~July 12, 2021~

I stepped out of the shower and quickly wrapped a towel around my bare body. I then wiped the fog off of the mirror.

"Ugh, why do I look like that?" I said inside my head. "Gosh, I'm ugly."

I let out a sigh before drying myself off. I then got myself ready.

"Natalie!" my mom shouted from downstairs. "We're leaving in five minutes!"

"Okay, I'm almost done!" I shouted back.

I quickly slipped on my clothes before skipping out of the bathroom. I slipped on my shoes, stuffed my phone into my back pocket, and ran downstairs.

"Okay, I'm ready." I panted.

My mom looked me up and down. "You look good, sweetie."

I smiled. "Thank you."

"I think you should maybe change your shirt..." she winced.

I looked down at my cropped tank top that barely showed my stomach.

"It's fine, Mom." I sighed. "It's just a little bit."

"Okay," she raised her hands in defense. "Just sayin'."

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever."

She waved a hand at me. "Okay, come on." she pestered while she grabbed her car keys.

I trailed behind her, slipping one of Benny's hoodies on in the process. We headed out to her car and hopped inside.

"So," I piped up. "What exactly are we doing today?"

She smiled. "I thought we could have a girl's day. Just you and me. I know how upset you've been since Benny moved and I just wanted to spend some time with my girl."

A small smile painted my lips. "Aw, that's sweet."

"So, what would you like to do first?" she asked. "I was thinking we could go to your favorite restaurant?"

I nodded. "Oh, yeah, definitely."

She rubbed my knee lightly. I love her.

B E N N Y
point of view.

I called Natalie but she wouldn't pick up. Has she moved on already? Is she okay?

Thoughts raced around my head, but I didn't wanna bother her. I used all my self-control to put my phone down.

Let's unpack instead. Maybe she'll call me back.

I began unpacking some of the things that I still hadn't gotten to. I stuck my posters to my empty walls, got my baseball stuff put on display, and eventually got to my pictures.

One of them was the one of my dad that Natalie so kindly revived for me. Another one was a picture of me and all of the boys. We all had some sort of baseball item in our hands.

Another was a picture of my mom and me. She was hugging me tightly, bright smiles painted on both of our faces. The second to last one was of my dad, my mom, and me before he passed.

It was all of us from behind. I was between my mom and dad while they held my hands. We were walking down an old sidewalk. I miss this...

The final picture was one of my favorites. It was of Natalie and me. She was clung to my back, my hands placed under her thighs. Her arms were around my neck gently while we both smiled wide.

I felt my lips curl up in joy. She's beautiful. I put them all in their designated spots and sighed with satisfaction.

I heard my mom walk in. "Wow, it looks great in here, honey."

I looked at her and smiled. "Thanks, Ma."

She set down my basket of laundry on my neat bed. Her eyes scanned my room.

"What else are you gonna put in here?"

My shoulders shrugged. "I'm not sure yet. I'll figure it out."

"Maybe Natalie can help you." she laughed.

I laughed with her. "Yeah, she's good at that stuff."

"Have you talked to her at all today?" she asked while folding my laundry for me.

"No..." I mumbled while watching her. "Um, Ma, I can do my laundry."

"Oh, don't worry about it, honey." she waved her hand at me. "I got it. You just talk to me."

"Oh, okay." I nodded. "Uh, yeah, no, she hasn't talked to me much today. I'm worried something bad is gonna happen..."

"Well, baby, you realize she also has a life as well, right? If she doesn't text or call you for one second, that doesn't mean something bad is happening." she scolded.

"I know, I know," I sighed. "I just overthink a lot."

"I know you do but just try to calm down, okay? She's probably busy."

I nodded while scratching the back of my neck. "Yeah, probably..."

She kissed me on my cheek before leaving my room. I then put all my clothes away that she had neatly folded for me.

"Oh, Benny?" she suddenly piped up from my doorway.

I looked up at her. "Hm?"

"Someone's here for you."

I let out a sigh. "Is it Alex?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know."

I set down the shirt I was holding and slipped past her to the front door. I cracked it open, expecting to see Alex, but it was a boy.

"Um, hi?" I awkwardly mumbled.

"Oh, hi." he smiled. "Um, are you Benny Rodriguez?"

I nodded slowly. "That's me."

"Well, hi." he held his hand out to me. "I'm Kyle Hall."

I shook his hand. "Nice to meet you, Kyle."

He slipped his hand out of mine. "I heard you just moved here and you seemed pretty cool."

"Oh?" I questioned, opening the door a bit more.

"Yeah, I heard you play baseball. That true?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I played with my friends back in California."

"Cool." he nodded. "Well, I was just wondering if you wanted to come practice with me and my friends today?"

"Practice?" I questioned.

"Yeah, baseball tryouts are in a month. You're trying out, aren't you?"

I chuckled awkwardly. "Um, no. I'm not really the kind of guy who plays competitively."

He slapped my arm lightly. "Come on, man! Just give it a try, will you? If you don't like it, then you don't have to tryout, but I promise you will. My friends will like you anyway."

"Oh, I don't-" I tried to talk, but someone cut me off.

"He would love to!" my mom chirped. "Right, Benny?"

I glared at her. "Ma..."

She shrugged. "What? You need to get out of the apartment for a bit. Go get your stuff."

I let out a sigh. Damn.

••••

author's note:

the next chapter is the last one! I hope you guys enjoyed this book and are ready for the next one! I know I keep saying this, but the next one is gonna get pretty dark in the beginning but it'll be worth it at the end, I promise! stay gold, luvs💕
~Olivia🧸🤍

{9/18/21}