Nobody remembered my birthday. I know I have been acting like I don’t care about it but it’s not enough reason to forget it. Mum didn’t remember, Daddy didn’t too. We left for school extra early today, throughout the ride I kept expecting him to pull up on me with a surprise but nothing. Even Benny forgot it.
School was extremely boring for me. During lunch hour, I was barely chatty. Ben either didn’t notice or he didn’t care. I couldn’t be mad at the band because they didn’t know my date of birth but my supposedly perfect boyfriend didn’t remember.
I don’t like him so much right now. I don’t like how he’s staring at me. Ben pinches my nose to elicit a reaction from me but all I give him is a sneer. Even that doesn’t bother him.
His arm hangs outside the car, head pokes outside so the sun is shining on his face. I slap his leg for no reason and he lets out an exaggerated gr
Calum came with his guitar. Such a showoff. He is singing. My parents are smitten by him. If the way they are paying rapt attention to his singing is any sign to go by. Ben can sing too, he is the best bathroom singer in his opinion. Maria also seems impressed with Calum. She pinches my thighs and winks. I shouldn’t have let her sit beside me.“He’s hot,” she whispers. “Is he available?”“You have a boyfriend,” I remind her. “Daniel. Daniel Holt. The hot guy with green eyes.” Her grin is instant. It’s a surprise and miracle they are still going strong. “Yeah, you are very much not single.”“I’m allowed to admire other people.” Maria pokes my cheek to support her fallacious claims. I feel like admiring people can lead into something more. Feelings sure can be weird and I will rather be on the safer side. “You too, Tessa. Admire from afar. Keep your op
Ben got into NYU. We are going to NYU together. The excitement is too much for my body to contain. I continue jumping on the bed while Ben tries to convince me to ‘behave’. I don’t think he understands. We will go to NYU. We will get great jobs. We will get married. We will have kids. We will be together, forever. He should also be jumping.“Gracie, stop,” he says for the umpteenth time.I stop long enough for him to carry me into his arms. My lips are on his in seconds, pouring out the words I couldn’t say. I didn’t know he applied to my school. I have the best boyfriend ever.Something falls out of the torn envelope while I am trying to tuck in his acceptance letter into it. I hold the charm to my eyes and an instant grin breaks out on my lips. Without being told, I know the NYU charm is for my memory bracelet. More memories. We will create new and better memories in NYU.“What about SAS?” I as
BENSometimes, when something bad happens to you, you don’t tell people so they don’t pity you or offer pitiful looks. Gracie keeps doing that. She’s so overprotective and watchful of me like she’s afraid I’ll break down any second.I’m okay.“Can you stop?” I grumble out. She’s on my bed pretending to read a novel. The hand holding the book lowers. “I don’t like it.”“You don’t like what?”“How you’re staring at me,” I whisper.“I wasn’t staring.” Sure, she was. Lifting herself up to plant a kiss on my lips, she tries to hold me in place but I move away because I don’t feel like it. I have no idea why I am annoyed but I want to leave this place right now. “Did I do something wrong?”“No.”Pushing my legs over the bed, I tense slightly when her ar
“Sleepyhead, we have to clean up,” Ben says.I look up to him with sleepy eyes and pout. What if I don’t want to clean up? What if I want to stay here forever in his arms? The air smells of sex and sweat. Yeah, we do need to clean up. Rolling away from him causes pain to shoot up my legs but I cover it up with a smile before Ben notices. There’s a dark spot of blood on the bed, we stare at it and grin at each other. It hurt a little but I want to do it again.My eyes lower to Ben’s dick. It’s the first time I am seeing it during the day. Ben waggles a finger to stop me from touching him but I am not having it. He’s my boyfriend, the love of my life, I am allowed to touch him when I feel like it. He jumps off the bed before I can get to him. Handsome coward.I wince again as I try to get off the bed and Ben notices. He squats in front of me to massage my thighs. It’s with good intention but the massage o
Boyfriends are annoying. I push Ben’s money back to him and the idiot wraps one hand around my waist and lifts me off the ground to take over.Ben slides some bills to the cashier while I’m still trying to recover from the shock of being carried like I weigh nothing. The cashier sends us off with a smile and a wave. We must look crazy. I punch his chest when we are outside and he pinches my nose.“Annoying. You’re so annoying,” I tell him. He kisses me. Because I’m such a sucker for him, I lean into the kiss but he pulls back before I deepen it. I tuck my hair behind my ear as a gentle breeze blows it into my face. “You should have let me pay.”“Why?” Ben offers me the bag containing the pills and a can of soda. Tugging me in the direction of his car, he continues, “I’m the reason you need to use the pill anyway.”“You’re not the reason. We are the
I am exhausted. We both are. We collapse on the bed the minute we enter his room in Josef’s house, panting heavily like we ran a marathon. Ben’s hand seeks mine; he bursts into laughter and I join him.Staring at the ceiling, I lock my hands behind my head. He nudges me with his elbow. “Hey, baby.”I blush. Ben has never called me baby. “Hey.”With a grin, he bops my nose. I run my fingers through his hair, scattering it all over his forehead.“Thank you for coming,” he says against my nose.“Thank you for inviting me.”Gently, he tugs me into a sitting position. Kissing me slowly as he undresses me, he lifts me to his lap to pepper more open-mouthed kisses on my lips. I help him out of his jacket and shirt so we are both almost naked. He shrugs out of his sweatpants and bolts to his feet, nearly throwing me off his lap.“Sorry. We didn’t l
BENIt’s 8 am and not a word has been mentioned about going to the police station. I know the way, I can drive up there myself but my hands and legs no longer seem to function anymore.Gracie shifts closer to me and wraps her arms around me. We are hiding out in my room because the awkwardness at breakfast was worse than last night’s dinner.They haven’t fought again but they are most likely not on speaking terms. I’ve tried to put myself in Josef’s shoes, as a father, what would I do? I understand his need to protect his daughter but she’s evil. Yet I can’t bring myself to be mad at him. It’s like the way I’m overprotective of Asher. If he’s in the wrong, I can’t confidently say I’ll give him up. “What are you thinking about?” Gracie asks. She tries to smoothen the lines on my forehead and I wrap my hands around her tiny wrists. Her lips curl in a smile.
I think Ben is depressed. He doesn’t say it but he acts it. This whole thing has taken a toll on him. We have three more days before Sunday but there hasn’t been any progress.The phone call hasn’t come yet. I don’t want to agree with Ben that this was a bad idea but seeing him retreat into a shell I never knew he had makes me question a lot of things. What if I was wrong to encourage him to press charges? Now, look at him.I poke his side and he looks up. “Hey.”“Hey,” he replies. We are camped in his room. The tension in the house is still unbearable. My hand slips into his briefs to caress his balls. We have only had sex once since we got to San Francisco. Ben doesn’t flinch. His penis remains asleep. Pulling out my hand, he tries to smile. “What are you doing?”“I’m trying to turn you on,” I whisper.More specifically, I’m trying to
I feel like sexual assault against the male genders is not talked about as much as in the case of the female genders. As a friend to a few males who have been molested by people who were supposed to care for them, I knew I had to write about it someday. And I hope I was able to bring awareness to this, however little, through Ben. It’s never okay to molest a child. It’s never okay to molest anyone. That being said, here are some fun facts about this book; 1. It’s my first attempt at teenfiction. I was almost certain readers would notice and call me out on that. 2. BBTB was supposed to be a short story project. I was so worried it would be a flop so I planned to make it between 40-80 chapters. But the story grew wings and took off on its own. 3. This is the longest story I have ever written. I am just as surprised as you are and I was pleasantly shocked to see comments wanting their lovestory to go on for much longer. Those comments kept me going even on the bad days. So, thank y
It hurts too much. My body is on fire and it’s not yet right to push. Why isn’t it time? I need them to get the baby out of me. Not later, now. Sweat drips down my forehead and my eyes sting with tears. The doctor has stopped the bleeding. I have been cleaned up, changed into a hospital gown. They say everything is fine but it’s not. The contractions are ripping me from inside out and all Ben does is mutter unintelligible gibberish. He put the baby inside me, he should experience the pain too. “Are you okay?” Ben asks. I glare at him. How can I be okay? Whatever the doctor gave me is keeping me awake so I have no respite from the pain. Ben pushes my hair away from my sweaty forehead and I lean into him for comfort. I’m tired but I’m glad our son is okay. “I’m sorry, Gracie,” my husband says. Pushing past my pain, I offer him a questioning glance. Maddie is fine, right? My parents are okay too, right? Ben wipes the tears spill
I am packing up for Maddie’s weekend getaway when Ben strolls into her room. He picks a toy from the floor, tosses it into the air and catches it. I stall when he crosses over to me. All his attempts to take over the packing from me are futile. He protests by shaking his head. I am pregnant, not handicapped.When the bag is zipped up, I lower myself to the bed to catch my breath. Maybe I should have let him do it. But he never lets me do anything.Worried eyes stare into mine as Ben kneels between my legs. I’m fine, just tired. I pick the stuffed bear he dropped on the bed and sniff it. It smells like Maddie. And if I listen closely, I’ll hear her voice as she sings along with her favourite characters on TV.Maddie’s grandparents—my parents are in town because I’m due next week. They don’t want to miss it. She’s spending the weekend with them.Ben pries the bear from me and traces the
Laughter erupts from the living room, a kid’s voice follows and my lips curve in a smile. I pause the YuuTube tutorial I’m watching and set my tab down on the counter. I’m trying a new recipe I found online. Ben has been working extra hours so he can’t cook as much anymore and I’m tired of takeouts for dinner.With a hand under my belly, I meander to the living room. Maddie is on her feet, clapping and giggling at the television. There’s an old show playing. A family series I starred in one year after graduation. I clear my throat and my baby girl spins to face me. She grins and everything feels right. The nine hours of labour, the screams, the pain. They don’t matter.Running towards me, she stops a few inches from me and grabs my hand. “See Mummy,” she says, pointing at the television. I’m helping the second male lead set up his outfit for work. Her blue eyes flash with childlike innocence when she run
I feel the stare before I turn to Maria. “Will you stop?” I mutter. She says nothing but her eyes lower to my swollen belly, making it so obvious she had been staring. “Maria Vega.”“Theresa Carter.”Pink colours my cheeks. I hide my face in my palms and she bursts out laughing. It still feels so surreal being Mrs Carter, Ben’s wife. Our wedding was small and private like we both wanted. Aside from our family, we had our friends. Maria. Leah. Mira. Calum. Olivia also showed up. She and Ben are still in contact. We are kind of cool.Thinking about the wedding makes me smile and I twist the ring on my forth finger. My promise ring remains on my middle finger.I sit up and cross my legs. There are some pictures from the wedding scattered all over the living room floor. Maria didn’t get a chance to see them before her flight. She had a concert that day. I rub a hand over my stomach. Ben didn’t
Where is Ben? We will be late.I step out of the bathroom in only a towel and sashay to the wardrobe to get the gown for our date. There are a few options but I select a navy blue off-shoulder gown. Flipping through my playlist, I settle on Maria’s new single and settle down in front of the vanity to make myself up.A smile curves my lips as I brush my hair. I don’t look so bad at all. The makeup tutorial classes on YuuTube and Maria’s extra sessions come in handy as I apply foundation to my face. My gaze flies to the door. I’m in my room. Ben wasn’t in his room when I checked but he should be getting ready.The door creaks. I look up but Ben doesn’t walk in. My eye makeup is done. I apply a bright red lipstick and the door finally opens. Ben stalks into the room wearing a tux. My man is hot but in a suit and Oxford leather shoes, he is hotter. He closes the door with his foot and leans on it so I can assess
The drive to Ben’s office is a blur. I’m out of the car and in front of his office in a flash. I miss him. And I haven’t seen him in eight hours.I knock once on the door and open before he ushers me inside. Locking the door behind me, I bridge the gap between us and crush him in a hug. We live in the same house but God, I want to be in his presence all the time.“You’re back so early,” Ben says against my lips. I kiss him hard to make up for the hours without any kisses. Ben chuckles and hoists me on the edge of his desk. Then, he stands between my legs. “I missed you too, babe.”I grin. “I missed you more.”Ben touches his forehead to mine. “You’re here,” he says. His smile is sad. I nod against his body and his hands slip into my gown. I help him with the zip and pout. “I didn’t think you would make it today.”I had a pho
The mixer whirrs to life. I throw in more flour, add three eggs and whisk the batter into a smooth mix. Calum, my unwilling apprentice, watches from behind the counter. He came in last night. On my command, Calum oils the pans for the cake and turns on the oven. Done, he edges close to me. I swat his hand before he dips his finger into the mix. “Come on, Tessa. I came all this way, let me have some.” I roll my eyes. He came all this way, uninvited but I’m happy to see him. I empty the batter into the small pan. We will eat from that. “Just a taste.” “Fine.” I shove the spatula in his face and he snatches it from me. My face scrunches in disgust when he licks the spatula clean like a hungry dog. “Calum, what’s wrong with you?” He shrugs. “Nothing?” It feels like there’s something but I continue emptying the batter into the pans. When I’m done, I bring out the ingredients for the icing. Today is Ben’s
A look of fear flashes across her face. She levels me with a stare that shows she’s trying to control her temper. It’s unfair that I have to watch her kiss other guys under the guise of it being part of the job. “You are just making up scenarios that don’t exist,” she says. “Your job doesn’t even require it, Benny.” “But your job does...” I twist my hands so hard they ache. She doesn’t get it. “...and I don’t like it, Gracie.” Various emotions flicker on her face. She opens and closes her mouth twice without saying a word. The third time, she murmurs, “You asked me to trust you when Elena was involved, right?” I did. And I’ve established boundaries at the office, at school too. For fuck’s sake, she’s my screensaver, I wear my ring. They know I belong to Gracie. “So, can you please trust me on this one? It’s just a job, babe.” “Babe, it’s not the same.” Gracie stomps her feet in annoyance. I grit my teeth. She’s not the only one getti