04/25/2016

chapter twenty-nine ;

♡

and fall of Benny's chest was comforting against my hand. Three weeks had passed since our reunion. And I felt happier than I had in months.

It scared me that my happiness depended upon this boy so heavily. How I would survive moving away from him, I had no idea. The only thought that pained me further was that I may not ever see him again – but I shoved away any sliver of the thought. It seemed impossible, to love someone so much and then never find your way back to them.

As these thoughts swam through my mind, I traced Benny's every aspect with my eyes. The shape of his nose; the delicate curl of his dark eyelashes; the smooth olive tone of his skin; the decent bulge of his tanned arms, lined with veins; the arch of his dark eyebrows; every curve and line of his lips, so perfect and plump. Being with him for so long, I did not notice his looks the way I used to. But when I really took the time to look at him, his features simply amazed me.

Downstairs a knock sounded on the door. If my bedroom door had not been left ajar, I would not have heard it. The sound of a shower running told me that Luke would not be answering the door. With a sigh, I slipped out of my bed, careful not to wake Benny.

There were several possibilities. Most of my friends felt comfortable enough to show up at my house without invitation – especially now that Benny and I were back together. Not only had he abandoned me, but he had abandoned the boys as well. Only Bertram, who occasionally went out to "have a good time," spent time with him. Now that Benny was ready to heal, everyone felt comfortable in his presence again.

When I pulled the door open, I could only freeze – and then a scream ripped from my throat. Pure elation rushed through my veins, mingled with numbing shock, to find the girl before me.

"Miracle!"

The first best friend I had ever had, the one I would carry with me always, no matter how far apart. There she stood, wearing her world-brightening smile, oozing excitement. Of course, I'd spent all of my time on Thanksgiving Break in Tennessee with her, but it had been entirely too long ago.

Miracle had no chance to say a word before I attacked her with a staggering hug. Laughing, she hugged back tightly. Even the smell of her was familiar; I would recognize it anywhere.

"What the hell?" I breathed, still holding her tightly, a grin plastered to my face. "How did you get here? Am I dreaming?"

She laughed. "My uncle lives about three hours away, in Visalia, remember? I had to come!"

All of a sudden, the pounding of footsteps caught our attention. Finally I pulled away from the hug, only to turn and find Benny racing downstairs. He slowed when he saw me, some realization dawning over his face.

Miracle caught her breath. "Is that – ?"

A moment later, Luke followed, struggling to keep the towel around his waist. Luckily for him, the floor was carpeted upstairs, considering he was dripping wet and definitely would have slipped otherwise. Similar to Benny, his eyes were wide with concern.

"Luke!" I laughed. "Get back in the shower!"

Miracle gasped. "Lukey-Poo!" Still standing at the door, grinning, she spread her arms like a bird. Luke's eyes brightened, but he did not seem surprised.

"Finally, you're here!" Luke grinned, descending the staircase. Benny stopped at the floor, eyes flickering between everyone else, clearly confused.

My mouth dropped. "What? Luke knew about this and I didn't?"

Miracle leaned forward to kiss my cheek. "It was your surprise!"

Luke arrived, pushed me out of the way, and wrapped Miracle in a hug. This was an amusing sight, considering Luke was so tall and Miracle was a couple of inches shorter than me. Benny had moved to stand by me, placing a gentle hand on my arm.

"You scared the shit out of me," he whispered, laughing lightly afterward. "All I heard was your scream. I woke up running."

With an amused grin, I turned to look up at Benny. "Aww! That's so cute."

Suddenly Miracle appeared before me again, eyes set on Benny. "You're lucky you and my sister worked things out. Almost had to – " She proceeded to swipe a finger across her neck. Beside me Benny struggled to keep a straight face.

"If you still want to," he said, "it's all right. I was an asshole."

Squinting her eyes, Miracle slowly nodded. "Yeah . . . Yeah, you were." Then, suddenly, her face brightened with a smile. "But all is well now, right? It's so crazy to see you in person. The way Muchacho talks about you, she makes it seem like you're a celebrity."

Benny laughed then. "I almost forgot about that nickname. Muchacho." The word rolled from his tongue like velvet. Whenever his faint Mexican accent showed through, it made me melt.

"And you know what?" I grinned, slipping my hand into Benny's. "I remember Elizabeth saying basically the exact same thing about you. Do you remember that?"

Even now, Benny's cheeks flushed, however slightly. "That was . . . the most embarrassing moment of my entire life."

Laughing, Luke made his way to the staircase. "I'm going to go finish my shower." He paused to point at me. "No more screaming, you psycho."

I laughed. "Okay."

Miracle, still much too excited, said, "Show me your room!"

♡

Once word got out of Miracle's unexpected arrival, all of my friends immediately came over. Even Jordan, who had been hanging out with Kenny and Leah.

Unsurprisingly, Miracle got along with Ivy the best. They shared a few traits – their humor and ability to draw a hundred laughs in a minute, their extroverted personalities, and ease at human interaction. Already Ivy played with Miracle's long weave, a curtain of braids.

"My life was never even close to being this interesting," I sighed, flanked by Benny and Miracle on the bed. Behind me Bertram lay, long legs stretched out, feet resting against my back. "Swear, it's like some kind of movie."

"Fight after fight," Kenny said, nodding in agreement. "Fire after fire. Stalkers and . . . other stuff."

"Yeah, Makayla," Ham said, leaned against my wall, a Coke in hand. "Our lives weren't this full of drama before you came along."

A frown formed on my face. "Well, my bad. Won't be long before I'm gone."

Ham's eyes widened. "Oh, I didn't mean it like that, I'm sorry! I mean, stuff happens more, but it's not all bad, and it doesn't all have to do with you. You gave me some of my happiest memories ever."

Feeling slightly awkward for my defensiveness, I could only smile. Bertram, however, would not have given me the chance to speak anyway.

"Why'd you have to go and mention your moving again?" Bertram groaned. "I'm trying not to think about it until I absolutely have to."

Features pulling into a sad smile, I turned to look at Bertram. "It's a month away. Enjoy me while you can."

Bertram's playfulness returned, and he winked. "Oh, but what if Benny finds out about us?" he whispered loudly, as if Benny, who sat just at my side, could not hear.

Benny laughed. "Shut up, man. She's all mine."

"You know," Bertram said, pulling himself into a sitting position, "that reminds me." He pointed an accusing finger in Benny's face. "You need to take a trip to the sandlot. We get it, Makayla's the key to your happiness, blah, blah, blah, but you need a little baseball back in your life."

Memories flashed before my eyes of Benny's ruined things, strewn across his bedroom floor. His confession to growing out of baseball. Surely he hadn't meant it – but he had not spoke of the sport since.

"Yeah," I agreed softly, leaning to look into Benny's eyes, in order to clearly deliver my silent message. Benny remembered and understood, and he nodded.

Kenny was the first to stand, and he grinned at the girl beside me. "Miracle, you're about to go somewhere legendary. Are you ready for it?"

"Trust me, I've heard a lot about the sandlot," Miracle said, "and yes, I am! I love going where you've gone, Muchacho. Makes me feel like I was with you all along."

I guided my smile to Miracle, and reached out to grab her hand. "You were. You always will be."

♡

Behind me, Benny twisted his deep blue Dodgers cap backwards. The wooden bat swayed in my hand, and for a moment all I could do was stare at my boyfriend.

"Have I ever told you how good you look when you wear your hat like that?" I smirked.

Benny smirked, blew me a kiss, and crouched down, pulling on his mask. Meanwhile I turned to face the dying sun, eyes squinting. I cursed myself then for not bringing along my own cap. Somehow, Benny seemed to recognize the problem as well. A moment later, something dropped at my feet. I immediately recognized Benny's cap.

Grinning now, I turned back to Benny. He winked, as if to say, "You're welcome," and nodded. I picked the hat up, dusted it off, and placed it over my head. Never mind the fact that I had to tighten it just so that it wouldn't fall off.

And suddenly I was in the game. Kenny stretched his arms, and came to a rest, eyes locked on me. Somewhere in the outfield stood Miracle, who had no real experience with baseball but insisted she play as well. The lowering sun dyed the sky fiery gold, and it was all I could do to tear my eyes away. God's beautiful creations – so many surrounded me now, and I'd never felt so lucky.

Before Kenny began the pitch, I bent to catch a handful of the sand/dirt mixture. I rubbed them between my hands – staining them as usual – just like my favorite ball player of all time. Kenny smiled, and when I nodded, he pitched.

It'd been so long since I'd played, it felt. At the same time, it seemed as though I had never left the field. The bat cracked against the ball, the impact vibrating in my bones, and I took off for first base, dropping the bat. Dust flew in my wake and the wind blew through my hair, and I was home.

♡

😂)

remember: i'll inform you all of the third book's release on this book. make sure to keep it in your libraries, that way you'll be notified. it won't be posted almost immediately after, like this book after 'all that matters.' i'd like to take some time to plan it out and hopefully improve the overall quality. thank you if you've read this far, and thank you for your amazing comments! they mean the world to me, literally.

10/11/2017