Sacrifice

Chapter Twenty-Five

Crybaby woke up in the morning feeling well-rested, and once she remembered where she was, she felt even better. She looked up at the clock on Ben's nightstand; it was almost nine o'clock. She sat up in the pull-out bed and stretched. Ben was still asleep, so she quietly got up, grabbed her bag and went to the bathroom. She shut the bathroom door and got her toothbrush and toothpaste from her bag so she could brush her teeth. She also brushed her hair into a ponytail and changed into the other set of clothes she'd brought. She hadn't felt the need to bring any makeup from home, as Ben made her feel just as pretty bare faced. She exited the bathroom and went back to his bedroom, quietly putting her bag down at the doorframe. As she sat down on the pull-out bed, she leaned over and admired him, wondering how he looked so sweet even when he was asleep. In a minute, Ben's eyes fluttered open. Crybaby jumped backwards. Ben sat up and rubbed his eyes, "Morning, baby," he said, his voice was deep and a bit raspy. "Good morning," Crybaby said, looking down rather than at him. Ben laughed softly. "Were you watching me sleep?" he asked. Crybaby shook her head, "Uh-uh." She felt Ben continue to stare at her. "Only for like, a couple seconds, I swear," she said and finally looked at him. Ben shook his head and smiled. "You're special for sure," he said as he got up out of the bed. Crybaby went up to him and gave him a 'good morning' hug. He smiled and hugged her back. "I'm going to the bathroom, I'll be right back," he said. Crybaby nodded and he walked out of the room. While he was in the bathroom, she pushed in her bed and started making his. A few minutes later while she was fluffing his pillow, Ben came back into the room wearing different clothes. "Aw, baby, I was going to do that," he said with a grin.

"You snooze, you lose," Crybaby said as she placed his pillow against the headboard. Ben walked up to her and kissed her forehead. She smiled and looked up at him, glancing at his lips once. He put his hand on the back of her head and leaned in to kiss her lips. Crybaby kissed him and giggled happily after. Ben stopped hugging her and started walking to the kitchen, signaling her to follow him. Crybaby walked behind him. "What do you want for breakfast?" he asked.

"I'm good with anything. Just no red apples, I'm allergic," Crybaby said.

"Noted," Ben said as he opened the refrigerator and looked around. "I can make eggs; however you like them. There's some bacon and ham I could fry up. Toast, too," he said. Crybaby had been smiling as he spoke. "That sounds good," she nodded. "Alright," Ben smiled at her and started preparing breakfast.

~A few hours later~

It was almost noon and Crybaby was still at Ben's house. They were sitting on the sofa talking; their time together flew. In the middle of a conversation, Ben glanced up at a clock on the wall behind Crybaby and paused. "Baby, do you think you should call your mom? You've been gone for a while now," he said. Crybaby turned around and looked at the clock. "I'd be surprised if she even noticed," Crybaby said, shrugging as she turned back to Ben.

"Why? Is she that drunk?"

"She's not always drunk. Just most of the time. And sometimes it's not too bad, like to the point where she's passed out. But even when she's sober, she doesn't seem to care about me a lot," Crybaby explained, looking down at her hands as she fidgeted, "...she's never really been there for me, not even when I was little. Before she'd started drinking."

Ben noticed her fidgeting and held her hands. "I'm sorry about that, baby," he said sympathetically.

"What? It's fine. I'm used to it," Crybaby said with a rapid head shake. Ben sighed. She almost scoffed, "I'm telling the truth. I'm fine."

"So, you don't even want to try calling?" Ben asked. Crybaby looked at the telephone. "Maybe I will," she said. She got up from the sofa and went to the phone, starting to dial her home number. She held the phone up to her ear and waited for an answer, and to her surprise, she received one on the third ring. "Hello?" her mother sighed over the phone. Crybaby's eyes widened. "Hi, mom. It's me," she said.