Wednesday, August 5, 2015

When I woke up the next morning, the first thing I noticed was that an arm was wrapped tightly around my waist, a body pressed against my back. I instantly knew that it was Benny. I felt his warm breath against the back of my neck.

In attempt not to wake him, I easily picked up his arm and slid away from him. When I was sitting at the edge of the bed, I looked back and, sure enough, my eyes landed on Benny, who was sound asleep. A smile crept onto my face as I stood up.

I made my way into my bathroom to brush my hair and teeth. Normally I dodn't care what I looked like as soon as I woke up, but Benny clearly broke some rules and stayed with me, so I didn't want to kill him with my morning breath.

"Makayla," I heard someone's voice call out quietly. I poked my head out of the bathroom door to see Luke standing in my doorway, staring at my bed with wide eyes.

"What?"

He looked up at me, eyebrows raised. "Uh . . . what's he doing in your bed?"

"The same thing Skylar is probably doing in yours," I returned. Luke's eyes went wider, and I laughed. "Oh, but don't worry. We didn't do what you two did last night."

Luke opened his mouth to speak, but then closed it, his eyes widening again. "Um . . . I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't act dumb. If you didn't want anyone to know, you should've kept her quiet or something."

Luke shook his head, slapping his hand over his forehead. "Okay, look . . . we were -"

"Luke, it's fine," I broke in with a laugh. "I'm scarred, but hey, you can do whatever you want with your girlfriend."

He went silent, as if trying to find the right words to say, and finally, he sighed in defeat. "Please just act like you didn't hear anything. That's weird."

"All right, but next time, I don't want to hear it. Go do it somewhere that isn't right next to my bedroom."

"Oh my God. Just . . . I'm about to get ready to go to the sandlot. Might wanna wake your boyfriend up." With that, he walked out, hanging his head in embarrassment. He closed the door behind him, and I chuckled.

I averted my gaze to Benny to find that he was still sleeping peacefully, my blanket pulled up to his chest. He looked so adorable, I didn't even want to mess with him. But still, I made my way to my bed. I pulled the charger out of my phone, which was resting on my nightstand. I couldn't resist - Benny just looked so cute.

I opened the Snapchat app and took a picture of Benny's face. I saved it to my camera roll, then posted it onto my story with the caption, "Cutie".

All of a sudden, as I smiled at the picture, I felt his arms wrap around my waist. Before I knew it, he had pulled me down on top of him. He kept his arms wrapped around my waist, as if hugging me.

"Delete that," he mumbled.

I giggled and pulled myself back up. I looked down at him, and he stared back up at me. "Nope. Not gonna happen. It's too perfect."

He covered his face and laughed lightly. "Then I'll never delete the ones I take of you."

"Deal - wait . . . have I seen all of the pictures that you've taken of me?"

Benny smirked at me, shaking his head slightly. "You've barely seen any of them. I get you a lot when you're not looking."

I shot him a boring stare. "You kill me."

"So I've been told," he replied, sending me a playful wink.

I shook my head, smiling. "Why are you even here? What if your mom is worried because you didn't come home last night?"

"I texted her," he replied, sitting up and ripping the blanket off of himself. "She knows where I am. I told her I got really tired, and I was just gonna stay here."

"And she was okay with it?"

"Yeah."

"Wow," I responded. "And was that the real reason you stayed? Because you didn't seem that tired. And there wasn't much left to the movie when I went to sleep."

A smile grew on his face. "Maybe I told a tiny lie. Truth is, I was getting a little tired, but you cuddled up to me in your sleep, and you looked really cute, so I didn't want to move you."

My mouth dropped. "Did I seriously do that? I don't think I've ever done that to anyone before."

He chuckled while nodding. "Yeah, you did.

I slapped my hand to my forehead. "Man, I'm sorry. I know that probably wasn't comfortable for you."

"What are you talking about? It wasn't uncomfortable at all," he insisted. "Why would you think that?"

"I mean . . . I don't know."

Benny laughed, shaking his head. He ruffled my hair. "You're a dork."

I sent him a playful wink. "I try. Anyways, you might wanna head home. Sandlot."

He nodded and jumped up. "Okay, I'll be quick." He pecked my lips, and with that, he walks out of my bedroom.

---

After a long day of playing baseball with the boys, we all decided to stay at the tree house that night. We got permission from our parents and went home to gather our things.

I showered, packed some necessities and extra clothes into my backpack, then made my way to the tree house. Luke wasn't coming that night; instead, he was going on a date with Skylar.

Benny met me outside of my porch, holding his own stuff. With that, we made our way to the Timmons' house.

At about halfway, I muttered, "Crap."

"What?"

"I forgot to bring a sleeping bag again."

Benny laughed. "We can share mine again. Won't be the first time."

A smile grew on my face at the memory. "The last time, we weren't even dating, but I woke up and your arms were around me."

"Yeah," he said with a chuckle, "I wasn't even asleep when I did that. I hoped you would think that though. To the honest, I thought you would get mad."

I raised my eyebrow and looked at him. "Why would I get mad at that?"

He shrugged. "I don't know, I just didn't think you really liked me."

"Clearly you had nothing to worry about," I responded with a giggle. "Look where we are now."

Benny smiled down at me and threw his arm around my shoulders. "And I'm grateful."

When we reached the tree house, we ascended the stairs. Benny opened the door and let me walk inside first.

"Hey, guys," Ham greeted us first. "I'm making s'mores. Want one?"

"Yeah, can you make me one?" I requested.

"Benny?"

He shook his head. "Nah, I'm good, man. Thanks though."

I pecked Benny's lips. "I'm gonna wait here for mine."

He nodded and responded, "Okay. I'll go find us somewhere to lay the sleeping bag out so we won't have to find one later."

---

Hours had passed since Benny and I arrived at the tree house. The time was near midnight, and most of the boys were already asleep. Benny, Bertram, DeNunez and I sat together at the corner Benny picked for us to sleep.

"Truth," I answered to Bertram.

"Okay, um . . . when did you first realize you liked Benny?" he asked.

"Um . . ." I muttered, thinking back to the time. Finally, I answered, "Uh, probably the time when I almost passed out because it was so hot and he picked me up and carried me to the dugout. I was attracted to him when I first saw him though."

Benny chuckled. "I remember that. I felt really bad, because I knew how hot it was, and you weren't used to such hot weather."

I nodded in agreement. "Yeah, but hey, at least you got to carry me."

"Yeah," he responded with a laugh.

A smirk formed on my lips and I turned my head to face Bertram. "Bertram, truth or dare."

"Dare."

"I dare you to . . . I don't know, walk outside, scream . . . 'I wear an A cup'."

Bertram frowned and questioned, "What's an A cup?"

Benny and DeNunez cracked up and my smirk grew. "It's a small bra size," I answered.

"What? Why do I have to say that?"

"Or would you rather say you need an extra small condom?"

Bertram rolled his eyes and stood up. "All right, all right. You're so mean."

I put on a sweet smile. "Thank you."

The boys and I walked to the door of the tree house, and Bertram turned back to face us when we reached it. "What if Timmy and Tommy's mom comes out?"

"Just do it, man," DeNunez replied. "If she does, you'll already be back inside by the time she comes out, and we'll deny everything."

Benny and I laughed loudly and Bertram sighed. "Whatever."

Bertram opened the door, and we stepped forward to watch him. He stood in silence for a few moments before finally yelling, "I wear an A cup!"

With that, he turned on his heels and ran back inside, pushing us out of the way. We all chortled as he slammed the door.

"I thought that would be funnier," I remarked with a smirk.

After he calmed down, a smile finally grew on Bertram's face. "You guys are crazy. I'm tired, though. I'm gonna go to sleep, all right?"

DeNunez nodded in agreement. "Yeah, me too."

"Okay," Benny said. "Goodnight, then."

Bertram and DeNunez both said 'goodnight' to me and Benny, and they made their way to their sleeping bags. Benny and I walked back to his and lie down together.

We lie in silence, and I stared up at the ceiling. I piped up in a soft voice, "I'm really happy I'm here."

Benny turned his head to look at me. "Why is that?"

"You guys are the best people ever," I answered, my gaze set on the ceiling. "I love my friends from Tennessee, but I love what I have here. I'm always out playing baseball, getting a tan, getting exercise and not being really lazy."

Benny grinned. "We're glad you're here too. Especially me. You're the greatest thing that's ever happened to me."

My lips curled into a smile and I looked over at him. When my eyes set on him, I studied his features. I loved his dark hair, his beautiful eyes, his perfectly shaped lips, his smooth, tan skin, his cute nose, all of his facial features. To me, he was absolutely perfect. If he had any flaws, I couldn't find them.

"What?" A smile grew on his face, which I admired as well. His smile was breathtaking. Everything about him was breathtaking. "Why are you staring at me like that?"

My smile wided, and instead of replying, I scooted closer to him and kissed him. He wrapped his arm around my waist and I ran my fingers through his hair with my right hand.

I continued to study his face, and he smiled adorably. His eyes locked on mine, but he didn't say anything.

Finally, I whispered, "You're perfect, you know."

He half-smiled and stared at me with soft eyes. He propped himself up on his elbows, leaned over me and kissed me in response. His arm remained around my waist, and I wrapped mine around his neck, pulling him closer to me.

The kiss eventually turned into a make-out session, but not the fast and sloppy kind. Our lips moved together slowly in sync, a kiss I got so lost in, I felt like I was in Heaven. It got to the point that I had no idea how long it lasted, because my mind was completely set on him.

Eventually, we pulled apart, breaking the kiss. Benny stared down at me, still leaning over me. Our breathing was heavier now. Finally, after staring at each other in silence for a few moments, he pecked my lips and lay back down.

"Goodnight, Benny," I said softly.

"Goodnight, beautiful."

Benny tightened his grip around my waist, and I turned over on my side so that I faced him. We cuddled up together, and in no time, I fell asleep.

---

I slept peacefully, expecting to be awoken by the sunlight. But instead, when I woke up, it was still dark, and something was very wrong.

Smoke filled the room, burning my nose.

Out of instinct, I shot up. Benny's arm was still around me, so he woke up as well. When he did, he sat up almost as quickly as I did.

"What the hell?"

I quickly jumped to my feet, ignoring Benny's remark. The first thing that popped into my mind was fire, and that thought led to Leon, my best friend who died in a fire.

"It's on fire," I breathed, shock taking over me. As if on cue, a flame flicked up from one of the windows, sending pure fear into my heart.

Benny stood up and immediately yelled, "Wake up, guys! The tree house is on fire, wake up!"

The smoke filled my lungs as my breathing sped up, and I began coughing loudly. I grabbed my backpack and ran to the door as the boys started waking up. I opened the door, only to be attacked by more of the belching black smoke. I quickly pulled my shirt over my mouth and nose, then threw my backpack over the side.

"Wake up!" I screamed, hoping to wake Timmy and Tommy's mom up (their dad left again). "Fire! There's a fire!"

The thought crossed my mind to go down to the house to get her, but the fire was spreading quickly. If I left them and someone died, I would have never been able to forgive myself. I couldn't prevent my best friend's death, but I could prevent these boys from dying.

With that thought in mind, I ran back inside. The boys were standing up, quickly grabbing their belongings. Some of them were screaming in fear, so pitifully, and I felt horrible for them.

"Get out! Get out!" I screamed, tears forming in my eyes on account of the smoke that burned them. "Leave the stuff, just get out!"

Most of the boys obeyed me and took off running for the door. I stood there, pushing their backs as they passed, keeping count of who made it out. The smoke was so thick and black now, I could barely see anything.

Finally, they stopped coming, and Benny was the last to run out. The fire had caught on the inside now, and I knew the tree house wouldn't last much longer. Benny stopped and turned back to grab my arm.

"Come on, let's go!" he exclaimed.

"No, only eight came out!" I yelled back. All of a sudden, I heard someone coughing, and without hesitation, I took off running towards the noise.

"Makayla!" Benny screamed.

Half of the tree house was engulfed in flames now, and I could barely see anything. The roof began to cave in, and my heart almost beat out of my chest. Pure fear consumed me, giving me an adrenaline rush. So when I saw Squints trying to scramble away from the fire, I darted towards him. Then my heart dropped when I heard him scream, and I saw that a flame caught his shirt and was quickly growing.

As soon as I reached him, I did the only thing that came to mind - I grabbed the shirt and, I didn't understand how I did it because it happened so fast, ripped his entire shirt off of his body in under a second. He coughed violently, and as if I were his big sister, I picked him up protectively and ran for the door.

The fire quickly followed us, and my heart beat at a hundred miles an hour. I felt like that was how fast I was running too. The entire tree house began to cave in and fall, and I heard the screams coming from below. Benny was the only face I spotted at the door, and when he saw me, he motioned for me to hurry. He screamed, but I couldn't hear it. My burning lungs filled with smoke, and I became really dizzy.

When Benny knew I'd make it out, he quickly went to climb down the ladder to get out. I didn't have enough time for that, though, so instead, my instincts kicked in. I didn't even know I was going to jump until Squints and I were falling to the ground.

It wasn't a very long fall, so it probably shouldn't have done much damage, but as soon as my body hit the ground, I went unconscious.

---

I woke up to someone shaking me, accompanied by loud sirens. My chest ached and my back hurt a bit, but other than that, I felt okay. My eyes fluttered open, and the first face I saw was Luke. That was when I realized he had been holding me in his lap, tears flooding his eyes.

"Oh my God, Kayla, are you okay?" Luke exclaimed, immediately pulling me to his chest in a hug like I was a rag doll.

I nodded, coughing a few times. "Yeah, yeah. Where's Benny? Where's Squints?"

Luke pulled away from me and looked over. As if on cue, Benny appeared, dropping to my side. The look on his face showed pure fear and worry. Elizabeth followed the action.

"Where's Squints?" I asked him in a worried tone. My heartbeat sped up and my body went numb at the horrible thoughts of what might have happened to him.

"He's in the ambulance," Benny replied. "He's all right, I think. How do you feel? Does your head hurt? From that fall, you might have gotten a concussion. If you do -"

"Benny," I broke in, standing up and leaving Luke's arms. "I'm okay."

Benny stood up as I did, and as soon as we were both on our feet, he engulfed me in a tight hug. "I was really scared," he whispered. "I thought you were gonna die for a moment."

I hugged him back tightly and shook my head. "Well, I'm okay. We're all alive, that's all that matters."

I felt a hand touch my arm and I looked over to see Luke standing beside us. Benny saw it too, and we let go of each other. I turned to face Luke, and he immediately attacked me with a big hug. He put his hand on the back of my head, holding me close to him, and I hugged back tightly.

"What you did . . . that took a lot of bravery," he said to me, tightening his grip on me. "You're a hero now, you know."

"I learn from the best, don't I?" I returned in a soft voice, feeling tears sting my eyes.

Luke pulled away from me but kept his arms around me. He stared down at me for a few moments, then kissed my forehead before pulling me back into a hug.

"Actually," he mumbled, "I think I could learn a few things from you. Given the things you've had to go through before, I don't think I would've had that in me."

---

The rest of the night consisted of talking to Squints' and my parents and the cops, being complimented and thanked, watching firefighters put out the fire and trying to see Squints in the hospital. All we knew was that he had burns on his back, but they wouldn't tell us the severity of it, and he couldn't have visitors yet. Considering I ripped his shirt off of him so quickly, I didn't think the burns should have been too bad.

Finally, we all got home, though we all knew none of us would be able to sleep. So much had happened in the last hour, my heart still raced and I still trembled.

As I lie in my bed, staring restlessly up at my ceiling, the door to my bedroom slowly opened. "Makayla?" I heard Luke's voice whisper.

I averted my gaze to my brother and responded, "Yeah?"

"You good?"

I sighed lightly and looked back up at the ceiling. When he sat at the edge of my bed, I finally whispered, "I don't know."

"It's okay if you're not," he replied, resting his hand on my wrist. "But you should try to get some rest. I think we'll be able to see Squints tomorrow."

I swallowed the lump in the back of my throat, and when I replied, my voice cracked slightly. "I don't think I'll be able to sleep tonight."

"Just try, all right? Squints will be okay, I promise. He's a tough little dude. And he's okay because of you. If it weren't for you . . . he might not have made it out of that tree house. So just try to get some rest. You deserve it." Luke kissed my forehead and stood up. "I love you."

"I love you too," I responded quietly.

My heart ached for Squints. I couldn't imagine the pain he was going through. Luke made his way to the door to go back to bed, and a thought popped into my mind. When we were little, if I couldn't sleep, I would crawl in bed with him, and it always helped. I didn't know why, but I'd always felt safe with Luke, even if we would fight a lot during those times. I hadn't slept beside him in years, but I wanted to try to see if it worked.

"Luke," I called out before he could exit my room. He turned around and looked at me questioningly. "Can I sleep with you tonight?"

Luke's lips curled into a tiny smile, and he nodded. I got up and made my way towards him, and he led me into his room. He had his ceiling fan on, so the cool air felt good against my skin. We didn't say a word as we both climbed into his bed. If we were under normal circumstances, I would probably be dwelling on the fact that he and Skylar did the dirty on this bed the day before. But now, I was too worried about Squints to think about that.

Just like we always did, I crawled onto the right side of the bed and he took the left side. We lie facing each other. We didn't say a word. And in seconds, my exhaustion suddenly took over, and I fell asleep.

---

Who do you guys think did it? 😳 Comment your thoughts.

Okay, so I was planning this, but I didn't know when it would happen, so I just went ahead & made it happen bc I know this story is getting boring, lmao. But what do you guys think about it? Please give me feedback. 😘

I also wanted to point out that when you're kissing someone like Makayla & Benny were kissing, it really feels like Heaven if the other person is a good kisser. That's how I got the description. 😂 I know it sounds bad, but oh my gosh, me & this boy dated for a little bit, & he was a great kisser. & when we kissed like that, I fr thought I was in Heaven for a few moments. I kid you NOT. 😂

I really freaking wish I had an older brother like Luke & had their relationship. Omf, they make me jealous, & I'm the one writing it all. 😂😔

Anyways, please comment & vote. Let me know what you think! I'm on Spring Break, so I'll try to update more. Just give me feedback, & give me some motivation.

& dude, I was talking to my mom on the phone earlier bc she was on her way back home with my dad. She said the truck was making a weird noise, & then she started screaming that it caught on fire. I can't tell you how much my heart dropped, bc I thought of Leon, & it would really suck to lose my parents to a fire too. But they're okay, thank God 😌

Stay gold.