Stalemate // The Queens Gambit //Benny Watts x OC

Six: Sixth

C/W:
This chapter contains themes of sewersl1de, and abvse. please continue with caution and enjoy <3

***

It was a week after I saw Benny Watts at the cafe and I was about to go out with Jonathan for the third time this week. We'd gone to dinner the night before and had gotten coffee this past Friday, so I was excited to be seeing him again. I was almost gaining hope.

That was before I got the call.

It rang just as I was grabbing my keys to go. I answered impatiently, hoping it wasn't somebody who'd keep me long. "Yes, hello?"

"Hello, is this Adelaide? Adelaide Carlisle?" A man with an accent I couldn't quite place spoke on the other line.

"Yes.. who is this?"

"My name is Leo, your mother's boyfriend. She may have told you about me?" His voice was plagued with a deep sadness, but I couldn't tell where it was coming from.

"Yes, she did, it's nice to meet you. I don't mean to be rude Leo, but I'm kind of supposed to be somewhere, is there a certain reason your calling?"

"Yes, of course, I apologize. Well.. I'm not exactly sure how to say this, I realize it's probably inappropriate for me to be the one telling you this, but.. Adelaide, your mother died this evening.."

Every bone in my body went stiff and I swear my blood stopped flowing.

I was quiet for a minute, the concept not even registered yet. "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"Your mother died this evening. A woman found her body in a river just below a bridge. We believe she may have.. jumped off. I'm so sorry."

I couldn't believe what he was saying. I'm not even sure if I really heard it. I let out a small shaky breath and shook my head slowly.

"No.. no I don't understand.. you think she.." I couldn't bring myself to finish the sentence. My mother? Jumping off a bridge? That makes no sense. I refuse to believe it. I just saw her, she was fine, she was happy.

"Again, I'm so sorry. I'll let you process this, but we will need to make arrangements soon. I'll call you back in a few days, If you need anything before then, just call." He stayed silent for a minute and when I didn't say anything he hung up. I let the phone fall from my hand and frowned at the floor for what felt like hours.

This doesn't make sense.

She wouldn't. Why would she? It must have been someone else. It wasn't her.

I had no idea why this would be happening or why Leo would lie, or tell me before they knew for sure it was her, but I prayed he was wrong. I wished with my whole body that it wasn't her. That it was just some big mistake and she'd call any second saying she was perfectly fine.

I slowly slid down the wall, sitting on the kitchen floor and just staring. I sat there for hours. I don't think I even blinked. I ignored everything. The time, the phone calls I assume were from Jonathan, and even when he showed up to check on me, knocking on the door and calling my name. I felt like I was drunk. Everything was fuzzy and distorted and wrong. Every time another hour came, I barely remembered the one before. My body felt numb but also hurt worse than anything I've ever felt.

At some point, my mind drifted back to the night before my 6th birthday.

***

I was supposed to be asleep, but I was kept up by the sounds of my mom and her boyfriend fighting. They were trying to keep quiet about it, but I could still hear them. At one point, my mom's boyfriend got really upset and he raised his voice. When my mom told him to be quiet, I heard him smack her. He had hit her a few times before, but never in front of me. I'd only ever hear it. Every time after he hit her, it would get really quiet. I could never really comprehend what happened, but I knew it was bad. My mom would always say her face had just gotten too sore when I asked about the bruises and red marks. And me being 6 years old, I just figured that it was something that happened to adults.

But this time, instead of getting quiet, my mom started getting louder than him. Saying she was done with his bullshit, a word that was forbidden in the house at the time, and she wanted him to leave that night and never come back. He tried to apologize to her, but she wouldn't listen. He ended up packing and leaving. We never saw him again.

The next day, my mom woke me up at five to watch the sun rise. We sat on the roof and ate cherry pie. Then we went inside and gave each other makeovers. I used concealer and way too much blush to cover the mark on mom's cheek and when she saw herself in the mirror, covered in eyeshadow and lipstick that was all around her mouth, she just laughed. She laughed so hard she cried. And then that turned into real crying. Not hysterical sobbing like she would sometimes after she broke up with someone, more like peaceful crying. Like sad relief. I hugged her tightly and when she was done, we ate more pie and went out to buy dresses. That night we stayed up way too late watching movies and playing games.

That was the first time I'd ever seen my mom so strong. It was my favorite birthday by far.

After I remembered that, the tears started coming. Hot and fast, choking sobs that filled my whole body. I curled into a heap on the floor and sobbed until my eyes ran dry. Then I fell asleep.