“Hi, Ben,” Alexa shyly pushed her hair back from her face for the first time in weeks, lifting her teeth off of her bright red lips. Around most people, Alexa felt the need to hide her eyes, God forbid they revealed what she was feeling inside. Her heart was closely guarded ever since… the incident. But not around Ben. Ben understood her. Ben knew how she felt, because he felt the same way, too.
“Hi Alexa,” he responded, a concerned, boyish yet wise look on his face. “How are you holding up?”
Alexa felt tears wallowing behind her eyes, but she held them back. She couldn’t cry, not even in front of Ben. Especially not in front of Ben. She had to stay strong for him. Besides, why was Ben asking her this? Didn’t he feel just as broken up inside as she did? His parents had died on that terrible night, too!
“I- I’m fine,” Alexa stuttered. “H-how are you? How are Emma, Katie, Joey, and Michael holding up?
“Oh, my siblings are fine enough,” Ben ran his fingers through his hair. “I mean, they’re no worse than any kids would be if their parents died in a plane crash.”
“But you,” Alexa put her hand on Ben’s arm against her better judgment. “How are you doing?”
“I’m fine,” Ben sat down, putting his head in his hands. “I just wish things had gone differently. I wish I hadn’t called Mom and Dad on their vacation in Venice to tell them Katie had broken her leg. I wish they hadn’t hopped on the next flight back. I wish that your parents hadn’t offered to come back with mine. But, most of all, I wish that plane hadn’t crashed, that the captain hadn’t gotten drunk at the wheel.”
“We all wish that, Ben,” Alexa let one tear fall down her cheek to match Ben’s plenty. “We all wish that.”
