New chapter! Holla. Like I promised, this chapter is longer! Enjoy!


Chapter 31

The plan ride took about eight hours and, again, they showed a couple of movies. He watched one of them; it was called Rendition. When that movie was over, they waited thirty minutes and then showed another one Ben didn't feel like watching. He cut off his screen and stared out of the window for the rest of the trip. When they finally started making their descent into Wilmington, he was growing excited, despite the circumstances.

It was the first time Allison was going to be picking him up from the airport. He didn't know how she would react, especially with her father passing away. When the plane finally landed, he got off of the plane and walked into the terminal and grabbed his bag. He walked down the hallway and into the busy lobby.

He scanned the crowd and didn't see her but, when he scanned the second time, he saw her. He smiled and began to walk towards her. She didn't see him at first but, as he drew closer, she saw him. She grinned and ran towards him. He smiled and put his bag down and caught her as she jumped in his arms.

"I missed you so much." He heard her whisper. He pulled back and kissed her softly,

"I missed you, too."


As she drove him to his house-they were going to surprise his father- they talked the entire way. She was, surprisingly, in a cheery mood and held his hand as they drove. They talked mostly of his time in Afghanistan; he found it strange that she had not said anything about her father. Since she had not said anything, he had not said anything either. She obviously didn't want to talk about it and he wasn't about to bring it up.

They eventually reached his house and, since it was 6:00, his father was already home from work. They walked up to the door and she rang the doorbell. They heard footsteps behind the door and, a couple of seconds later, the door opened. His dad opened the door and saw Allison and Ben standing there. His expression turned happy, as well as confused,

"Ben? What are you doing here?" Ben smiled and gave him a hug,

"I came back for a couple of days."

"Why? How?"

Ben looked at Allison; it was going to be the first time either one of them had mentioned her father. He didn't even know if his father knew about her dad's death for that matter. He cleared his throat and asked Allison,

"Did you tell him?" He saw her swallow and shake her head,

"Tell me what?" His dad asked. Ben sighed,

"Allison's father passed away, dad." His dad got a shocked expression on his face,

"What?" Ben nodded and his dad sighed and opened his arms to Allison. He held her for a minute,

"I'm so sorry, honey." Ben saw tears fall down Allison's cheeks and he sighed, wishing he could do something to help her.

After his dad held Allison for a minute, he let her go and they went inside. His dad announced that he was going to order a pizza, which was a good thing because Ben was starving. While his dad was ordering the pizza, Ben went to his room and started unpacking his things. Allison came with him and sat on the bed while he was putting his things in his drawer.

They didn't say anything while he was putting his things away. He didn't know what to say; he didn't know if she wanted to talk about it so he kept quiet. After he finished putting up all of his clothes and pictures, he told her he was going to the bathroom to put his soap and shampoo back in the shower. While he was in there, he wet his face and put his hands on the counter and looked at himself in the mirror.

He looked different; older and more rugged. He still had the scars from his fight with Seth and they added to his rugged appearance. His hair was getting longer and he figured they would make him cut it as soon as he got back. His thoughts were interrupted when he heard his father in the kitchen. He sighed and went back to his room. When he opened the door, he saw Allison sitting on the bed crying with her head in her hands.

He knew, of course, what she was crying about and decided to not say anything. Instead, he went and sat down on the bed beside her and held her close, whispering over and over how sorry he was.

He held her for a long time before he pulled away and put his forehead to hers. He wiped both of her cheeks with his hands and whispered again how sorry he was. She sniffled and said, in a barely audible voice,

"It's okay. I'm sorry I didn't tell your father; I haven't talked to anyone since it happened and I can't talk about it at all without bawling."

"It's okay, I understand completely." She shook her head,

"No you don't; how could you?" She pulled away and got off of the bed. He looked at her confused and got off of the bed with her,

"What do you mean how could I? I know exactly how you feel; you feel like you could have done something else or something better than would've prevented your dad from dying. You feel like you should have told your dad how much you love him and how much you appreciate everything he ever did for you. How can I understand completely? Because I went through the same exact thing when my mom died." He went over to her and put his hand on her cheek and pulled her closer,

"You feel like you're about to break and if anyone talks about him or if you have to talk about him yourself, you're going to break into a million pieces. Your dad loved you so much and you know he's in a better place. He's watching over you and your mom from heaven. He wouldn't want you to be crying and being said and upset; he would want you to try and go on, even if that seems impossible to do right now" She looked up at him and then smiled.

"Thank you. I'm sorry for saying that to you; I know it probably brought back bad memories from when your mom died and I'm really sorry." She sighed and smiled,

"I'm glad you're here; if only for a couple of days. I feel better knowing you're here and knowing that I can be in your arms and that you'll hold me, just like you're doing now." He smiled and leaned in and kissed her.

They kissed for a while before they heard his father call that the pizza was here. He kissed her one more time before they went in the kitchen and had dinner with his father. They ate together and, while they ate, his dad asked him a lot of questions about Afghanistan.

He told him that it was quiet the two months he was over there. He told him that he mostly spent time with Tyler; flying and going to classes and going to the preacher's room every Sunday to have church. Allison smiled when he mentioned this and squeezed his hand underneath the table. After they ate, they thanked his father and she asked him if he wanted to go and see her mom. He nodded,

"Absolutely."


They ended up visiting for about an hour. Her mom was shocked to see Ben, but welcomed him with open arms, like she always did. Her mom set the funeral for Allison's father for Wednesday at 1:00. She set the visitation and the funeral back to back; the visitation was from 1:00- 3:00 and the funeral started at 3:30. It was at a church a couple of minutes away from her mom's house; where her dad grew up.

They talked about her father and they actually helped her mom pick out pictures to display at the visitation. They chose fifteen pictures and one of them had her father, Ben and Allison in it. Ben had never seen it before and he smiled as they looked through all of them.

After helping her mom pick out the pictures, they decided to head on home. They hugged her mom good-bye and Ben told her how sorry he was. Allison hugged her mom for a while and Ben saw tears fall down her mom's face; Allison's back was to him, but he figured she was crying, too.

After they held each other for a while, they broke apart and her mom kissed her good-bye. Allison turned around to face him and he saw tears rolling down her cheeks. While they were walking to her car, he put his arm around her and rubbed her shoulder.

It was around 8:30 when they got back to his house. She told his father goodnight and told Ben told him he'd be in the house in a minute. When he got inside, Ben turned to her and opened his arms. He held her for a while, stroking her hair; he heard her begin to cry and he held her tighter. After he held her for a while, he pulled away and wiped the tears from her cheeks with both of his hands. He put his forehead to hers,

"Will you come with me?" She nodded,

"Anywhere."


He led her to the backyard and told her to wait on the back porch and to close her eyes. She smiled and covered her eyes with her hands. He rushed inside and grabbed a blanket, one of his sweatshirts and a thermos of hot chocolate. He went back outside and tip-toed by her and down the porch steps.

He went over the small hill in his backyard and to an open field behind his house. He looked up and made sure that he could see both of the constellations and spread the blanket out and laid his sweatshirt and thermos on it and ran back to Allison. When he got to her, he said

"Okay, you can open your eyes now." She smiled and uncovered her eyes. He held out his hand,

"Come on."

She smiled and took his hand. He led her down the steps and over the small hill and to the open field. He stopped in front of the blanket and turned around to face her. She had a big smile on her face and she asked,

"What's all of this?"

"I recreated our first date. It's not exactly the same, but it's pretty close, right?" She smiled and nodded and kissed him.

They laid on the blanket, wrapped in each other's arms. He showed her the constellations he had showed her on their first date as they laid, partially covered by his sweatshirt. It was a cool night; the weather channel said forty-five degrees and she ended up grabbing his sweatshirt and putting it on. They talked and laughed for hours before falling asleep in each other's arms.

They spent the entire next day together. When they woke up the next morning, they laughed and kissed for almost thirty minutes before they decided to get up. Ben grabbed the blanket while Allison grabbed the thermos. They walked back to the house and Allison decided to get ready there.

While she was in the shower, he drove right down the street and picked up a couple of sausage, egg and cheese biscuits. It only took him ten minutes to drive there, get breakfast and come back; she was still in the shower when he returned. He quickly went into the kitchen and unwrapped the biscuits and put them on plates and threw the wrapping and the bag away. He took a pan out of the cabinet and put it on the stove as he heard the water turn off. He looked at the clock and saw that it was 9:00; she had class at two. He heard her call him name and he went to the door and put his ear up to it,

"What?"

"Can I have a shirt, please?" He smiled,

"Yeah, what kind do you want?"

"What do you mean what kind do I want?"

"Well, do you want a t-shirt, a long sleeve shirt or a sweatshirt?"

"Oh, a long sleeve shirt, please." He smiled,

"Okay, hold on." He went and got her a white shirt and went back to the door and tried to open it, but it was locked.

"Allison, open the door."

He heard the door unlock and he reached for the knob but it opened before he turned it. He looked up and saw Allison standing there, wrapped only in a towel. Her hair was wet and wavy and he swallowed the sudden lump in his throat, knowing that there wasn't a more beautiful person in the world then the one standing in front of him. She smiled,

"What are you staring at?"

"Nothing, here's your shirt." She smiled again,

"Thank you." He nodded and she ran her hands through her hair,

"Shoot."

"What?" She sighed,

"Nothing, I just didn't get all of the conditioner out of my hair. I have to get back in; thanks for the shirt." He smiled and nodded,

"Well, I have to get in the shower too, you know."

"I know, I'll only be a minute."

"Well, why don't we take one together?" She looked at him,

"What? We can't take a shower together; we're in your house." He laughed,

"So? My dad's at work and won't be home for hours. C'mon, think of all the benefits." She raised her eyebrow and he continued,

"Well, we'll be saving water which, in turn, helps Mother Earth and it saves time which means we'll have more time to spend together. Plus, it'll be the first time I've ever take a shower with a member of the opposite sex; well, besides my mom." She stifled a laugh,

"You took a shower with your mom?"

"Not with her, but she bathed me when I was young." She looked at him for a minute, then smiled,

"Okay."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, you gave some good points." She took a couple of steps closer to him and slipped her arms around his neck,

"Besides, I wanted to do it anyways." He smiled and leaned in and kissed her.


He turned around towards the door while she cut the water back on and got in. He turned back around and undressed and pulled back the shower curtain. She was standing at the back of the shower and she smiled as he got in and kissed her.

They showered together for almost forty-five minutes. He ran his hands through her hair, getting the conditioner out of it. He then started all over; shampooing her hair and rinsing it out, then conditioning it and rinsing that out. This took thirty minutes; he wanted to make sure he got all of it out of her hair.

He kissed her neck as he rinsed her hair and, when he was finally done, it was his turn. She rinsed his hair first and he kissed her neck again as she squeezed the shampoo into her hands. She smiled and turned around,

"You better stay still before I get this in your eyes." He smiled and stood still and held his head down to where she could shampoo it. While she was shampooing his head, he screamed. She jumped,

"What? What is it?"

"My eyes are burning!"

"Rinse them out!" She put both of her hands on his cheeks and picked his head up to find him busting out laughing. She scoffed when she realized he was kidding. She slapped his arm,

"Don't do that! I thought I really hurt you." He smiled, still laughing,

"No, you didn't hurt me."

She scoffed again and reached for the showerhead; it was adjustable and you could hold it. She took it down and sprayed him right in the face. He laughed and put his hands up to shield his face. She started laughing and he tried to wrestle it out of her hands.

She laughed and tightened her grip on it. He laughed and eventually got his hand on it and grabbed it out of her hands. She smiled and she creamed as he sprayed her stomach first, then her face. He laughed as she instinctively put her hands up to her face,

"Okay, okay, I give up!" She screamed. He laughed and reached over her head and hung it back up. He kept his arm above her head and moved closer to her and kissed her. She smiled and brought her hand up to his cheek and continued to kiss him back. They kissed for a while before they heard a door slam. They instantly pulled apart. Allison whispered to him,

"What was that?"

"I don't know."

"Ben?" They heard someone call out.

"It's your dad!" Allison exclaimed in a quiet voice.

"Shh! Hold on." He tiptoed out of the shower and she looked at him,

"What are you doing?"

"Hold on. Cut the water off and close the shower curtain."

"What?"

"Just do it or we're going to get caught."

She sighed but followed his instructions and turned off the water and closed the shower curtain. He picked her clothes up and put them in the dirty clothes basket. His dad called out again,

"Ben?"

"Okay, Allison, be quiet." He whispered to her. He then turned back around and yelled,

"Yeah, dad, I'm in the shower!" He grabbed a towel and wrapped it around himself as his dad's voice asked, form outside the door,

"Are you out?"

"Yeah, I just got out." The door opened slightly and his dad poked his head in,

"Hey, what are you doing?"

"I just got out of the shower, dad. What are you doing home already? It's only 10:00."

"I decided to come on home and spend some time with you."

"Oh, cool, thank you."

"You're welcome. Where's Allison?"

"What?" He asked, getting nervous. His dad motioned over his shoulder,

"Her car is parked in the driveway; did she even leave last night?" Ben cleared his throat,

"No, we fell asleep out in the field. She's still out there, admiring the scenery. I told her I'd meet her back out there after I took a shower."

"Oh, okay. Well, I think I'll head to the Food Lion real quick and pick up some chicken for lunch." He sighed in relief,

"Okay, we'll be right here. We might still be out there but we shouldn't be too long.

"All right, I'm going to head on, okay?"

"Okay." His dad smiled and closed the door. When Ben head the front door lam, he sighed in relief,

"Okay, he's gone." Allison pulled back the curtain,

"Jeeze, I've never been so nervous in my life."

"You? I had to talk to him. Thank God we were out of chicken." She smiled and laughed and reached up and kissed him He smiled and kissed her back and when she pulled back he said,

"You're a real troublemaker, you know that?" She looked at him with a shocked expression,

"What? You're the one who came up with the idea; I told you we shouldn't have done it."

"Well you went along with it, you're just as guilty."

"Whatever." He looked at her for a minute, then smiled,

"You know you liked it." She looked at him, then shook her head,

"Yes you did."

"No, I didn't." He continued to stare at her and she finally sighed and smiled,

"Okay, maybe I did." He laughed at kissed her,

"I did, too."


They spent the next few hours at his house. His dad cooked chicken for lunch and they ate together and after they cuddled up on the couch and watched T.V. until she had to leave. She left at 1:00 to go get ready for her class. After Allison left, he went back inside and spent the rest of the day with his father. They watched T.V. and his father went out to get the mail when he saw the mailman pull up. He came back in and handed a letter to Ben,

"Here, this is for you." He looked down at it and saw that it was from Tyler. He thanked his father and headed back to his room and sat down on his bed and opened up the envelope.

When he finished reading, he put it down, shocked. By the time Tyler and the men had gotten to the fire he had been sent to before Ben left, the fire had been put out; the people had asked them to stay though because there had been a continuous string of mysterious fires lately. Tyler and the rest of the men that went were stationed at an Air Force base right outside of the city.

When they got to the base, Tyler found out that Ben had been sent back home and had been informed that he had a letter from his girlfriend. Before he had left he had written her a letter telling her about the missions he had been going on. Tyler said he took the letter and read it in a private place like he did with all of her letters. When Tyler had finished reading her letter, he felt his heart break and got tears in his eyes. She had broken up with him.

"I can't take it anymore, Tyler. I'm constantly worrying about you and my heart has reached its capacity; it can't take anymore worry. I love you so much but my heart is on the verge of breaking and I can't continue to do this. As much as it kills me, I can't be in a relationship with you anymore. Know that I love you and I feel I always will, but I'm forced to do this. If I don't, I know I'm going to have a nervous breakdown. Ever since you left, I've been a bundle of nerves and I'm constantly worrying about you and I can't do it anymore. I'm truly sorry and I hope you'll forgive me someday."

Tyler said the letter devastated him and he didn't know if he should call her and see if he could salvage the relationship, or just leave it be. In the end, he decided not to call; she had made her decision and he doubted he could do or say anything to change her mind. He wished he had had any idea that anything was wrong but decided that it was for the best. Ben was surprised when he read this and Tyler went on to say why.

"Now she can live her life without constantly being plagued by the idea of me not returning home. She can live peacefully and not have to worry and stress anymore. She's eighteen and she can find someone who can give her everything she wants; who can be there with her all the time and not be away for nine months at a time."

He had been devastated and sad at first and, though he was still sad and knew it would take a while before he got over it, he came to that realization that night and knew it was best for her if they did part ways. He closed with an apology for whoever it was that died and said that he would probably be back at their original base by the time Ben got back.

Ben put the letter down; he was shocked to find out that Tyler's girlfriend had broken up with him. That was two of this friends that had lost their loved ones. He involuntarily began to look at his relationship, but forced the thought out of his mind. He thought about what Tyler had said; that it was best they part ways.

Tyler was way more mature than Ben gave him credit for. If Allison broke up with him, he would be devastated and wouldn't be able to think nearly as clear as Tyler had about the situation. He continued to think about what Tyler had said; she would be able to find someone who could give her what she wanted and could be there for her all of the time, not two weeks every nine months.

Her life would be care and stress-free and she wouldn't be constantly worrying. He sighed and lay down on his bed, his mind now jumbled.


Haha god aren't they both so adorable? 3 but crazy about Tyler's girlfriend, right? Hmmm...maybe it'll come back into the story soon? Who knows! Stay tuned and review please! :)