The Trials of November

Chapter Six

The pair fell for each other faster than either of them knew that they possibly could. It was like everything in their lives was an icy wasteland, but then suddenly, out of nowhere, everything was a beautiful, blossoming oasis. They got along so well and had so much in common. It was like everything was suddenly clear, like everything made sense.
Ben loved everything about Victoria, and Victoria loved everything about Ben. They accepted each other's flaws and they loved how their flaws made them each unique. They both took notice of everything about each other, from how they drink their beverages, to their position that they sit in, to how they laugh and how they smile. They sat there for the longest time, just admiring each other.
If it was any other situation, it may have been considered creepy or strange, but neither of them thought it as such. They both loved it, and they both felt the same way about each other.
The pair talked for hours. Nothing was left unknown or unsaid. They had to be kicked out of the coffee shop because of how late they sat there, and even then, they went to the diner on the corner to talk more.
The diner was a small one, with a bar with stools, and booths against the walls. It had a tiled floor and lights hanging from the ceiling.
The pair sat in a booth across from each other, and they removed their jackets, revealing what they had underneath. Ben smiled when he saw Victoria's purple sweater, and Victoria smiled when she saw his sweatshirt that had a print from some video game that Victoria did not recognize.
They had many things in common, but also, they had some things that were not in common so that they still had things to talk about. They both felt so content in each other. They did not need anything or anyone else. It was a feeling that neither of them had experienced before. It was a beautiful, wonderful thing.
Everyone that saw them had assumed that they had been together for years, just judging by how comfortable and content they were with each other. They laughed and smiled and touched hands across the table. They both knew in their hearts that there was no way that they were ever going to find a bond like that in anyone else, and they did not want to either. They were both completely content.
A man walked in and sat at the bar, ordering a coffee. However, neither of the two even noticed that he was there, because they were so focused on the person sitting across from them.
"I can't believe how perfect you are." Ben said. He was truly amazed by Victoria. Everything about her was exactly what he wanted, and everything about Ben was perfect for Victoria. It was amazing. Truly amazing.
Suddenly, Victoria's phone rang. It was an unknown number, but the area code was the same as hers. Victoria decided to answer the call, even though she normall would not have. Being with Ben just made her feel so comfortable and confident.
"Hello?" Victoria asked, smiling apologetically at Ben who smiled back at her.
"Victoria? This is Callie's mom, Elaine." The lady on the phone said. Victoria had not heard from Elaine since Callie had gone missing. It was nice to hear from her, but she wished that Elaine sounded happier. Victoria assumed that it was bad news.
"Oh hi, Elaine." Victoria said, hoping she could not hear the fear in her voice. Ben still smiled at Victoria from across the table. "What can I do for you?" She asked.
"I was just wondering if you would be willing to come by the house tomorrow." Elaine said. "There are some things that I need help moving." She sounded very exhausted.
"Umm... Sure." Victoria replied. "I would love to help." She said slowly, still unsure of what Elain actually wanted. Elaine was a healthy woman, and Victoria was guessing that she did not actually need help with moving something. On the phone, they said their goodbyes, and they hung up the phone.
Victoria sat there for a moment, confused. Ben looked at her with his beautiful eyes, which were a little more concerned at the sight of a confused Victoria.
"What's wrong?" He asked.
That was when Victoria told Ben everything. About Victoria's disappearance. About how nobody was even looking for her anymore. How nobody knew what could have happened to her. Victoria had never sat down and told anyone about her feelings about the Callie situation before, but it felt so good to let it out. She was thankful that she did not have to keep it in any longer, and so was Ben. He was so understanding, and Victoria loved how Ben would never judge Victoria. She felt as though she could share anything with him and she did not have to be worried about him telling anyone or making her feel embarrassed about anything.
They talked about everything. Everything from family to school to future dreams to past experiences. They talked about their favorite things, as well as things that they hate. They understood each other's points of view, as well as each other's pains. They ordered coffees and muffins and laughed together for hours.
But then Ben checked his phone.
"Shoot. Eleven thirty." He said sadly. "I have to go." He looked at Victoria and saw the look on her face drop. She was so sad that her time with Ben would then need to be less. She wished that she could spend every second of every day with him. Victoria was certain that he was the love of her life. She did not doubt it for one second. He was perfect for her, and Ben felt the same way.
Victoria did not want to go home yet, for fear of having to deal with her mother. It was late so her mother would definitely give her a hard time for it, even though she did not have a specific curfew.
She decided that, so that she could avoid her family for a little while longer, she would stay at the diner alone for a little while longer. Maybe, if she was lucky, her parents would be sleeping by the time that she arrived home.
"Okay..." Victoria said. She knew that she would be fine. "Can we please meet up again tomorrow?" She asked. The thought of being without him, even for only a day, was nearly too much to bear.
"Of course." Ben said. "I will come find you after your school gets out tomorrow." He smiled at her in a way that she had never been smiled at before. It warmed her from the inside out.
She stood up to say goodbye to Ben. He gently grabbed her hand and kissed it, and Victoria could feel his stubble on her skin. Her heart jumped inside of her chest, and she felt a warmth coming from within. He then looked at her with his beautiful eyes and walked away, out the diner doors. Victoria melted back into her seat, smiling like an idiot. She kept gushing at the thought of the amazing man she had just spent hours with. He was perfect.
Victoria kept thinking about him. She then took out her sketchbook and started to doodle, so that she didn't look crazy, sitting in a diner alone at nearly midnight, smiling like she was crazy. She was perfectly content.
She was sitting there for not even ten minutes before man from the bar came and sat in the booth across from her. Victoria attempted to ignore him at first, but the man cleared his throat, practically begging for Victoria's attention. Victoria glanced up at him, wondering what he wanted.
He had glasses and a round face, his hair was dark and really short, and he looked as though he was up to no good. He had a small beard that had not quite grown in yet, and he appeared to be mid twenties, at least four or five years older than Victoria.
Victoria glanced back at her doodles, and then she felt the man's eyes on her, so she looked back up at him.
The man was wearing a black jacket and jeans, and he had a dark green backpack. Even his appearance made Victoria uneasy. It sent chills through her entire body. His eyes were anything but gentle, and they had bags under them. In addition, their redness was very obvious, which either meant that he was tired, or that he had just gotten doing something illegal. The man's smile was yellowing and insincere. Victoria knew in that moment that she needed to get away, but for some reason, she was frozen. Victoria looked around, but the diner was empty.
"This seat taken, gorgeous?" He asked with a greedy smirk.
"No, but I was just leaving." Victoria said, getting up. She was suddenly able to move, so she took advantage of it. She stood quickly, hitting her leg on the underside of the booth. Victoria reached for her sketchbook and backpack, but her hand was intercepted.
He grabbed her arm before she had even stood up the entire way. Victoria let out a startled gasp. Her body was shaking, but Victoria tried desperately not to make it obvious to the strange man who was holding her. Victoria felt as though she might throw up. She wanted, with every ounce of her being, for this man to let her go. He was squeezing tightly, and Victoria knew that she would likely be bruised the next day. His wrinkled forehead and wicked smile showed that he had no positive intentions.
"Please let me go." She said, looking around for someone to help her if needed. There was nobody. The waitresses were in the kitchen, and the last customer had just left a few minutes earlier. The man smelled of alcohol and the scent made Victoria gag. It was obvious that he had been doing some kind of drugs earlier that night. There was a look in his eyes that sent chills through her body.
Her legs started to shake, her palms were getting warm and sweaty.
"I will let you go if you sit back down." The man huffed threateningly. His tone of voice scared Victoria. She wanted to leave. She wanted to run and catch up to Ben. She wanted to be home. Even home would have been better than sitting with this strange man. But, she needed him to let go of her, so she sat down. "There you go. That wasn't so hard." The man said. He smiled at Victoria with crooked teeth.
"What do you want?" She asked, trying not to become frantic. Victoria desperately looked around for help, but still, nobody.
"I just want to talk." The man replied. "What is your name, beautiful?" He said with a sneer. Victoria said nothing, but just sat there, looking at that strange man. The man was observing everything. Her face, her hair, her outfit, the table, everything. And it made Victoria very uneasy. "Who were you here with?" He asked. "Was it a boyfriend?" The man asked. He trailed his dirty finger around the rim of her coffee mug. His yellow smile only grew and grew with every word.
Technically, Ben was not her boyfriend. Should she maybe just say that he was, just so that the man would leave her alone? Would that even make him leave her alone? She had no idea.
"No." She replied. "Not my boyfriend." Victoria said, and then she tried leaving again. The man reached for her, and Victoria dodged him. Her adrenaline was kicking into full gear, and she was holding nothing back. Victoria ran out of the diner, not looking back, and thankfully, the man did not follow her. Victoria began running at full speed down the street.
Victoria prayed that she would see a police officer somewhere, but there was nobody in sight. The cold air cut into her skin, and the nearly frozen grass shifted under each step she took.
She ran the entire way home, not stopping for a second. Victoria was out of breath and very cold, but she wouldn't stop running. Once she got home, she locked the door behind her and took a huge breath.
Despite all of the new smells she passed by, such as the exhaust from cars and the stink of dog poop in yards and the smell of the snow, Victoria was completely unable to forget the scent of the man from the diner. He reeked of alcohol and cigarette smoke, but there was something else to his scent that Victoria could not put her finger on for some reason.
Victoria approached her house, and she ran inside, up the steps. When she got inside, she shut and locked the door behind her. She stood there for a few moments to catch her breath.
Her mother was at the kitchen table, still on her stupid laptop. There were unwashed dishes in the sink that must have been there for hours, and the entire room reeked with the scent of them.
Victoria tried everything that she could to sneak past her mother, but her mother seemed to have eyes in the back of her head, and she always had some inconsiderate remark to say to Victoria.
"If you are in such a rush, then why weren't you here a few hours ago?" Her mother said rudely. Victoria did not have the patience for her mothers attitude at the moment, so she tried retreating to her room. She began hurrying away, but her mother's sharp voice stopped her in her tracks.
"Not so fast." Her mother said. Victoria stopped in the doorway and sighed. "Miranda said that you were at a diner with a boy." Her mother said. Victoria rolled her eyes and sighed again. Miranda was Victoria's mother's best friend and also the biggest snitch on the face of the earth. She always was the first one to find out about all of the things Victoria did, and was also the first to tell Victoria's mother what she had been up to. Even if it was not bad, it was always made to sound like it was. Miranda was one of Victoria's least favorite people on the face of the planet. "Why didn't you tell me that you had a boyfriend?" She said with an unpleasant smirk. Victoria could feel her limbs getting heavy because she was tired, and she prayed with everything inside of her that her mother's lecture would not take that long.
Victoria couldn't let her mother get that kind of satisfaction, but if Victoria were to stand up to her mother, it would absolutely result in less freedoms and more of an argument.
"He isn't my boyfriend." Victoria said, with her patience running thin. She tapped her foot on the wooden floor, quickly glancing at the electronic clock that was part of the stove. She was sick and tired of her mother's insincere interrogations. She wished that her mother would stop bothering her.
"Okay, dear." Her mother said sarcastically. "Please make sure he is a good egg. We don't need another one of your trashy boyfriends adding even more scum to the family name then what you have already contributed." She smiled sarcastically at her computer screen.
Victoria's blood began to boil. She had never dated a bad guy before. Her mother just always seemed to need some new excuse to make her upset. Victoria's mother had never even met one of her boyfriends before. She just heard that they were bad from Miranda, and of course, if Miranda says it, it must be true.
Victoria did not want to pick another fight with her mother because her mother would only get angry and it would definitely not help her case any more. She decided that she would keep her mouth shut.
Victoria took that has her opportunity to leave. She walked away as fast as she possibly could. She went up the stairs and shut the door behind her. She sighed. Victoria was so tired and only wanted to sleep.
Her mother had not always been so uptight. She used to be one of Victoria's favorite people on the planet. But then she got her new job, so she was away more and when she was home she did not have any time for her only daughter. Honestly, it broke Victoria's heart.
She changed into her pajamas and laid in her bed. She then turned on her phone and checked her notifications. Two texts from Ben. She smiled, thinking about how sweet he was. She couldn't believe how lucky she was to have met the love of her life this early. She started blushing, just thinking about him. She had almost completely forgotten about her scary situation in the diner earlier.
The texts read: "Hi there, beautiful. Just got home and I am thinking about you a lot." And "Hi. I am going to bed now but am looking forward to seeing you tomorrow after school."
Victoria rolled onto her side, hugged her phone to her chest, smiled to herself, and fell asleep thinking about how she was so happy that she has met the love of her life, and now her life was about to be perfect forever. She felt completely at peace with herself and everything else in the world, and she felt like everything that has happened to her or would ever happened to could not be too bad. She was wrong.