The Love Story that was Never Told

I Hate Macaroni

"This is disgusting." I say wrinkling my nose. I've never liked macaroni. Or peanut butter, or salad. I could go on and on about the things I like, but eh, that takes time.

"Grace, can you at least take a bite?" My mom asks helplessly. I shake my head, my tongue sticking out.

"Your almost 14 and you still stick your tongue out." My brother Zack says from the stool next to me. I push him and he falls to the floor in a heap. He starts to cry and my mom glares at me.

"Grace!" She says rushing to Zack's side to look for bruises. I sigh. I'm always the bad one aren't I? I apologize and go outside, my hands in the pockets of my sweatshirt. The fresh autumn breeze blows my brown hair loose from the braid. I walk towards the tree house that sits in the huge oak tree at the end of my yard. Inside is my sanctuary. Where I can be on my own, have alone time. Anything, like I said it's my sanctuary. As I climb the ladder a voice calls out from above.

"How do you except to scale a mountain when you can't climb a ladder?" I look up to see a brown haired, gap toothed boy smiling at me. I smile at him and finish climbing the ladder. You know how I said this is my sanctuary? Well, it's also my bestfriend Ben's too. We're the same age and also neighbors. He's been my bestfriend for almost as long as I can remember. He was the shoulder I cried on when my dad died. He was the one who held me when my dog, Biscuit, died. I was the one who helped him clean his house right before his mom came home. I was the one who talked to him at night when he felt lonely, using a secret language of course. He was my bestfriend. And I was his. And everything was just perfect.

"So, your mom tried to make you eat macaroni again?" He says ducking into the tiny treehouse our dad's had made. I can still remember the way my dad had stayed up all night, just to finish it for me and him. It was a good memory to have.

"Yeah, even though she knows I hate it!" I reply ducking in behind him. Ben had grown a little over the past couple of months and his head almost reached the ceiling as he sat in front of me, crossed legged.

"That's Susan for you!" He says laughing. I nod. He knew me so well. He knew all my secrets, all my dislikes, all my secret obsessions. All of it. He knew. And it made him even more valuable to me. Suddenly he throws an apple at me.

"Here. Just cause your hungry." He's getting a juice box out of his pocket and I take a bite out of the apple, the juices flooding my mouth in a matter of seconds. He truly is a good friend.

"Hey Grace?"

"Yeah?" I say, my mouth full of apples.

"Your my bestfriend, you know that?"

"I know." I look at him sincerely.

"And that means?" He asks raising his eyebrows. Here it was, the promise we kept to each other.

"It means, that I'll never leave you."

"And I'll never leave you." He says. I smile at him and finish the apple. I really will never leave you, Ben. Never.