27. Another One

Benji's POV

As I walked alone through the hallways, I allowed my thoughts to wander beyond the now... Into my past life...

"Benji, your dad and I have something to talk to you about," my original mother announced while we sat at the dinner table.

"What is it mama!?" I was only 10 in the memory, but it's still one I look back upon fondly. My mother smiled before grabbing onto my father's hand, and I saw her place one hand on her stomach.

"Benjamin, you're going to be a big brother."

"What?"

"I'm pregnant."

"Really!? That's so cool!"

My mother's shoulders relaxed completely, and she shared a smile with my father. "I'm glad you're excited, dear."

"Is it gonna be a boy or a girl!?"

"A boy."

"Yay!" I bounced excitedly in my chair. All of my friends had always talked about their younger siblings, and I just knew that I wanted one. Being an only child can be lonely sometimes. My dad walked around the table before ruffling my hair, and I pouted. "Dad you know I don't like that!"

"That's exactly why I do it."

"Rude."

"Now go to sleep. It's bed time for you."

"Dad! Can't I stay up a bit longer?"

"You know the answer is no. You have school tomorrow."

"Awww... Okay..."

"Night Benji."

"Night dad!"

***

"Benji, meet your baby brother, Samuel."

"He's so cute! Can I hold him?"

"Mhm, but be careful." Mama instructed me on how to correctly hold the new born before carefully setting him in my arms. The little baby's cloudy eyes looked up at me with very little focus, and he didn't start crying– which I see as a win. His eyes were a stereotypical blue color, and I noticed how adorable they were all huge. "He likes you, Benji."

"Well I should hope so," I retorted cockily, and both of my parents shared a chuckle. "Are all babies this... Gentle?"

"Yes. I hope one day you'll get to hold one of your own. It's the best feeling in the world."

"Me too! I'll name it... Maverick!"

"You can name your baby whatever you want." My Mama gently pulled the baby out of my grasp, and the little bundle curled up to her slowly.

"Come on, Benji. Let's go play in the yard and let Mama get some rest."

"Oooh! What are we playing?" My ten year old attention span had me flying out of the house, and my dad chuckled loudly.

"Baseball."

***

"But mama, I don't want to babysit!" I was 11 years old, and I was planning to go out with Connor that night. However, my parents needed a break, and they had asked me to take care of Sammy.

"That's too bad, Benji. Bring Connor over to the house if you want to see him that bad. You two can learn a hint of responsibility."

"Okay." I sulked back to my bedroom to text Connor the change, and he agreed reluctantly. Hanging out at home with my baby brother isn't nearly as fun as going out to the arcade.

"Benjamin, we're leaving! Don't forget to feed Samuel at 7pm, please, or he'll poop at 1am and won't shut up until we clean his diaper."

"Okay mama. Bye dad!"

"Bye Benji. Don't burn the house down please. We all know how you and Connor get."

"We won't."

My parents left, and I began to play with Sammy to pass the time. He wasn't doing anything super interesting, but he did have a quite tall brick tower going. I watched the boy stand up, and I prepared myself to catch him when he fell so he couldn't hurt himself on the hardwood flooring. As predicted, the infant fell right into my arms, and he had a strong pout on his face. "Bnwi!" he suddenly exclaimed, and I looked at him in shock.

"What was that?"

"Bnwi!"

"Good job, Sammy," I complemented, but on the inside I was exploding. Suck on that mom, he said my name before you.

"Bnwi," he giggled out again, and his bright blue eyes showed his joy along with his smile. On cue the doorbell rang, and I picked up Samuel to go answer it.

"Hey Con, come in."

"Thanks."

I closed the door behind him, and we both walked back to the living room where I set down Sam. The boy went back to playing with his blocks, and I continued talking to my friend. When I looked at the clock, I noticed that it was 7:30, and I quickly rushed to get Sam his food before my parents could yell at me later for it.

"Man, I wanted to play video games!" Connor commented, and I shrugged with a sigh.

"I have to feed him. My parents told me to before 7pm, and I'm already pretty late."

"One late meal never hurt a kid. I can't tell you how many times my papa has accidentally forgotten to feed us, and dad had to do it once one of the babies started crying."

"That's not a good thing Connor."

"We all turned out okay."

"Remind me how many siblings you have right now?"

"5. Another one on the way."

"Holy hell."

"I know right. They're crazy."

"How could one person have kids that often?"

"Beats me."

I put some of the food my mom had already made down for Sam, and he began to eat it slowly. One thing I'm glad for is that he isn't as difficult as I was when I was a kid. "Dank ooo bnwi!"

"Bro didn't you say he couldn't talk yet?"

"Yeah, this was a new development from only a few hours ago."

"Goodness."

"Yep! Okay, he's fed. Back to games."

***

Suddenly, my mind jumped to a memory I don't recall ever being finished. I was 16 and in the midst of a highschool party. Of course, as with all other ones, the alcohol was flowing, the music booming, and the teenager's hormonal. Usually the thought just ends there, but it sped up a bit to another spot that night. I was stumbling around, totally drunk, looking for anyone or anything to peg. What? I was 16 and horny; not to mention drunk.

In my haze, I felt someone push me into the wall, and I recognized it to be Connor. Oh God I don't like where this is going. "Benji, are you drunk?" Connor sounded pretty sober, but it was probably just the haze.

"Whaaaat? Nooooo, I'm totally soberrrrr," I retorted before almost falling on my ass.

"Benji... I've been waiting for this for a while."

"Whaaat?"

Suddenly, he leaned closer to me, and his lips rubbed against mine in a barely remembered kiss. Although one thing was clear in my head... I liked it. He pushed his mouth harder against mine, and I kissed back even though I had no idea what I was doing... I guess deep in my mind I had always had an attraction for him? The memory ended with that, and I slowly came back to the real world...

Is that why everyone is convinced I'm gay? Why didn't I recall those details until right now? Wait... I kissed my fucking cousin. Of course, I didn't know that back then, but still... Ewwwwwww. Maybe he still remembers it?