on that issue. Please accept my sincere apology," Jeff said. He stuck his hand out to shake Benjamin's hand.
"Apology accepted, Will you need to apologize for your actions also," Benjamin said, turning to him.
"I am sorry, I was just upset when I saw him with Clare," Will said with his head ducked.
"I am sorry too, that was not nice of me to do that to Lizzie. She deserved better from me and I will apologize to her." Christopher said as he walked into the room.
Benjamin looked at him and felt the same anger Will had, but he decided that Will had doled out enough punishment. He was also sure that Jeff would make his punishment felt deeply, so he didn't need to pile on.
Benjamin and Will made the drive home and once they got home, Suzanne met them and pulled Will into a hug. She reached down and looked at his plaster covered hand and placed her hand on his cheek and kissed his forehead. She tilted her head and he walked up to his room.
Suzanne walked over and poured them both a scotch. It had been a long emotional day. They both needed a release and to discuss what Will's punishment for his actions would be.
Benjamin leaned back on the couch and Suzanne snuggled into his chest. Silence overcame them as both of their heads had thoughts swirling through them.
"What are we going to do about Will? Not only did he attack someone he lied to his tutor about missing his session. We can not let him get away with that. He will think we are condoning his behavior?"
"I am not sure, the punishment needs to fit the crime. On one hand, I am kinda proud of him for taking up for his sister. He just did it in the wrong way. The lying is unforgivable. Let's sleep on it and talk about it more tomorrow. It has been a long day, let's go to bed," he said, as he rose and took her hand to help her up.
The next morning at breakfast Benjamin and Suzanne still had not decided on Will's punishment. Lizzie finished and went upstairs to gather her books.
"Will your mother and I are still discussing your punishment, so we want you to understand that your actions will not go unpunished. When we decide what that will be we will let you know. Another thing, don't celebrate your actions with your friends. I know how boys can be and you need to make them understand that your actions were wrong and not how issues should be handled. Do you understand, Son?" Benjamin asked.
Will had his head down the whole time Benjamin was talking. He raised his head and nodded.
Thursday afternoon, Billy and Benjamin were in his office going over the spring foaling numbers. Billy mentioned to Benjamin that he and the other hands were going to be moving all the hay, rotating it to get it ready for the new hay this summer. This gave Benjamin an idea. He would talk it over with Suzanne that evening.
Saturday morning at breakfast, Benjamin told Will what his punishment would be. One month of no video games and grounding. Straight home from school and no weekend activities. Also, he would be helping Billy and the other farm hands move all the hay. This would mean moving 40 pound bales and restacking them.
Will looked up with a shocked look on his face and started to protest, but after seeing the look on his Dad's face he decided to accept his punishment. He would be doing the majority of the work with his left hand since his right was in a cast.
Billy had assured Benjamin and Suzanne, he would not let Will aggravate his injured hand. He would however make sure he felt the full force of his punishment.
Sunday evening at dinner, Benjamin asked Will, "Did you learn a lesson about how actions have consequences?"
"Yes Sir. I understand that fists are not the way to resolve issues. Also to think before you let anger take you over. I assure you in the future that will be my actions," Will told him.
Benjamin was satisfied that the punishment fit the crime and that Will would not repeat it in the future.
Later that night Lizzie knocked on Will's door. "Come in, he called." She entered and sat down on the end of his bed.
"Will thank you for what you did for me. I am sorry that you got punished. No one has ever taken up for me like that and you were the last person I expected that from," Lizzie told him.
Will walked over and sat down and placed his arm around her shoulders. "I know that I can be a brat to you sometimes, but no one gets to hurt you and get away with it. I was just going to go talk to him but when I saw him with Clare I realized he had lied to you about why he broke up with you. You deserved the truth and my anger got the best of me. I am not sorry I broke his nose and maybe in the future that crooked nose will make him think twice before he does that again," Will giggled at her.
She laughed at him and returned the hug. They had never had a strong bond, but maybe Will's actions would change that.
Neither knew that their bond would be tested in the future.