Living with the Millers

Chapter 28 - Caught

"Don't," she hissed, her back becoming more rigid than I thought possible.  I flinched. "Arielle, go to bed." No questions asked, my sister ran away.  I envied her in that moment. "You two, you have one minute to get dressed and go to the living room." Without another word, she was gone.  I let out a breath I didn't know I had been holding, hissing when my knee throbbed.  Ben turned on his heels and grabbed my shoulders, bending down to look me in the eyes.

"Are you okay?" He asked, worry lacing his voice.  With his thumb he wiped away my tears. "Where are you hurt?"

"I'll be fine," I told him, forcing a weak smile.  It probably came out as more of a grimace.  Turning my head up, I planted a soft kiss on his lips.  Something told me it was the last kiss I would be giving him for a while.

Wordlessly, we put on our clothes.  I pulled on grey sweatpants and a baggy, black hoodie.  My hair was still dripping but I couldn't bring myself to care as I limped into the living room, cradling my elbow.  Ben was right behind me, green track pants hanging low over his hipbones.  I didn't even get distracted by the fact he hadn't put on a shirt.  I was too nervous for what was about to happen.

Savanna was sitting on the couch, head in her hands.  At first I wasn't sure she was even breathing, but then I saw her take a long, deep breath before looking at us.  It was like there was fire in her eyes. "Sit," she pointed to the couch opposite her, and we both obeyed without question.  Waiting for her to speak was like torture.  She kept opening and closing her mouth, as if she didn't know what to say.  Finally, she dropped her head to look at her feet.  When she spoke, she sounded defeated. "How did this happen?"

I blinked.  I didn't know what to say.  How?  I wasn't sure.  It just did.

Seeming to read my mind, Ben raked a hand through his hair and sighed. "It just happened. What do you want us to say?"

"Nothing, I want you to say nothing," she growled, snapping her head up to look at her son. I thought she would slap him. "What are you even doing here, Benjamin?"

"I-"

"Don't answer that," she cut him off, holding up a hand. "I saw what you were doing." I couldn't help but blush, looking at my hands. Why did these things have to happen to me?

"Mom-"

"If you talk to me right now, I might kick your ass," she ground out, making me suck in a breath. I didn't think I'd ever heard Savanna curse. "What do you have to say for yourself, Shiloh?"

I flinched, taken aback from hearing my name. "I...I'm sorry?"

"Are you asking me a question?" She snapped, narrowing her eyebrows.  I shivered in fear.  This was not good.  "I don't even know what to do with you two right now."

"Mom-"

"Didn't I just tell you not to talk?"  Oh god.  I was starting to get dizzy.  I could feel Ben stiffen besides me, but he held his tongue. "I'm going to call Jason.  If either one of y'all move, I swear I will kick you onto the street."  She stood up and walked away, heels clacking on the tiled floor.  I sighed, putting my face in my hands.  This was a disaster.

"It'll be okay," I heard Ben say besides me, though he made no move to comfort me.  He was scared of Savanna, too.  I whipped around to look at him, only to find him already looking at me, sadly. "We're going to be okay."

"Okay?" I hissed, suddenly angry although I don't know why. "I don't even know what this-" I motioned between us, "is.  And now we'll never get to find out. We'll be lucky if we make it through the night."

His face fell a little and he was quiet for a moment, as if deciding his next words carefully. "I want you to be my girlfriend, Shi."  I blinked at him, mouth open slightly.  Had I heard right? "I'll be eighteen soon and you will be right after.  Then they won't be able to stop us."

"Are you being serious right now?"  I looked him up and down, frowning.  We were about to be chewed up and spit back out by Savanna, and this was the time he was choosing to finally define our relationship?

His gaze didn't falter. "I'm dead serious.  I know I haven't taken you out or been the best at showing you, but I really do care about you.  I meant it when I said I've fallen in love with you.  I'm not going to give up, are you?"

Before I could respond Savanna entered the room once again, looking slightly more calm than she has before.  Only slightly.  "Ben, you'll be staying in a totally different hotel suite tonight.  First thing in the morning you'll be on a plane back to Tennessee.  I'll be keeping both of your cellphones until further notice."

"No problem, mine's broken," Ben said offhandedly, leaning back so his shoulders rested on the back of the couch.  Savanna rose an eyebrow but didn't say anything.

"From now on, the only time you two will be seeing each other is at family events.  Even though you live in the same house, I'll be keeping a close eye on y'all.  Don't think I don't have my ways."

"But mom-"

"I'm not finished," she cut Ben off with a look so fierce it could have killed a man.  I gulped. "Do you two realize what you are doing is illegal?  We are fostering you and your sisters, Shiloh.  You two have put all of that in danger.  You all could get kicked out of the house and we, my family, could be in serious trouble."

"I'm sorry." I said weakly, looking at my feet.  I couldn't bring myself to look anywhere else.

"Don't say sorry, just fix this." She hissed, and I could just imagine her rolling her eyes in disgust.  I was shaking. "Ben, come with me.  I have to get another room for you."  Wordlessly, Ben stood up and walked away.  I was about two seconds from bursting into tears.  There was a lump in my throat that no matter how hard I tried I just couldn't swallow.  I stood up, watching as they walked to the elevator.  Was this really it?  All I wanted was for Ben to hold me.

"Ben," I squeaked, causing him to turn and look at me.  That was it.  Without caring about the consequences I took off running and threw my arms around his neck.  He grabbed my waist, easily picking me up off the ground as I wrapped my legs around his waist.  This was how we had hugged that morning, but this time, it felt so much more final.  Sniffing, I nuzzled my head into his neck, breathing in his sent.  I'm sure he could feel my tears on his skin, but I didn't really care.  When my breath caught he held me tighter, gripping the back of my head with one hand.

"We're going to be okay," he whispered in my ear, placing a soft, almost unnoticeable kiss on my cheek.  Surprisingly, Savanna remained silent until the elevator dinged.  Ben let me down, but it took me a couple more seconds before I could let go of his neck.  When I released him he gave me a halfhearted smile before walking away, the elevator doors closing behind him.

Absently, I wandered back into my room, noticing we still hadn't turned off the shower.  I reached in and turned the nozzle, wincing as my elbow ached.  That was going to leave a bruise.  Wiping my cheeks, I fell into my bed and let the plush comforter consume me.

I wished more than anything I could have gone back in time.  I should've known it was getting late and Savanna would've been back soon.  I should have gotten dressed and waited on the couch.  There were a million and one things we should've have done, but it was too late.  I tried to assure myself we would find a way, but something told me Savanna would be on high alert.  It would be close to impossible.

I hadn't told him I loved him back.

Did I love Ben?  I hadn't been in love before.  I didn't know what it felt like.  But when I thought about him and those twinkling eyes, I got butterflies.  When I thought about never getting to hug or kiss him again, it felt like someone had stabbed me in the stomach.  My Grams has always said when you know, you'll just know.  When the right person comes along you'll know you love them, but I just wasn't sure.  I definitely felt something for Ben, but I didn't know if it was love.

I laid there a while, waiting for Savanna to come back.  I thought maybe she would leave some sort of clue as to where Ben had gone and I could sneak out once she had fallen asleep.  I waited for what felt like hours, but I never heard the elevator come back up.  Finally, when my face felt stiff from all the salty tears and my nose felt like it would fall off my face, I turned over and forced my eyes closed. 

It was no use.  I barely slept that night, and Savanna never came back.