Enforced (Book 1)

Chapter 18

The next morning I woke up at 9:30, eager to see Benjamin. I quickly jumped out of bed and threw my pajamas onto the ground and grabbed one of my favorite dresses and laid it out on my bed. It was baby blue with buttons down the back.

It was very plain, which was why I loved it. I hopped into the shower and when I was done I did my hair and make-up, put my dress on, then my shoes and coat, looked at my crutches, decided not to bring them, and then walked out the door. I left my house by 10:15.

I knew that Benjamin wouldn't be at the pond yet, so I decided to buy Benjamin my favorite dessert, which is ice cream. I bought a gallon of cookie dough ice cream and a bag of ice to keep it cold until Benjamin got there. When I was done I took the shuttle that was closest to the pond and walked down the boardwalk, sat the ice down, then put the gallon of ice cream in it, then sat down myself.

I peered at the water for about twenty minutes. I looked at my reflection wondering what Benjamin could possibly see in me. I wasn't as pretty as my friends, I wasn't very skinny, my hair was always a mess of flyaways, and I had a bunch of freckles. I sat there for a long time before my eyes began to droop and I eventually dozed off.

In my dream, I heard Benjamin say, "7:00 is when they check up on me, to make sure I didn't run away again."

Then I heard my own voice "What happens if you aren't back on time?"

"I don't know." Then all of a sudden a bunch of clocks flew past me, each one read 7:02. Then I began hearing voices of young men. I looked to my left and saw three men surrounding Benjamin.

"You're late." Said one of them.

Then another, "You know what this means right?"

Benjamin closed his eyes and took a deep breath, "I'm sorry." He said. "I lost track of time, I won't be late again, I promise."

He started walking towards his house, but one of the boys caught him by the shirt and threw him to the ground. "Get up!" he called, "take it like a man!" Benjamin had only gotten onto his hands and knees when the tallest boy kicked him in the stomach. Benjamin fell back onto his side, holding his stomach.

The boy laughed, then one of the other boys pulled Benjamin up by his shirt and punched him in the mouth, immediately his face began bleeding, covering his shirt and the other boy's face, in blood. The boy who had hit him dropped him to the floor and they all began beating him. Benjamin lied there on the floor, not making a sound, except for the occasional sharp intake of breath. Eventually, even those sounds stopped.

I was sure Benjamin was dead and I longed to help, I needed to help him. I kept trying to scream, but nothing came out. I kept trying to reach him, to save him, but every time I took a step forward I was pulled back to where I had begun. I was standing there, watching Benjamin get beaten, and there was nothing I could do about it.

After they were finished with him, they lifted him up by the shirt and threw him to the ground at my feet. I dropped to my knees and began cleaning his wounds. Once again I was left with this beautiful, broken boy, and the only thing I could do was help clean his wounds.

As I was taking care of him he looked up at me. He was bloodied and bruised. All he said before drifting into unconsciousness was, "See? Bethany, I knew they wouldn't kill me. He paused for a moment to breathe, "Thank you." he whispered.

I woke up with a start. I screamed Benjamin's name. I looked around and realized that it was only a dream, a terrible nightmare. My entire body was trembling, I was crying. I looked down at my watch. I had to hold my trembling hand still with my other to read the numbers on my watch. It was 12:00. Benjamin still wasn't there. He promised to meet me at 11:00. He left my house at 7:02, which meant he was already past his curfew. He went home late last night; he had gotten punished for it. He wouldn't be meeting me today.