A week later, Benjamin had turned up on Rosalie’s doorstep, two flowers in his hand. He handed one to his girlfriend and one to Mackenzie, who blushed an adorable shade of red when she accepted it.

‘I come bearing Chinese’ he said as he walked into the house.

‘Wow, Flowers and Chinese, you planning on proposing tonight?’ Rosalie joked.

‘Well, you do look beautiful’ he joked and Rosalie slapped his arm lightly as she looked down at her track pants and plain black singlet.

‘I was kidding, you do look awful’ She laughed, hitting him again, but at that point Mackenzie had figured they were playing a game, so she joined in, slapping Benjamin who pretended to be majorly injured at every hit, gasping and dramatically falling to the floor.

‘I yield! You win little princess’

She smiled triumphantly and offered him a hand which did little to help him up off the floor, but the intent was there

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><> 

‘And then the princess and the prince..’

Rosalie smiled as she walked past Mackenzie’s room, seeing Benjamin reading her a bedtime story. The young girl looked mostly asleep already, her eyes fighting to stay open as she lay on the bed, covers hitched up around her shoulders. Benjamin sat on the end of the bed, animatedly reading the story and in his voice Rosalie could tell how much he was loving reading to her.

She kept walking, entering her room and placing her clean laundry back into the drawers.

Rosalie was carrying the empty washing basket back when she saw Benjamin leaving Mackenzie’s room, a smile on his face.

‘Hey there’ he said, joining her in going down the stairs.

‘Have fun reading about princesses and ponies? I’m sure they are your all-time favourite subjects’ she laughed.

‘Well, truth be told, rainbows and fairies are my most preferred, but Princesses and ponies are close behind’ he said as seriously as he could, but a smile made its way to his lips.

They stopped at the bottom of the stairs, ‘Do you know how amazing you are?’ she smiled up at him.

‘Yep, I am absolutely wonderfully perfec-’ His words were cut off when Rosalie kissed him passionately, dropping the basket in her hands she wrapped them both around her boyfriend as her mouth attacked his.

His hands rested on her back sliding up and down as they kissed, mouths never leaving the others.

Rosalie felt as his hands moved from her back to her ass, lifting her up so that her legs could wrap around his waist.

Benjamin, with this newfound control, walked the few steps over to the wall shared with the stairs, pressing her back against it. The action caused Rosalie to laugh quietly, pulling back for a breath before attacking his lips again.

She smiled into the kiss and then he moved his lips, kissing a path down her neck, making her smile.

‘What are you doing?’ The voice came from the top of the stairs and caused Rosalie to drop her legs from around her boyfriend as he hastily set her back down on her feet.

‘Nothing Mack, go back to bed, ok?’ she told her sister.

Mackenzie just smiled, a little laugh making its way past her lips.

‘Run along otherwise I will tickle you!’ Benjamin mock threatened, but the little girl stood her ground, placing her hands on her hips.

‘You wouldn’t’

‘Want to try me Mack?’ He said raising his hands and stepping forward causing the little girl to giggle, running back to her bedroom.

‘Well, that was awkward’ Rosalie laughed, picking up the discarded laundry basket and placing it on the table.

Benjamin gently clasped her hand, making sure that she saw the action before he did it, and made sure to grab her fingers and not her wrist. Rosalie smiled at the care he took to accommodate her, and allowed him to lead her to the sofa.

‘So, you know how we have all this free time since we are done with school?’

‘No’ she said thoughtfully, ‘I have a five year old girl to take care of, what is this foreign concept of free time!?’

He laughed and shook his head, ‘well, Sadie was telling us about her brother’s cabin, the one near the national park’

‘What about it?’ she asked, remembering going there with Sadie a few years ago during summer vacation.

‘Well, we were thinking of going up there for a few nights, before everyone goes off to college, and since Parker and Brayden just broke up he wants to get away, so we were thinking of leaving on Friday’

‘What? Are you asking me to go on vacation in three days?’ She laughed, ‘Who will look after Mack?’

‘Your Aunt is perfectly capable of looking after her’ Benjamin said gently, ‘You don’t have to hold all the responsibility babe’

‘Yeah, I do, plus, I’ve never left Mackenzie alone for more than a day since..’ Her voice trailed off sadly at the memory.

‘You can call her every day, morning and night’

‘Yeah, but my aunt is a little incompetent when it comes to kids, like, she lets her wear whatever she wants regardless of the weather and she doesn’t know how to braid hair, and Mackenzie likes wearing her hair in braids’

‘Oh, call social services’

Rosalie slapped his arm, ‘I don’t know how to let other people take care of her, she’s my baby sister’

‘I know babe, but sometimes you need time for yourself. Just imagine it, you and I with our friends, days swimming in the lake, movies in the cabin, it would be great’

Benjamin had given up so much of what it meant to be a teenager, and Rosalie knew that. Rosalie knew that it wasn't normal for your boyfriend to read bedtime stories to your little sister and to suggest going to an animated movie on the weekends, just so that you could take your sister with you. Benjamin had never done anything that suggested he resented the responsibilities he had taken up when he started dating Rosalie, but she knew that her boyfriend had given up quite a bit. Only last week he had chosen to miss Deon's party in favour of spending a quiet night at home with his girlfriend. Rosalie felt like she owed him this, that she shouldn't hold him back from having a normal teenage experience like camping with your friends.

 ‘Your right, I’ll talk to Mack and Aunt Lani and see what I can do’

‘Thank-you Babe’ he kissed her lips. Rosalie still felt nervous about it, and something in her gut told her not to leave Mack, but she owed this to Benjamin.

<><><><><><<><><<><><>

That’s how, three days later, Rosalie was packing her bags, Mackenzie sitting on the bed watching her.

‘Are you going to go swimming?’

Rosalie nodded, ‘Yep, at this big lake near the cabin’

‘Will there be ducky’s?’ the little girl asked hopefully.

‘I’m not sure, maybe you can come next time and we can find out?’

‘Yes’ Mackenzie smiled at her sister as Rosalie added her swim suit into her bag.

‘Rose?’

‘mm?’ she mumbled absentmindedly doing the zip on her bag.

‘Will you be safe out there? Are there bad people at the cabin?’

Rosalie stopped and sat beside her sister on the bed, ‘I will be fine Mack, promise’ she tapped her finger to the tip of Mackenzie’s nose, making the girl giggle.

‘And are you going to be good for Aunt Lani?

‘Maybe’ Mackenzie teased and Rosalie twirled a stand of her sister’s brunette waves around her finger.

‘You are a big girl now, so I think that I can trust you to be good for your Aunt, don’t you think?’

‘Yeah I guess so’

‘I love you Mack’ Rosalie kissed her sister’s dark brown hair and couldn’t help but notice how the shade was so similar to her and their mothers.

‘Love you too Mom’ Mackenzie said absentmindedly.

Rosalie was about to correct her, but she didn’t know what to say.

‘Girls?’ Lani stuck her head into the room and smiled, ‘All packed Rose?’

‘Yep’

‘They are all here’

‘Yay!’ Mackenzie squealed, jumping from the bed and running down the stairs.

Rosalie grabbed a bag, ‘Thank-you Aunt Lani, for looking after Mackenzie for three days’

‘It’s my pleasure sweetheart, you are a great parent to her but even I know that you need some time for yourself, so have fun with your friends and your girl will be safe with me’

With her free hand Rosalie pulled her aunt in for a hug, ‘Thank-you, and make sure that if it’s a windy day that she wears a jacket, and she doesn’t like pumpkin, remember that, and if she can’t sleep make sure to-’

‘To read her a book about princesses because those are her favourites. Run along Rose, it will all be fine’

Rosalie smiled at her aunt and left the room, carrying the bag downstairs and outside where Benjamin’s SUV was parked, Sadie and her boyfriend standing next to it. Mackenzie was talking to Benjamin while Sadie looked like she was trying to stifle a laugh.

Rosalie put the bag into the trunk and when she turned around Mackenzie was there a pout on her lips.

‘I don’t want you to go’ She said and threw her arms around her sisters legs.

Benjamin came over to them, ‘What’s wrong Mack?’

‘I don’t want Rose to go!’ she said, little droplets of tears falling down her cheeks.

Benjamin placed a hand on her arm, ‘How about this, when we get back in a few days, I will take you to feed the ducks and then we can go out to dinner, just you, me and Rose? How does that sound?’

‘Yes’ was all Mackenzie said, nodding her head.

‘Give Rose a big hug and we will see you in a few days ok?’

‘Ok Benny’ hugged his legs before turning to Rosalie.

‘Love you Rose’

‘Love you Mack’

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

‘ROAD TRIP! ROAD TRIP! ROAD TRIP!’ Sadie laughed, jumping up and down in the back seat.

‘Honestly Sadie, please shut up’ the driver, Benjamin said exasperatedly.

‘I am just excited’

‘I know why you’re excited’ Rosalie chuckled from the passenger seat.  

‘And just why would that be?’ the blonde asked.

‘Because you get to spend your days with Deon in the lake, without a shirt’

‘You like Deon? This is new, and to think, I thought you only dated pretty white boys?’ Benjamin said sarcastically from the front.

‘No-one was talking to you’ Sadie retorted, ‘And yes, I do like Deon, but even if nothing happens between us, it’s still exciting! I can’t remember the last time we went out to the cabin’ 

‘Very true’ Rosalie said absentmindedly as she stared at her cell phone.

‘Babe, we have been gone for an hour, nothing’s going to happen, no-one’s going to ring that phone’

‘I guess your right’ She sighed and was about to put the phone into her pocket when it started ringing.

‘On second thought maybe you’re wrong’ Rosalie laughed, answering the call.

‘Rosalie Montgomery, at your service’

‘Rose! Thank-god! I am in danger!’

‘What?’

‘Deon is a dick and is listening to the shittest music I have ever heard! Save me from this car from hell!’

‘Parker, I thought you were actually in danger, you idiot, and I’m sure that Deon’s music isn’t that bad’

Rosalie heard her boyfriend and best friend snicker at her words.

 The voice then changed to Deon’s, ‘Parker, I refuse to play that pop shit you call music!’ ‘Why not Deon? Huh?’ ‘God your so annoying, I want to hit you’ ‘Oh are you trying to say that you’d hit that, you’re not really my type, sorry to disappoint’ ‘For the last time Parker, I don’t want to sleep with you’ ‘Are you calling me ugly? Is that what you’re trying to say? I take great offence to that Deon! For the love of god, please turn that shit music off!’

‘PARKER!’ Rosalie tried to get his attention.

‘Yes Rose?’

‘Your point is…?’

‘Oh right, please let me switch into your car! Please!’ Parker begged and Rosalie came up with the perfect plan.

‘Sure, you can swap with Sadie’

‘Huh?’ Sadie said from the backseat, hearing her name.

‘You are a goddess Rose! There’s a gas station about a mile up, lets meet there’

‘Are you sure you’ll survive that long Parker?’ Rosalie joked and was rewarded with a dial tone. He had hung up on her, Rosalie laughed at that.

‘What’s going on?’ Benjamin asked.

‘Meeting the guys at the gas station about a mile ahead, Sadie’s going to swap cars with Parker’

‘Sounds good to me’ Sadie smiled from the backseat, ‘at least I get to ride shotgun’

‘You’ll be riding something alright’ Benjamin muttered causing Rosalie to laugh and lightly slap his arm.  

 <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

‘Thank-you Sadie!’ Parker emerged from Deon’s car and threw the blonde into a hug, ‘You are a life saver’

‘That’s ok Parker’ Sadie struggled against his tight hold.

‘I’m going to go get some sodas’ Rosalie commented.

‘I’ll come’ Benjamin wrapped an arm around her as they entered the gas station.

It was a small store, the air-con must have been broken, seeing as the windows were all open. They talked as they decided on the sodas they wanted.

‘I bet you $50 that they have sex by the end of the day’

‘Sadie and Deon?’

‘No, Parker and Deon’ he laughed.

‘Ok, Ok, nah, Sadies not a slut, they aren’t even going out’ she said, picking up a bottle of coke.

‘That hasn’t stopped her before’

‘Sadie isn’t like that’

‘Remind me, was it two or three pregnancy scares last year’

‘Four’ Rosalie muttered dejectedly and Benjamin laughed, carrying the drinks to the counter.

The woman at the counter was older, in her mid-seventies, and smiled brightly at the couple as she rung up the items.

‘Hello, what brings you two up to this neck of the woods? I haven’t seen you two around?’

‘Oh no, we are from Jacksonville, just going up to a cabin for a few days’

‘You two be careful in those woods’

‘What do you mean?’ Rosalie asked, curios as to what she was referring too, bears? Mountain lions?

‘Those woods are awfully complicated and vast, quite easy to get lost in, had a couple just the other day get lost for over ten hours and they were lucky’

‘We will be staying close to the cabin, and we’ve got phones’ Benjamin told her.

‘Oh, no phones work all the way out there’

‘No cell signal?’ Rosalie asked, panicked.

‘Not that I know off, you two just make sure that you don’t go too far into those woods, you never know what situation you’ll find yourselves in’

‘Thank-you’ Benjamin told the woman and carried the sodas out of the store.

‘No cell signal! Why didn’t I think of that, Ben, what if something happens? Aunt Lani doesn’t even know the address of the cabin, hell, we don’t even know the address of the cabin, we are going off of Sadies memory here, how are they going to find us if we-‘

Benjamin pressed his lips to hers reassuringly before pulling back, ‘Your overstressing, if we need to we can drive back into the town for signal each day, ok?’

Rosalie nodded, calming her breathing. She was being overly dramatic right? It wasn’t like they were going into a secluded cabin in the middle of no-where, where they wouldn’t be able to be contacted at all. No, wait, it was.

I hope you all are enjoying this story! Remember to vote! :)