Babe.

40.

Benny.

I sighed looking over at Blanca who was clutching her head, "go home."

"No," she gritted out massaging her temples, "I did not work on that stupid project so hard, for so long only to bitch out and get an extension." 

"You are clearly sick, go home." I repeated for the millionth time, "seriously, get some rest before it gets worse and you're off school for a week." 

Blanca turned to glare at me, "don't tell me what to do asshole." 

"Don't lash out at me because you're pissed off you caught a cold." I countered quickly. 

She groaned lying down on the library table, "I don't have a cold." It came out a bit more broken up than she'd hoped though because she started coughing like a chronic smoker. 

"Okay that's enough I'm taking you home." I muttered getting out of my chair, "come on let's go." 

"No please don't make me go home," she whined as I pulled ehr back to her feet, "I want to do the project." 

My girlfriend was such a little nerd, "you can do the project when you're feeling better, you wouldn't want to lose marks for performance because you're not in top form." 

Blanca froze her big brown eyes filling with worry, "performance marks?" 

Now I had her, "yeah, Mr Tenesse always give marks for performance,  didn't you know?" I lied leading her out of the library and down the hall. 

It would have been funny how concerned she was if I hadn't also been a little worried, "oh my god, how could I not know that he gives marks for performance. Out project format is way too boring Benny," Blanca actually started hyperventilating, "we need to make a slide show, with jokes and glitter. We need glitter, Benny we can't go home  we need to go to the supply store." 

Oh Jesus Christ, that had backfired miserably. When I finally got her into the parking lot Blanca realised that I wasn't taking her to the stationary store and tried to make a break for it. Luckily for me she was sick and I was faster than her so I managed to catch her. 

"Put me down." Blanca demanded as I slung her over my shoulder, when I ignored her and kept walking towards Nico's car she started pinching my back, "put me down right now!"

"No, I'm taking you home." I told her as I put her in the passanger seat and strapped her seatbelt on. I had to sprint around the other side of the car and leap into the drivers seat so that I could lock the door before she could get out. 

"This is sexism," she snapped trying the door lock, "you aren't allowed to command me around anymore you mysoginist." 

I burst out laughing which she didn't like, "you'll thank me later." 

By the time we finally reached her house she was so worn out from arguing with me that she stopped trying to escape, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it," Blanca muttered as I picked her up putting one hand under her knees and the other behind her back, "you're not a a schoevenist pig." 

That was another one of the things she'd called me when she'd gone on her feminist rampage about 'how dare I tell her that she's sick and needs to go home'. 

I grinned at her as I walked down the path up to her front door, "already forgotten." 

Blanca smiled holding onto me tighter as I had to balance her weirdly when I pulled her house keys out of my pocket, "do you promise not to present the project without me?" 

"I promise," I told her pushing open the door and walking inside, "I'll make sure we can do it together next week. Is anyone home to take care of you?" 

"No, my parents are at work and my siblings are at school, I'll be fine though I think I'm just going to take a nap," Blanca told me yawning as I set her down on her bed, "thanks for taking me home." 

"Anytime, do want me to get you anything before I go back to school?" I asked pulling her blanket over her. 

"No, I'm fine I just want some sleep, night Benny."

"Night." 

Once I'd left her house I headed back to school where I had to sit through another couple hours of lessons. The whole time I was there I could feel this little nagging in my mind telling me to go back for her but everytime I tried to ditch some teacher or other would drag me back to my lesson. 

"Would you relax? I'm sure she's fine," Yeah-yeah muttered as I drummed my fingers against the desk glaring at the clock. 

"You don't know that," I muttered begging the minutes hand to start moving around faster. 

"You can leave in fifteen minutes, pull it together," my best friend snapped smacking my hand down so I'd stop making noise. 

"That's easier said than done." 

By the time the last bell rang I all but sprinted out of the classrom and down to Nico's car, he'd leant it to me while he was away. I pulled the car keys out of my car unlocking it before getting in and flooring it. 

By the time I reached the Rivera house disaster had already struck, smoke was pooling out of every window flames licking at the curtains and front door. My heart dropped into my ass when I saw the ambulance pull up in front of the house, and then it dropped all the way to the earth's fucking core when I saw my girlfriend being carried out of the house strapped onto one of those wheelie beds her mother close behind. 

I made to run over to them but by the time I managed to get out of the car and to the ambulance it was already driving off, "Benny!" I heard someone yell behind me. 

I turned around to see Emmanuel and Ella running up to me, "get back in your car we need to get to the hospital!" They called urgently. 

I nodded joining them as we ran back towards it before climbing inside and driving after it, my heart was beating so fast you'd think I'd just taken crack or meth. I could barely breathe the whole time there, by the time we got there she'd already been strapped up to the IV drip one of those oxygen masks over her face. 

"How the hell did this happen? I was at the house three hours ago there was nothing wrong," I muttered as we took our seats beside her hospital bed. 

"They're saying the fire might have been set intentionally," Ella told me eyeing the police officers that were standing outside the room, "that it might have something to with the man who broke in all those weeks ago."

"How much do you know about him?" I asked pressing my hands together watching as the nurses rushed around her checking her stability or whatever.

"Nothing, our parents don't even know that we know," Emmanuel explained. 

He said something else too but I was too busy letting the guilt swallow me up to listen. Blanca was lying in this hospital bed because of me, if I had just listened to her, if I had just let her stay at school or at least tried harder to leave none of this would have happened. 

What the hell had I done?