Sacrifice

Chapter Fourteen

Crybaby was humming a tune as she sat by her window the next morning, staring out at the nature in hopes of distracting herself. All she could think about was what had happened the day before. The telephone ringing sounded through the house. She let it ring for a bit, and once she realized her mother wouldn't answer it, she got up to go answer it herself. "Hello?" She spoke into the phone.

"Hey."

Crybaby instantly recognized who was speaking and panicked, "H-Hey, Ben."

"You never called me on Wednesday. I've been waiting," he said in a disappointed tone.

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that. A lot has been going on and I totally forgot," Crybaby sighed and rubbed her forehead.

Ben exhaled, "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. Everything's fine."

"What's going on with Angelita?" Ben asked curiously. Crybaby took a moment to think about what she would say; how she would go about explaining everything. She realized, once again, how messy her situation was.

"You there?" Ben asked after a long silence.

"Yeah. I'm here," Crybaby said, "Maybe we should talk about this whole situation..."

"I think we should," He agreed.

"I've been keeping up the act lately. Yesterday, I met up with Angelita and she confessed her feelings for me. Then... we kissed, and I don't want you to think too much of it. I didn't even want to-"

"Hold on. Crybaby, you kissed her?" Ben cut her off.

She exhaled sharply, "Yes. But, again, I really didn't want to. And I just couldn't tell her that."

"Holding hands is one thing, but kissing is a whole other. How do you think this makes me feel?"

"I know, Ben. I know you're not happy about it, but you and I aren't in a relationship. It's not like I'm cheating on you or something."

"So, you don't want me. You want her."

"No. It's complicated! Okay?" Crybaby moved the phone away from her ear and let out a long, heavy sigh. She took deep breaths for a few seconds and then put the phone to her ear again.

"...Honestly, that's what I want. But under these circumstances, I guess it's not-"

"Wait, what did you say?"

Ben sighed, "You heard me."

"No, I really didn't. Just tell me what you said."

"I said I want to be in a relationship with you."

"Are you-?" Crybaby paused, " Are you asking me...?"

"You know what? Forget it. It's fine. I'm not hurt. Angelita's your best friend, I get it," Ben backpedaled.

Crybaby merely chuckled, "You don't get it. No one would get what it's like being caught up in this shit," she said sadly.

"Crybaby..." Ben started.

 "I want to be with you, Ben. Ever since we talked for the first time, when we jumped off the balcony of K-12 together. We were all fucked up after we hit the ground and I kissed your cheek. I've had feelings for you and only you ever since."

Ben stayed quiet, processing what she said for a few seconds. "On second thought, how about we stay as we are, then? We probably shouldn't make anything official until after this Angelita shit is taken care of," Ben explained, "And for now, we can just enjoy each other's company the way we have been."

Crybaby felt a bit of relief, "You're right. Besides, I like where we're at anyway," she managed to smile.

"Me too," Ben said, "So, is everything okay?" He asked again.

"I feel a lot better now that we've talked. So, yeah, I guess," Crybaby breathed out a breath she didn't feel she was holding.

"Good," Ben said firmly. "I'll talk to you later. If I'm lucky."

Crybaby laughed, "We'll talk soon, Ben. Bye."

"Bye," Ben chuckled softly.

Crybaby put the phone back down on the base. Having so many current problems, she was just glad she had taken care of one.