Gwen has been out all day with her friends Kendra and Chelsea Mink and Britney Woods. Gwen had been friends with them ever since she moved to Ben's town at the end of their first field trip with their Grandpa. Ben didn't seem to ecstatic though but she could tell he was as happy as she was to be able to go to school together and live so close by.
He even gave Gwen a tour around the school to ensure she wouldn't get lost and experience the embarrassment most of the new kids had gone through. She was grateful to Ben for allowing her to be under his wing awhile till she got over the awkwardness and unease from being in a new school. They didn't stop their playful pot shots at each other though.
" I wonder if Ben could possibly be….." Gwen thought to herself before a hand was being waved in her face waking her up from her stupor.
"Gwen are you ok? You were zoning out again" asked her friend Kendra with genuine concern.
She wore blue jeans, sandals, and a plain purple T-shirt. Her hair was long and blonde, framing her light tanned face. Her twin sister, Chelsea, looked exactly like her except she had a orange T-shirt and was wearing white Nike shoes. They both fought each other constantly ranging over to who was prettier to who was smarter.
"I told you to leave her alone till she snapped out of it by herself" her friend Britney said.
Britney wore a red spaghetti strapped top, sandals, and a cream colored skirt. Her jet black hair was in a pony tail and flowed down her back. She was a little cocky and could be a bitch, some times Gwen would wonder why she was still friends with her in the first place.
"Well anyway it's getting late and I'm a little tired of walking around" complained Britney because of them searching the mall for any new clothes to get. More like them being dragged along because Britney didn't feel like going by herself.
"was this what Ben felt like when I dragged him around malls?" said a stray thought in Gwen's mind. She lowered her head in sadness from the happy memories.
Gwen looked up at the sky light noticing Britney was right, if the absence of light was any indication of the coming night fall. Gwen reached into her pants pocket, she ruffled through its contents of stray bills and loose change till she fished out her light blue phone. It read June 22 at 8:06 pm on the screen, it was getting late so she got up and stretched her arms into the air releasing any stiffness that accumulated in her muscles from sitting down for so long.
Gwen turned to her friends "I better get going my parents are expecting me back at eight thirty." With that she turned around and made her way toward the exit.
Chelsea called to her "don't you want a ride? Our mom wouldn't mind giving you one."
Gwen glanced back to respond but still continued stepping closer to the doors "no thanks, my house is close by so I can walk from here." With that she pushed open the doors and left them behind.
Kendra turned to her sister with worry "she still doesn't seem the same since her cousin went over board on that cruise."
Chelsea gave her a look as if saying 'did you just figure that out?' "Of course she would still be upset you probably would be too if one of our relatives died." Kendra just crossed her arms and stuck her tongue out at her.
Britney started to add her own two cents "So? She should be over it by now and not be so depressing all the time if you ask me she's being overly dramatic."
Kendra gave Britney a small glare "It was only a year ago and she was really close with her cousin, Ben" she said defensively for her friend Gwen. Kendra started to contribute "yeah, she even told us about some of fun they had together with their grandpa."
Britney just seemed to roll her eyes "yeah its been a year, a YEAR! She should get over it already and let us continue on with our lives." She said with obvious distain of Gwen's continuing behavior.
Chelsea and Kendra gave a sigh in defeat it was obvious that Britney wouldn't allow them or possibly anyone change her mind.
Gwen walked through the parking lot of the town's passing by different variety's of cars. She passed by a red S10 Chevrolet and glanced at the glass portraying her reflection. She still looked the same with her long blue jeans and her light blue T-shirt with the image of a cat in the middle. Her orange hair was a little longer but all, in all she wasn't any different when she started her adventures with Ben two years ago.
"Ben…" even her own image reminded her of that immature, little goof ball.
She shook her head, ridding her of the memories and again began her trek back home. Soon she made it out of the parking lot, across the street, and back on the civilian sidewalk. The houses she passed by started illuminating bright lights preparing them selves for the oncoming darkness that delivered itself on its scheduled time every evening.
Her mind began to wander again from boredom "I wonder if Aunt Sandra is coping any better." Last Gwen had seen of her was when they delivered the bad new. Sandra had started crying immediately after the explanation, her and Gwen held each other in a hug. While Gwen cried silently, Sandra wasn't holding back with her tears.
Grandpa and Uncle Carl were talking about possibly calling for help. Grandpa told him he already did so all they could do was wait, and wait they did. Sandra was sick with worry till the police finally called it and told them after searching the sea for weeks there was no sign of him. They needed to plan a funeral.
After the funeral was over Aunt Sandra shut her self in for days until Carl could pull her out of her depression. Gwen hadn't seen her aunt and uncle in a while so she couldn't be sure how they were both coping after a year of no Ben.
When Gwen pulled her self out of her thinking she found that she was standing in front of her house. It had two floors and was a plain brown color with a large window giving a view of the front yard. She walked up to the door and went inside, there she found her parents watching a movie together. They both sat on a love seat with her dad's arm draped over her mother's shoulder.
Dad had on a tan business pants and a square belt buckle with a green dress shirt tucked in. His short, brown hair swayed a little when he turned his attention to Gwen. "Hey Gwen, did you enjoy your evening hanging out with your friends?" he asked with obvious curiosity.
She put on a fake smile and replied, "yeah I did, but Britney still nagging as always." she tried to mask that her thoughts were still lingering to Ben and not get them worried. She had still been blaming herself for the incident while everyone continued telling her it wasn't her fault. This was seen by her parents as very unhealthy for the young teen.
Her mother turned to Gwen and asked "are you ok dear? Something seems to be troubling you." her mother almost always had a way of knowing what was going on. She wore long, baggy blue jeans and a cream sweater with her long red hair hanging loosely from her scalp. Her mother almost knowing everything going on with her emotions still unsettled Gwen a bit.
Gwen just gave another fake smile "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" She then started walking away from the door and proceeded up the stairs up to her room. Her parents heard a soft shut of the door and after Gwen was gone her mother turned to her father.
"I'm still worried about her Stan, She seems more distant than before." Stella confessed worriedly.
Stan took his hand and used his thumb and index finger to message his eyes "I know I'm worried too, but she doesn't seem like she'll talk about until she's ready." He responded "she still seems to be upset about our misfortune of losing Ben."
Meanwhile up stairs Gwen collapsed into her bed, exhausted from another dull day and fell asleep mentally abusing her self. Thinking that Ben's and the Family's misfortune was all her fault.
(A/N: And that's the new chapter. I wanted to start showing some of the turmoil the family had experienced during Ben's absence especially Ben's family. I also didn't want to explain the funeral because I thought you would become bored of me explain the feeling of death in a room.
I've read other people's stories but would prematurely stop before finishing because I got tired of them ranting through half the chapter about one thing. I do think I could've done more with this chapter though.
Remember to review and vote in the poll while I do my 'job' typing up the story.)