what if → Benny Rodriguez

chapter 2 | welcome home

June 15th 2019

B E N N Y
point of view

I FEEL SOMEONE lightly tap me on the shoulder. I turn around expecting to see Ham but i was caught completely off guard when i turned around to a girl. I could swear I recognized her from somewhere but i couldn't pinpoint it.

"hi." she spoke with a slightly shaking voice.

"hey." i replied kind of confused. Gosh it's on the tip of my tongue i could swear i know this girl. she was very pretty. "do we know you?" i say breaking the awkward silence that we had been holding. her smile faded slowly when i said that.

"you don't remember?" she says looking into my eyes. i'm looking back straight into her eyes as if trying to find answers.

I scratch the back of my neck and say "I'm sorry. could you remind me?" i felt really embarrassed because she obviously remembered me, and i felt bad because i couldn't remember her. i felt really bad. i could tell she was a little upset.

she reaches in her pocket and pulls out a bracelet. and suddenly all the pieces of the puzzle fall into place.

B R I N L E Y
point of view

i took out the bracelet and he stared at it in shock. i was kind of scared because i didn't know how he would react. i look at him only to realize that he's looking at me with a beautiful half-smile.

He drops the bat and slowly reaches out to puts his arms around me. i hug him back and i couldn't hold back the tears any longer. they came without warning. i was just so happy in that moment i never wanted him to let go. I had waited 6 years for this moment. He pulled away and looked at me with a chuckle. he wiped the tears off my face.

"guys, remember Brynn?" Benny turns around to all the guys who had crowded around us. I only ever let him call me Brynn. to everyone else i was Brinley. All the guys suddenly got really excited and rushed up to hug me.

"I missed you guys a lot." i confessed but looking at Benny in the crowd.

"We missed you too Brinley. I was starting to think you'd never come back!" Yeah-yeah exclaimed.

"Yeah well i was starting to doubt that i'd ever come back." i said "i probably won't be here for long, though." i look over to see Benny's grin turn to a frown.

"Why?" Benny asked looking at me as though i just shattered his heart into a million pieces.

"you know. my dad's job and stuff. it's frustrating for me too." i say and then sigh.

"Well who wants to play some ball?" DeNunez breaks the silence then everyone cheered. you see i tried out for baseball after we moved away from here and i made the team but quit after a few practices because it bothered me that i wasn't like the sandlot. there were a lot of rules and drills and shit. But when we were at the sandlot there was just a sense of freedom and happiness all the time. we just played, and it was just fun. that's what i saw baseball as, being happy. and i decided i didn't want to do it if it wasn't going to make me happy anymore.

I look over at Benny. He's walking with his head down. wonder what's up with him. he bends down sweeps the bat off the ground, flips it up in the air so he's holding the opposite end of it and hands it to me. "Let's see if you still got it." he says with a grin.