two ghosts | benoftheweek

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ben's pov

i turned the tv off after i finished an entire season of another show and checked the time. 8:32 pm.

i looked around the guest room i've been staying in for the past few weeks. the dark wood furniture complimenting the grey painted walls.

i left the room to get a snack. the parkers haven't even left their rooms unless it's to get food or use the bathroom.

i walked back upstairs and noticed a room i've never been in. i knocked on it to make sure no one was in there and walked in.

i probably shouldn't snoop but what's the worse that could happen?

it was a room that looked like belonged to a teenage girl. the bed wasn't mad as if someone slept here last night and the blinds were wide open. the walls were filled with posters of music artists and an entire wall of pictures with her and tate and her friends. the girl looked like tate but a little different.

was this her sister? i looked at each photo carefully when i heard someone come in.

"ben? what the hell are you doing in here!?" tate yelled. mr. and mrs. parker came out of their room and walked over to the room.

"oh my gosh i'm so sorry i was walking around the house and noticed this room and my curiosity got the best of me-" i explained myself. fuckkk tate sounded really mad.

"no ben it's fine. you're good." mrs. parker smiled warmly towards me, which made me feel relieved. "thank you mrs. p." i said.

"it happens to the best of us" mr. parker smiled at me. mr. and mrs. p looked fine but i could tell in  their voices that they sounded hurt. i fucked up. but what's wrong??

"who's room is this?" i asked. then tate stared at me, her eyes filled with tears and ran downstairs.

"tatum parker wait!" mr. p yelled. "i'm so sorry. did i say something?" i asked very confused.

"honey.. this is tatum's sister, our eldest daughter, kailey's, room." i thought for a moment about why she was so upset then the thought hit me. "oh she's in college?"

they both looked at each other with tears in their eyes and smiled a sad smile.

"ben, kailey- she  passed away last year. she got into a car wreck last may." mr. p said. fuck. this is what i get for being nosy. "oh my gosh. i'm so sorry. i didn't know."

i felt terrible. oh my gosh. was that why mr. parker was gone for the rest of the school year last year??

"excuse me. i think i should talk to tate." i cleared my throat as i left the room.

i found tatum outside in the backyard on a trampoline. "tate i'm so-" i tried apologizing but she cut my words off. "leave me alone ben." she sobbed.

my heart shattered.

i went up the trampoline and sat next to her, but she turned away.

"i didn't know. i feel so bad. i'm sorry" i apologized. "why did you even fucking go in there?" she said harshly. "i was bored and i noticed the room and i just decided to go in. but it was wrong anyways. it's not my house." i was ashamed.

this is what i get for being nosy.

"i am so sorry tate. i wasn't thinking." i sniffled. she looked up at me, her eyes were red and puffy. seeing her this way pains me so much.

"whatever ben, it's fine." she said with such sadness in her voice that even i felt like crying. "it's not really."

-

we laid on the trampoline for a few minutes. we watched the stars and heard the crickets chirping.

"tate." i said suddenly, which had startled her. "what." she responded wearily. "if you don't mind me bringing this up, you were close with your sister right?" i asked. "yeah"

"how was it? having a sibling so close to you that you told them everything about you and did everything together." her expression turned soft and she put her hand on my shoulder.  i wasn't looking for empathy or anything, i just wanted to know.

"well, it was amazing. i could tell kay everything and she always had the best advice for me. she told me all about her boyfriends and friend drama. this trampoline was where we shared all our secrets to each other, i've never been on it since the accident.. and when we were younger, we both knew sign language and most people around us didnt. so we'd sign to each other all the time. but anyways uhm-" her voice got choked up, but i stared at her waiting for her to continue on.

"we still used it. the last thing i signed to her was 'be safe', she was going somewhere with her boyfriend which is kinda of funny because i absolutely hated him, then-."

she was crying again. i scooted closer towards her and hugged her. she placed her head on my shoulder. "she was my everything. " she sobbed.

"your sister seemed like a really great person. i wish i could've met her" i said. "she would've liked you a lot" tate chuckled.

i comforted her as she cried into my shoulder. "are you gonna be okay?" she asked me, still crying. "yeah..why do you ask?" i questioned.

"your parents..they're divorcing right?" she said. my throat felt like it had a lump in it. next thing you know, i was the one crying on her shoulder.

"y-yea..they were distant for so many years, and my dad caught my mom cheating. and now i know why they barely spoke to each other. he started drinking more recently and..." my voice trailed off.

i surprised myself. this is the first time i'm saying this stuff out loud. my friends know about my parents divorcing but they don't question anything.

why am i putting so much trust into a girl i've known for 3 weeks?

"oh my god that's horrible ben." she cried. "i'm sorry ben. you don't deserve to live in a home like that. i'm glad you came here to escape from it all. no one should go through that."

she held onto me tightly and we just sat there, comforting and bathing in each other's sorrow.

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