LifeLine - Chapter One

Keep in mind that this chapter is in Benjamin Prescott's point of view.

Benjamin Prescott

            I walked up that long hallway one more time.  The same I had gotten used to back in my early High School years.  It was the hallway of my old school.  The one I had attended for only a year.  But somehow, I had memories that seemed as if I had been there for decades.  The place was all too familiar.  I knew practically every little part of that building and had a memory associated with each.  Like this hallway for instance.  This hallway was where I used to horseplay with my buddies before classes would start.  The same hallway that I used to chuck a tennis ball and football down.  Then, when the bell would ring, we would all scatter.  Whoever had the ball would keep it, and then give it back to the rightful owner after the ending bell had rung.

            I stopped in the doorway of the cafeteria.  It was run-down now, but I could still hear the deafening sound of all the students that once stood in this very room.  Either eating or visiting.  It was never quiet in here, unless you managed to be at the school past the usual hours.  The silence that gripped it now was unsettling though.  As if it didn't really belong.  Which wasn't surprising, I mean it is a High School.

            Heather was walking behind me, just watching as I remembered little details of my childhood.  She strode up behind me when I stopped and wrapped her arms around me, resting her head on my back.  She murmured something that I couldn't understand, so I just ignored it.  The air around us was cold and seemed to freeze our skin right down to the bone.  But that was just typical Washington weather.

            She released her grip on my waist and reached for one of my hands, interlocking her fingers with mine and twirled around to stand in front of me.

            "Everything alright Ben?"  She asked while her eyes danced around my face, searching for some sign of emotion.

            "Yea," I paused and let out a short sigh, "just kinda...looking around."  I had just gotten over a cold a week back, so my voice was rugged and scratchy.

            She walked in front of me and stood next to a table that was scratched up and missing a few of the wheels.  The room wasn't clean and had the typical look of a rundown building.  It was torn apart.  Some of the windows that wrapped around the front of the north face were broken and the glass from them still laid there on the ground next to them.  To my left, the doors were broken off and partially dented.

            I took a few more steps in and heard glass crunching underneath me.

            "How much glass could there possibly be in here?"  I questioned humorously.

            Heather looked over at me and chuckled a little bit.  "I don't know Ben," she looked around on the ground and bent over to pick a piece up, "do you want me to count it all for you?"  She looked back up at me and gave a sweet smile.

            I grinned, "No crazy.  I was just being sarcastic."

            "I know," she laughed a little bit, "how long are we going to be here anyway?"

            I looked around the room one last time at all the overturned tables and broken chairs.  It seemed to glimmer with the light reflecting off of all the broken glass and metal.  "I suppose we can take off soon.  But there is one more room I want to see."

            She placed a hand on her hip and looked over at me with a very dramatic motion.  "And what room would that be there mister?"

            "You remember Ms. Ostoban's room?"

            "Um..."  Her face titled up and her eyes looked to the ceiling with her face scrunched up a little while she thought.  She looked back down at me after a few seconds and smiled.  "Yes, yes I do."

            Her smile and the look of satisfaction on her face made me smile a little bit.  I reached out my hand and stared into her eyes.

            "Wanna join me again my dear?"

            We chuckled together a bit and she bounced over to me and took hold of my hand once more, interlocking our fingers together again.  She shivered a little bit and looked up at me while we walked.

            I looked down at her and felt her shiver through my hand.  "Are you cold babe?"

            She got a little shy and blushed slightly.  "Yes."

            I took off my jacket and helped her put it on over her own jacket.  She grabbed my arm and cuddled up next to me for a few steps.

            "Wait!"  She stopped.

            I turned around really fast, scared that something was wrong.  "What?!"  As soon as I turned around she took off jogging toward me and jumped up onto me, wrapping her legs around my waist and her arms around my neck.  I braced myself to catch her and keep us both standing.  She smiled really big and gave me a kiss on the cheek.  I stared into her eyes and gently kissed her lips before she shifted around to my back for a piggy-back ride.

            "Am I carrying you the rest of the way?"  I snickered slightly.

            She laughed.  "You are now!"

            I reached back with one of my hands and tickled her side, causing her to go haywire on my back.

            "Stop it," she laughed, "you're going to make us fall!"  She squeezed her legs around my waist to get me to stop.

            "Alright, alright.  I'll stop, I promise!"  I choked the words out from my stomach.  She released her grip on my waist and placed one of her hands on my chest.  I reached one of mine up and placed it over hers and held it there.

            I pressed her hand into my chest a little bit.  "You feel that?"

            "Your heartbeat?"  She sounded a little puzzled.

            "Feel how fast it's beating."  I pressed her hand against my chest more, but not enough to hurt her.

            "Yea, it's beating pretty fast.  Why?"  She was even more puzzled.

            "It because you're here with me.  This is the way my heart gets when you come around me.  Or when I just think of you."  I released the pressure I was putting on her hand.

            "Oh Lord."  She chuckled a little bit and I just knew that she rolled her eyes.

            I carried her through a doorway that led into another hallway.  This one was narrower and shorter than the first one we had walked through.  We traveled quietly down the hallway, not talking with our words, but rather having a conversation through our heartbeats.  Her hand was still placed over my heart and I could feel hers beating from her chest which was pressed firmly against my back.  I stopped for a second and stared down a dark hallway and reached into my pocket.  I pulled out my small MAGLITE flashlight and clicked the bottom of it on to turn the LED bulb inside.  The light sliced through the darkness across the hall with ease and lit up the room.

            "That looks," I felt her swallow her words, "interesting."

            I laughed a little bit and turned my head so that I could see as much of her as possible with my peripheral vision.  "Are you scared?"

            She looked at me for a second and then kissed my forehead.  "No," she replied sarcastically.

            I leaned forward quickly and stood back up to tease her a little.  She let out a swift scream and squeezed my waist with her thighs again.  "You butthead!"

            "Sorry!  I just wanted to make you feel a little less scared."  I laughed.

            She stopped squeezing my waist and looked at me.  I could feel her eyes staring at the back of my head.  I felt her lower herself down a little bit and wrap her arms loosely around my neck.  She rested her head on my shoulder blade.

            "I love you."  She whispered and kissed my shoulder.

            I lifted my hand up to grip hers and kissed her palm.  "I love you too."

            She lifted her head up and looked through the doorway into the room.  It was trashed, just like the rest of the building was.  A single ray of light shone through the boards that were put up over the windows on the other side of the room.  That ray of light let us see the overturned desks and scattered papers.

            I walked in with Heather still on my back and knelt down.  "Here we are madam."

            She hopped off of my back and laughed a little.  "Why thank you kind sir."  Her radiant smile made my heart skip a beat.

            Jokingly, I reached my hand out.  "That will be ten dollars."

            She grabbed my hand and pulled me into a kiss, her other hand caressing the back of my neck.  "Good enough for you?"

            I stumbled over my words a bit.  Grinning I replied, "yea, that's...grand."

            She walked past me and stood in the middle of the room.  Out of sheer randomness, she jumped up, threw her arms in the air and then landed with her legs spread a little bit.

            Laughing, I asked, "What are you doing silly?"

            "Can't you see?"  She said sarcastically.  "I'm a star!"  She tilted her head into the air and made a cheering crowd sound effect and peered down at me.  Her eyes caught my smirk and she gazed at me.  "What are you smiling at, weirdo?"

            I laughed at her, "weirdo?  Why am I a weirdo?"

            "Because all you're doing is staring at me!"  She brought her feet back together.

            "Well maybe I just want to stare at my beautiful girlfriend."  I replied sarcastically.

            She took a step forward into the sunlight and rolled her eyes.  "I don't know who you are talking about."

            The way she gleamed in that ray of sunlight was amazing.  I felt as if I was staring at an angel.  Her long brown hair, which was up in a single braid in back, shined bright.  Her smooth and slim face was accented by the shadows of the room, making her look all the more beautiful.  The sight left me speechless.  I lost myself in the moment and was snapped back when she started moving toward me.

            "What are you doing?"  She asked, standing right in front of me.

            I didn't say anything back.  I lifted her chin up slightly and gently kissed her lips.  Then I kissed her forehead and wrapped my arms around her, rocking left and right slightly.  Her head was lying on my chest and her eyes were closed.  After a few minutes I heard a noise in the hallway, but ignored it.  After a few more minutes passed, I heard the doors at the front open up and I heard someone call out.

            "Hello!"  The voice called.  "Anyone in here?"

            Heather looked up at me and I saw the sudden shock in her eyes.  I turned around and clutched her hand behind me, slowly leading us to the doorway of the room.

            "Hey!"  The voice called out again.  "I know that there is someone in here!  I received a call about screams coming from here!"

            I looked back at Heather and whispered.  "Do you think it’s the police?"

            She looked at me and then leaned her head out into the hall to look.  "I don't know I can't see."

            I stared at her in amazement that she just poked her head out there and then laughed slightly.  "Well let's get out of here either way."

            I led her down the hallway and into the main hallway that we came out of.  We found out where the voice came from when we entered the first room we were in again.  It was that of a security guard.

            I grabbed her hand and ran across the room to the door.  "Come on!"

            We were both laughing as we ran away from the security guard who was chasing after us.  He was on the heavy side so he couldn't keep up and just kept shouting for us to stop resisting.

            We ran for maybe ten minutes before we slowed down and stopped on the side of the road to catch our breath.

            I tried to speak while gasping for air, "Are...you...oh...okay..."

            Heather flopped down onto the grass and spread her arms out.  "Yes...I'm...Okay..."

            I laid down next to her and put an arm around her, still breathing heavy.  She rolled over and laid her head on my chest to listen to my heartbeat.

            "You are horribly out of shape."  She laughed.

            "Oh thanks," I replied sarcastically.

            We both laughed a little.  She pulled her phone out and started typing away.  Her fingers flew across the keys faster than I could keep up.

            "I still don't see how you can text that fast.  It's amazin-" I was cut off by the vibrating of my own cell phone.

            I pulled it out of my pocket and flipped it open.

            "Hello?"  It was my mother.

            "Ben, where are you?"

            "I'm," I paused and looked around for a street sign, "on the side of the road somewhere.  Why?"

            "Did you forget about something?"

            "What do you mean?"

            "Your Father told you to come straight home today.  Remember?  The family meeting?"

            I pulled the phone away from my face and muttered a few words that I really didn't want my mother hearing.

            "Yea, okay.  I'll be home after I walk Heather home."

            I heard a loud sigh come from the speaker of my cell phone and then my mother responded with irritation in her voice.  "Fine, hurry it up."  She hung up without giving me a chance to say bye.

            Heather tilted her head up a little to look at me.  "Everything okay, Ben?"

            I stared at the sky for a second and then looked down into her beautiful blue eyes.  "Yea.  Parents just want me home.  Dad is being, well, he's being my dad again."

            She already knew what that meant and dropped her head onto his chest.  "Phooey."

            We sat there for a few seconds before I spoke to break the silence.  "Well, let’s get you home pretty lady."

            She smiled and got up.  She fixed her pants and pulled her shirt back down, which had rode up a little bit while lying on the ground.  I stood up and did the same.

            "Ready?"  I asked, looking at her.

            "I guess."

            We started walking down the road.  Her house was about a mile and a half away from the school, while mine was three miles down the road in the opposite direction.  I didn't mind walking her home; it was the punishment that came with being late when I got home myself.  But I wouldn't change the fact that I wanted to make sure she made it home safely every time she went out with me.

            We walked in silence for about ten minutes before she started talking.

            "So, what do you think is going to happen?"

            I looked at her, a little puzzled as to what she was talking about.  "What do you mean, Heather?"

            "Like," she paused and looked at her feet, then forward again, "what do you think is going to happen after we both graduate?"

            I looked over at her.  She had her eyes focused on our hands, which were entangled once again.  I didn't even notice that they were which was strange.  "What do you mean?  I mean, I know I’m going into the Marine Corps and I will be away for a while.  If things go right, whatever comes toward us after that, we will handle together right?"

            She looked up at me.  "What if it doesn't work out?"

            I stopped walking and she twirled around to look at me after realizing that I had stopped.  "Heather.  Things are going to work out.  I promise you."

            "How can you be certain though?"  She asked.

            I stared into her eyes and leaned closer to her until our foreheads were pressed together.  "Heather.  I promise you, that whatever life throws at us.  Whatever happens from now until the end of time, I will still be right here by your side.  I will be here.  Always."

            I saw a tear drop from her eye and she wrapped her arms around my neck in a tight hug.  "I believe you."

            I picked her up on my back and carried her the rest of the way home.  I'm still not sure, but I think she fell asleep with her head rested on my shoulder blade on our way to her house that night.  Either way, I got her home safe and sound, once again.

            It took me about thirty minutes to get back to my own house and I walked in the door ten minutes after seven.  When I shut the front door, I saw my dad sitting in the recliner and my mom sitting on the couch.  They had been waiting for an hour for me to get home.

            "Where have you been?"  My father's voice was laced with anger.

            "I told mom that I was-"

            He cut me off before I could finish my sentence.  "I don't give a crap what your mother told you!  I said be home before six!  SIX, BEN!"  He stopped to look at his watch.  "Its seven twelve right now!"

            "I'm sorry dad, I just thought-"

            "Oh.  So you actually used that thing attached to your neck?!  It's a damn surprise!"

            My ears were ringing from the volume of his voice.  The room stayed silent.  I didn't want to speak again because I didn't want to anger my father any more.  I'm sure my mother was scared as well, so she stayed silent.

            "Just," my father rubbed his brow and sighed, "go.  Maybe you can sleep off the stupidity that you proved yourself to have tonight.  Make sure you're up in the morning."

            I stood there for a minute, staring at him.

            "I said go!"

            His booming voice startled me and instinct kicked in.  I replied a quick, "yes sir", and walked down the hall to my room.  The fan was already on from this morning, so I just lay down on my bed and pulled my cell phone out.  I opened up a blank message and addressed it to Heather.  Ever since we started dating, I had promised her that I would send her a text or call her to tell her goodnight every night.

            [Parents are going to fight again, so I'm going to bed.  I'm okay.  I love you Heather.  Goodnight.  Sweet dreams.]

            I set my phone down on my night stand after placing it on the charger.  I let the sound of the fan engulf me into sleep once more and I dreamt.

Reviews

[Honey-Bee]

Nice young love story! Kept me interested the who way through. Love the part where he tells her I will always be here for you. The ending reminded me of coming home when I was a kid and getting in trouble for being late. Wonderful story! Can't wait to read more.

[JWidener]

Thanks for the feedback! I will be posting more of this sometime tonight. Keep an eye out!

[Ana]

You have the beginning of a lovely story. It's very realistic and you paint your story with vivid strokes of emotion and detail. The vulnerability of your characters was touching. This could be a good YA novel.

[rosa]

I liked it although I thought the tense in the beginning was off. I thought it was interesting and would enjoy reading more if you where to continue.

[RAOrourke]

I enjoyed the beginning of your story and will read to see where it takes me! Good job so far. Sweet love story is showing so far