H A L L O W E E N

Chapter 3

All that could be heard were the sounds of metal scraping against the porcelain glass, the loud slurping of soup, and the occasional cough of someone choking on their food. The blonde girl squirmed in her wooden seat as she winced from the awkward silence that filled the room. She had hardly touched her now cold soup, let alone the spoon. She closed her legs and arms tighter together as she focused on the carefully knitted table cloth.
Dark red circles, lines, curves, and shapes made patterns, as they danced freely across the soft, ivory cloth. It took all of her self restraint to not walk out of the room. A cold shiver went down her spine as she seemed to shrink down further into the seat- seemingly hiding from the pair of emerald green eyes, claiming her as their own.
The sound of someone clearing their throat was loud enough to make Sarah snap her head towards them. She unconsciously gave them such an intense glare that anybody else would've been trembling. She waited for a few seconds, and blinked, before returning her gaze back to the table. The pair of eyes were still trained on her, even as her mother spoke.
''So, how was school?'' She asked sweetly, trying desperately to break the ice. Nobody answered for a few moments. Sarah was silently cursing herself for looking at her mother like that, her father started to choke on his water for the seventh time, and Ben just sat there, staring silently.
''How was school?'' She repeated a little louder.
''It was fine—I aced my math test,'' Sarah tried to make her voice sound as bored as possible, hiding the anxiety that she felt coursing through her.
''That's nice, I'm so proud of you sweetie!'' Sarah merely nodded. She turned her head to look at Ben before saying, ''How about you, darling? Is school going well?''
''Yes ma'am, I'm doing fine. Sarah's been tutoring me, so I'll be coming over more often- if you don't mind, that is." Sarah choked on her water, and went into a coughing fit.
''That's wonderful! I don't mind it at all. You can stay as long as you want!'' Her mother squealed, oblivious to her daughter coughing like a madman two seats down from her. She only turned her head towards Sarah when she stood up. The sound of the wooden chair squeaking against the hard floor made Sarah wince as she scooted the chair back to stand up. The small pillow that was on the chair fell off with a soft thump on the floor.
''Are you done already?'' Sarah nodded and stayed silent. She bent down to pick up the pillow, making some soup spill on the floor. The cold, yellowish water sloshed around the bowl, making it even harder for her to pick it up. More spilled over the top, making a loud splashing sound.
She growled in annoyance as she practically slammed the pillow on the chair, and made her way to the kitchen. She hadn't even taken three steps, before slipping on the spilled soup. She let out a yelp as she quickly fell to the ground, dropping the porcelain bowl in the process. A huge crash rang out through the air, making everyone- except Sarah- jump. They all snapped their heads towards her, and stared at the mess.
Sarah lay on the ground, surrounded by broken glass and spilled soup. Her ears grew red and hot from embarrassment, along with her cheeks. She propped herself up with her elbow, and made an attempt to sit up, only for it to fail. She fell backwards, and her body slammed down onto the glass. She groaned in pain, and heard a pair of feet rushing to her, along with a few chairs getting pushed back.
''What happened? Are you okay?'' Her mother called out. She was standing behind her chair with her hand over her mouth. Sarah squeezed her eyes shut from the pain, as she felt strong arms pull her up.
''What does it look like? I have fucking glass in my back and arms, you fucking imbecile,'' Sarah cursed, a gasp following shortly after. She winced again as Ben put her on her feet. Guilt, rage, sadness, and pure embarrassment swirled every thought. She didn't mean to cuss at her mother- but sometimes she can just be so stupid.
''Don't talk to your mother like that. She was making sure you're okay,'' Her father spoke up. He took a step towards her, anger replacing shock.
''Tch, yeah right. All she ever does is shop and fuck people." Her mother gasped, but Sarah continued. "I know every little thing you do. Once dad goes to work, you go off and strip, have sex with strange men, come home, and act like nothing's wrong. You make dad work his ass off just for you to go and spend it on sex toys and lingerie. Of course, you do buy regular clothes, but they're all tight and slutty. You think she actually loves you, dad? I've seen and heard all the excuses. Oh, I was just out late shopping. Or, I was just out with a few friends.
''It's pathetic. You're so in love with her, that you'll do anything for her. You follow that woman around all day, wasting your money, just for her to cheat on you with disgusting, perverted, middle-aged men. I even know all of their names. I've been listening in on your conversations. Harry, Richard, Johnathan, Walter, Brian, Nate, they never end! You're even planning to sneak off with Patrick tonight for a threesome with his sixteen year old son. Sixteen. You're such a pathetic, lying, manipulative bit-'' Sarah couldn't finish.
''Go to your room, right now!'' Her mother screamed. Her face was red, and she pointed upstairs with her red painted nail. Blood oozed down her arms and back. At first, it was burning like hell, but adrenaline ceased it to a dull throb. Sarah scowled harshly and Ben escorted her up the stairs, and into her room. Before Sarah could say anything, Ben dragged her into her bathroom. He harshly turned on the light, and she hissed at the sudden brightness.
''Sit,'' He said roughly, but with a hint of pity. Sarah complied, and slowly sat down. She gritted her teeth from the pain, but didn't dare scream. Ben crouched down and opened the cabinets to her sink. He closed them softly and slowly walked to her with the first aid kit. ''Were all of those things that you said true?'' Ben's voice was soft and barely over a whisper. Sarah opened her mouth to speak, but instead a pained whimper came out as her arm started burning.
''Sorry,'' Ben whispered. Sarah nodded.
''And yes, they were true. I managed to figure out her password, my birthday 10/31/2001, and read her texts and listened to her voice mails." Ben stiffened, but quickly nodded.
''I need you to take your shirt off,'' He said it so casually, that Sarah started to get the wrong idea. Her face flushed, and she held her arms over her chest in an defensive way.
''What the fuck? No!'' Ben merely sighed and shook his head while looking down. He was still crouched beside her, his arm resting on the back of the toilet she was sitting on.
''Not in that way. What I mean is, I need your shirt off so I can get to the glass in your back and tend to the cuts,'' He said with a slight smirk. That only seemed to encourage her blush even more.
''Fine, but don't ever tell anyone about this, or I'll kill you,'' She said while slowly taking her shirt off. She heard Ben sigh again, and turn around. Her arm throbbed intensely as she lifted it up. Once it was off, she laid it on the ground beside her, and turned her head to look at the white shower curtain. ''Hurry up and get this over with.''
Ben's cheeks had a light pink tint to them, and started almost immediately getting to work. After what seemed like endless hours, he finally finished. Tight bandages wrapped around her torso, and her stomach. Her arms and wrists were also tightly bandaged. Every movement was stiff and slow.
''Thanks, Ben. Since when did you get so good at this stuff?'' Sarah laid on her bed and stared blankly at the ceiling. She heard a soft chuckle from her right, and moved her head to look at him.
''Ever since I was little, I've always helped my dad with his work. He was a doctor. He just taught me the basics, and he had just started teaching me how to knit clothes and stitch up wounds. But one day, he just disappeared. Vanished, gone. Just like that, in the middle of the night. He left me and my mother a few hundred dollars and a note saying he's sorry,'' Ben's voice trailed off. Sarah stared at him, eyes wide and her mouth slightly open.
She'd never seen Ben like this. She'd never seen such sadness and betrayal in his eyes. It hurt her so much, that she began to tear up. Ben noticed this, and quickly smiled. Although his eyes still had that sadness in them.
''What's wrong, princess? Feeling sorry for me, eh?'' He joked. More and more tears fell as she stared at him. She didn't deserve such a great friend like Ben. She didn't deserve his kindness, nor his love. She didn't deserve to even look at him. He was like a saint, while she was nothing more than a piece of filth. He was being so nice to her, for what?
What does he gain from being around her? It doesn't make sense. She was the outcast, the outsider. He risked his popularity just to talk to her, just to be friends with her. Hell, he even offered her his love. But she rejected him, the only guy who's ever shown her kindness, love, compassion, and she rejected him. She was sobbing at this point.
''Princess? What's wrong?'' Ben asked. He got up from her desk chair and walked over to her. Before he could even sit down, Sarah did something she thought she never would do. She grabbed the collar of his shirt and yanked him down, and kissed him. She kissed him. His lips were so soft and warm against hers. Ben was shocked at first, but hardly hesitated to kiss back. Ben laid her down on the bed, her grip still tight on his collar. She moved her free hand to his hair and ran her fingers through it.
Their mouths moved against each other, as they kissed and kissed. They reluctantly pulled back for air. Their breath mixed together, as they smiled at each other. Her fingers tangled in his hair, and his hands on the bed keeping himself from falling on top of her. Ben leaned down and kissed her again. Slowly, but passionately. She kissed back, and he broke apart to lean his forehead on hers.
''I love you,'' Ben whispered. Sarah closed her eyes and shook her head while smiling.
''I love you too." His smile grew and he kissed her once more before getting up. He laid down on her left and pulled her in by the waist. He rested his head on her shoulder and kissed it. Sarah laughed and turned around so they were facing each other.
''I have a question for you,'' Sarah snuggled into his chest before replying with a quiet hum. ''Was I your first kiss?'' She nodded and she felt Ben's grip on her waist tighten. He lifted her chin up with his index finger, and kissed her once more. ''Good.''
         She was about to reply, but got interrupted by a knock on the door. She managed to get out of Ben's grip, and open the door. Her father stood there, covered in blood.
         "We're leaving," Was all he said before walking back downstairs.