When the Day Met the Night // Ben Hardy

Part 22

"Ben?" Magnolia said as she walked into her house. No answer. "Ben? Hello?" She still got no response. She walked toward her bed room and heard a strange noise. She pushed open the door and there was Ben and...

Magnolia woke up in a cold sweat and breathing hard. Ben turned on the lamp next to him. "Sh, sh, sh. It's okay Magnolia." She couldn't even respond to him. "It happened again?" "Yes!" She said. "And it feels more and more real every time it happens." "I have a question for you," Ben said in a calm tone. "What? " Magnolia said. "What do you think that ring means?" He said, pointing to the ring on her left wedding finger. The small diamond gleaming in the light from the lamp. 

"I don't know Ben. It's 3:30 in the morning, I don't have energy for this shit." "I means that I love you. And that I have no plans of leaving your side for the rest of our lives." "Well I've been engaged before Ben!" Magnolia angrily snapped. "And we saw what happened. If this ring mean unconditional love, then how am I supposed to know if it really mean that?" "Because I'm not like him Magnolia. I'm not like Michael. I would never think of leaving you or worst of all cheating on you with any one." "But that's what he said!" Magnolia yelled. "And I ended up heart broken. And I've carried that emotional baggage around with me for almost a yer now. How do I know that this isn't like the last?" "You don't know. But some times you have to have trust." "I CAN'T BEN!" Magnolia shouted. "I can't trust everything. I trusted my sister, she took advantage of that. I trusted Michael, he took advantage of that. I trusted that he wouldn't cheat on me, and he did." Magnolia took a shaky breath. 

She moved her hand and began to take off her ring. "What are you doing?" Ben said in shock. "I'm sorry." Magnolia said, tears welling up in her eyes. "I just can't do it. I can't trust that I'm not going to get my heart broken." She slipped the ring off and Ben's jaw dropped. "I love you Ben. I just don't want to be hurt." "Please Magnolia. Don't leave me." "I think Joe is still in town. I'll go stay with him." She got up and began to leave. She picked up a pair of jeans and a shirt on her way out. The entire time, Ben was pleading her not to go. She closed the door and got in her car. And she broke down. She didn't know that Ben had done the same thing. 

Joe opened the door very tiredly and was surprised to see his friend. "What are you doing here at 4 in the morning on a Thursday?" "I think I just made the biggest mistake of my life." she said.