The Truth of Nancy and Ben

Ben was staring ahead of him, watching the bride’s and groom’s features as they were sealed for life. It made him think of the time he’d be up there saying his vows. He wanted it to be sooner rather than later. He was 26 after all and most of his high school and college friends were already married. He got that they liked to joke with him by saying he was lucky not to be hitched yet, but Ben didn’t see it that way. He loved kids and he was determined to find a wife with his same outlook.

He scanned the crowd, looking for a tall brunette with blonde highlights. Where was she? But while his eyes searched, he accidently met eyes with one of the bridesmaids. He quickly looked away, guilt gnawing at his stomach.

This was one of the biggest things he and Grace had come to since the breakup. He knew she still liked him and that’s what made it so hard for him. He knew he had hurt her, and she didn’t deserve that. But could he help it that he fell out of love? He probably could have if it weren’t for…

Something distracted him from his thoughts. It was a young boy with a waiter that worked at the wedding venue. Ben recognized the young boy immediately and it made him all the more curious. Why is his family so late?

They walked on the side of the audience, towards an older man and whispered something to him. The man stood and Ben realized that it was Dr. Richards, a retired herb specialist. He quietly followed Jacen, the young boy, and the waiter into the venue. Ben turned back to the wedding couple right when they kissed each other for the first time as man and wife. The audience applauded for them and the next half hour was spent with the guests congratulating the newlyweds. Ben made his way to a nearby table where a waiter handed him a drink. He sipped at it as the guests began to mingle. Food begins to be served and when Ben got a plate, someone had sat at the same table as he. Ben looked up to see Dr. Richards. He sighed, wiping his handkerchief on his forehead.

“Sometimes I feel like I haven’t retired,” he said. Ben chuckled. He looked towards the venue building, curiosity over coming him again.

One of Ben’s neighbors, Mrs. Cassetinee, sat between them.

“I just heard about the accident, Dr. Richards. How is the girl doing?” She asked. Ben’s interest was that much more piqued. But he forced himself to hold his tongue, not wanting to jump to conclusions.

“It is very intense. She has a concussion. I did what I could, but her parents are still debating on rather or not to drive her to the hospital,” Dr. Richards said. Ben couldn’t help himself any longer.

“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to butt in. But what happened?” Ben asked. Mrs. Cassetinee turned to him.

“Oh, your parents are their neighbors!” She said as if she had just remembered. “It’s the Penn’s daughter. They got in an accident and Nancy was thrown from the vehicle!” Ben’s heart had nearly stopped at the sound of the name. “She hit her head terribly hard, and she couldn’t even walk!” She turned to Dr. Richards. “But she’s doing better now, isn’t she, Doctor?” Dr. Richards sighed.

“It’s hard to tell. Though she is talking and walking now, she was throwing up on the way here; they told me it had a little blood in it.” It’s hard for Ben to swallow.

“Why haven’t they taken her to the hospital?” Ben asked.

“Because she seems to be improving. If she continues to drink water-“

“Excuse me.” Ben had downed his drink before standing and making his way to the venue.

“Ben.” He heard behind him. He turned towards his mother, Allie, who was a plump motherly woman. Ben walked towards her.

“I just heard about Nancy Penn,” he said.

“Yes, I know. Grace told me,” Allie said. His heart pounded hard against his chest. He had forgotten for one moment that Grace and Nancy are good friends. “How are you doing?” She whispered.

“I have to see her,” Ben whispered back. Allie grabbed his forearm.

“Ben, you’re nine years older than her and you’re never shown the slightest interest in the Penn family until you met her a few months ago. If you go barging in there right now everyone will find out about you two,” his mother whispered.

“I don’t care, I have to see her.” Allie gripped tighter to his arm.

“I don’t know how John Penn will react. He could send you to prison,” she warned. Ben stared into her caring brown eyes.

“And if this happens to be more serious? If this concussion is fatal?” He asked. Allie didn’t say anything. “If this is the last time, I get to see her…” Ben almost choked, and he had to take a moment to bring himself together. The thought was too real. “I would spend a thousand years in prison just to tell her that I love her.” He noticed his mother’s eyes had teared up. He knew that she didn’t agree with him dating a 17 year-old, but she also knew that he had never bee so smitten with anyone like he was with Nancy.

“Be careful,” Allie whispered. She had let go of his arm and he walked into the building. Nancy was no where to be seen in the main area, but on the way to the bathrooms he spotted a crowd in the same room the bride had gotten ready in. There was John and Savanna Penn, Jacen Penn, her older sister Caroline, and a few of the Penn’s closest friends gathered around a gorgeous figure in a light blue flowy dress that is ripped near the hem. Something squeezed Ben’s heart when he saw the look of suffering in her face as she glanced up at her father. Her brunette hair with blonde highlights was messed up from its once perfect hairdo. Ben’s throat tightened and he ran his fingers through his hair, frustrated more and more over this whole situation.

She laid on a coach with her sister sitting next to her, applying a damp rag to her forehead and an ice pack to the back of her neck. Savanna Penn stood a short distance away wiping tears from her cheeks. John Penn stood above her, talking to Caroline. Jacen, her older brother, talked to her, kneeling next to her, holding a quart jar of water with a straw in it, trying to get her to drink. All of the people around her looked terribly worried but the only one that wasn’t able to hide her fear was Savanna Penn.

A few other people peeked into the room to take a look, which stirred some hateful feelings within Ben. He hated this. He hated this so much. That was his girlfriend! And nobody knew! Anyone else would’ve been able to go in there to give and receive comfort and would’ve be able to be with his girlfriend through this. But not him.

Her father spoke to Caroline about getting Nancy to talk and not letting her go to sleep.

“You need to continue to ask her questions. She needs to talk,” John Penn said.

“What’s your favorite color?” Jacen asked. Nancy glanced at him; exhaustion worn on her face. Ben turned to see who was walking down the hall at that moment. It was Grace, in her long, yellow bridesmaid dress and her blonde hair done up in a bun and she glanced at him with sad, deep blue eyes. He turned away so she wouldn’t piece together what he has doing there. She stepped into the room as Ben took one last longingly glance at Nancy before he pulled himself away from the room and into the men’s room. His eyes began to burn from worry and anger. Why do they have to be a secret?

Back in the room, Nancy’s family asked her so many questions that she didn’t have the energy to answer. Not only that, her head was pounding harder than the worst migraine she ever had, but she refused any painkillers. Why did they not understand that when she said no, she meant no! She was scared to open her mouth because she was forgetting things and she didn’t want the thoughts in her mind to slip out. Where was Ben? That’s all she wanted.

So, when she seen Grace suddenly above her, a nasty, twisting feeling gripped at her gut. It made her want to vomit but she knew that a lot of it was from guilt. It wasn’t her fault. She had no idea that Ben was the boyfriend that Grace spoke so highly of. She talked of him so much, but Nancy had never saw him before. How was Ben supposed to know that Grace and Nancy were good friends? Grace never brought him around. It was the very day that he broke up with Grace when they discovered who they were.

“It’s time to have her sit up,” Nancy’s father said. Nancy groaned when her brother and older sister helped her sit up. They switched the cold pack on her neck for the hot one. Grace sat in a chair directly in her line of sight. She felt even more nervous now. Would Grace ever be able to forgive her?

She felt a gnawing at the pit of her stomach, and her head felt as if someone was whacking a hammer to it. She was suddenly aware that she was refusing to drink from the quart that Jacen held. She stared at Grace, thinking of all those times she had talked about Ben. Thinking of how Nancy and Ben have kept it a secret all these months just so Grace wouldn’t find out that Ben left her for Nancy.

“She’s going to throw up!” Jacen said. Right on cue, all the water Nancy had drank came up. Too exhausted to sit up, it got on her dress and the floor until someone lifted her up and held a bowl in front of her. While Nancy continued to vomit, Grace stood and walked out.

Ben, after regaining his strength enough to walk out of the bathroom, met Grace in the hallway.

“I heard about Nancy Penn. How is she doing?” He asked. Grace looked at him, surprised.

“Oh, I’m not sure. She was throwing up when I left.” She stared at Ben for a while. “What have you been up to lately?” She asked. Ben hardly heard her as he glanced into the room. Nancy was surrounded by her family and he couldn’t possibly see her. He looked at Grace, registering that she asked him something.

“I’ve been fine. How have you been doing?” He asked, absentmindedly. He saw Savanna covering her mouth as tears poured down her cheeks.

“It’s been hard. I’ve really been missing you. I guess it just keeps me up at night.”

“I understand,” Ben said. He finally got a glimpse of Nancy in between her father and her sister. The had placed a towel on the back of her neck and a bowl was under her chin. Seeing how miserable she looked made his heart hurt all over again.

“I feel like we both could’ve put more forth an effort towards our relationship, and it feels like a waste not to give it another try,” Grace said.

“That’s interesting,” Ben said, turning from the room towards Grace. She was smiling.

“Great! So, I’ll meet you at the bar for a drink and we can… reminisce our relationship,” she said. Before Ben could say anything, she stepped past him and towards the bathrooms. He felt sick to the stomach. He turned back to the room to see Nancy spit up in the bowl under her and he walked away before he did something stupid.

He leaves the party earlier than anyone, returning to his parent’s home where he has been staying the past couple of month while his apartment was being repaired from water damage. He hated that he was leaving her, but he hated it even worse trying to pretend to be indifferent about her accident.

He stood in his parent’s backyard, where he met Nancy for the first time all those months ago. At first he was anxious to get out of his parent’s guest bedroom, but since being able to talk with Nancy every evening, he didn’t mind that it was taking so long to repair his apartment.

He didn’t plan on falling in love with Nancy. In fact, he was completely unaware of how much he really did like her until one day, when he was with Grace, he was suddenly wishing he was with Nancy. He didn’t want to waste anymore of Grace’s time after that thought and broke up with her immediately.

He knew Nancy loved him, and he knew that she knew he loved her. But he never actually got to say it out loud to her, and now the thought of never getting a chance to say it to her was haunting him every second. He kept thinking of ways where he could visit her without giving their secret away.

Ben’s phone buzzed and he pulled it from his pocket to see a message from Grace asking where he was at. He silently cursed himself. What the hell happened with him in Grace in the hallway? Why did he agree to have a drink with her? There was no chance of getting back with her, but he hated to blow her off like that. He sent a quick reply that he wasn’t feeling well and would have to have a rain check for tomorrow. It wasn’t a complete lie, since his stomach had been twisting something awful ever since he found out about Nancy.

It was near eleven o’clock when Ben found himself sitting at the table going stir crazy when his parents walked in. He immediately stood but didn’t say anything at the sight of his father. Ben had decided not to tell his father about Nancy because he knew the secret would get out too easily and George would never back his son up if someone decided to talk about him behind his back. George wouldn’t understand. Ben knew that it was the same thing with Nancy. She kept it from everyone in her family because she knew that it would eventually spread, and she didn’t want to be there if her father found out.

So, when George asked Ben where he had gone during the wedding, Ben gave him the same excuse he gave Grace and didn’t say anything else until he heard his father in the shower. Allie stood before him; her face was difficult to read.

“Did they take her to the hospital?” Ben asked.

“Yes,” she said. “They ended up life flying her to the Primary Children’s Hospital in Clearton City.” Ben ran his hand through his hair, turning away from his mother has his eyes burned. Why did this have to happen to Nancy? “I can call them tomorrow morning to see how she is doing, or I’ll hear more from another source.” Ben nodded his head, but he felt that he couldn’t open his mouth, or he would fall apart.

“I love her, Mom,” Ben said after a moment. “I love her so damn much; I don’t know what I’d be able to do if I lost her.” Allie stepped towards him and wrapped her arms around her six-foot-tall son. Ben allowed himself to shed some tears then. Only for a moment though, until he heard his father step out of the shower. Ben stepped away from his mother.

“I’ve got to get out of here. Will you just tell Dad that I went to bed?” He asked. Allie nodded her head and watched him dash out of the house.

He wandered the small town for the rest of the night, thinking mostly of Nancy. He could hardly believe that this was happening to him. He spent a good part of his wandering by praying for her. He was a big believer in prayer, and it was able to set is soul to ease when dawn broke. He returned to his parent’s home and showered and changed. His eyes were bloodshot, and he was dead tired, but he knew he would never be able to sleep.

When he got out of the shower, he received a message from Grace, offering to meet him for coffee. It was the last thing he wanted to do, but he knew that he made a mistake the night before and it was his responsibility to fix it.

So, he met Grace at the only coffee shop in his town. He saw her through the glass window before he walked in. She wore a simple flowery blouse and light blue jeans, and her blonde hair was loose around her shoulders. He remembered telling her that that was how he liked seeing women’s hair because he was able to see the length of it. He sighed, dreading the met that they had, and walked in. She turned and smiled at him, passing him a coffee as he sat down next to her. He drank it, needed the energy boost.

“How was your night? I’m sorry you weren’t feeling well,” she said.

“Yeah…” Ben rubbed the tiredness from his eyes.

“You do look pale. I hope-“

“Listen, Grace. I think I gave you the wrong idea last night.” Grace leaned back in her seat, caught off guard. She closed her mouth and swallowed, looking down at her coffee. “I’m sorry, I don’t want to put you through this again, but I don’t want to get back with you,” he said. Grace nodded her head. He could see her eyes begin to water but she turned her head, trying to hide the fact that she was crying.

“Okay… I just… I just don’t get it,” she said. She looked at him then. “What did I do?”

“You didn’t do anything. I just… I didn’t…” Ben struggled for a way to let her down easy without giving her the idea that it was because he fell in love with someone else.

“Will you tell me the truth? Because I would like to know what I am doing that keeps causing this,” she said with a hint of anger in her voice. Ben sighed.

“I don’t know how your past relationships went, but with me it wasn’t anything that you did. You couldn’t have done anything to change my feelings,” he said. She wiped a tear away.

“Why did they change? I thought things were going great,” she said. Ben rubbed his eyes again. It was quiet for a moment before she spoke again. “Is there someone else?” Ben looked away from her, not knowing what to say. “Because if it is someone else I would much rather you tell me the truth. It isn’t the idea of you cheating on me-“

“I didn’t cheat on you,” Ben quickly cut in, which was technically true. He never touched Nancy while he was still with Grace.

“It’s the idea that you are lying to my face, that gets under my skin,” Grace continued. Ben sighed, thinking about what she was saying. What was the harm in telling her part of the truth, as long as he didn’t tell her who it was?

“Yeah,” he finally said, “I fell in love with someone else.” Grace swallowed and looked down at her coffee. For a moment, Ben began to regret telling her. Until she looked up, her eyes less teary, and nodded her head.

“Thank you,” she said.

“You’re not mad?” He asked. She shook her head.

“I can’t deny that I’m a little upset, but it’s not like we were married. Hell, we haven’t even dated for a year. And who am I to stand in the way of two people that really belong together. I’m just thankful that you broke it off when you did instead of wasting more of my time.” Ben was honest with himself: he was surprised at how calmly she took the information.

“I feel the same way,” he said.

“So, who is it?” She asked. He hesitated again.

“I… don’t think I should say…” He said.

“Oh, come on. It’s not like I’m completely crazy. I mean, I’m not going to break into her house and chop her hair off while she’s sleeping,” she said, and he couldn’t help but smile. She did take the news extremely calmly.

“Well…” Ben shrugged his shoulders. “It’s just someone who… happens to be closer to you than I had first realized.” She leaned back, slightly shocked.

“Oh… so I know her…” She said.

“Yes.” A thoughtful look came over her.

“Are you sure?” She asked. Ben nodded his head. The thoughtful look seems to be replaced with a hurt one. “Who is it?” She asked, suddenly much more serious and sober. Ben suddenly realized he shouldn’t have said anything. He knew she would begin guessing but what are the chances she would guess Nancy? Especially because Nancy is underage.

“I’m not going to say,” Ben said.

“Ben, I need to know which friend of mine would do that to me,” she said angrily.

“It doesn’t matter because she didn’t know I was your boyfriend until after we had broken up,” Ben said. She squinted, as if trying to remember something.

“But the only person I don’t think I ever mentioned your name to was…” Her eyes widened with realization. Ben’s heart dropped to his stomach. Why did he come here?! “No… Is it Nancy?” she asked. Ben swallowed hard, not knowing how to make his next move.

“I said it didn’t matter who it was,” he said.

“It’s Nancy!” She was exasperated. “You are such a creep! She’s not even- she’s still in high school!” Ben looked around at everyone that was in the coffee shop to make sure there was no one he knew.

“Grace, you said that you didn’t want to stand in the way of two people that belonged together-“

“You and Nancy do not belong together!”

“Okay, can we please take a step back and talk about this without being rash?” Ben said.

“This is- I can’t believe that you could actually do something like this. It’s disgusting. You need to be exposed! I mean, Nancy is a damn child for crying out loud!”

“She’s not a child!” Ben snapped. Grace grabbed her purse and keys and stood. Ben stood too. “She’s more mature than you ever were, and you know what? Go ahead and tell the world. It won’t change the fact that I love her and I’m going to be with her.”

“You are so sick!” Grace spat before she stormed out. Ben was left standing near their table fuming. But as soon as Grace walked out the realization of what this meant actually hit him. He knew he shouldn’t have lost his temper but at that moment fear had gripped his every bone and he needed to say anything he could to justify his dating Nancy. But justified or not, it wouldn’t change the fact that Nancy was underage, and Grace was going to tell everyone.

Stepping into the hospital, Ben was more nervous than he had been the whole drive there. Ben knew the truth of Nancy and himself was out of the bag, as he had gotten messages from his parents and multiple friends, all of which he didn’t care to reply to, no matter how supportive they were. But he had no idea if the Penn family knew. He had made the decision to travel to Clearton City and tell the Penns himself, but he also knew that the chances of him beating a phone call in a race was slim to none.

A nurse led him towards Nancy’s room, wondering if Nancy knew that their secret was out and how she took the news.

The nurse turned a corner and gestured towards the first room on the right. Ben stood in the doorway, the first person he saw was John Penn. Then Savanna, then Jacen. Nancy and Caroline were nowhere to be seen. John took one look at Ben, then at the yellow rose- Nancy’s favorite- that was in his hand. Ben seen it coming, but he didn’t bother to try to stop it. Maybe because he knew that the last thing Nancy wanted or needed was to have her boyfriend get in a fight with her dad.

Both the nurse and Savanna shrieked when John landed the punch that nearly knocked Ben off his feet. One of them were at his side, their arms around his shoulders as he held his bleeding lip.

“Sir, that is not allowed in here!” The nurse shouted.

“You stay the hell away from my family and from my daughter.” John warned before walking back into the hospital room and slammed the door shut. Ben stood up straight as the nurse fussed over him.

“Are you alright?” She asked before insisting on mending it.

“No.” Ben said, a little too harshly. “I’ll survive.” He scooped down and picked up the rose, spinning it between his fingers. He held it out to the nurse. “Will you just give this to the girl that has the concussion?” She took the rose and nodded her head before Ben walked back out of the building. His heart felt heavy, and his future looked bleak. He drove three hours to see Nancy and to try to have her family warm up to him, but he should’ve known that it was no use as soon as Grace had found out.

When Been reached his vehicle, he stopped when he thought he heard something. He turned around to see Savanna jogging towards him. He was shocked to see that there was no hatred or anger or judging in her face.

“Mrs. Penn,” Ben said, not knowing exactly what to say to her.

“Please, just call me Savanna,” she said, slightly out of breath. It was quiet for a moment as she tried to catch her breath. “I’m sorry about what happened up there,” she said.

“Don’t be. I was expecting it,” Ben said, his heart filling with disappointment and sorrow. He turned back to his car.

“Wait,” Savanna said. Ben turned back to her, confused. “Um, at least accept my apology by letting me fix your lip,” she said. He was even more confused but what was he supposed to do? He didn’t know Savanna Penn very well, but he didn’t want to offend her when he was trying to work so hard to get on their good side.

“Okay,” he said.

“Will you take me to my hotel? It isn’t far and I can fix it there,” she said. Ben was a little more hesitant at that request. He could imagine John Penn’s anger shooting through the roof if he found Ben in his hotel room. But again, he didn’t want to offend Savanna. So, he drove her to her hotel and followed her up to her room. Ben sat at a desk in the room while Nancy’s mother made an ice pack. She got a rag damp and sat in another chair before him and cleaned his lip.

“I’m sorry again,” she said. Ben just shook his head. “John can overreact sometimes.” That made Ben curious.

“Why aren’t you reacting?” He asked.

“Oh, I have,” she said, “just in a different way.” Ben didn’t say anything, wanting to be careful where he stepped his foot. “I was surprised when I found that you and Nancy have been together for the past few months. But I also thought of the way Nancy has been lately.”

“How has she been?” Ben asked.

“Happy. Completely twitter padded,” she said and they both chuckled, which hurt Ben’s lip. Savanna took the rag from his lip and handed him the ice pack and Ben gently pressed it against his lip. “I could tell she was in love; I just didn’t know with who.” Ben looked down.

“Mrs. Penn-“

“Savanna,” she corrected. Ben gave her a thankful look.

“I want you to know that Nancy wasn’t a prey. I had no idea how old she was; I thought she was nineteen or twenty. She kept mentioning her school, but I thought she was talking about college. I didn’t find out that she went to high school until almost a month after I had met her… After I was already falling for her.” Ben looked at her to see a sad but understanding look in her light blue eyes. The same eyes as Nancy’s.

“I know,” she said. Ben was confused. “Nancy is older than her age. Sometimes I feel as if she’s the mother and I’m her helper,” she says, with a small chuckle. “She’s too smart to be manipulated… and even if she wasn’t, I know you’re not trying to manipulate her.”

“I don’t mean to disrespect you, or question you… but how can you tell?” Ben asked. Savanna gave him a small smile.

“I saw you yesterday. When you were looking at Nancy. I put the pieces together when I saw a complete stranger looking so scared and worried for my girl. I knew then that you were the one she loved and that you loved her. I kept thinking of how awful it must’ve felt… seeing the one that you love in a life-or-death state and having to stand in the background.” Ben looked at the ground, his throat tightening. So, he wasn’t completely outcasted during Nancy’s accident. Someone had thought of him. He looked back at Savanna.

“Thank you,” he said, finding it hard to speak. “It was the worst thing I’ve ever experienced, not being able to be there for her when she needed me.”

“And you needed her just as much.” Ben cleared his throat and rubbed his eyes, which were hurting because he was so tired.

“How is she?” He asked.

“She’s improved well. And she misses you. I can tell,” she said. Ben was about to ask something else, but the hotel door opened. Ben shot up from his chair, removing the bag of ice from his face, to see John glaring at him when he walked in. But he didn’t look surprised to see him. Jacen and Caroline weren’t behind him.

“What do you want from my daughter?” John demanded.

“Nothing, sir,” Ben said. “I don’t want anything from her.”

“Then why am I hearing that you’ve been dating her for the past few months?” He asked.

“I-“

“You’re a liar and a piece of shit!” He shouts. Savanna stood near the bed, her fist covering her mouth. “How many other little girls have you done stuff with?!”

“Nancy isn’t a little girl!” Ben said, with courage that surprised even him. “She’s a woman. She’s more mature than a lot of the women I’ve ever dated. And I’m not-” Ben found it hard to get the insulting word out, “I’m not some pedophilist! I’ve never done anything like this before and I’ve never laid a finger on Nancy,” Ben said, though he thought a little white lie was better than admitting that all they’ve ever done was kiss. He ran his hand through his hair. “What you heard from Grace was most likely blown completely out of proportion. She’s my ex and she just found out this morning about Nancy and I.” That didn’t seem to cool John down at all. Ben was getting nervous now. “I wanted to tell you myself, but Nancy and I thought it was best to-“

“Nancy and you?! You’re manipulating my daughter to keep secrets from me is all that I can see! Now get the hell out and if I ever catch you near Nancy again, I’ll have you thrown in prison before you can even blink!” John shouted. Ben clenched his fists, considering on making a stand, but than thought of Nancy, and the way she looked last time he saw her. He glanced back at Savanna, who had a sad look on her face. At least he knew that one of Nancy’s parents had his back.

That’s what made him step around John Penn and walk out of the room. He was so tired and depressed that he knew he’d never survive another trip back home, so he booked a room for the night in a completely different hotel. But he still stayed awake for half the night before he finally, somehow, drifted off to sleep.

Ben awoke with the memories of yesterday on his mind. He looked at his watch. It was only eight in the morning, but he was glad he woke up. Even though he was still dead tired, he was revived enough to return home. And he wanted to get as far away from John Penn as possible. His and Nancy’s future looked cold and dark, and the only silver lining was Savanna’s comfort and understanding that he had received last night.

Ben gathered the only things he brought and left to check out of the hotel. While he stood at the front desk, waiting in line, his phone buzzed. He was dreading all the gossip that was no doubt spreading back home. He wouldn’t have looked at his phone if he hadn’t thought of Savanna, who no doubt would be kind enough to update him on Nancy’s recovery.

But it wasn’t Savanna.

It was a message from an unknown number: “Hospital. Room C19 in 15 minutes. Be there.”

Ben’s heart pounded hard against his chest. It had to be John Penn. No one else would message Ben with such a demanding manner. He immediately put his phone back into his pocket and ran out of the hotel. Starting his car, he drove as fast as he could to the hospital without actually speeding. He met the same nurse he did as yesterday at the front desk, and she led him to the same room where John Penn stood, almost like a guard, in front of the closed door. His manner is a lot less hostile but still intimidating. Ben stopped before him and didn’t say anything. He wouldn’t have known what to say.

“I’ll let you visit her,” John Penn said, almost reluctantly. “But only because Jacen told her what happened, and she was hysterical until I promised her.”

“Thank you,” Ben said, grateful no matter how John allowed him. John opened the door and held it open. Ben saw her, lying on the bed in a hospital gown, the blankets pulled to her waist. He was so relieved to see her awake and looking around, his throat began to tighten immediately. She turned her head and saw him, her eyes watering. He walked to her and knelt at her bed side. She grabbed his hand, holding her arm out, giving him the signal that it was safe. He pulled her into his arms. His eyes burned and began to blur as he felt her arms squeeze him, her body shaking with relieved sobs.

He pulled away, only far enough to see her face, which had a few scratches from the accident. Her face was soaked with tears, but she smiled at him.

“I missed you,” she whispered. He didn’t care who saw at that moment; he pressed his lips against hers. But not for long, because Ben heard Caroline make a warning sound. He pulled away to see that Nancy had the most gorgeous smile on her face.

“I love you,” Ben said to her for the first time. She wiped some tears from her cheeks.

“I love you,” she said. They heard John make a noise and Ben leaned away from Nancy but never let go of her hand. They both looked at John.

“I’ll allow you two to see each other. But you are never to be alone until she graduates,” he says. Ben couldn’t have asked for anything better. He and Nancy looked at each other with wide smiles.

“Three months,” Nancy mouthed while holding up three fingers. Ben could’ve waited three thousand years; it wouldn’t have made any difference. He was going to marry Nancy Penn.