Sacrifice

Chapter Twenty-Seven

The next morning, Crybaby was awakened from her slumber abruptly. She heard some sort of pounding sound and bolted up to see her mother standing at her door, her hand on the wall. "Why are all the cabinets and drawers open?" she asked in a bit of a raspy voice. It was visible that she had woken up a few minutes earlier.

"What?" Crybaby asked tiredly, rubbing her eyes.

"There's cabinets open in the kitchen and drawers open in the living room," her mother said in an accusatory tone. Crybaby stayed silent as she thought back to what she was doing before she went to bed last night. "You were trying to find the dial, weren't you?" her mother said, coming closer to her. She couldn't walk in a straight line. Crybaby quickly shook her head. "Mom, let me just make us some breakfast," she suggested softly.

Her mother slowly nodded, "You're so lucky." She then turned and walked out of Crybaby's room. Crybaby stood up and stretched, then looked at her clock, which read 8:14 A.M. She wouldn't have woken up this early by herself on a Sunday. She sighed and opened her wardrobe doors to find a comfortable outfit to wear, knowing she wouldn't be leaving her house. Then she left her bedroom and went to the bathroom to quickly freshen up and change. When she finished, she went to the kitchen to start making breakfast for herself and her mother. She served her mother first, also pouring her a glass of water along with two pain killers. She then served herself and sat down at the table to eat. As she was eating, she was zoned out. She just couldn't shake this feeling of defeat.

A little while later in Ben's house, he was sitting up in his bed tiredly because he didn't get a good night's sleep. He had been stressing about Crybaby and why she hadn't called him. He'd even considered going back to her house. But he couldn't, as Damien had already picked up his car and he wouldn't have had enough time to go by foot because his father would be home soon that morning. He didn't call her because he didn't want to risk getting her into any more trouble. He groaned softly as he tried to stop overthinking and dragged himself to the bathroom to brush his teeth. When he was done with that, he figured he should eat something, so he went to the kitchen to make himself a quick breakfast. In the midst of cooking, he heard the front door unlock. He looked at it and smiled as he saw his father come in. "Hey, son!" his father greeted him happily. "Hi, dad," Ben said as he set his spatula down and went to hug him. His father hugged him back and ruffled his hair. "Did you eat breakfast?" Ben asked him.

"Nope. Just left my buddy's house to get here sooner," his father explained, setting his things down.

"I just made some egg whites. Here, take these. I'll put some more on," Ben said as he moved the egg whites he cooked onto a plate and served it to his father over the counter. He grinned at Ben, "Thanks, son." He brought his plate to the dining table and sat down.

"No problem," Ben said and then started cooking his own food. He served himself in a few minutes and brought his plate to the table as well so the two of them could eat breakfast together. Ben stopped eating before he had even finished half his food. His father looked at him and cocked an eyebrow. "What's going on with you?" he asked him.

"What?" Ben asked, looking at his father quickly, "...oh, nothing, nothing. I'm fine."

"Come on, kid. I know something's up. I only look dumb," his father joked.

Ben half smiled and sighed, "It's about her."

His father thought for a moment before asking, "Who's this we're talking about?" Ben just stared at him blankly.

"Oh, oh, her. Crybaby, of course," his father said when he caught on, "What's wrong?" he asked.

"It's complicated. Really complicated."

"Well, sometimes you just can't please 'em," his father said with a shrug, trying to lighten the mood. Ben chuckled, "No, dad, it's not like that. We're fine, it's just... I'm worried about her."

"I got all day," his father leaned forward on the table. Ben smiled and thought about explaining everything. "...Well, not literally 'all day', but enough time to talk about it," his father added.

Ben contemplated for another moment. "I don't know how she'd feel about me telling you everything," he said.

"Well, if you'd rather keep her business private out of respect, I get it. But I think if it's bothering you that bad, it's alright to vent. Especially to someone like me."

Ben thought about what his father said and then went on for a bit to explain Crybaby's situation- how she might not have been safe in her home and how she hadn't called to let him know she's okay like she said she would. When he finished talking, his father exhaled sharply. "I know this isn't what you want to hear, but there's nothing you can do now as a solution," he told Ben, causing him to let out a disappointed sigh. "Ben, do you trust Crybaby?" his father asked. Ben nodded.

"Does she love you?"

Ben nodded again, "I'm pretty sure."

"Her love and your trust go hand in hand. We don't know why she hasn't called, but you need to trust that there's a reason and she'll find a way to get ahold of you. Love has a funny way of making anything possible," his father said.

"But what if she just can't? She probably can't go outside or make phone calls. Maybe she's grounded. Her mother is really... something," Ben said.

His father shrugged, "If something doesn't happen by tonight, at least you two will see each other in school tomorrow."

"That's true," Ben nodded. His father put his hand on Ben's arm comfortingly. "Everything will be alright, kiddo," he told him with a smile. He stood up from the table and took their dishes to the kitchen sink, then began to wash them. While his father was washing the dishes, Ben thought about it. He knew it would be hard to talk to Crybaby because of Angelita, and that's a situation far too complicated to explain. But, as long as he saw Crybaby from afar, he'd know she's okay and that's what mattered the most to him. In a minute, his father finished up the dishes and dried his hands. "Want to watch some T.V. with me? Maybe it'll get your mind off all this," his father suggested.

"Yeah, that sounds good," Ben agreed. The two of them walked over to the living room and sat down on the sofa, Ben's father grabbing the remote control from the coffee table and turning on the television. They watched a movie for a while, and Ben was happily distracted until they suddenly heard the telephone ring.