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Because Of You
Chapter Nineteen
Brandon stepped out of their cab first beginning to unload their luggage and pay the driver. All of the girls stood on the pavement in front of the flower beds with puzzled expressions. Everyone except Rachel of course. She hopped out of the car gladly and skipped around the garden of flowers in front of her, trying to keep up with the butterflies that fluttered their wings quickly dancing around her. They gathered together, watching Rachel as if she was the only girl in the parking lot, which began to fill up with more cars one by one.
“She’s precious.” A mother from behind spoke with a smile upon her face. “She really is.” She nodded towards us before continuing, “It’s these moments that you should cherish the most. That little girl won’t be young and carefree forever.” We all directed our attention to Rachel once the lady walked away, hand in hand with her own child.
“Come now Babygirl.” Isabella called out, still smiling as Rachel ran into her open arms.
“Pretty butterflies,” Rachel smiled, glancing back at the garden once more before reluctantly grabbing her bag and following Brandon down the pavement. Nina, Mom, and Isabella still didn’t understand where they were or what they were doing here.
“Do you know what that sign said when we drove in?” They whispered to each other. Sighing when they all shook their heads they tried asking Brandon countless times but he just smiled and kept walking.
Before entering, Brandon did a full enthusiastic turn to face the girls. Another heart melting grin on his face, directed to Isabella of course. “Welcome to Hershey Park ladies!” It took a few moments for them to process what he had shouted before he got a good response.
Nina and Isabella turned towards each other, jumping up and down repeating “no way” numerous times. Rachel watched them obviously confused why they were jumping and yelling. She attempted to pick up the luggage bags that Nina and Isabella had dropped in their excitement frenzy but when she failed to do so she walked towards Mom and Brandon asking why they were so happy. Mom smiled up at the sign, feeling younger again in a big amusement park. She wandered off leaving Rachel and Brandon trying to calm the other two down.
“I don’t get it Daddy. What’s a Hershey Park?”
Brandon knelt down and fiddled with a strand of Rachel’s hair before answering. “You know how you said you wanted to ride those roller coasters we talked about and those plastic horseys that go around in a big circle?” She nodded. “And how you wanted to go to a hotel because we’ve never taken you to one yet?” Again, she nodded. “Well Hershey Park is both. It has a lot of rides and it has a hotel over there,” Brandon pointed at the big building, “Which we’ll be staying at for awhile.”
Rachel’s face lit up like Christmas lights on a tree, a giddy smile growing. She hugged Brandon and planted a big kiss on his cheek before joining the two girls that had seemed to calm themselves a bit.
“Well, if we’re all done with the rush of excitement I think we should get our rooms so Rachel doesn't have to haul your bags everywhere,” Brandon spoke and pointed towards Rachel as she tried dragging the bags to the entrance, eager to get in and see what was hidden behind the metal gate.
“Woops,” Nina and Isabella grabbed their suit cases and thanked Rachel for ‘carrying it’ for them.
“Why don’t we go check in, Nina?” She nodded and Mom walked to the front desk confirming everything.
“Are you ready Babygirl?” Isabella asked weighing Rachel gently on her hip. Rachel’s hair flew around as she bobbed her head eagerly up and down. They walked over to where Brandon stood, starring out at something too far away for them to see. “Thank you babe,” Isabella brushed her lips on his cheek and smiled as she felt his cheek heaten up in response.
“Thank you Daddy!” Rachel squealed hugging Brandon before leaping out of Isabella’s arms and following Mom and Nina.
“Are you alright?”
Brandon shook his head but before Isabella could ask he reached out and found her hand, interlocking their fingers as he pulled her closer to him. A cold breeze brew past but she barely noticed as Isabella bathed in the warmth of Brandon’s touch. “Baby, what’s wrong?” she asked once more. She starred up searching for Brandon’s eyes but his gaze was focused on something in the parking lot that frightened him a bit since his grasp on Isabella tightened slightly.
“Hey. Don’t worry about it, okay? Whatever it is out there that seems to amuse you more than your own girlfriend,” she playfully pouted and poked his chest. “We’re on vacation now. Me. You. Rachel, Mom, and Nina. Two free months.” He gave no response or any signal that he heard anything she had just said. Isabella let out a pained huff and tore her body away from his, quickly rushing to the others side not liking the sudden mysterious fog that Brandon had been pulled into.
“Our rooms are ready. Brandon booked the most expansive suite.” Nina said in awe. “Did you know that? It has EVERYTHING.” She smiled informing Isabella.
She forced a pinch of a smile, “Nope, I didn’t know what he had planned for us. This whole trip was his and my Mom’s idea. So I don’t know what our schedule is for these two months we’re away from home.”
Nina frowned, recognizing the forced smile Isabella tried pulling off. Mom hadn’t noticed and shrugged it off as she instructed the bell boy to take care of their luggage as he brought them up to their room. But Nina saw right through it feeling a bit weird to be the one not faking her smile. Usually she was the one that hid her pain behind a grin. Nina offered a light squeeze on her shoulder before leaving her side just before Brandon decided to come back to reality and take his place next to Isabella.
“I’m sorry about earlier. I thought I saw something…” He trailed off giving the parking lot another glare. Isabella ignored him and quietly walked away. Isabella starred from the closing elevator doors to see Brandon standing in the same place as she had left him, his expression too hard for her to read.
The girls ended up being the first to arrive at the room while Brandon was still left in his unknown location. Once Mom opened the door Rachel ran to the bed first, jumping on with Nina bouncing up and down laughing when their legs got weak and gave in until their body made contact with the soft material of the bed sheets and pillows. Inside the room was a big plasma TV that hung on the wall in front of a 3 seat couch. A loveseat rested off to the right of it and behind that an L shaped counter separated that section from the kitchen. The bed was located at the far end of the room next to the big screen doors leading outside to the balcony that over looked the pool down below. Near the entrance of the room to the right was the bathroom with its glassy smooth tiles that led to a single set of a shower and a lone tub in the corner. The toilet and sinks were behind another door in that room and the walk in closet was a bit smaller than the entertainment center. Another door was closed next to where the TV hung. Mom opened it and put a door stopper in front of it, making sure it didn’t slam shut. On the other side of that door was the same exact room. One was for Mom and Nina and the other was for Brandon, Isabella, and Rachel. But Rachel had the freedom of switching to each room whenever she pleased.
“Whoa.” Was all they could manage as they inspected each part of both rooms. Mom had already begun unloading some of clothes into the empty drawers that sent a sweet pine smell through her room. Nina, Isabella, and Rachel attempted to do the same but ended up just stuffing whatever in any place available.
Brandon’s bag stood at the door after 15 minutes. A tight knot formed in Isabella’s stomach as she replayed his distant reaction he had towards her awhile before. He had never done that to her before. Slowly, she unpacked his belongings as well. Unloading their toiletries didn’t pass much time either. The TV was on in the next room and she figured they’d all be too occupied to notice the stray tears that fell from her eyelids, sliding down her cheeks until they hit the pillow where they’d leave a wet stain. Isabella let out another deep exhale before realizing how tired she actually was.
Behind the curtains the orange ball of the remaining sun began slowly dipping lower and lower behind buildings, sending mixed colors of yellow, orange, blue, and purple, throughout the sky. Dark clouds rolled in and that was the last thing she saw before sleep consumed her and her dreams waited to comfort her missing yearn for Brandon’s touch.
“Why Brandon?” she whispered sleepily.
“I’m sorry…” He whispered once more. Isabella was already long gone when Brandon decided to come up the room. The thing he saw in the parking lot still bothered him but he did his best to push it aside, for Isabella’s sake. He didn’t mean to push her away like that. She was right though, this was a vacation. No one and nothing else should bother them and cause complications. Tomorrow would be the first day of a carefree month. “I’m sorry…” Brandon kissed Isabella’s forehead and used his thumb to quickly wipe away the last of her tears before pulling the covers over and waiting for the night to pass.
“She’s precious.” A mother from behind spoke with a smile upon her face. “She really is.” She nodded towards us before continuing, “It’s these moments that you should cherish the most. That little girl won’t be young and carefree forever.” We all directed our attention to Rachel once the lady walked away, hand in hand with her own child.
“Come now Babygirl.” Isabella called out, still smiling as Rachel ran into her open arms.
“Pretty butterflies,” Rachel smiled, glancing back at the garden once more before reluctantly grabbing her bag and following Brandon down the pavement. Nina, Mom, and Isabella still didn’t understand where they were or what they were doing here.
“Do you know what that sign said when we drove in?” They whispered to each other. Sighing when they all shook their heads they tried asking Brandon countless times but he just smiled and kept walking.
Before entering, Brandon did a full enthusiastic turn to face the girls. Another heart melting grin on his face, directed to Isabella of course. “Welcome to Hershey Park ladies!” It took a few moments for them to process what he had shouted before he got a good response.
Nina and Isabella turned towards each other, jumping up and down repeating “no way” numerous times. Rachel watched them obviously confused why they were jumping and yelling. She attempted to pick up the luggage bags that Nina and Isabella had dropped in their excitement frenzy but when she failed to do so she walked towards Mom and Brandon asking why they were so happy. Mom smiled up at the sign, feeling younger again in a big amusement park. She wandered off leaving Rachel and Brandon trying to calm the other two down.
“I don’t get it Daddy. What’s a Hershey Park?”
Brandon knelt down and fiddled with a strand of Rachel’s hair before answering. “You know how you said you wanted to ride those roller coasters we talked about and those plastic horseys that go around in a big circle?” She nodded. “And how you wanted to go to a hotel because we’ve never taken you to one yet?” Again, she nodded. “Well Hershey Park is both. It has a lot of rides and it has a hotel over there,” Brandon pointed at the big building, “Which we’ll be staying at for awhile.”
Rachel’s face lit up like Christmas lights on a tree, a giddy smile growing. She hugged Brandon and planted a big kiss on his cheek before joining the two girls that had seemed to calm themselves a bit.
“Well, if we’re all done with the rush of excitement I think we should get our rooms so Rachel doesn't have to haul your bags everywhere,” Brandon spoke and pointed towards Rachel as she tried dragging the bags to the entrance, eager to get in and see what was hidden behind the metal gate.
“Woops,” Nina and Isabella grabbed their suit cases and thanked Rachel for ‘carrying it’ for them.
“Why don’t we go check in, Nina?” She nodded and Mom walked to the front desk confirming everything.
“Are you ready Babygirl?” Isabella asked weighing Rachel gently on her hip. Rachel’s hair flew around as she bobbed her head eagerly up and down. They walked over to where Brandon stood, starring out at something too far away for them to see. “Thank you babe,” Isabella brushed her lips on his cheek and smiled as she felt his cheek heaten up in response.
“Thank you Daddy!” Rachel squealed hugging Brandon before leaping out of Isabella’s arms and following Mom and Nina.
“Are you alright?”
Brandon shook his head but before Isabella could ask he reached out and found her hand, interlocking their fingers as he pulled her closer to him. A cold breeze brew past but she barely noticed as Isabella bathed in the warmth of Brandon’s touch. “Baby, what’s wrong?” she asked once more. She starred up searching for Brandon’s eyes but his gaze was focused on something in the parking lot that frightened him a bit since his grasp on Isabella tightened slightly.
“Hey. Don’t worry about it, okay? Whatever it is out there that seems to amuse you more than your own girlfriend,” she playfully pouted and poked his chest. “We’re on vacation now. Me. You. Rachel, Mom, and Nina. Two free months.” He gave no response or any signal that he heard anything she had just said. Isabella let out a pained huff and tore her body away from his, quickly rushing to the others side not liking the sudden mysterious fog that Brandon had been pulled into.
“Our rooms are ready. Brandon booked the most expansive suite.” Nina said in awe. “Did you know that? It has EVERYTHING.” She smiled informing Isabella.
She forced a pinch of a smile, “Nope, I didn’t know what he had planned for us. This whole trip was his and my Mom’s idea. So I don’t know what our schedule is for these two months we’re away from home.”
Nina frowned, recognizing the forced smile Isabella tried pulling off. Mom hadn’t noticed and shrugged it off as she instructed the bell boy to take care of their luggage as he brought them up to their room. But Nina saw right through it feeling a bit weird to be the one not faking her smile. Usually she was the one that hid her pain behind a grin. Nina offered a light squeeze on her shoulder before leaving her side just before Brandon decided to come back to reality and take his place next to Isabella.
“I’m sorry about earlier. I thought I saw something…” He trailed off giving the parking lot another glare. Isabella ignored him and quietly walked away. Isabella starred from the closing elevator doors to see Brandon standing in the same place as she had left him, his expression too hard for her to read.
The girls ended up being the first to arrive at the room while Brandon was still left in his unknown location. Once Mom opened the door Rachel ran to the bed first, jumping on with Nina bouncing up and down laughing when their legs got weak and gave in until their body made contact with the soft material of the bed sheets and pillows. Inside the room was a big plasma TV that hung on the wall in front of a 3 seat couch. A loveseat rested off to the right of it and behind that an L shaped counter separated that section from the kitchen. The bed was located at the far end of the room next to the big screen doors leading outside to the balcony that over looked the pool down below. Near the entrance of the room to the right was the bathroom with its glassy smooth tiles that led to a single set of a shower and a lone tub in the corner. The toilet and sinks were behind another door in that room and the walk in closet was a bit smaller than the entertainment center. Another door was closed next to where the TV hung. Mom opened it and put a door stopper in front of it, making sure it didn’t slam shut. On the other side of that door was the same exact room. One was for Mom and Nina and the other was for Brandon, Isabella, and Rachel. But Rachel had the freedom of switching to each room whenever she pleased.
“Whoa.” Was all they could manage as they inspected each part of both rooms. Mom had already begun unloading some of clothes into the empty drawers that sent a sweet pine smell through her room. Nina, Isabella, and Rachel attempted to do the same but ended up just stuffing whatever in any place available.
Brandon’s bag stood at the door after 15 minutes. A tight knot formed in Isabella’s stomach as she replayed his distant reaction he had towards her awhile before. He had never done that to her before. Slowly, she unpacked his belongings as well. Unloading their toiletries didn’t pass much time either. The TV was on in the next room and she figured they’d all be too occupied to notice the stray tears that fell from her eyelids, sliding down her cheeks until they hit the pillow where they’d leave a wet stain. Isabella let out another deep exhale before realizing how tired she actually was.
Behind the curtains the orange ball of the remaining sun began slowly dipping lower and lower behind buildings, sending mixed colors of yellow, orange, blue, and purple, throughout the sky. Dark clouds rolled in and that was the last thing she saw before sleep consumed her and her dreams waited to comfort her missing yearn for Brandon’s touch.
“Why Brandon?” she whispered sleepily.
“I’m sorry…” He whispered once more. Isabella was already long gone when Brandon decided to come up the room. The thing he saw in the parking lot still bothered him but he did his best to push it aside, for Isabella’s sake. He didn’t mean to push her away like that. She was right though, this was a vacation. No one and nothing else should bother them and cause complications. Tomorrow would be the first day of a carefree month. “I’m sorry…” Brandon kissed Isabella’s forehead and used his thumb to quickly wipe away the last of her tears before pulling the covers over and waiting for the night to pass.