A flashlight in the shadows.

chapter 47: Plan b?

We drove home at 12:40. We had fallen asleep in his car, and I was lucky I woke up before dad called the police. He pulled in his driveway and sighed.
"Let me walk you home." I smiled and got out, waiting for him to escort me to the door. He took my hand in his and we walked to the door. I stopped in front of it and turned to him.
"Goodnight." He smiled.
"Goodnight, book thief." He leaned down and kissed me on the lips. And, just my luck, the door swung open at that exact moment and dad appeared in the doorway, wide eyed. I pulled away sharply, hoping that I was just seeing things.
"Uh, hi dad."
"Do you have any idea what time it is!?!" He asked, looking at Bennett. Bennett stared at him and replied,
"It's 12:56."
"Exactly, what were you doing with my baby girl?!" He asked in a slightly irritated voice. I touched his arm.
"We fell asleep in his car, ok dad?" He looked at me, then turned to Bennett and said,
"I'm watching you," then he went back inside. I smiled at Bennett one last time before closing the door. Dad yawned and told me,
"I've got work in the morning. Dinners in the fridge if you're hungry, love you." And with that, he went up the stairs, leaving me alone. I sighed and took off my crasage, setting it on the table. I ate some chicken that was sitting in the fridge and went upstairs to wipe the crap off of my face. Before I entered my room, I noticed that Jane door was slightly ajar. I pushed it open, and saw that she was missing. A note sat on her bed that said,
'At lainys, be back tomorrow.' I smiled at the thought of her and Jacob and set the note back for dad to find in the morning. I went to my room, but stopped dead in my tracks when I noticed something. Bennett wasn't facing my window, but he was shirtless. As in, no shirt on. His back had one big scar going across it, but it was toned and oddly tan. I felt myself short of breath. I snapped out of my trance when he started to turn around. I then fled into my bathroom and slammed the door shut. Holy crap, that was close. After I caught my breath, I wiped all the impurities from my face and sighed. I looked up at myself. I hadn't noticed how hard Bennett had squeezed my breast earlier, but there was a huge red mark where he had touched it. I lightly brushed my thumb over the spot and smiled. I took down my hair and peeled the dress off of me. The heels I had been wearing were downstairs, but my feet were killing me. I stepped in the shower and let the water take me into a world of brief serenity, embracing its warmth. Once I was completely cleansed, I sighed and threw on my PJ's, which were a pair of pink pajama pants and a light green tank top. I put my hair up in a towel and went to the bedroom, collapsing on my bed. When I looked over, Bennett was writing in his notebook. He stared at it with intensity. I watched him write for a few minutes. In that moment, I missed his warmth. I wanted to be by him, but I didn't let myself think that way for long. After I had brushd out my hair, I laid my head on the bed, staring at Bennett. I watched him write until my eyelids couldn't stay open another second.
The house was silent. Completely silent. I opened my eyes to check the time, 9:10. Groaning, I sat up and yawned. My phone light was on, meaning I had a text message. I opened the screen and checked, 2 missed calls and 5 texts from Kendra. I opened the texts and read the last one,
'Meet me at Starbucks. I have news:)' I sighed and got up, searching for some clothes. I put on a pair of leggings with a loose zip-up shirt and brushed my hair while walking to the car. Dad had already left for work and Jane hadn't returned yet. I hopped in the car and started driving. As I rounded the corner, I almost hit the neighbors dog. I slammed on the breaks and would've gone flying through the windshield if it hadn't been for the seatbelt. Thank you, seatbelt. The dog sniffed the car, then ran off back to her yard. I sighed and drove to Starbucks. Personally, I'm a caribou kind of girl, but to each her own. As I walked in, I spotted Kendra at one of the tables, waiting. She was fiddling with her fingers and chewing on her bottom lip. When I sat down, she smiled and almost jumped out of her seat.
"Oh my gosh, I didn't know of you'd come." I frowned.
"Why wouldn't I?" She shrugged.
"I don't know. You weren't answering my texts."
"Bennett and I didn't get home until like 12:00, I'm tired." I yawned, then face palmed myself for saying that. She smirked and wiggled her eyes.
"Did you two have fun?"
"Not the kind you're thinking of," I replied, giggling. She rolled her eyes.
"Sure." I cleared my throat,
"Well, what's the news?" I asked. She sat up with new light in her eyes and took a deep breath.
"Ok, guess what?" I sighed.
"You...got a new puppy?" She giggled.
"No."
"You...went to Kenny's place last night?" She rolled her eyes.
"Thats obvious, guess again." I bit my lip and shrugged.
"I got nothing." She scooted closer and whispered excitedly,
"I got accepted into UM!" I smiled and nodded.
"Thats awesome!"
"I know! My parents were so excited! But that's not it, Kenny got accepted there to! We're going to college together!" She squealed and hugged me across the table. I hugged her back.
"Thats nice, Kendra. I'm happy for you." She giggled and pulled back.
"What about you, where are you going?!" I didn't respond, I just looked down.
"I...haven't gotten one yet." I replied. Her smile faded and she looked with concern.
"What? No letters yet?" I shook my head.
"No, still waiting." She sat back.
"I'm sorry to bring it up, Sarah-"
"Dont be, it's wonderful that you've been accepted, I truely am happy for you." She reached across the table and grabbed my hands.
"I'm here if you ever need help, ok?"
"Ok."
"I'm sure the letter is on its way right now." She stated encouragingly. I nodded. She smiled and sat back.
"Tell me about last night, where did you two run off to?" She took a sip of her drink. I bit my lip,
"We went to the airport. To watch the planes." She nodded.
"Did he put on some moves?" I giggled and rolled my eyes.
"We both did, but I stopped it before it went too far." She sighed.
"Well, what happened after that?" I smiled,
"We talked about our plans for us during college. He got accepted into his art school, and he doesn't want us to split up. I promised him I'd apply at the Bates university so we could live together." She listened to our plan with interest. When I finished, she smiled.
"It's nice that you talked about it. And like I said, I bet you'll get a letter soon." I nodded and sighed.
"Well, are you busy today?" She shrugged.
"Not especially, why?"
"I just don't want to be alone at my house, I guess. Want to come?" She agreed and we started back to my house. When we got there, I saw the mailman pulling out of our street. I watched him leave, and then I noticed the tag on our mailbox was up. I looked at Kendra, then at the mailbox. I walked up to it and opened the little door. It made a rusty creaking noise as it opened up. A stack of papers sat inside. I pulled them out and went inside with Kendra. We sat at the counter while I looked through what we had. She elbowed me and teased me,
"I'll bet that letter is in here!" I rolled my eyes and looked through. Bills, bills, bills....what's this? I held up a note that simply read, SARAH APPLETON. I frowned at Kendra, who frowned back. I peeled open the envelope and read with anticipation,

Dear miss Sarah Appleton,
We would like to welcome you with open arms to our classes starting next fall. Sign up will begin on September 2 at 8:00 sharp. We are very pleased with your test scores, and would love to see you here at Harvard. Please accept,
Director of administration, M Hanson.

I almost died right then and there. Kendra looked up at me and said,
"Youd better think of a plan b, because there's not a snowball's chance in hell I'm letting you pass this up." She took the paper and pinned it on the refrigerator. I was completely speechless. 'This is not happening,' I thought to myself. It's just too good to be true. Kendra noticed my silence and she frowned.
"Sarah, are you alright?" She set a hand gently on my shoulder. My shoulder tensed up at her touch. The only words I could think to say were,
"What am I going to tell him?" I rubbed my forehead with the Palm of my hand. Kendra frowned and set a hand on my arm.
"Sarah-"
"Tell me what?" I heard Bennett ask. I looked up and saw Bennett standing right inside the back door. He was smiling like he'd just stumbled onto a big secret. Kendra sighed and looked at me.
"I'm going to go now," she told me. I watched as she left the house, leaving me alone with Bennett. I looked over at him.
"Hey," I smiled at him. He smiled and replied,
"Hi. What do you need to tell me?" He sat down across from me. I frowned and asked,
"Why were you standing there without saying anything?" He smiled and handed me the flower pin Cassandra had put in my hair yesterday.
"It fell out, found it in my car this morning."
"Oh," I looked down at it. It sparkled in the noon Sun. He sighed,
"I'll ask again, what is it you need to tell me?" He leaned on his elbows, still smiling. I closed my eyes and sighed.
"I got a letter back." When I reopened my eyes, I saw him staring back, his smile had faded.
"Where from?" He asked. I bit my lip again and whispered,
"Harvard." I looked up. He stared at me while the words sunk in. Then he said,
"Thats nice." He stood up, looking out the window.
"What are we going to do?" He chuckled a little.
"Well, it's obvious you have to take this opportunity."
"It's still not too late for you to apply-"
"Where?! At Harvard?!" He half said half yelled. I sat up in my chair,
"Yeah, you could try-"
"I can't get into Harvard, I wasn't almost raped." He told me, although he looked like he wanted to take it back the moment the words left his mouth. I clenched my teeth and replied,
"You did not say what I think you just said." He didn't reply, he just kept staring out of the window. I took a deep breath and said,
"I got accepted into Harvard because I'm smart, and I try hard."
"I'm sure the fact that you were almost raped helped," he said bitterly. I couldn't believe what he was saying. I can understand that he was upset that our plan was shattered, but that didn't mean our relationship was. He turned to face me, but when he did, I got up and started out the door, ignoring his pleads of forgiveness.

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Hope you liked it, enjoy the next one, bye! C: