For the next couple days, it was almost impossible to talk to Bennett. Once again he was gone before I woke up, arrived home after I fell asleep, or just locked himself up in his room. I felt bad and I just wanted to apologize to him. I knew he was thinking the whole thing was his fault. He probably thought I regretted us kissing, too. I didn't want him thinking like that. But I didn't have any chance to tell him that.

Since I had to make up for the hours I'd lost at Coffee House while I'd been in Hawaii, I'd been working a lot too. I tried texting him a couple times, only to receive a text from Henry saying that Bennett was busy.

Ah, speaking of Henry, apparently he was my own personal chauffer now. I no longer had the rental and still couldn't bring my house car to Bennett's house, so Henry had taken to picking me up and dropping me off places. I hated it, but I also could understand. Bennett's mother knew something was up with me so we had to take caution now more than ever.

"Did you have a good day at work?" Henry asked in greeting as I came out of Coffee House after my shift.

"You really don't need to get out of the car to wait for me," I told him. "Just stay inside in the air conditioning."

Henry shuffled on his feet a little. "It's okay, I don't mind waiting for you."

"I feel bad that you have to pick me up. It's probably not even in your job description. Maybe I should just buy a new car."

"I really don't mind!" he insisted, opening the passenger door to the car for me. "Besides, a lot of things I do for Bennett that aren't in my job description."

"Why do you do them?"

He gave me a sad smile. "As a favor for my friend."

A friend? What friend would ask Henry to do this for Bennett? Sebastian? "You're a good friend then," I said as I slid into the car.

Henry nodded a little before circling back to the driver's side. The ride to Bennett's was silent, which was a little weird since Henry was usually pretty talkative. When we arrived he tried to get out to open the door for me, but I stopped him. "I've got it. Have a good night Henry. Thanks for driving me."

"No problem! See you tomorrow!" he responded, the cheerful tone back in his voice.

I entered the house, kicking off my shoes by the door. Pausing, I noticed there was a second pair of shoes on the mat. And they weren't Bennett's. They were men's shoes though, so it probably wasn't Bennett's mother. Just to be safe though, I tiptoed to the railing to peek over it. Down in the kitchen I saw a mop of chestnut hair and realized it was Sebastian.

"Hi Sebastian," I greeted him as I hopped down the steps into the main living area.

"There you are, come here," he said in response, gesturing toward the table. "There's a house I put in an offer for."

Curious, I went over to him and looked over his shoulder at his phone. He pulled up some pictures of a very modern looking duplex and began swiping through the photos. In one of the bathrooms there was a full tub. Not a Jacuzzi, but definitely big enough for a nice bath. "Ooh, very elegant."

"Would you live here?"

"Well I wouldn't say no if the opportunity came about."

Sebastian smiled pleasantly at me and held out his hand. "Well I'd be happy to do business with you."

My mouth dropped. "Wait. As in you'd rent half of this to me if your bid goes through?"

"Yep. If I find you trust-worthy enough. I'll have to do a credit check and a security check, of course."

"You really don't have to do this," I said, flustered. "I can find something on my own."

"Here's a tip. Take something when it's offered to you, Henley."

When Sebastian had talked about doing this I'd been all for it, but now that it was happening, I felt sheepish. But I really needed to get out of Bennett's place. I'd already been here long enough and my back couldn't take much longer on that couch. "I'll take that tip then, thank you," I mumbled.

"Did you ever figure out that thing you were worried about in Hawaii?"

"Yeaaah," I said awkwardly. "It seems I made a mistake. Sorry for being rude to you."

"It's fine. What did Bennett say?"

I scuffed my foot on the floor. "Well. I actually haven't been able to talk to him since. He's been avoiding me."

To my surprise, Sebastian laughed. "You two really need to work on your communication."

"Yeah, I know. When I finally get a chance to see him, I'm going to explain everything about my brother to him."

"Your brother?"

"Yeah, Brandon's a part of the reason I kind of freaked out on Bennett."

Sebastian shifted in his seat, his brows furrowing as if he was in deep thought. "How would your brother and Bennett be connected?"

"Bennett was at the same pub my brother was at the night he got arrested, last February. They sort of resemble each other, so I thought maybe Bennett... okay, that sounds bad," I added quickly. "I'm not trying to say Bennett was involved, but I just wanted to make sure."

"What did your brother get arrested for?"

"Motor vehicle theft and DUI. He stole the car and crashed it, apparently. But it's so unlike him. I mean, his car was at McKellan's, why would he steal one, you know?"

Sebastian abruptly stood up, his shoulder knocking into my chin. I stumbled back a step into the kitchen counter, my eyes widening. He turned to me, placing his hands on my shoulders as if holding me in place. "Don't mention that to Bennett."

I stood still, unused to the hard edge in Sebastian's voice. "Huh?"

"I mean it, Henley."

Why was he acting like this? Why couldn't I tell Bennett about it? Why was he trying to intimidate me? Was he trying to hide something?

I grabbed his arms, attempting to push them away from me. He didn't budge. I strained a bit, my feet slipping on the kitchen tile. "What are you? Made of marble?"

His jaw tensed. I could feel my heart beating against my chest. He definitely wasn't joking. What could make him suddenly change in attitude like this?

"Do you have something to do with my brother's accident...?" The question left my lips before I was ready to ask it.

It was like a bucket of ice water was poured of Sebastian's head. He let me go, arms falling to his side, his mouth dropping open. "What?"

"Why are you acting like this? Is it because you might know something?"

"Henley—"

"He was there with someone. Could've it been you?"

"No," Sebastian said. "I wasn't there."

I looked him in the eyes, challenging him. "Why can't I mention this to Bennett? Do the two have something to do with each other?"

"There's no way," Sebastian said. "I can understand why you might think that seeing as you think your brother was falsely accused and my family is full of lawyers, but Bennett and I couldn't lie to you like that. So please put that from your mind."

"Then why can't I say anything?"

"The night your brother got into his accident is the same night Lee got into his accident."

"What?"

"I'm not aware of the full story, but I know that Bennett and Lee were at the McKellan's that night and that's the night Lee threw himself in front of a car. He suppresses that memory for a reason. I don't want you to bring it up. Please don't bring up McKellan's. You can mention your brother, but don't mention the place or that night. Please. Bennett went through a really rough time and I don't want to see him go back to that state."

Lee threw himself in front of a car? The world was muted for a moment, the horror of his situation dawning on me. Had Bennett witnessed it? Was that why he got migraines? Is that why he got scared when someone mentioned a car crash?

"Henley?"

"I won't say anything," I promised him. My hands were shaking. I blinked rapidly, feeling my vision getting watery. I'd thought that Bennett could've been involved with my brother, when instead he'd been with his brother moments before he killed himself. I felt so guilty. I felt so bad for him. I couldn't imagine how I would be if Brandon did that.

I stared at the floor, the first warm tear rolling down my cheek. Another one followed. Sebastian wrapped his arms around me. "I'm sorry for acting like that, but Bennett's my best friend. I want to protect him in what way I can."

"It's okay. I understand."

"Please don't worry about this, either. Bennett doesn't particularly enjoy sympathy. If I can help you with your situation with your brother, just let me know."

"I feel really bad," I said into his chest.

"You didn't know," he told me kindly. "No one talks about it. No one expects you to know. So don't feel bad. And either way, you've done more good than bad."

"What do you mean?"

"Bennett definitely smiles a lot more these days. That's thanks to you."

"Yeah, right."

"It is," Sebastian said, pulling back so he could face me.

I felt my heart lift a little. "Then I'm just returning the favor. Bennett has brought a lot of happiness into my life too."

A grin broke across Sebastian's face and he gently rubbed the top of my head. "Glad to hear it. Now wipe those tears before he comes home and thinks I made you cry."

No sooner than he said the words, we heard the sound of the front door closing. When I made a move to go to the staircase, Sebastian shook his head. Instead, he stood so he was blocking me. "If it's his mother, stay still."

I glanced up at the banister surrounding the bottom of the house. Bennett's head appeared, peeking down at us. I waved to him and Sebastian turned to look up at him as well. He frowned down at us.

"Wait, your face," Sebastian said and quickly used some of the fabric from the front of my shirt to wipe it.

The bottom rose up to my belly button and I smacked his hands away so I could readjust it, giving him a dirty look.

"Don't give me that look. This is one of my expensive shirts," he said.

"How did you get in here? I changed the passcode," Bennett said to Sebastian as he came over to the kitchen area.

Sebastian patted his buddy on the shoulder. "You're a simple person."

"What's that mean?"

"Never mind. I'm leaving. You two should talk."

The corner of Bennett's mouths curved down impossible far as Sebastian took the stairs three at a time. "How would he guess the passcode? It's the same digits as my pin number. Does he know my pin number?"

"Yes I know your pin number," Sebastian called from the upstairs. "See you two later!"

I hid a smile as Bennett scowled a bit. "Why are you two always in suspicious positions when I come home?"

"Bad timing?"

He grunted.

"How was work?" I asked.

"Tiring. I think I'm going to head to bed—"

"It's six o'clock, Bennett."

"I'm rather busy—"

"I'll make it short then. I'm moving out."

This caught his attention. He whipped around to face me, shock written across his face. "What?"

"Sebastian's buying a place."

"You're moving in with him?"

"What? No! He's going to rent a place out to me. Why would you think that?"

Bennett visibly relaxed, but a frown was still plastered on his face. "Why can't you just stay here?"

"I've imposed enough."

"I really don't mind," he said immediately.

"Really? Because you never seem to be around anymore. I think it's because of me." He struggled for words to respond and I sighed. "Listen, Bennett. About the thing in Hawaii. I know you've been avoiding me because you think it's your fault, but I want you to know that wasn't your fault at all. Something came up in my brother's case and I just wanted to get home. I'm sorry for snapping on you that night."

He hunched his shoulders, crossing his arms over his chest. "Why couldn't you just tell me that?"

Because I thought you could've been the real culprit. "I've told you before I'm used to doing things alone."

"Well you have me now, don't you?"

The familiar warm feeling spread across my chest. I actually think I felt butterflies. I did have Bennett. And maybe I was a little selfish and immature and maybe I didn't really deserve him, but I wanted him. And he seemed perfectly okay with taking me the way I was.

"Next time let me know so I don't misunderstand," he scolded me.

I smiled, nodding my head. "Okay. I will."

"...So you really don't mind that I kissed you?"

I shook my head.

"Would you mind if I did it again?"

I shook my head. Leaning forward, I brought my face close to his. "Take this as my apology." I barely brushed my lips against his before pulling back.

Or at least, tried puling back. He reached out and stopped me, giving me a disapproving look. "That's it?"

"Normally I'm not a kiss on the first date kind of girl," I breathed, trying not to focus on just how close his face was to me.

"But we've already been on a date."

"It takes three proper dates for me to give out a kiss."

His hands dropped and I stepped away. "Proper dates? As in without Sebastian?"

I grinned. "Yeah, as in no Sebastian."

"Hmm, I think I can manage that. Are you free tomorrow night?"

"Eager, aren't you?"

"When it comes to you, yes."

I felt myself blush. "You have no problem saying things like that, do you?"

"I have no problem saying anything," he responded, shrugging.

"Yeah, that's true."

"Henley, are you really going to move out?"

I nodded. "Yeah, why?"

"You don't have to," he said, keeping his tone casual.

"I should get my own place though."

"Well, just think about it. You're more than welcome to stay. If it's because you're sleeping on the couch... I can clean up Lee's room."

I watched his face as he said this. It stayed steady, but his eyes were focused on the lake. My voice died in my throat. I couldn't respond. I knew the weight of his words.

He was willing to let me stay in his brother's old room. The same room he hadn't touched in months. The same room no one was allowed in.

The only thing he had left. He was willing to give it to me.

I didn't know what to say.

___________________________________________

Do you all know about the Wattcon in October? Me and a bunch of other authors (like and and ) all have plans to go so if you're around the area you should also come! It's going to be wicked fun and both writers and readers alike will be able to hang out and meet each other and make friends and hear authors speak and of course it's NEW YORK. Many other opportunities to do fun stuff!

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