Will You Love Me?: Something Beautiful

Chapter 1

"Babe, you almost ready?" Ben called as he impatiently drummed his fingers against the neatly wrapped present under his arm. A moment later, you rushed down the stairs saying, "Sorry, sorry! I'm ready!" He took your hand once you got to the bottom and led you out the door. 

When you got into the car, you looked to the backseat where Conner, your nearly fifteen year old, was engrossed in his phone. "Did you finish that project that's due tomorrow?" You asked him. He ignored you and continued tapping away on his phone. Ben reached back and snatched it from him. 

"Hey!" He shouted. Ben looked at him from the rearview mirror as he started to backup the car and said, "Your mother asked you a question. Did you finish your project?" Conner just sat silent and you threw your head back against the seat. "Conner," you sighed, "that is eighty percent of your grade! This is your first big project of the year and you want to make a good impression!"

Again, he stayed silent and looked out the window. "The moment we get home, you are going to bring everything you need for it downstairs and you are going to work on it where we can watch you," Ben sternly told him. Conner scoffed, "I'm not a kid!" Ben shouted back, "Clearly, you are! When you start acting your age, we'll work on a different approach, but for now, this is how it is going to be!"

He then opened the glove compartment and threw Conner's phone into it. "You'll get that back once you finish." You sat in your seat and sighed at how different things were. Conner used to be the sweetest boy alive, but once puberty hit, that boy was gone. It was tough to live with, you'll admit, but there were the good things that overpowered it. 

For example, Nate is going into his final year of college. He's been all around the world, competing in art shows for his classes, and you and Ben were there for every single one of them. He got first place in all of them, except for in Spain. He got second, but took it with stride and as a lesson to improve. 

In the midst off all this, he had a girlfriend. Her name is Jamie Hunter and she's a California native. They met during his freshman orientation and became instant friends. Near the end of the school year, they decided to give a relationship a try. They've been going strong ever since and you very much approved. 

Scarlett is attending Marymount and has been since she turned twelve. She is a lot closer than she was before, but still had to board. She's excelling in everything she does, including sports. You and Ben have tried to make it to every Volleyball, Tennis and Basketball game she's ever played. Every once in a while, you get a letter from the Dean about how excellent of a student she is and how she can qualify for early scholarships.

You've talked about this to her, but she says she wants to focus on getting past her first year of high school.

Then, of course, there was Emma. You were on your way over to visit her for your grandson's forth birthday. She and Chris were putting on a small party for him. They were living at Chris's parents' house after thinking they had intruded too much on you and Ben. That wasn't the case, of course, and you tried to convince them to stay, but Chris's parents assured they would take care of them. 

Besides, they had a way bigger house than your's and only had Chris.

The couple tried to save up money to move out, but that always ended up going towards Mason in one way or another. He got sick or scraped a knee, school started and he needed clothes, they had to buy school pictures, etc.. You and Ben offered to help numerous times, but they wouldn't hear of it. They wanted to do this on their own, but that was something you were going to have a talk with them about tonight.

When you got to the ginormous house they were residing in, you walked in to see that this wasn't just a small party...it was a big one. There was a banner, balloons, a giant cake, a bouncy house in the back, some kids playing in the pool while many adults conversed inside. Clearly, most of these people were from Chris's family, while some were parents from Mason's school.