Release Me, so I Can Convince Myself That I'm Better off Without You

The next morning, after our many rounds of hot and steamy passion followed by hours of exhausted sleep, I woke up to find myself curled into Benji's side with a smile on my face. It was then that I realized I could never get tired of waking up next to him in the mornings. I loved pretty much everything about him; from the way he walked to the way he voiced his opinions to people. I loved the way he took care of his nieces and nephew, playing tea party with Harlow and Clementine or baby-talking to Sparrow. He would be a great dad some day, that's for sure.

Not wanting to move or wake him up, I began to admire the artwork on his chest and arms. I absolutely adored the tribute tattoos he had to his siblings, Josh and Sarah; they were two sparrows tattooed on his chest near each shoulder with the names placed just below. Centered between the sparrows, just below his neck, was a heart surrounded by barbed wire with fire coming from the top of it, a keyhole in the middle of the flames. Two of my favorites were the panthers running up his sides. I kind of liked the PUNX tattoo above his navel, too. I found it sexy for some reason, but to be honest, everything about the man next to me was sexy.

Absentmindedly, I began to trace Benji's 'punx' tattoo with my right pointer finger as I let my mind wander. Did this mean that Benji and I were back together now? Or was it just sex? The thought of it being just sex made me cringe. As much as I enjoyed the sex, which was thoroughly satisfying in every way possible, I didn't want last night to just be a random rendezvous. I was in too deep feelings-wise for it to not be more than sex.

A hand shot out, grabbing my finger up from its path across his lower abdomen. "Babe," He muttered in a husky tone, his eyes still closed. "You are not helping my morning problem."

Grinning at him, I moved so that my body ended up straddling his. "But I can," That caused Benji's eyes to flutter open as a grin took over his features. Placing his hands on my hips, he flipped us over so he could hover over me with that stupid grin on his face.

"I love you," He expressed, smashing his lips to mine with primal-like force. Moving my lips against his was a sort of natural reaction; a resemblance to an addictive drug. Pulling away from the kiss, Benji placed his forehead against mine, peering down at me through half-lidded eyes.

"Benji," I whispered, giving him the same look. "What are we doing?"

Kissing along my jaw, Benji mumbled out his response. "Making up for lost time, Kimberlyn."

"Are we back together?" I breathed, wanting an answer before we went any further. "Or is this just for fun?"

"Oh, this is definitely fun, babe." He chuckled, lifting his head from my neck to look me in the eyes. "But I'm not letting go of you anytime soon, darling. You're stuck with me."

Lacing our fingers together, I grinned up at Benji, happy to know we were stuck with each other for a while. Using my female persuasion, I was able to flip him on his back and straddle him once again. Now was my turn to be in charge, and he was going to have to deal with it -- Not that he minded much anyway.

Just as our luck would have it, our plans were interrupted. We were at the point where things were just getting hot and heavy, when someone decided to burst through the door to Benji's bedroom. Pulling the sheet up to cover my chest, Benji and I found about four different people in the doorway. At the front of the group was Benji's twin, followed closely by Brian, Johnny, and just my luck, fucking Baker.

"Looks like I win," Joel exclaimed, breaking the silence. It took a few seconds for his words to register but when I saw the other guys whip out their wallets, it hit me; the damn assholes bet on us!

My mood was unfortunately diminished by then, so I climbed off of Benji and headed to the bathroom, clutching the sheet to my body with an iron-like grip. "You four are assholes." I hissed, slamming the door to the bathroom, angrily.

Slipping into the closet connected to the bathroom, I snatched one of Benji's DCMA Collective t-shirts and slid it on followed by a pair of boy-shorts -- he kept a drawer for my intimates in his closet -- and then a pair of his boxers. Walking out of the closet, the guys were still there, along with a now half-dressed Benji.

"So, did you four have a reason for coming over?" I grumbled, a hand on my hip. "Or did you just come here to annoy us?"

"Are you mad you didn't get to play slut this morning?" Zacky snickered. "Were you not satisfied last night?"

"Oh, I was more than satisfied last night." I smirked. "Would you like to see the proof?"

Lifting my t-shirt up, I showed them the bruises and fingernail imprints that resided on my hips. Then, I showed them my neck, where there were several love marks and bite marks. "Benji's back is worst of all, littered with scratches and marks, so I definitely got to play 'slut," Baker."

Smirking at him, I turned around to face Benji, who was now sitting up. He didn't look very happy about our fun getting interrupted, but I knew he'd make up for it later, and the thought made me smile.

"You leaving?" He asked me.

"Yeah, I got a couple things I need to tend to." I answered, climbing on the bed to give him a kiss.

"Call me later?" He asked, pouting at me.

"Of course," I grinned, kissing him one last time before getting off the bed.

"Here," Joel grinned, tossing me my keys. "Your car is out front."



"What do you want?" She huffed, seeing me on her doorstep. "Zacky isn't here."

Upon close inspection, I noticed she had tears in her eyes, and it made my heart ache to see. She may have been a total bitch most of the time, and we may fight like cats and dogs, but she's still my sister; I care about her.

"What's wrong, Miranda?" I asked, worried about her.

"What do you care?" She huffed, walking away from the door. I followed behind her, quickly shutting the door behind me before I did so.

"Miranda, I know we don't get along much anymore, but you're still my sister and I still love you." I sighed, sitting down next to her on the couch. "I haven't exactly been the best sibling these last couple of years, but if you'd let me, I'd like to make up for it."

"Why?" She asked, eyeing me warily. "Why now? After all this time, why have you just now decided to change?"

"Well, Miranda, I'm finally happy." I sighed, playing with my hands in my lap. "I finally know what it feels like to be loved. When I, well, stole Zacky from you, I did it to finally have something you didn't. Selfish, I know, but you had everything; you were pretty, successful, and everyone just loved you. I wanted that feeling, Mira Belle, and I had it for a while, but after I caught him with you, I realized that he didn't love me. He loved what he got from me." Sighing, I looked up from my lap to meet her brown eyes. "I'm sorry, Miranda, I really am. I know I hurt you, and I can't take back what I did, but I want you in my life again. I want us to stop being enemies and start being sisters again. What do you say?"

She eyed me curiously for a few minutes, biting her lip as she let my words process in her head. "I'd like that, Kimberly." She smiled, grabbing my hands in hers. "I've missed you." She confessed. "I hated not being able to call you or talk to you about things like we used to." She let out a long sigh. "I don't know why we even fought over Zack. He's not even that great of a guy. To be honest, he's an ass."

"Isn't that the truth," I muttered in agreement with her. "But I thought the two of you were finally working everything out?"

"We were," She nodded. "Until last night,"

"What happened?" I asked her, my older sister instincts kicking in.

"I told him . . . something . . . and well, it led to him freaking out and leaving."

"What was it?"

"Don't freak out, okay?"