Henley
"I don't think I'm going to go to class today," I told Ariana, glancing at Bennett's office door. He'd disappeared in there with both Lee and the man claiming to be their father a few minutes earlier.
She nodded, wide-eyed. "Uh. I can see why."
"Sorry, I made you drive all the way here for nothing."
"I can bring her," Sebastian offered, but he looked as unsure as I felt about leaving the hotel.
"I drove myself, Seb," Ariana reminded him. Then she grinned. "Thanks though."
He half-smiled at her but folded his arms over his chest, gaze flicking toward the office door. "Right. No worries."
"I wanted to talk to you about something, Henley," she said, turning back to me, frowning a little. "But I think what's going on with Bennett is more important. If I don't see you tomorrow, I'll see you in class on Thursday. I just want your opinion on something. Nothing bad."
Sebastian straightened up as she spoke and I didn't miss the apprehension on his face. What did she want to talk about? Something she didn't want Sebastian knowing about? I was curious, but if it wasn't an immediate issue, I could wait. We said our goodbyes and Sebastian watched her the entire time until she was out of sight.
"Do you think she decided to date Brandon?" he asked immediately after she left.
"What?" I responded, almost choking on air. "No, I don't think so. Brandon would be bragging about it constantly."
"That's true," Sebastian said, but still seemed perturbed.
"Instead of waiting around and seeing what will happen, why don't you just ask Ariana out first?" I asked.
Sebastian scuffed his shoe on the polished floor, looking down. "Well. Brandon and I have decided to play fairly."
"Play?" I repeated flatly.
"Not like that," Sebastian corrected quickly. "It's not a game. I just mean that we will let Ariana decide. If she even wants to."
"So, what? You two made a pact not to go after her or something?"
"We just agreed we wouldn't put pressure on her. Or one-up each other."
"Does she even know you like her?" I asked. "Either of you?"
"I think so." He paused. "Maybe."
I rubbed my forehead. "Oh my God."
"She at least knows Brandon likes her. He makes it obvious." Sebastian hunched his shoulders a bit. "Too obvious."
"He's always done that, Sebastian. It's his personality. He's not like that only to Ariana. You just haven't seen him around other people."
"Hmm."
"Come on. There's already been what, over six months of this?"
"We're still getting to know each other," Sebastian defended. "You and Bennett might have fallen in love at first sight, but I like to take things slowly."
My jaw dropped. "What? I so did not fall for Bennett at first sight. Don't you remember how he treated me?"
He lifted an eyebrow, smirking. "But weren't you two saying I love you a few months after?"
I flushed. "T-that's because with so much going on tensions were high and they influenced my feelings and made everything seem soâ"
Sebastian's teasing look slipped off his face as he cut me off. "Influenced your feelings? What does that mean? You don't actually love Bennett?"
"No, I do. It's justâ"
"Is that why you won't move in with him?" he asked. "You're not sure about your feelings now?"
I hesitated and Sebastian's eyes narrowed. Before I could say anything else, the sound of footsteps running down the hall met my ears and I turned to see Henry rushing toward us, feet skidding on the tile floor. "Where is he?" he demanded, holding his side as he panted.
"Who?"
"Lee, of course!" Henry snapped, grabbing my shoulders, his glasses slipping down his nose. "He told me there was an emergency. Where is he? Is he okay?"
I gestured toward the office door. "He's in there with Bennett and someone claiming to be their father. He's fine. Did you think it was a medical emergency?"
The worn-out expression on Henry's face made me think he did. He closed his eyes, letting out a long sigh, arms dropping to his sides. "What the hell? What am I supposed to think when he texts me that with no other information? Why would he do that?"
Henry's anger surprised me. It was a rare sight. I figured it would take a lot to make him upset. But considering Lee's history, I understood why. Even with Mrs. Calloway in jail, I was sure it wasn't easy to let go of those memories. If anyone even could.
"He's okay," I said again, softening my tone. "Don't worry."
"Yeah," he muttered.
"Although I'm not sure what's happening in there. Bennett asked us to stay outside."
Henry snapped his attention back to me. "Wait, did you say Lee is in there with his father?"
Did he just realize that's what I'd said? I played with the hem of my shirt. "I'm not sure it's really their father. I mean, he really looks like Bennett. But Bennett told me his father was dead."
"That's what I've heard, too."
"You don't think Mrs. Calloway could have faked his death, do you?"
"Would you put that past her?" Henry said bitterly. "You know what she's capable of."
I did, but to fake someone's death? How? Why? I leaned against the hallway wall, my stomach twisting. Bennett had looked so unsettled. Didn't sudden shock like that make his anxiety flare-up? I was grateful Lee was with him, but still wished I could be there, too. But just as I had things I wanted to deal with privately, Bennett did, too.
Sebastian shook his head. "I wouldn't put it past her, either. She refused to speak about their father. I had assumed it was because it was too painful for her. But maybe it was because she was keeping a secret."
"There's no way. Ariana said she saw Bennett in a magazine once. How could their mother hide something like that from the world?" I asked. "And somehow the news got out that Bennett is dating me and I've never even seen a reporter near us before. How would it be possible to fake a death with so many people talking about the family all the time?"
"She hid the truth of Lee's accident by paying people off," Henry said. "No one but the people involved knew what happened until we brought it to light. She could easily have paid off whoever she needed to in order to keep the secret."
Sebastian put a hand to his jaw, thinking. "The funeral was private. And Eli wanted no part of the limelight, anyway. He was always a private person. Mrs. Calloway was the one who basked in it. It's always been that way."
"Eli?"
"That's their father's name. I don't remember much because we were so young, but I have to admit he does look familiar," Sebastian said. "But the idea that their mother lied to them is... disturbing. To say the least."
Henry began to pace. "Not only that but why would he stay away? Because he was paid off to? Is that a good enough reason for leaving your children? Especially entrusting to someone like Mrs. Calloway?"
"I wonder of the technicalities, too. She always refers to herself as Mrs. Calloway, something widows tend to do, so I never thought anything of it. But if the man with them does prove to be their father alive and well, does that mean they're still married on paper?" Sebastian wondered out loud.
"We shouldn't speculate," I said, fiddling with my fingers. "Let's just wait and see what Bennett and Lee say."
No sooner than the words left my mouth, the door to the office flew open. Henry, Sebastian, and I all startled as Lee burst out of the room, head down, hair falling his face. He ignored us completely, hurrying toward the elevators. Bennett appeared a moment later, eyes wide, calling after him.
Henry didn't hesitate in chasing after Lee and Bennett stopped short, jaw becoming taut. "Damn it."
"What's wrong?" I asked Bennett, putting my hand on his arm.
He put a hand over his face, closing his eyes. "I don't know. That man said something to him and he immediately ran off."
I gazed back in the direction Henry and Lee had disappeared in, my chest constricting. What had he said to make Lee react like that? I'd only seen Lee like that once, back when he found out he had been involved in my brother's incident.
The man claiming to be their father stepped out of the room a moment later looking just as stricken as Lee had been. Bennett turned to him, eyes narrowing. "What did you say to him?"
"That is something between Lee and I until he is ready to tell you," the man said, head turned to the side, avoiding Bennett's glare.
"He's my brother. You can't say something that causes him to react like that and then expect me to let it go. Although," Bennett continued, tone sharpening. "I suppose you think you're adept at hiding things. Since you've been hiding from your own family for the past sixteen years."
"Bennett, I can explain everything elseâ"
"I don't want to hear it!" Bennett snapped, raising his voice.
My hand fell from his shoulder as I fell back a step, surprised by his outburst. He noticed my reaction and balled his hand up at his side, swallowing, trying to recover his composure.
Sebastian cut in before either of them could speak again. "Eli, you may have come here with good intentions, but stop and consider if what you're doing is the best way to go about this. You have already upset Lee. And it seems to me that Bennett doesn't want to talk to you right now. This is a professional setting. Instead of causing a scene at your son's place of work, why don't you take your leave for today?"
I watched as the man called Eli let out a long breath, resigned. "I see that you're still as much as a mediator as you were when you were a child."
"I always have my friends' best interests in mind. And I'm not afraid to involve myself in something if I have to." The threat in Sebastian's words was backed by him stepping between Bennett and Eli, standing at his full height.
"I'll leave," Eli said, not looking intimidated by Sebastian in the slightest. Surprisingly. Even I felt intimidated by Sebastian sometimes. "But Bennett, if I had known that you thought I'd been dead all this time, I wouldn't have approached you like this. I truly have no idea what your mother has told you about where I've been. I only recently heard the news about her being put in prison and I rushed here to make sure you two were okay."
"Make sure we were okay...?" Bennett said slowly.
Eli hesitated before speaking again. "I know I have no right toâ"
"You don't," Bennett interjected flatly. "You have no idea what we've been through and what Lee has sufferedâ" Bennett abruptly cut himself off, snapping his lips shut. "Forget it. Just go."
"We still need to talk, Bennett. But I understand it can't be only on my own terms. Call me when you're ready," Eli said, holding out a business card.
Bennett didn't move to take it.
I reached out and took it instead, slipping it into my pocket. Bennett could decide later for himself whether he wanted to reach out or not.
Eli examined me for a moment and I froze up. "You're Henley, right?"
Bennett put out his arm in front of me. "Didn't you say you were leaving? There is nothing you have to discuss with her."
I kept my mouth shut. Part of me didn't want to ignore Eli because by this point I knew that this man was definitely Bennett's father, but I also didn't want to disregard Bennett's current feelings. Making small talk was unnecessary.
"I'll walk you out," Sebastian offered and I figured it was so he could make sure Eli actually left.
Bennett said nothing as his father and Sebastian walked away from us and out of sight. Then he turned to me, pulling at the collar of his shirt and frowning. "I'm sorry, Henley."
"Sorry?" I repeated. "For what?"
"For raising my voice in front of you."
"Oh, that's understandable though. I sometimes get mad at Brandon and yell at him, too," I said, and then remembered these two situations were not comparable and tried not to grimace.
"Still. It scared you," Bennett said, looking defeated, and oddly adorable.
I felt my heart squeeze and I wrapped my arms around him, hugging him. "It's fine. Are you okay, though?"
"I am," he said but returned the hug so tightly I almost couldn't breathe.
"Is that man really your father?"
"Yes. It's almost impossible to deny it, as much as I'd like to," Bennett said, resting his chin on my shoulder. "I want to say it's impossible, too, but..."
"Your mother really told you he was dead?"
"I went to his funeral," Bennett said shortly.
I pulled back a little, frowning. "That's just sick."
"I want to know why. What made him abandon us? Why did my mother lie?" Bennett said, sounding frustrated. "Why show up now? How? I can barely process this. My father is still alive? After sixteen years of thinking he was dead? How am I supposed to respond? I just want to pretend it didn't happen and keep living my life ignorant to this. What good can come of it?"
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"I can think of two reasons for him to appear so suddenly. One, to ask for money. Or two, to try and take the company under his name."
My mouth fell open. "What?"
"What other reason would there be?" Bennett continued, releasing me and putting space between us so he could look at my face. "If my mother is out of the picture for the moment, it is the perfect time to make that move."
"Do you think that's what he said to Lee?"
"No. I'm not sure what he said. But Lee wouldn't have had such a strong reaction to that. Whatever it is, I'm worried."
"Should we try to go find him and Henry?"
Bennett rubbed a hand through his hair. "I have to get back to the meeting. I can cover for Lee, but one of us still needs to be there. Lee has Henry right now, so I'm sure he's okay. But I don't think either of them would mind if you wanted to check on him. Just to see how he is doing."
I tried not to smile at his obvious request. "I can check on him. I'll text you, okay?"
"Yeah, thanks," he said, leaning down to kiss my forehead. "Will you spend the night when you come over for dinner?"
"Are you asking now because you know I'll feel bad if I say no?"
He feigned innocence, but there was a shine to his eyes. "No. I just would like company."
"When do I ever not stay the night?" I said, smiling, but rolling my eyes. "You don't need to ask."
"Well..." he trailed off, looking like he wanted to say something else, but decided not to. His phone began ringing and he pulled it out, sighing. "I have to go. Let me know how Lee is, okay?"
We parted ways and I headed back down to the lobby, unsure of where to start looking for Lee. I didn't have to look for long though, because I caught sight of Henry's curly hair exiting through the main doors and I hurried up after him, seeing that Lee was only a couple steps ahead of him.
"Lee, just wait a minute," Henry was saying as he grabbed Lee's hand. "Where are you going?"
Lee tried to shake his hand off, keeping his back to him. "I said I want to be alone, Henry."
"Why can't you talk to me about it?"
I stopped, not wanting to interfere, trying to press myself against one of the pillars by the doors so I wouldn't be seen.
"I never said I wouldn't. I only said I want to be alone for now," Lee told Henry, pulling his hand free.
"Maybe you shouldn't be alone, though."
This made Lee finally look back, but his gaze landed on me before Henry, and his eyes widened a fraction of an inch. But then he turned his attention to Henry. "What?"
Henry didn't say anything for a minute and Lee's face fell, mouth pressing into a hard line. Henry reached for him again. "Lee, I didn't meanâ"
"No. I know what you meant. Am I the only person in the world who wants to sort out their feelings for themselves before talking about it? I don't think so."
"That's not what I..."
"And Henley," Lee spoke up, making me push away from the pillar. "I know Bennett asked you to check on me. Tell him not to worry. There's already enough going on for him."
"Oh, yeah. I can do that."
"Also, may I have my keys back?"
I'd almost forgotten I had them. I pulled them out of my pocket and handed them over to him, unsure of what to say. I understood the want of being alone to sort out your feelings completely. "I'll stay with Henry," I told Lee.
Lee smiled a little, but it didn't reach his eyes. "That'd be great. I'll see you at home later, Henry."
"Okay," Henry mumbled.
Lee lifted his hand and hesitated, dropping it down to his side again. He turned and descended the rest of the steps and made his way out to the parking lot. A miserable expression crossed Henry's face and I put my arm around his shoulder. "He'll be okay, Henry."
"Why won't he talk to me about it?"
The hurt in his voice made my heart ache. "I'm sure he will."
"He keeps things to himself. No matter what he's going through. This is exactly why he..." Henry trailed off, clenching his jaw.
"Then that's not something he can change easily, is it?" I asked softly. "There's tons of reasons why he might not be ready to talk yet. He could be scared, or ashamed. I don't know if you remember the first time I thought Bennett could be involved in Brandon's accident, but I shut Bennett out because I was scared. Maybe it wasn't the right thing to do, but that's how I dealt with it."
"But Lee knows he could never do anything that would make me think bad of him," Henry argued. "What could it be?"
"We'll have to wait until he's ready to tell us. Even Bennett doesn't know. Maybe Lee wants to talk to him first."
Henry rubbed his forehead. "Yeah. I just have a horrible feeling. I really hope their father has reappeared for a good reason and not a bad one."
I did, too.
Author's Note:
Sorry for the delay in updating! I'm adjusting to a new work schedule and so everything else gets shifted, too lol. I'm hoping to get more regular from now on!
Let the drama begin again!!
Thanks for reading!
Jordan