The Choice (a Painful Past)

200

After I checked my makeup and grabbed my purse, I went to find Ben to let him know that I was leaving. It wasn't hard, since I could hear him yelling at the game all the way through the house.

I knocked on his bedroom door, then opened it, when he yelled "Yeah?!" "Hey, I'm about to leave. I may not be coming home tonight, but you can call me if you need me, okay?" I said. He was standing in front of his bed, while his cousins were lounging on top of it. "Yeah, okay. Love you," he replied, never taking his eyes from the television screen.

"Pause the game and listen to me, Ben," I said, sternly. He sighed heavily, paused his game, then looked at me. "I need you to take care of your grandma, while I'm gone. Check on her, bring her a bottle of water, whatever she needs. Okay? Please. And call me immediately, if you need too. Understand?"

"Yes ma'am, I understand. Now, go have fun with your boyfriend, so I can get back to kickin' butt!" He grinned, boyishly, at me. I couldn't help but to smile back at his goofy self. "He's not my boyfriend," I whispered, then leaned over to kiss his cheek. "I love you."

"Whatever you say, Mom. Whatever you say," he laughed. "I love you too." I ruffled his hair one good time, before I backed out and shut the door. I checked on Mom, told her I was leaving, then made my way back outside, to where Sam and Colby were waiting.

"There she is," Jimmy exclaimed, as I walked towards them. "You guys ready?" I asked, as I hooked my purse higher onto my shoulder. I changed when I went inside, but I wasn't really dressed up. The shirt that I had on, made me aware of how paranoid I was about showing my body.

It was pretty low cut, but that wasn't the only issue I was having. It was a silky feeling, black shirt, but there were strips of transparent material all the way down it. So, everyone could see my entire stomach, just about.

The back was nothing but strips of fabric, leaving my skin open to the night air. I hated it, but I didn't want to show up to this club in a fucking t-shirt. I still went with jeans, but I dressed them up with my black boots.

Everyone should just be lucky that I didn't throw my hair back into a ponytail. My fingers literally itched to do that, every time I felt it brush against my neck.

"Yep, just waiting on you," Sam said, smiling at me, as he got into the car, on the drivers side. "You look great," Colby said, as that fucking smirk spread across those full lips of his. "Hot, even."

I felt my face flush like a damn tomato, so I ducked my head down. "Whatever," I laughed. Let's go."

We told my brothers bye, then I waited a few more minutes for them to give the 'If anything happens to her' talk. "Oh my God, can we go?" I pleaded, wanting the torture to be over. Colby just laughed and nodded. "They love their little sister. What's wrong with that?" he murmured, as he slung his arm around my shoulder again.

"Because, it's embarrassing. Like they're my dads, and you're my prom date. I'm a grown ass woman. This is stupid anyway. We're friends, not dating." I regretted saying it, as soon as it popped out of my mouth. Even though it was true. "Yeah. Friends," he murmured, giving me a look that I couldn't read.

To add to my pain, my brother Charles decided to give one last bit of advice. "Oh yeah, make sure you're safe! Wear condoms!" He yelled this so loudly, I was positive that everyone within a five mile radius had heard him.

I felt like my entire body just went up in flames, from the heat that reached my face. Colby decided that it was the funniest thing that he had ever heard and doubled over with laughter. The look on my face probably didn't help matters.

"I HATE YOU!" I yelled back, mortified, as I jumped into the backseat of their car. "You love me!" Charles replied, still laughing. "Oh, fuck off," I muttered. Sam was getting his amusement at my expense too, so getting in the car wasn't my salvation.