Hello again! Here's chapter 6! I told you i'd be updating pretty quick, right? :D Does anyone even read these author notes, or am I just talking to myself...
Anyway, a special thanks to Taylor Swan for favoriting the story and me as the author! You rock!
Well, enjoy chapter 6! And please review. If you feel like it :D
Chapter 6
At exactly 7:00, the taxi arrived and picked Ben up. A couple of guys he knew were staring at him when he got in the taxi. He didn't explain or even wave goodbye to them.
He barely remembered the ride to the airport, or his plane ride home for that matter- he stared out of the window the entire time. When he arrived at the airport in Afghanistan, he had used a pay phone to call his dad and ask him if he would pick him up in Wilmington. He said he would and they both avoided the subject of his mom. His dad sounded bad on the phone; he didn't ask any questions or try to engage in any conversation. He stuck to one word answers and their conversation lasted no more than twenty seconds.
While his plane landed in Wilmington, he walked through the gate and found his bag. He then walked through the terminal and immediately saw his dad standing off to the side. He walked over to him and they looked at each other for a minute. He put his bag down and his father hugged him. While he was hugged him, the tears started to come. When Ben started crying, his father started crying. They stood there for a minute, then Ben pulled away. They walked to the car in silence and their ride home was silent.
When they got home, Ben walked to his room and put his stuff down. He walked back into the living room and his dad was sitting on the edge of the couch. Ben sat down in the chair across from him. They sat together before Ben broke the silence,
"Dad, what happened to mom?" His dad sat there and Ben wondered if he had heard him, then his dad finally said,
"How much did your general tell you?" Ben shook his head,
"Nothing really. Just that she was in a car accident." His dad nodded and they sat in silence for a minute before his dad took a deep breath and started the story,
"Your mom found an old disposable camera in her room and she wanted to go and get the pictures developed. She wanted me to go with her but," He looked away and sighed,
"But I didn't go. She went to Wal-mart and I knew that she had been gone for too long. It never would have taken her two and a half hours to develop one pack of pictures. Especially since she gets the one-hour deal." He took a break, then started again,
"Anyway, the police called me and told me there was a accident involving your mom. I guess they found her cell phone and saw that I was listed as an emergency contact. They told me it was a pretty bad accident and that I should come immediately. She was on her way home and a drunk driver ran a red light and hit her." He swallowed and Ben could see tears starting to form in his eyes and Ben could feel them forming in his own eyes.
"When I got there, her car was up against the guard rail. I saw the police handcuffing a man and a paramedic came up and asked me if I was Mark Carter." His dad put his fist up to his mouth and squeezed his eyes shut. Ben sat up and put his arms on his knees and put his head down.
"I told them I was and I asked them where my wife was. They took me to an ambulance and told me that she died on impact."
His voice cracked on the last few words. They sat in silence and Ben felt tears fall down his cheeks. At first, they were tears of sadness, then, they turned to tears of anger. He clenched his teeth and got up and went to his room, leaving his father alone. He went to his room and slammed the door shut. He kicked his nightstand and a piece of paper fell off of it.
He picked it up and saw that it had Jeff's mom's number written on it. He debated whether or not he should call. He didn't want to have to go to two funerals on his leave. Eventually, he decided to call her- it would be rude not to when he promised her he would.
He walked into the living room to grab the phone and he saw his father wasn't in there anymore. Ben called his name and he didn't answer. He looked out of the window and saw that his dad's truck was missing. He started to worry but figured he needed some alone time-like Ben did. He grabbed the phone off of the receiver and walked back into his room. He dialed the number and sat on his bed.
He ended up talking to Jeff's mom for about five minutes. He told her that he was on leave and, against his first judgment, told her that his mother had died. She was, of course, very sorry and asked if she could do anything to help. He told her no and she said that she would call the funeral home and set the time and date for his funeral. They would be having it at Old Grove Church, just off of Highway 17. She told him she would call him back whenever she set the time and date.
He hung up the phone and laid down on his bed. He racked his brain for almost thirty minutes- Old Grove Church had sounded so familiar, but why? He laid there until he heard a car pull into the driveway. He got up and looked out of his window and saws that it was his father. He went and hung the phone back on the receiver as his dad walked in.
"Hey, dad, where did you go?" His dad hung up his jacket and keys,
" I went to the funeral home and set the day for your mom's funeral. I didn't know how long you were here for, so I went ahead and did the earliest date and time." Ben was surprised,
"Oh okay, when is it?"
"February 28th at 10:30." Ben nodded,
"Okay. Oh, and I'm home for two weeks."
"Okay." They stood there for a minute before his dad said,
"I love you, Ben." Ben somehow knew that he was saying it because he didn't get to say it to his mom before she died.
"I love you too, dad." His dad looked away and headed into his room and closed the door. Ben stood there for a minute before the phone rang. Ben went over and grabbed it,
"Hello?"
"Ben?" He recognized the woman as Mrs. Duvall.
"Yes ma'am?"
"Hi, I just wanted to call you and let you know that we set the date and time."
"Okay, when is it?"
"Well we did it at the earliest date possible. It's February 28th at 12:00." Ben shook his head and was about to tell her he couldn't do it that day. His mom's funeral was at 10:30 and there was no way he could leave her funeral and be at Jeff's at 12, but she continued,
"We tried to do it earlier in the day, but someone had just came in before I called and booked it at 10:30." Ben shook his head- no way could they have booked it on the same exact day at the same exact place.
"Mrs. Duvall can you hold on for a minute?" He asked.
"Sure."
He put down the phone and jogged down the hallway to his dad's room. He opened the door and poked his head in. His dad was sitting on his bed reading a magazine.
"Hey dad, can I ask you something?" His dad looked up and Ben could see tears in his eyes.
"Yeah, what is it?"
"Where did you book mom's funeral?" His dad put down his magazine,
"At a church called Old Grove; it's where your grandfather was buried. Your mom wanted to be buried next to him." His grandfather had been buried there- that's where he knew the place from. He shook his head in amazement,
"Okay." He closed the door and picked up the phone again,
"Mrs. Duvall?"
"Yes?" She answered.
"I'm back."
"Okay, so is that date okay?" He shook his head- he couldn't believe he would be going to both his mom's funeral and his best friend's funeral back-to-back, at the same place. He decided not to say anything though.
"Yeah, it sounds good. Thank you."
"You're welcome. I guess I'll see you in a couple of days, then."
"Alright, bye."
"Bye, Ben." He hung up the phone and his dad walked into the living room.
"Who where you talking to?" Ben turned towards him,
"Jeff's mom."
He told him the conversation he had just had and told him that his mom had booked Jeff's funeral right after his mom's funeral at the same exact place. His dad couldn't believe it.
"Wow. What are the odds, huh?" He asked, without expression. Ben looked at him,
"Are you okay, dad?" His dad nodded, avoiding eye contact.
"Yeah, I'm going to bed though, okay?"
"Alright, goodnight."
"Goodnight."
He walked back to his room and shut the door. Ben walked back ho his room and sat on his bed. He saw a photograph on his dresser that wasn't there when he left for Afghanistan. He looked at it and it was a picture of him and his mom. He saw a note with it. He picked it up and it was from his mother. What is going on? He thought. He opened it and started reading.
Dear Ben,
If you are reading this letter, you will have already been and returned from Afghanistan. I know I could have told you this face to face, but I feel that writing you a letter will let me tell you this without crying. You will probably have questions and I'll be waiting to answer them as best I can.
I want you to know that I love you so much and I always will. God blessed me with an amazing child and I thanked him for you every day of my life. You mean the world to me and your father and I just want you to know that.
Ben what I am about to tell you will be hard for you to handle. Know that I never meant to hurt you or your father. I'm asking you to keep what I'm going to tell you from your father. And I'm begging you to try and keep your emotions in check and don't do anything to your father because he loves you more than life itself. I was contemplating telling you this but I felt like you needed to know what has been going on. I'm so sorry for keeping this secret from you for so long.
Two years ago, while you were away, I went to the doctor because I was having really bad headaches. They did some tests and I found out that I had a brain tumor. I know I told you that they were only headaches when you asked and, thought it was true, there was much more to it.
I never told you because I didn't want you to worry about me. You're in the Air Force- you didn't need any extra pressure on you.
You're probably wondering why I decided to tell you now. I went to the doctor a couple of days ago while you were out with Jeff. They told me the tumor had gotten worse. They told me that I only had a couple of months to live and that I wouldn't see next February. So I decided to tell you now so you can ask me questions before it is too late. Please do not be angry with me or your father. I hope you understand why we didn't tell you. I'll be waiting to answer your questions. I love you so much.
Mom
When Ben finished the letter, tears were streaming down his face. He wanted to scream, punch something- anything. He balled up the letter and threw it on the floor. He put his head down and tears flowed for what seemed like forever. Why had she not told him earlier? He had so many questions like she knew he would. He couldn't ask her anything. He couldn't ask her any of the hundreds of questions he wanted answered.
He picked up the letter and straightened it out against his chest. He was mad, angry and, beyond that, he felt betrayed. He had been lied to for the past two years. He stormed down the hallway and was about to open the door and lash out at his father when he remembered what his mom said in the letter.
"I'm asking you to keep what I'm going to tell you from your father. And I'm begging you to try and keep your emotions in check and don't do anything to your father because he loves you more than life itself…"
He put his head against his father's door and took a deep breath. His blood was boiling and he wanted to bust down the door and demand answers from his father. But he didn't. One of his mom's final wishes was for him to not tell his dad. Why was that? He didn't know, and probably will never know, but he fulfilled her wish and walked back to his room.
He went to his room, locked his door and slammed it shut. He slammed the letter on his drawer and sat down on his bed with his arms on his knees. Why hadn't she told him before? Did she think he couldn't handle it? He couldn't believe they had both lied straight to his face for two years. He laid on his bed, a million things and questions running through his head. He eventually drifted off to sleep, with none of his questions answered.
:( I know, I know, I know. I know I said no more sad chapters, but I had originally had more to this chapter but it was getting longer so I reduced it down to this. The next chapter will be kind of short, i'm sorry. But the chapters after that will be much longer! And, since I broke my previous promise, i'll give you a little bit of information about upcoming chapters! They'll be alot more romance between Ben and Allison :D So please stay tuned! I don't wanna give too much away! See you next chapter! PEACE.
