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Benji wasn’t sure that it was the right thing to do to message Tucker and say that he was coming back to the city. But Benji knew that something had to be done. There was no way he could resolve the chaos by himself, and judging from the way that Harrison had reacted he certainly wasn’t going to help.
As he got up from the bed and began packing his bag, Benji paused and looked around his room. There were colorful pictures and brand-new recipes pinned up on the wall, and even a photo of him and Harrison having a hot chocolate together at the campus café.
Benji felt sad. He wanted to cry. But he knew that he had to be strong.
It had been great while it lasted, but maybe him and Harrison just weren’t meant to be.
The train journey back to the city was one of the worst experiences that Benji could remember. The carriage was full to bursting with standing room only which made even attempting to keep up with all the comments and online activity difficult enough. And to make matters even worse, only ten minutes into the journey Benji’s phone battery ran out.
The rest of the journey was horrible. The heater was set to maximum, and with everyone coughing and spluttering it felt like exactly the kind of environment where Benji was going to pick up a nasty cold, or worse.
Benji was beginning to have serious doubts about his decision to leave so abruptly.
Was this the right thing to do?
I mean… what choice did I have?
This is Harrison’s fault as much as it is mine!
So with that thought in mind, Benji simply leaned up against the door and closed his eyes. He would be back in the city in an hour or two and could set about sorting this whole mess out.
Benji hoped that Tucker wouldn’t be too angry with him. After all, it wasn’t as if Benji had done all this on purpose. At worst, it was a silly decision that went a bit wrong. With Tucker’s help, Benji convinced himself that everything would be okay.
Upon arrival back in New York, Benji made a beeline toward Tucker’s new apartment. Tucker had only moved in the previous month, so Benji hadn’t had a chance to see it yet but he remembered the address well enough from a recent bit of paperwork he had completed.
‘Woah, this looks… expensive,’ Benji said as he stood at the building’s entry door.
Certainly, the snooty doorman didn’t look overly impressed with a bedraggled and scruffy looking Benji. But grudgingly, the doorman held the door open and allowed Benji inside.
As Benji took the elevator up to Tucker’s floor, he cast his mind back to his childhood. Benji moved around so much as a child that he genuinely had lost count of how many schools he had attended. One year he moved schools three times and by the third school had pretty much given up on even trying to make friends.
This unsettling legacy from Benji’s childhood had followed him into adulthood too. Benji was always keen to please new people. The last thing Benji ever wanted to do was upset anyone or give them a reason to be mean to him.
With this in mind, Benji began to think of excuses to give to Tucker about why he had so suddenly dropped out of his recording schedule and abandoned social media.
I need Tucker to believe me.
He’s the only person who can make this right now.
And I just don’t want him to be mad with me…
As the elevator pinged at Tucker’s floor, Benji stepped out and was greeted by the sight of Tucker, standing outside his apartment door.
‘Giles let me know you were on your way up,’ Tucker said, a cold tone in his voice. ‘You’re lucky he let you in looking like that.’
Benji felt his bottom lip tremble. Tucker wasn’t being very nice, and Benji could tell that this wasn’t going to be as easy and plain sailing as he had hoped.
‘I’ll make you a drink, it looks like you could use one,’ Tucker said, casting a judgmental eye over Benji. ‘How does vodka and OJ sound?’
‘Just OJ please,’ Benji replied, his voice wavering. ‘I… I… I’m sorry about what happened.’
Tucker paused and looked back toward Benji. With his silk flower-print shirt and new diamond earring, Tucker certainly looked like someone who should live in an upscale apartment like this.
Benji looked around and noticed the expensive art on the walls, the enormous TV screen and equally extravagant sound system next to it. In addition to the art and the gadgets, the rent on the apartment must have been costing Tucker a fortune.
Even the view was something that Benji knew came with a huge price tag attached to it. Not many people had a perfect view out over the park like Tucker did. Benji began to wonder exactly how Tucker was paying for everything, but his thoughts were suddenly brought to an abrupt end…
‘Drink this,’ Tucker said, handing Benji a glass of OJ with ice. ‘We need to have a serious talk. What you did was so fucking uncool, man. You left me in the shit. Not to mention all those fans you pissed off. You know that can’t happen again, right?’
