Everlasting Love

The Call

Ben POV:

"Ow...ow...OW!" Carrie screamed as I tried to pull the brush through her hair.

"You're not doing it right!" Josh insisted.

"Then you try!" I replied handing him the brush.

"How am I supposed to know what to do?" Josh asked.

"It's not that hard! Just brush out my hair and then style it!" Carrie insisted.

"When are you gonna learn to do this yourself?" I asked.

"At this rate, probably today." she responded rolling her eyes. Eliza woke up in the middle of the night with a 101 fever and throwing up, so we were adventuring out today without her.

"Sky, got any ideas?" I asked looking at him.

"Why the hell would I know how to style an 11 year old girls hair?" Sky asked.

"How about we just go out with messy hair today?" I asked her.

"I want to look pretty for the beach!" she insisted.

"What about braids? Braids are easy right!" Josh said.

"Do you know how to do braids? Because I don't." I laughed.

"I mean, it looks pretty easy. Why don't we just find a YouTube video on it?" Sky suggested. Half an hour later, and lots of yelling, she finally had what looked like a sorta braid on each side.

"Thanks guys!" Carrie smiled grabbing all 3 of us in a hug.

"Yeah yeah you're welcome, go get dressed for the beach." I said and she ran off to to her room in the rental to get changed.

"Yo how weird is it taking care of an 11 year old when you're only 19?" Sky laughed.

"I mean, Eliza is the one who takes care of her. I'm just kinda there." I said.

"But you're still helping out a lot. I mean like today, you're completely in charge of her." Josh responded.

"I guess, I don't know I honestly don't think twice about it. It just feels like babysitting." I honestly never really put much thought into it. She moved in with me and that's just how it was.

"I'm ready!" she screamed running down the stairs.

"Let's roll!" Sky smiled. As we walked down the street to the beach, Carrie grabbed my hand in hers. This kid honestly changed my life, I'm pretty thankful for her. I honestly couldn't imagine what life would be like without her and her amazing sister.

Eliza POV:

Of course I would get sick on my first vacation in years. That's how the universe works. Everybody else went to the beach and I was left alone in our Airbnb. I had planned on sleeping the whole day but I was just so restless, so I decided to just watch tv. All of the sudden my cellphone rang making me jump. It's probably Ben checking in on me. I looked at the caller ID and it said unknown number. Great. Should I just answer and get it over with? But I don't want to talk to him. But he won't stop.

"Dad leave me the fuck alone." I said answering the call. It sounded like he was crying on the other end.

"Eliza I can't believe you answered." I think he's actually crying.

"You're supposed to be in jail, how are you calling me." I insisted.

"Sweetie I broke out. This dude I met in there had been planning it for months and let me tag along." he explained. I knew that was him on the streets!!

"What the fuck! Dad are you out of your mind!"

"I just want to see Carrie again."

"No way in hell! You are going nowhere near her. I'm calling the police right now and turning you in."

"You can't do that!"

"And why not dad."

"Because if you turn me in I've got people on the outside who will hunt down the snitch. And I don't want anybody to hurt you." he explained. He sounded genuinely scared.

"If I remember correctly, the only person to ever hurt me is you. Besides, you just want to see Carrie not even me. Stop calling me."

"No it's not- Eliza I want to see you too. But I feel like I fucked up too much already with you. You will never forgive me for what I did. But there's still a chance with Carrie."

"She hates your guts just as much as I do."

"Eliza please. I want to see you. Both of you."

"Dad I can't do this right now. I'm hanging up."I said, tears forming in my eyes.

"Alright fine-wait!" he insisted. "Please just- just tell me you're ok. You're safe. And happy."

"The happiest I've ever been dad. I've got an amazing boyfriend who loves me and Carrie and keeps up safe. He protects us and he cares about us. He does everything you never did." I explained.

"I don't know how much longer I'll be able to keep this phone before they start tracking it. I'll call you again in a few days. I'm glad you're safe." he said.

"Dad don't-" I started but he had already hung up. What the actual fuck. Dads out of prison. He wants to see Carrie. What do I do? He won't give up till he sees her. I threw my phone onto the pillow and broke down in tears. He was supposed to be gone. Gone forever. How could this happen? Why can't life just let me be happy for once! I've finally gotten my life on track, I don't know if I can go through hell again. What do I do. Just then my phone dinged. I swear to hell if that is him again. I looked and it was a picture of Ben and Carrie laughing at the beach together. Looking at the picture just made me cry even harder. Look at how happy she looks! She loves him, and he truly loves us. I don't deserve him, I don't deserve him, god I just love him so much. I wiped away my tears and continued to stare at the picture. All those years of hell and fear, and look at how happy we are now. I'm not letting him bring us back down with him again. I can't. I won't.