Chapter 12 - Aftermath
One week's suspension. That's what I got for "picking a fight with a fellow classmate." Those would not be the words I chose to describe what had happened with Monica; I was attacked. But of course I was the new girl, and all Monica had to do was bat her eyelashes and say I started it for the principle to roll over and only punish me. That's right, Monica was sent to class while I was held in that same office with barely any light and beat up blinds to wait for Mrs. Miller.
I was dreading the moment she walked through that door. That poor women had enough on her plate without taking in a bunch of strangers, and on top of that I was making it more difficult. I didn't regret fighting with Monica, though. If I could have go back and do it over, I wouldn't have changed anything. She was nothing but a bully, and I didn't feel bad for beating her ass. If that meant I had to stay home from school for a week, so be it.
About an hour went by before Savanna arrived. I could tell by the clock on the wall; it made a grinding sound every time the minute hand moved, like it would stop working any second. Just as I was counting the sixty sixth minute to go by, the door burst open so quickly it almost hit the wall. I jumped slightly, but wasn't surprised when Mrs. Miller was the person to walk through that door. Her hair was curled, and she was wearing a purple dress-shirt, paired with a white blazer and black slacks. She must have come straight from work. The only time I saw her dress formally was when she was ready to spend the day in the office.
Her eyes landed on my for only a second before she turned to the woman at the desk, placing a hand on her hip. "I'm Savanna Miller, I'm here to pick up Shiloh."
"Yes ma'am," the lady nodded, grabbing a piece of paper for her to sign. It was like they were getting ready to release me from prison. "She's been suspended for-"
"You spoke to me on the phone, I am well aware of why I was called up here in the middle of my work day." She snapped, grabbing a pen off the counter quickly. I gulped and closed my eyes, breathing through my nose. Here we go. I can only imagine the lecture I was going to receive when we got in the car. I kept my eyes closed, but I could hear the pen scratch against the paper as she signed her name. "Now, is she good to go?"
"Of course." In one swift motion I stood from my seat, letting my hands fall loosely to my side. Savanna grabbed my shoulder and squeezed lightly, guiding me out the door. As soon as I heard it click behind us, I felt the need to speak.
"I'm really sorry," I said quietly, looking at the ground. "If you just knew the whole story-"
"Shiloh, please," Savanna sighed, and I felt my stomach clinch, "We're about to go get some ice cream and I fully intend on you telling me the whole story." My head snapped up as I stared at her with wide eyes, slack jawed.
"You want to take me for ice cream even though I just got suspended from school?"
"I'm sure you had a perfectly good reason, dear," She laughed. The shrill scream of the bell sounded, and Savanna's smile slowly faded. "Oh god," she sighed, "let's get out of here quick before the mob is released. I've been out of high school twenty years and I certainly don't miss having to elbow my way to class."
We ducked out of the closest door, barely escaping before we were surrounded by students. It was probably two in the afternoon; the air was still warm from midday, but there was a pleasant breeze to cool you off. We walked along the sidewalk in silence for a minute before I pulled my phone out of my pocket. There were about fifteen texts from a number I didn't recognize, making me wrinkle my nose. Every one of them was about what happened. Why did I fight? Did I get suspended? Was I okay? Who is this? I responded before clicking my phone off.
"She attacked me first, you know," I said casually, shrugging my shoulders. Savanna glanced at me before turning back ahead, nodding to show she had heard me. "It's that Monica girl, I don't know if you know her but she's Ben's ex I guess, and she just came up to me out of no where and starting saying I had to stay away from Ben. I don't like girls pushing me around, so I told her that I live with him...I guess I knew that would push her buttons but come on! That bitch was just asking for it."
Mrs. Miller started laughing, and I felt a blush creep over my cheeks. I hadn't meant to curse! Sometimes it just slipped out and once I realized it, it was too late to take it back. "I never liked her," She said, bumping my shoulder with hers. "Besides, you're basically my daughter now, I have to take your side."
"I really do appreciate you," I told her, feeling overwhelmed. "I don't know what me and my sisters would have done if you hadn't taken us in." We got to Savanna's car, and it beeped as she unlocked the doors. I slid in the front seat, taking a deep breath. "After my Grandma died, I just-"
"Shi, you really don't have to thank me. I'm not treating you any differently than my other children. When they get in trouble, I take them out just me and them to hear their side of the story. Then, they get their punishment. Don't worry, yours is coming."
"Yes ma'am," I muttered leaning my head on the window. I wasn't upset that she was going to punish me, I probably deserved it. There's just never a point in your life where you'll be excited for more chores than you've already been assigned. My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I pulled it out.
It's Ben, idiot.
I almost snorted out loud as I read the text. He was so dumb! After a second I managed to compose my face, and I started to wonder how he had gotten my number. It was probably Rylin, even though I specifically told her not to share my number with him. Of course she didn't listen.
"You sure are checking that phone a lot," Savanna nudged my shoulder, jerking me from my thoughts. I looked up frantically, blushing. We were about to pull out of the school parking lot when she stopped. "If you're texting my son, tell him he better come straight home from school."
"Yes ma'am," I nodded, tucking my chin to my chest so my hair fell over my face. Your mom says come straight home after school, I texted quickly. A response came almost immediately.
That's not what I asked you.
He was so stubborn, I swear! I'll tell you later, I texted before turning my phone off. I didn't want to get anymore texts. "Hey," I said, tucking my hair behind my ear. "I'm not feeling so good, would you mind if we skipped the ice cream and went straight home?" My head was still pounding, and the pain got even worse every time we went over a bump. It was like my head was a drum and someone was pounding away.
She looked at me for a second, eyes wide. "No one has ever turned down ice cream before," she gasped, placing one hand over her heart with fake surprise. "No, of course I don't mind. I actually have to get back to the office anyway, so I'll just drop you off and we can talk punishment later."
I nodded in response, leaning my head back on the headrest. That headache was punishment enough, trust me. The rest of the ride home I stayed quiet, letting my eyes rest and trying not to think about the pain. Every few minutes I would crack my eyes open to see how far we had come, but I still didn't know my way around this town. All I knew was there was a never ending dirt road that lead home, but I could never tell how close or far away we were. I had noticed, however, that there was a big oak tree marking the end of their driveway. Finally, after what I could've sworn was hours, I felt the car turning.
I yawned, fighting the urge to stretch. Ten more minutes and I would've fallen asleep. The second the car came to a stop I unbuckled my seatbelt and slid to the ground, phone in hand. "Not so fast," Savanna laughed, holding her hand out. "The phone stays with me."
"But-" She cut me off before the word could fully leave my mouth.
"No buts. You were just suspended, Shiloh. We have a house phone in case of emergency." She narrowed her eyebrows, stretching her hand out farther. "Phone. Now." Reluctantly, I handed it over. It took all the will power I had not to roll my eyes at her. Instead, I turned on my heels and pulled my house key out from my pocket. Mr. Miller had given it to me the night before, saying I would need it if I ever happened to come home alone. Looks like he had perfect timing.
I wanted to say thank you for the ride, but somehow it didn't feel right since I was coming home in the middle of the school day. Instead, I slowly walked to the front door as I listened to her drive away. Something told me that being in this massive house all by myself would be lonely, and somewhat scary. I had never liked being home alone, not even at my cosy little house in Alaska.
The door creaked on it's hinges as I opened it, slowly stepping inside. For the first time I noticed that my footsteps echoed on the wood floor as I walked down the hall. Usually it was too loud in this house to notice that kind of thing. Down the hall to my right was their huge living room, the first room in this house I had ever laid eyes on. Instead of going to my room, I kicked off my shoes and laid down on the couch. There was nothing good on TV at that time of day, so I settled for The Price is Right and nuzzled into a pillow. It must've been about five minutes later that I felt my eyes getting heavy, and I was fighting back yawns.
I was never the type of person to take naps in the middle of the day. Once I was up, I stayed up. But there was something about being alone there, cuddled up on the world's most comfortable couch, watching the world's most boring TV show, that made me beyond drowsy. At first I tried to fight it, but I could feel my resistance starting to fade. What else did I have to do? Savanna had taken my phone, and I was all alone. So I gave in and let myself drift to sleep, head still pounding, wishing, for the first time ever, I was still at school.
***
I don't know how long I had been asleep when I was rudely woken up by a splash of cold water on my face. I woke up sputtering, sitting straight up, hands flying to my face. Immediately the room filled with laughter, and my eyes flew open. Ben was standing right over me, holding an empty glass, surrounded by London and the twins.
"Really?" I growled, narrowing my eyes. "Was that necessary?"
"You wouldn't wake up," he shrugged, smirking. Huffing, I stood up and marched over to the stairs. I could still hear their giggles and I stormed away, fuming. If he had just woken me up, I would've been okay. But no, he had to go and dump a cup of water over me. I had felt like I was drowning! I was probably only so angry because I was still pretty groggy, but I could practically feel my blood boiling.
I pushed my door open so hard that it hit the opposite wall with a bang. "Stupid Benjamin Miller," I muttered to myself, ripping my now wet shirt over my head. I used it to wipe off my face before tossing it in my laundry bin. "He thinks he's so freaking clever, thinks he's hot shit. Well guess what Ben, you can kiss my-"
"Whoa," a voice said behind me, making me spin on my heels. There he was, leaning against my door frame with a smirk. "I wasn't expecting a show, but hey, I'm not complaining. I like what I see." Squeaking, I dove for my bed and quickly covered my chest with the closest blanket. I'm sure my face was as red as a firetruck.
"You can't just barge in here!" I exclaimed, forcing my voice to sound angry. I was angry, don't get me wrong, but mostly I was embarrassed that he had just seen me in my bra.
"The door was open," he shrugged, inviting himself in. He closed the door behind him and sat down at my desk, placing his hands behind his head. "Besides, it's nothing I haven't seen before." He was talking about when we jumped in the pond. Thinking about that only made me blush a deeper shade of red. "You're cute when you're blushing."
"Can you leave?" I sighed, placing a hand on my forehead. "I need to put on a shirt."
"And I need to know what happened today," he said casually. "Only one of those things are important, and I'll give you a hint - it's not your shirt."
"Are you being serious?" I groaned. He just chuckled, crossing one leg over the other as if to say, 'I'm not going anywhere.' "I got into a fight, okay? And they suspended me for one week, I can't go back until next Monday. That's it. No more story."
"Not according to Monica," He told me, raising an eyebrow. Her name coming out of his mouth made me want to punch her all over again. I hated it. Who even likes the name Monica, anyway?
"And you're going to listen to her?" I exclaimed, letting myself lay back on my bed. "She's clearly insane. She told me to stay away from you because she wants to get back together with you."
"And does that bother you?" He sounded so smug that I wanted to smack his stupid grin off of his face. Instead of giving into the anger, I closed my eyes. I knew showing him I was upset would only make him happy.
"I don't like stupid bitches that think they can tell me who I can and can't talk to," I told him, still keeping my eyes closed. "If I want to talk to you, I'll talk to you. She can't tell me otherwise. If she was as confident in ya'll's past or future - or whatever kind of relationship it is, she wouldn't need to tell me to back off."
I heard the chair creek, but I didn't open my eyes. I told myself he was probably just leaving the room, he must have heard enough. There wasn't really much to that story, at least not from my perspective. I rolled on my side, pulling the blanket up to my neck. If I was going to be alone, I might as well go back to sleep. The next thing I knew, I felt the bed dipping next to me, and my eyes flew open. He was actually slipping under the covers to lay next to me!
"What do you think you are doing?!" I yelled, sitting up so fast the blanket fell. I scrambled to pick up the blanket, but not before Ben's eyes narrowed in on my now exposed chest. "You can't just lay down here, that is not okay with me!"
"Calm down, Monica isn't going to come beat you up again," he laughed, kicking off his shoes before tucking them under my blanket. My heart was beating a mile a minute; what the hell did he think he was doing? I had already hugged him, that was more than enough affection for one day. I certainly did not want him in my bed!
"First of all, I beat her up," I huffed, "Second, you can not take a nap in my bed. You have a perfectly good bed of your own."
"But you're not in it," he wiggled his eyebrows playfully, making me punch his shoulder. "Hey! I was kidding, calm down! I'm just going to lay here for a little bit, I'm not done talking to you."
"What else is there to say, Ben?" I sighed, laying back down. I made sure to scoot as close to the opposite side of the bed as I could, but he still felt too close. "I got into a fight with your girl, sorry I made her nose bleed."
"She's not my girl," he said, rolling on to one side and propping his head on his hand so he could look down at me. It made me squirm, I felt like I was under a microscope. "And I think she got you pretty good too, you'll probably have a black eye." Slowly, his hand brushed under my eye, moving a strand of hair and tucking it behind my ear. I stiffened, waiting for him to move his hand, but he didn't. He placed it on my cheek and stroked my cheek bone with his thumb. Shaking, I turned my head to the side so his hand moved away. He coughed. "I could have hurt that guy today."
Noticing the not so subtile subject change, I turned my head back to look at him. He was looking down at my sheets, frowning. "That wasn't your fault," I told him, grabbing his hand. As soon as our skin made contact, I wanted to pull away, but it was too late. I'm not even sure what possessed me to touch him like that, I hadn't even been thinking. His eyes quickly snapped up to mine, locking our gazes. "He wasn't hurt, be happy about that."
"I just feel terrible," he groaned, not looking away from me. "If Monica hadn't come over to try to convince me to go out with her again, I would've been right there. Maybe nothing would have happened, maybe-"
"Don't stress about maybes. That's what my Gran would always tell me," a faint, almost non-existent smile came across my face as I felt a soft pang in my heart. I still missed her like hell, but everyday it hurt just a little bit less. "It happened, and everyone's okay. It wasn't your fault. Just be happy that he didn't get seriously hurt."
This intense look came across his face, his eyes seemed to turn a shade darker. I'll never know what he was thinking in that moment, but I knew it was something serious. It made me want to reach out and hug him again, but I resisted and instead bit my lip. He whispered something so softly that I couldn't make it out, and I didn't ask. I knew he wouldn't tell me even if I tried. Instead, I laid my head down on my pillow and closed my eyes, still holding his hand. I felt him lay down too, and instead of kicking him out I took a deep breath.
He squeezed my fingers before letting go, and sat up in my bed. I opened my eyes to see where he was going, only to see he was inches away from my face. "I make you nervous," he smirked, eyes twinkling. "That's a good thing Shiloh, just wait. You'll see." Before I could respond he leaned forward and kissed my cheek, making me suck in a breath. I was scrambling for words, looking for something smart to say, but just like that he was gone. I struggled to catch my breath, mind spinning in circles. I told myself I wasn't nervous, but my shaking hands and racing heart made me think Ben was actually right, and I didn't like it. Not at all.
A/N: I told you the next chapter would be posted sooner! Not exactly a week, but definitely not 6 months. That's improvement, right? ;) I hope you guys enjoy! Let me know what you think and check out the new Ben and Shiloh trailer (yes, another one...oops.). Hopefully I'll be back very soon with the next chapter. Love you guys bunches, and thanks so much for reading!!