Whoo sorry I didn't update yesterday guys... I was super super busy. And i've been busy today but I wanted to get this shizz up cause I know you're all excited about dis! Haha hope you enjoy!
Chapter 22
When he finally got home, he went inside. He heard the T.V. in the living room, but didn't bother going in there. He needed to be alone; to think everything over. He went to his room and put on a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt. Even though it was only 7:30, he crawled in his bed, mentally and physically tired from the day.
As he lay in his bed, he couldn't think about anything except for Allison. He was still in disbelief about what had happened and couldn't come to terms with the fact that it was over between them. He knew where she was coming from; she had perfect reason to be upset. He messed up and he knew it. But he knew that they could work it out; they were strong and, as a couple, he knew they could handle anything, even being apart from each other for eighteen months.
Somehow, he managed to fall asleep. When he woke up the next morning, he felt like he was waking up from a nightmare. When he realized the nightmare had been a reality, he sighed and immediately replayed their 'break-up' in his head. He lay there for a few more minutes before forcing himself to get up.
He didn't know what to do. He obviously wouldn't be spending the day with Allison and he didn't know if he should just laze around the house or try to go on as best as possible. He soon realized he didn't want do anything, for everything reminded him of Allison.
He walked into the living room and was surprised to find his father sitting on the couch. When he walked in, his dad smiled and Ben tried to do the same, but failed,
"What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be at work?"
"I took off; it's your last day before you have to leave so I figured I would stay home. Even though you're probably going to be with Allison, I still took off." He looked away, deciding if he really wanted to talk about it. He finally sighed, wishing that what he was about to say wasn't true.
"She umm… she broke it off." His dad's expression turned to shock,
"What?"
"Yeah, that's why I came home so early last night." He shook his head and he felt tears start to form in his eyes,
"I don't know what happened; everything was fine until I showed her that letter. Then it all went downhill and she started saying that she couldn't do it. I begged her to change her mind, but she wouldn't. I asked her if I could write to her…she said she thought it would be best if we don't talk at all."
"God, Ben, I don't even know what to say."
"I don't either. I love her so much; more than I've ever loved anyone. I don't know what to do; should I try to call her or go and see her? Maybe she's changed her mind.
"I wouldn't go see her, she's probably still in shock. But you can try to call her." He nodded,
"I think I will."
He waited an hour and a half before calling her. He decided that it had to be the longest hour and a half of his life. As he dialed the number to her house, he was filled with nerves. He took a deep breath as it was ringing and, after what felt like forever, her mom answered in a cheerful tone,
"Hello?"
"Hi, Mrs. Johnson." Her tone immediately changed when she heard his voice; it was now sad and deep,
"Oh, hi, Ben. How are you doing?"
"I'm good…actually I'm not doing too well. Do you think I could speak to Allison, please?" She didn't answer right away, then finally said,
"Oh, honey, she just stepped out to go for a walk." He sighed, getting the feeling that she was right there in the room, telling her mom to say that, but he played along anyway,
"Oh, okay, will you tell her when she comes in that I called?"
"I sure will."
"All right, thank you." They were silent for a minute, before she asked,
"How are you doing?"
"Not that great. I just don't get what happened; one minute we were saying how much we love each other and the next she's saying she wants to break it off. Do you have any idea what happened?"
"I honestly don't know, Ben. I tried to talk to her; it's not fair to you. But she told me the same thing she told you; she can't do it." He sighed, wishing more than anything that he could talk to her.
"All right, well thank you. Will you tell her I called?"
"I certainly will, I hope everything works out for you; you're a really good guy, Ben. Hopefully I'll get to talk to you again."
"Thank you. Good-bye Mrs. Johnson."
"Good-bye, Ben." He hung up the phone with tears in his eyes.
He stood by the phone for a couple of minutes before his dad wandered in to meet him. They stood together in silence for a minute before his dad asked,
"How did it go?"
He didn't answer right away; he was still going through the conversation in his head. She obviously hadn't changed her mind about the decision she had made and this realization almost killed him. He eventually turned to his father,
"She wouldn't take my call. Her mom answered and told me she had just stepped out for a walk." He said the last part though gritted teeth, knowing it wasn't true. His dad sighed,
"I'm sorry, Ben."
"I don't know what to do, she won't talk to me. I don't want to give up so easy but I don't know what else to do."
"To be honest, I don't think there is anything else you can do."
The rest of the day dragged on slowly. He tried to do different things but he realized that everything reminded him of Allison. So he stayed on the couch for most of the day, watching television with his father. They watched T.V. for almost five hours. At lunchtime, they took a break and he helped his father grill some chicken.
They ate their lunch in silence; their whole day so far had been silent. He wasn't up to talking about anything and, after a few attempts, his father left him and said no more. After they ate, they went back to the living room and spent the rest of the afternoon watching T.V. in silence.
His plane was scheduled to leave at 7:00. They planned on leaving at 6:00 and, at 5:30, he wondered into his room and packed his things. He packed everything up in his duffel bag; the air force provided everyone with one. He changed into his uniform and, when he was dressed, he sat down on his bed. He sighed and put his head in his hands.
He had thought non-stop about Allison; she had not returned his call. The phone rang once while they were watching T.V. and Ben hopped up as quickly as he ever had, only to hear a telemarketer asking for a donation. He had forced himself to not call her again; she had made her decision. No matter how much he wanted it to turn out different, he had to move on. He wandered back into the living room, where his father was sitting on the couch,
"You ready to go?" It was all Ben could do to swallow the lump in his throat and nod his head.
It took them about fifteen minutes to get to the airport. As they walked in, he realized that it was the first time he was at the airport without his mom standing beside him.
He missed his mom a lot. Now that she was gone, he realized how much she did around the house. Don't get him wrong, he thanked her every day for what she did. But he had never really realized all she did. He thought about her every day and regretted not telling her how much he appreciated what she did and how much he loved her.
They went inside and sat down in two of the rocking chairs in the lobby. They sat together for about fifteen minutes before he saw two people walking towards them. He smiled and stood up, shocked; Allison's parents were walking across the airport towards him. He was excited and surprised to see them, but he found himself looking over their shoulders to see if they had anyone else with them. He was sad to see that they were alone but, when they drew closer, her mom smiled and extended her arms toward him. He smiled again and hugged her,
"How are you doing, sweetheart?"
"I'm good, how about you?" They both smiled,
"We're good." He smiled and turned around,
"Dad, this is Eric and Rachel Johnson; Allison's parents."
His father stood up and her mom smiled and gave him a hug,
"It's nice to finally meet you, Mr. Carter."
"You, too, I've heard a lot of things about you all. And Allison's a wonderful girl, you should be proud."
"Thank you, as with Ben. He's a great guy and you should be proud, also."
They all sat down together and continued to talk. While they were talking, he looked at his watch and saw that it was 6:30; he decided he would head through the terminal at 6:50 to board his plane at 7:00. His eyes also kept wandering to the entrance of the airport. He knew she wouldn't be coming, but he couldn't stop his eyes from looking that way. Her mom broke his concentration,
"Are you okay, Ben?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. I still can't believe you both came though; how did you know when my plane was leaving?" The smile slowly faded from her mom's face as her dad said,
"Allison told us." He looked away and nodded. His heart started to ache and he was surprised at how much it hurt just hearing her name. He looked back at them and took a deep breath,
"How is she?"
"I honestly don't know, Ben. We've both tried to talk to her but she won't talk to us. She's been cooped up in her room ever since you left yesterday. She hasn't come out." He nodded and they were silent. He looked at his watch and saw that it was almost 6:50. His father saw him look at his watch,
"What time is it?"
"6:50."
"You should be getting going, huh?" As much as he didn't want to, he nodded,
"Yeah, my plane leaves at 7."
All four of them stood up and his eyes kept wandering to the entrance, hoping for a miracle. He turned to her father first and held out his hand,
"Thank you for coming, Mr. Johnson and thank you for letting me spend all of this time with Allison; it really has meant a lot."
"No problem, Ben, you're a good guy. Come back safely, okay?" He nodded and gave him a quick hug before turning to her mom and hugging her as well.
"You be safe out there, okay?"
"I will. He gave her another quick hug and his eyes were drawn to the entrance again He forced himself to look away and he turned towards his father and gave him a hug.
"Be careful, all right?"
"I will; are you going to be okay here while I'm gone?"
"Yeah, I'll be fine. I love you, Ben." He smiled and gave him another quick hug,
"I love you too, dad."
He pulled away and found his eyes being drawn to the entrance again. He stood there, stalling for time, hoping, once again, for a miracle. He couldn't help it and he glanced back and forth between his father, Allison's parents and the entrance. When he glanced again at the entrance, her mom followed his gaze and then looked back at him, sighing,
"She's not coming, Ben."
He looked at her and finally nodded, knowing she was right. He lent down and grabbed his bag and slung it over his shoulder. He said another quick good-bye to each of them and took a final look at the entrance before turning around and heading towards the gate. While he was walking, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his plane ticket. As he neared the terminal, he heard someone shout his name. He turned around and his heart skipped a beat. Running, full tilt, towards him was Allison.
She yelled his name again and it broke him free of the shock he was in. He dropped his bag and ran to her. When they got close, she jumped in his arms and Ben felt like he had been put together after being split in half for what seemed like forever. As soon as she jumped in his arms, she immediately started apologizing over and over,
"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry." He tightened his grip and held her tight, suddenly getting tears in his eyes. He held her off of the ground and she pulled back to look at him,
"I'm so sorry, Ben, please forgive me. I was so stupid to ever break up with you, I'm sorry."
"It's okay; don't be sorry, I'm the one who should be apologizing. I'm sorry for not telling you about the letter sooner."
"You don't have to be sorry; I overreacted, I don't know what I was thinking. I love you so much, Ben." He grinned and she threw her arms around his neck. He didn't know how long he held her, but when she pulled back, he put his forehead to hers
"I love you, too."
She smiled and leaned in and kissed him softly. And he knew that nothing could ever come between them again. They kissed for a couple of minutes before they heard, over the intercom, that his plane would be boarding in about five minutes. She pulled away and he finally put her down. She slipped her arms around his neck and he held her close. He put his forehead to hers as she said,
"I'm sorry for everything-"
"Don't be, it's okay" She smiled and closed her eyes and whispered,
"I've thought about you all last night and all day today. I've been cooped up in my room since you left and I haven't been able to do anything. Every time I tried to do something, it reminded me of you. I don't know what I was thinking; I was being selfish and I was only thinking about myself. I didn't stop to think about you; I thought if I broke up with you, it would stop me from worrying or thinking about you. But you were all I could think about. You're all I ever wanted, Ben and I couldn't imagine living my life knowing you're not here with me. I promise I'll always be here and I promise I'll stay here, waiting for you."
He smiled, knowing he loved her, not only for now, but for as long as he lived. The same voice came over the intercom again and announced that his plane was now boarding. As much as he didn't want to, as much as he wanted to say here, in Wilmington with Allison, he forced himself to say,
"I've got to get going."
"I know. I just couldn't let you leave without telling you that I was sorry and how much I love you." Tears were flooding her eyes as his heart slowly started to break. He leaned in and kissed her, bringing his hand up to her check and stroking it gently.
"I love you, too, more than you'll ever know. I promise I'll write and call all of the time."
She smiled and he gave her another kiss before forcing himself to let her go. He knelt down and threw his bag over his shoulder,
"Bye, Allison." She tried to smile, but failed. A few tears trickled down her face as she said,
"Bye, Ben."
His heart was breaking as he forced himself to turn around and walk through the terminal, away from everyone and everything he loved.
:D You guys really didn't think that would be the last of them did you? Well, this is the last chapter of part 1, so part 2 starts next chapter! How exciting! It starts to get kind of like Dear John in a way, cause they do write letters back and forth, but I promise, the story is totally different, and will be totally different, especially in the later chapters, what happens will shock you! What's going to happen? Stay tuned! oh and review...if you want... :D
