Chapter 9: A Sad Day for the Bensons

I thought it was just another day. It was to me. But not to Freddie and his mom.

It was the last day of Spring Break. I thought it was just going to be a lazy, miserable day of trying to forget that we had school the next day. I was wrong.

The first thing I saw when I woke up was Marissa. I realized that she'd been trying to wake me up for a while. Something in her eyes looked different today. She didn't have that normal cheerfulness she usually did. She also wasn't wearing any makeup, and she was just wearing a black long-sleeved shirt and a black knee-length skirt with black boots. All black.

"You're up," Marissa said softly. "Sam, I'm sorry for waking you up this early, but we need to leave soon. Please get ready now!" She left the room.

I was so tired that what she had said didn't process into my head until after she left. I then wondered where we were going. I shrugged it off. I yawned and stretched. I then turned to my right to see Freddie.

Freddie was sitting up in his bed, staring forward into space. His eyes were bloodshot and there were bags under them. I'd never seen him look so tired and blank before. Not even when we watched all of those dance videos.

"Uh…" I said, getting up slowly. "Did you get any sleep last night?"

Freddie didn't even look at me. He was still staring into space as he slowly shook his head.

I narrowed my eyebrows, confused. "Uh… where are we going today?" I asked as I sat on the edge of his bed.

Freddie slowly turned his head to me. His mouth was curved down and his eyes had never looked that sad before. "Cemetery." That one word he said made me realize so much, but not enough.

"Why?" I asked slowly, knowing it was a stupid question, but I figured that he would tell me who died.

"What do you think?" Freddie snapped, throwing the covers off of him angrily and standing up. He started walking over to the bathroom.

"Okay," I said, "sorry!" I put my hands in front of me and backed off.

Freddie sighed and turned back tot me. He put his hands lightly on my elbows. "Sam, I'm sorry. Look…" He sighed again and sat on the edge of his bed. "Remember how you were asking me about my dad?"

"Yeah," I said slowly.

"The reason you don't know much about him, and the reason I didn't want to talk about him is that five years ago, when I was eleven, he died. Exactly five years ago, actually. It's his death anniversary." Freddie's eyes looked so sad, as he got off of his bed and started going to the bathroom again.

I was shocked. I turned around, about to say something, but Freddie was already in the bathroom with the door shut. I just stared at the door, my mouth open a bit. Today, it was Freddie's turn to be the messed up one, which meant it was my turn to help him feel better.

I sighed, slowly walking over to my drawer. I knew that people wear all black at funerals, and even though this wasn't a funeral, I decided to wear all black because that was what Marissa was wearing.

The only black things I had were a regular black thick-strapped tank top and black skinny jeans. I know I seem like the type who would have a lot of black clothes, but I don't. But still, I'm not much of a pink person, either. I sat on Freddie's bed and waited for him to get out of the bathroom.

When he got out, Freddie gave me a sad smile. "Sorry for not telling you about this. My mom told you to, but… I don't know, it hurt too much."

"It's fine," I said softly. I stood up from his bed and started going to the bathroom. "So, is it just going to me, you, and your mom?"

"No," he said. "My Uncle Carl, Aunt Jennifer, and cousin Amanda are going to be there… sorry for making you come. You don't have to, you know."

"I want to," I said. He just nodded, and I walked into the bathroom and closed the door. I got changed quickly, and I brushed my teeth and hair. I decided I'd take a shower later. I washed my face and walked back into the bedroom.

Freddie then went into the bathroom again and changed into a black tee shirt with a black hoodie over it and black baggy jeans. I guess this meant that we were supposed to wear all black.

Marissa prepared a small breakfast. I ate a lot, but Freddie didn't even touch his food. His facial expression never changed from this morning. I hated seeing him this sad. I don't know him like this. I know him to always be cheerful, like Carly.

It was a silent breakfast until Marissa said softly, "Let's get in the car." I just nodded as I slipped on my black flip-flops. Freddie put on his black sneakers. We walked out the door and into Marissa's car.

Freddie usually sat in the front of the car, but today he sat in the back.

"Why are you sitting in the back?" I asked.

Freddie just shrugged, looking out his window sadly. "My dad was sitting in the passenger seat of a car when he died."

I swallowed hard, not responding to what he said with anything other than: "Oh." I'm not good at comforting people. I stared out of my window too, and there was a silent car ride to the cemetery. It only took ten minutes to get there, but it felt like an hour.

When we got there, I only heard the sounds of us closing our doors. I followed Freddie and his mom, as they were walking to a certain gravestone. When we got to Freddie's dad's gravestone, three people were already there. They were sharing hugs with Marissa and Freddie. I figured that meant that it was Uncle Carl, Aunt Jennifer, and Amanda. I took a deep breath.

They all seemed friendly, but sad. "You're Sam, right?" Jennifer asked. I guess they all knew about me.

"Yeah," I said. "I'm really sorry."

"Thank you," she said. "Leo was my brother… a great guy, really. I can't believe it's already been five years."

I just nodded. I didn't know what to say. I figured that Leo was the name of Freddie's dad. I never met Freddie's dad, so it was hard for me to say anything about him.

I also met Jennifer's husband, Carl, and their daughter, Amanda. She was about two or three years older than me. I remember Freddie calling her "icky" once. She seemed fine to me.

"Freddie," I said after I met Amanda, "what's so icky about your cousin?"

Freddie shrugged. "She always thinks she knows everything."

"Is she ever right?"

Freddie nodded. "Almost every time. It's just annoying, I guess."

I just nodded. Freddie went up to stand in front of the other five of us. It was almost like he was giving a speech, but there weren't a lot of us there, so he was basically just talking.

"My dad…" he said sadly. "Leonard Benson was such a great person. He was smart, understanding, and always here for all of us. He was the best dad I could ask for." He looked down, and I couldn't believe it. Freddie was about to cry. I mean I know everyone cries. But I never imagined seeing Freddie cry. "And one day," he continued, his voice cracking. "One day, exactly five years ago… I was eleven years old, and I was sick, just with a little stomachache. So, my mom and dad went out to buy me medicine. But on their way back… a drunk driver hit them." He looked at Marissa. "My mom survived." He looked back down. "My dad didn't."

I knew that he was going to cry, but I didn't know what to do. I just stared at him. I knew I should go over and hug him, but I just didn't. I saw Amanda walk over to me as I stared at him.

"You really like him, huh?" Amanda asked softly.

I turned to her. She had long, pin-straight dirty-blonde hair and green eyes. She was taller than me. "What?" I asked.

Amanda smirked and sighed. "You don't have to pretend. I won't tell him."

"Tell who what?" I asked.

"I won't tell Freddie that you like him!" Amanda said as if it were obvious.

I sneered at her. "I do not like Freddie. What gives you that idea?"

"The way you look at him, of course!" Amanda said. "Don't worry, I won't say a word. Sometimes, people like people and it takes them a while to realize it. So, I'll let you realize it on your own." And with that, she walked away.

I raised my eyebrows at her. I shook my head. There was no way I could like a nub like Freddie. Yeah, he's really sweet, and funny, and smart, and caring, too… but there's no way that I could like him as anything more than a friend. I'm still adjusting to liking him as a friend.

Freddie went and stood next to me. The six of us were still standing around Freddie's dad's grave, and everyone was silent. I guess it was like a moment of silence, with everyone thinking about him. As if it was a movie, rain started pouring down. Wearing only a tank top, I felt goosebumps form on my arms because of the cold as water dripped down on them.

Without saying a word, Freddie took his jacket off of himself and put it over me. I slipped my arms in the sleeves and felt the warmth of Freddie's jacket cover me. I smiled, loving what he just did.

I then looked at Amanda, who was looking down, probably thinking of her uncle. I sighed. She was so wrong about me liking him. I only liked what he just did because now I'm warm. That's what friends do. They let each other borrow their jackets.

I looked at Freddie. It looked like he was crying, but I wasn't sure if that was just rain on his face. I whispered, "I'm really sorry, Benson. I wanted to try and help make this day better for you, but I couldn't. For all you've done for me, the least I could do is try. You're one of the best friends I've ever had… and I'm sorry about what happened, and that I couldn't make your day any better."

I saw something on Freddie I hadn't seen for the whole day. A smile. He wrapped his arms around the middle of my stomach, and I hugged the middle of his chest. He whispered, "You just did." I loved the rare hugs we shared. They always felt nice.

After pulling away, I gave him a small smile and he gave me the same look. He looked back down at the dirt, probably thinking of his dad. It was weird being this nice to him. But I had to.

I looked back at Amanda, and I bit my lip. There was no way she could be right… right?