When Life Races You By

Chapter 9

I woke up to the sound of voices. Feeling a little worse for wear, especially after yesterday’s events, I lifted my head. Mum was standing at the door way with Ben’s parents.

“Mr and Mrs Hopefield,” I greeted. “How are you?”

“We’ve had better days,” Mrs Hopefield replied. “How’s Ben?”

Her normally perky face looked drawn and grey, as though she hasn’t slept in days. Her long hair, which was normally never out of place, had strands everywhere. Mr Hopefield didn’t look much better.

I had only ever met them once before, at one of Ben’s birthdays. They weren’t really into horse racing, but they were very supportive of Ben’s choice to become a jockey.

“He’s doing alright, the operation went well,” I replied.

“Glad to hear,” Mr Hopefield replied.

I stepped outside of the room to give them some time with Ben alone, stretching my body as I walked. Hospital chairs aren’t known to be the most comfortable. Glancing at the clock, I saw it was a little past five in the morning. Wow, I thought, I must have slept for four hours. Deciding that I needed to refresh, I headed to the bathroom.

What looked back at me in the mirror was not what I was expecting. My hair was all over the place. My eyes were bloodshot, from all the cry and I had dark circles. If you saw me on the street you would have thought I was mad.

I arrived at the café, hoping that a coffee might make me look a little better. Sitting down at a table, I began flipping through the newspaper. I wasn’t really reading it, but one article caught my attention. Favourite Falls.

Man’s Best Friend fell with 300 meters to go. Both jockey and horse were rushed off the track. It is unknown yet if any serious injuries have been obtained…

I quickly shut the paper, not wanting to read anymore.

“Are you alright Claire?”

I looked up to see mum standing with a coffee. I passed the paper over for her to see.

“Oh,” mum said. “They got that out quickly.”

“They sure did,” I replied. “Hey, where’s dad?” I’d only just notice that he wasn’t here.

“He went home to look after the horses.”

“Oh.” The thought of horses just reminded me of Manny.

“You know Claire,” mum said with a serious voice. “Ben’s going to have to work really hard to get back to where he was. He probably won’t be able to live on his own for a while as well.”

I hadn’t really thought about what would happen to Ben after he got out of hospital.

“I’m going to offer Ben and his parents our guess house to stay in,” mum continued. “It’s up to them whether they want to. Also when they go home, they’ll be comforted know that someone is looking after Ben.”

I let what mum had said sink in. I had to admit, I liked the idea of Ben staying in our guest house. It would mean that I would be able to see him more often.

“Do you want me to ask them?” I asked, finishing off my coffee and throwing it in the bin.

“That would be great, thanks hun,” mum replied, getting up from the table. “I have to head home to help your dad with the horses.”

Waving her off, I headed back to Ben’s room. Inside his parents were sitting at his bedside, talking to him. I knocked on the door, not wanting to interrupt.

“Claire,” Mr Hopefield said, “come in. We were just about to leave to get something to eat.”

“Before you go,” I replied, “my mum and I were wondering if you would like to stay in our guest house? You’re welcome to stay as long as you want.”

“Oh, that would be wonderful!” Mrs Hopefield exclaimed. It suddenly looked like a large weight had been lifted off her shoulders. “We might head over there then and get some rest and come back in the afternoon. Is that ok with you Ben?”

“Sure mum, it’s not like I’m going anywhere,” Ben said, point to his leg.

“Alright, we’ll be back soon,” Mrs Hopefield confirmed.

Once they had left, I sat down next to Ben.

“How are you feeling?” I asked.

“You know, battered, bruised and bored,” Ben replied. “It’s not much fun lying on your back.”

“And it’s been less than a day!” I exclaimed.

“You try it!”

“Do you want me to try and track down a board game or something? At least you can do that with one hand.”

“I know a game. What about truth or dare?”

“Alright, you start then.”

We played this for about an hour or so, telling each other funny and embarrassing childhood stories, and Ben daring me to lie on my back for ten minutes. We began to run out of ideas, but somehow Ben thought of one that would knock my breath away.

“Truth or dare?” He asked.

“Dare,” I replied.

“I dare you to kiss me.”

“Ben,” I sighed, “you know I can’t do that, not here. Someone might catch us out.”

“Just on the cheek.”

“Fine.”

So I did, I kissed Ben on the cheek. The butterflies filled my stomach and I could feel my cheeks heating up. Under my lips, I could feel Ben smile. To anyone else, it would just look like a normal, friendly kissed, but to us, us alone, it was much, much more.

Author's Note: Here is another unedited chapter. I will try and find out when my editor will be back. From now on I'll be updating every Saturday or Sunday, depending when I'm on my computer. Please comment your thoughts, they really help me. Thanks!