Mended

Chapter 4

Ben

Today is the day Chloé is arriving. I want to meet her. I want to see if she is as beautiful as the picture Sheila gave me. It rests now inside my binder, so I can admire it in every class. I can’t stop looking at her. My body warmed a little as I looked into her sad brown eyes. I wonder what she sounds like.

My body started to tremble, my palms started to sweat, and I became nervous. I haven’t met this girl yet, and she’s making me nervous. Warmth is filling up half of my body. I wonder if it will complete me when I meet her in person. Two more classes. Just two more. I glanced over at Maggie, who shared the same class with me, and noticed her leg tapping. She’s not happy, I can tell. Her leg tapped faster, she’s nervous.

For the past few days, she complained about Chloé. How she doesn’t deserve a second chance and that she doesn’t belong here. On and on she went until it became annoying. I left her in the living room and she didn’t notice my absence. It was later on that night when she snuck in my room to have a late-night fling. I kicked her out. I didn’t want to deal with her. She could talk about her problems, but I couldn’t talk about mine. I know she’s still angry about that, but I didn’t care. I just want to meet Chloé.

The bell finally rang, and I rushed out before Maggie could catch me. I went to my locker to switch books when I felt a visitor standing beside me. I looked over to see bright blue eyes looking at me with a smile. Her blonde hair curled down to her shoulders. My cousin looked radiant as she always does.

“Hey, Renée. What’s going on?” I asked with a smile.

“Oh, nothing cousin. Just wondering how you’re doing with Maggie’s complaints.”

“Nothing to worry about, Renée. I’ve been ignoring her,” I said looking away. I could feel her staring at me and finally met her eyes.

“Why are you with her, Ben? You and I both know Maggie doesn’t care about you. She never asks you about your feelings.” Neither do you. But I kept that to myself. “You should move in with me. You need to be with family not with Maggie’s family. Come home with me, Ben.”

“No,” I firmly said. “Maggie’s place is the only place that gives me peace. Besides, I know my mom is staying at your house and if I stay with you, it will cause a problem between my parents. My dad will ask why I’m not with him instead. I can’t deal with their arguments. It’s better this way, Renée. Besides, I may have another friend that’s going to live with us.”

“You mean Maggie’s cousin?” she said with disgust. “No doubt she will be just like Maggie. That’s a lot of estrogen you’re going to deal with, cousin. Are you sure you want to stay there?”

“Yes,” I immediately said. Looking at the photo of Chloé. “I’m sure.”

“Is that her?” she asks, peeking over my shoulder. I only nodded. “She’s pretty, but…”

“But what?” I peered over at her and her expression changed. She no longer looked disgusted when she talked about Maggie and Chloé. Her face became somber and her blue eyes softened. “Renée?”

“I know that look,” she said softly.

“What look?”

“The look of someone who’s been through trauma. I know because I had that look. The sad tortured eyes and the fake happy face. She’s been traumatized, Ben. Something happened to her, maybe that’s why she’s been acting out. She may not have told anyone and keeping it inside. Maybe you should get to know her. You helped me through my traumatic experience. Maybe you should be her friend, it will probably help her talk about it.”

The first bell sounded signaling us to go to class. I closed my binder and tucked it underneath my arm. I gave a hug to Renée and left. I remember her trauma. She was home alone when someone broke into her house. Like a curious kitten, she went to investigate. She was attacked by the intruder and would have done serious damage if I hadn’t come in to check up on her. Her parents went away to a conference and I told them I would check on her constantly. The robber saw me and ran off. After that, Renée had a hard time dealing with things. She stayed at my house and never left. I helped her through everything, until she was able to work through it.

If what Renée says is true, then maybe Chloé will need a friend when she arrives. I do want to get to know her and be her friend, but for some reason I want to be more than a friend. I want to console her and I want her to tell me about what’s troubling her.

One more class. Just one more and I get to meet her.