Lee Calloway.

His form towered above me, a puzzled expression on his well-featured face. Maybe it wasn't right to think this now, but I couldn't believe how handsome he was. He was like some kind of model or Disney prince or something. He shared Bennett's dark hair and green eyes, but Lee's were contrasted by his pale skin. The word angel flitted to mind.

This wasn't how I pictured him to look like, mainly because I pictured him in a coffin, but somehow it made sense that he looked like this. It just fit.

Lee Calloway, the angel.

Who wasn't dead.

"Are you okay?" he asked, his gaze lingering on my face.

His question startled me and I quickly brushed some stray tears away, feeling embarrassed. Crying in front of strangers wasn't my thing. Especially not my whatever's older brother.

Well, ex-whatever.

"Lee," Bennett said again, his voice sounding more frantic. "What are you doing here? Is everything okay? Does Mom know you're here? Are you okay?"

"One question at a time, Ben," Lee responded, his eyes flickering between Bennett and myself.

"How—"

"Have I come at a bad time?"

It took me a second to realize he'd directed that question to me. Then I realized my mouth was hanging open and I snapped it shut, shaking my head. "I lan ceave— I mean I can leave!" I sputtered.

Ugh. As if this moment wasn't embarrassing enough.

A crash of thunder sounded overhead and I flinched a little. Maybe I should've just had Henry stick around. I didn't want to walk in the rain, but there was absolutely no way I'd wait for him in Bennett's house. He probably wouldn't even let me in.

"Let me drive you," Lee offered.

"That's okay—"

"If my little brother made you cry, it's the least I can do to make up for him. Come on," he cut me off, placing a hand on my shoulder, and guiding me to the passenger side of his car.

I glanced over at Bennett, who still stood at his doorway, his sallow face washed out by the porch light. Leaving like this didn't feel right, but he had made it clear there was nothing to discuss. Why would I waste anymore of my time when he wasn't willing to talk?

"Get in," Lee said, opening the door for me.

Noticing the leather seats, I hesitated, pulling at the damp shirt that clung to my skin.

"I'm not worried about my seats if that's what you're thinking," he added, smiling kindly.

How were him and Bennett brothers again? Those words would never come from Bennett's mouth. Not wanting to make Lee stand in the rain any longer, I climbed into the car, and he shut the door for me. It crossed my mind that I was getting in the car of a virtual stranger, but there was something about Lee that made me feel like I'd known him my whole life.

Unable to help myself, I checked out his car, my mouth nearly dropping when I realized it was a Maserati. I scrambled for the door handle as Lee got in the driver's side. "What's wrong?" he asked as I pulled on the handle.

"You drive a Maserati! I can't ruin your seats!" I said, doing my best to hold my weight up with my hands anchored on the center console and window ledge so my wet jeans wouldn't touch the foreign leather.

He chuckled. "You're fine. Don't worry. Sit properly and put on your seatbelt."

It didn't feel right to try and argue with him so I dropped myself onto the leather, apologizing to the seats silently. He turned the key and put his wipers on, heading down Bennett's long driveway. I tried to look back at Bennett, but the rain had gotten heavier and I couldn't see him through the back windshield. Lee adjusted the rear window mirror and I wondered if he was looking too.

"So you must be Henley," he said when I finally faced forward again.

"You know who I am?"

"I've heard a lot about you. I'm Lee, by the way, Bennett's older brother."

"I figured. You two look a lot of like. I'm Henley, which I guess you know already, haha."

He glanced at me and smiled again. Now that I was looking at him, it was hard to stop. He was beautiful. "It's nice to meet you. As soon as I heard that my little brother got a girlfriend I wanted to know all about her. I never thought Bennett would find someone who would actually put up with him."

I grimaced. "Well... it's a long story."

"I know."

I cocked my head to the side questioningly. "You know? How? The way everyone acts when your name comes up made me think you were dead. No offense," I added after a second. Was it rude to tell someone you thought they were dead?

Lee's smile flattened, his eyes trained on the road ahead. "Yes, I'm sure Bennett must've acted that way. It must feel like I'm dead to him. Tonight is the first time I've seen him in awhile."

The question of why danced on the tip of my tongue, but it wasn't my right to inquire about it so I kept my mouth shut. I had so many questions now, especially seeing that Lee was actually alive. Why did everyone act like he died? What actually happened to him? But did it even matter anymore? Bennett and I were pretty much over. I'd probably never see Lee again after this. It didn't have anything to do with me.

"Are you really that surprised to see me?"

"Huh?"

"You keep staring at me," he mentioned and I realized that yet again, I couldn't break my gaze away from him.

My cheeks warmed and I adverted my eyes to the road. "Sorry."

"It's okay. Sometimes I have that effect."

So there were some similarities between him and Bennett, in attitude. I turned to hide my grin.

"So did you and Bennett break up?"

My expression froze. Uh-huh. No way. No way was I having this conversation with Bennett's older brother.

"I hate to ask you this, but please don't be too mad at Bennett," he continued. "Henry told me what's happening. I didn't just show up to the house coincidentally."

Okay. Maybe we were having this conversation. I straightened in my seat, probably completely blushing at this point. Why would Henry tell Lee what was going on between Bennett and myself? What kind of things did Henry say? What kind of things did Henry know?

"Bennett really does care about you, but for some reason, he thinks he has to care more about me than his own self or anyone else," Lee continued, his hands tightening around the steering wheel. "What's happening right now isn't your fault. It's mine. I'm very sorry you have to go through this because of me."

"What? No, this isn't your fault. Bennett is a grown man making his own choices. Why are you sorry? You don't have anything to do with this."

"Because whatever ultimatum our mother gave him, he chose helping me over being with you. And that is my fault."

So I wasn't wrong about his mother being involved in this. Why couldn't Bennett just tell me that? Why couldn't he just explain that his mother had him cornered? Why did he have to make me feel like I was nothing to him? It didn't make any sense. Did he not trust me? If he had just told me, we wouldn't have a problem. We could work through it together.

"That's why I'm here though," Lee said, oblivious to my inner struggle. "I'm not going to let Bennett lose the one thing that makes him happy."

"Try telling that to him."

Lee drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. "I see I'm going to have to do wheedling on both sides."

I bit my lip, turning to look out the window. I knew there was more to the situation, but to me Bennett had more than just the choices his mother gave him. He didn't have to shut me out cold. Was I just supposed to hear Lee say it was his fault and then forgive Bennett? Was I supposed to pretend I wasn't hurt and angry?

I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath. I was too confused right now to think clearly. There was no use in upsetting myself more by making up fake scenarios.

The sound of a ringtone filled the car and Lee picked up an iPhone from the center console. "Hi, Henry. Yes, she's with me now. No, you don't have to come out to meet us— it's raining, stay inside. We'll be there soon."

"Uh, where exactly are we going?" I asked when he hung up, feeling it was a question I should of asked before we started driving.

"To your place. Henry sent me the address."

Again, I thought I should be a little dubious about Henry giving out my address to Lee, but Lee seemed like a safe enough person. And I trusted Henry. Lee couldn't be worse than the hobos, anyway. When we pulled up to my house, Henry was waiting outside on the porch, despite Lee saying not to.

"Are you that excited to see me?" Lee teased as we climbed up the steps together.

Henry cleared his throat, turning his chin up. "It's been awhile."

"It has," Lee agreed, shaking off his umbrella. "Still alive, I see."

The joke fell short as the happy expression on Henry's face slid off, replaced by a serious one that didn't suit his personality. Lee put his hand on Henry's shoulder. "Sorry. I didn't mean anything by it."

"No, I'm sorry," Henry responded, pink returning color to his face. "I didn't think—"

Lee let out a half-laugh, half-sigh. "There we go. That's my Henry. Always apologizing. Let's head inside instead of standing in the rain."

"Oh, right." Henry opened the door, gesturing for me to go inside my own house. I gave him a sarcastic smile, which he missed, returning it with a pleasant one.

It was suspiciously quiet inside. I kicked off my shoes, listening for any voice. "Where'd Brandon go?"

"Out to dinner with Ariana," came Sebastian's voice from the kitchen.

Was everyone at my house when I wasn't here? Not that I cared and technically this was Sebastian's house, but still. "You know, landlord's are supposed to give notice before they enter the house— why aren't there any lights on?"

The kitchen sat in complete darkness, the gloomy skies doing nothing to brighten up the room through the windows. Sebastian was at the table and I flipped on the lights, my heart faltering a little at his solemn expression. "Is everything okay, Sebastian?"

"It's not like I wanted her to go to dinner with him. I just needed him out of the house," he muttered.

I felt the tension release from my shoulders. "Geez, you scared me for a second."

He looked at me, startled. "Oh, Henley."

"You're kind of weird. It really is always something with the handsome ones, huh?"

His cheeks flushed and he stood up from the table, coughing. "Sorry, I was just thinking."

"About why Ariana is into Brandon? Trust me, I think about that whenever I see those two together. It's so wrong."

My stomach rumbled and I realized I hadn't really eaten anything yet. Maybe from being so tense all day.

"Is Lee here?" he asked just as Lee and Henry walked into the room.

"Nice to see you, Sebastian," Lee greeted as Sebastian stood up from the table and went over to shake Lee's hand.

"You look good," Sebastian told him.

Lee gave an exaggerated eye roll. "You don't have to lie. Bennett might actually catch up to me in looks if this keeps up. I need to work out. Hike, or something."

"Do they not let you go outside?"

"Depends on the day."

Sebastian raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"No. Why is everyone taking my jokes so seriously? Am I not funny anymore?"

"Well seeing as you were never funny in the first place..."

"What? I'm hilarious."

"Yeah, maybe to people that like dad jokes."

"I don't tell dad jokes—"

"Is that what we're really here to discuss though?" Sebastian interjected, a hint of a smirk on his lips.

Lee crossed his arms over his chest, obviously not wanting to lose the argument, but relenting anyway. "I suppose not. We do have another problem at hand."

The hairs on the back of my neck rose and I paused, my hand on the refrigerator door, glancing over my shoulder to see all three men in the room now staring at me. Sighing, I let go of the fridge, hanging my head and trudging back to the table. "Alright, alright. I'm assuming it has to do with me."

"You're a part of it, I'm afraid," Lee said. "But you're exactly what I've been waiting for."

I sat down in a chair, propping my chin up on my hand. "You've been waiting for me?"

"I've been waiting for something that would be a catalyst in Bennett's life. Or in this case, someone."

I blinked at him expectantly.

"My little brother has sacrificed everything for me. I think it's about time for me to return the favor. Are you up for it, Henley?"

"I'm missing something here. Up for what?"

"We're going to take down my mother."

"What?" Henry gasped.

Apparently Lee's words didn't only come as a surprise to me. The shock emitting from Henry was almost palpable. Even Sebastian seemed unnerved, leaning over the table toward Lee with his shoulders hunched. "What do you mean by that, Lee?"

"I mean exactly that. You don't really think I've been hiding away for all this time just sitting around idly, do you? I won't let what happened to me happen to Bennett." Lee talked confidently and swiftly, as if he'd prepared what he was going to say. "I love my mother, but she can't control our lives like this. Bennett deserves his freedom. I deserve my freedom. I feel guilty every day knowing that Bennett is trapped because of me."

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Sebastian asked.

"I know it sounds strange coming from me, but being forced away from your family and friends for almost a year does that to you. And after hearing what she's been putting Bennett through, I knew I had to do something. I thought she would change after what she went through with me, but I was wrong. I don't understand how she can't see what she's doing is wrong. Why it makes people so—" Lee snapped his mouth shut, turning his head away from us. "I can't watch Bennett go through what I did."

Even in the tense situation, I felt affection for Lee. He really cared about his brother. No wonder Bennett had a tough time when it came to Lee. They were closer than I could ever imagine being to Brandon.

"But," Lee started again and I refocused myself on him, "I need your help for this, Henley."

"Me? Why?"

"I think I found the person Bennett cares more about than anyone, even me."

"Who?"

Lee smiled patiently.

I pointed to myself. "Me?"

"Yes, you."

"I doubt that. If he really cared about me more than you he wouldn't have—" Now it was my turn to cut myself off, leaving the rest of my sentence unfinished. He wouldn't have chosen you over me.

Lee seemed to understand still, his face softening. "I know it feels that way, Henley. But right now it's hard on Bennett—"

"It's hard on me too," I snapped. "I'm sorry that he's having a tough time right now but I've had those times too. Everyone does. But you know what doesn't help? Pushing people away. If anything, you should lean on them more. Instead of not telling me anything, he could just explain the situation so I know what's going on. Instead of breaking up with me, why can't Bennett say, 'Hey, Henley? Things are hard right now and I could really use some help'."

The men in front of me looked taken aback at my outburst and I shrunk in my seat, immediately regretting my words. It wasn't fair for me to take my anger out on Lee. But I was tired of people defending Bennett.

"I'm sorry," Lee said. "I didn't think about this from your point of view."

"No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't take it out on you. I know you have good intentions."

"No, it's okay. Now I see how well you suit Bennett. He needs someone to tell him when he's in the wrong. I shouldn't be trying to make excuses for him, especially since we don't know each other. I seem to have gotten ahead of myself," he responded, lowering his head and sounding abashed.

Great. Now I felt like I'd kicked a puppy.

"So are you saying you're going to give up on Bennett then, Henley?" Sebastian spoke up, cocking his head at me.

"I haven't decided that yet. And I haven't said no to your plan yet, either, Lee. I just don't want to hear why I should forgive Bennett before he even apologizes to me. I'm sure we can make something work."

Lee picked up his head, eyes lighting up. "We can?"

"Someone needs to be there who can get away with kicking both Bennett's and Mrs. Calloway's asses, right?"

"Uh, Henley, I don't think beating up anyone is in the plans," Henry said, eyes wide.

"Just one punch?"

"I don't think..."

"Maybe a slap, like in the dramas? Can I at least throw a glass of water?"

"You're more violent than I pictured," Lee commented, his thumb and pointer finger resting on his chin.

I shrugged. "Are we going to come to an agreement or what?"

Lee nodded. "I'm sure I can make something work. Let's get started. Operation: Take Down Dolores Calloway."

I choked. "Your mother's name is Dolores? Like Harry Potter? Oh, even more reason to bring her down! Let's do this!"

________________________

I love you all though