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I stare in the mirror of the toilets and watch the girls all around me apply their lipstick. Then I look at myself in the mirror.
Something’s got to give,
Because I’m so fucking over being heartbroken by this guy. I need to get over him. I need to find the strong girl I was before we met.
I don’t even know that girl anymore. Ben killed her.
My reflection is hollow and empty.
Ding dong, the witch is dead.
My phone dances on my desk and I scramble to pick it up. My heart drops when I see it isn’t him.
“Hey, Didge,” Brock says down the phone.
“Hello, my dear brother. To what do I owe this pleasure? What do you need done for you?” I smile sarcastically.
“Hey, ease up.” He laughs. “I want to take you out for lunch, actually.”
“You do?” I glance at my watch. “I go in half an hour.”
“Yeah, okay. I’ll meet you at the ’café, since I’m in town already.”
“Okay, great. Bethany isn’t on reception today, though.” I smile.
“Ah, shit.” He sighs.
“Is that the only reason you were coming to see me? So you can perve on Bethany?”
“Totally, but I suppose you’ll do.”
I hang up and smile. Too bad Bethany has a boyfriend. Oh, well. Lunch.
A welcome distraction.
The waitress brings our drinks.
She places them down on the table in front of us. “Thank you.”
Brock picks up his drink. “So, what have you done to Ben?”
My face falls. “W-what?”
“You heard me. What have you done to Ben?”
“What’s wrong with Ben?” I frown.
“Well, for a week he was in the best mood ever, and then—” He shakes his head as he thinks. “Then something happened, and he went all quiet, but now it’s getting unbearable because yesterday I thought he was going to kill someone. Today, I’m sure of it.”
I stare at him and I know I can’t lie for shit. I blow out a breath. “Why do you think it has anything to do with me?”
“Because you are the only one who gets to him like this.” He watches me closely. “And I know about you two; he told me a few weeks ago.”
With my elbows resting on the table, I drop my face to my hands. “It’s just a big mess, Brock.”
“What happened?” He sighs.
I exhale. “I’m not telling you because you will just tell him.”
“I won’t.” He watches me for a moment. “I promise.”
I sip my drink. “Well…” I roll my eyes. “We spent a few days together. And I want some answers, you know? I just want to be able to talk about things without being growled at.”
“Like what?’
I shrug. “How we ended last time.”
“That’s in the past.”
“That is such a guy thing to say. It’s not in the fucking past. I want some reassurance that it’s not going to happen again.”
He rolls his eyes. “What do you want, a fucking engagement ring? Is that what you’re saying?”
“No,” I snap. “You’re an idiot. That’s the last thing I want.”
He watches me.
“Ben’s…” I shake my head as I try to articulate my thoughts. “He’s different, Brock. He doesn’t tell me anything about himself. I have to pry for information, like it’s a hassle for him to tell me anything at all.”
His brows furrow. “He’s just guarded.”
“I get that, and everybody says that that’s just who Ben is, but I don’t want to go out with someone, at the age of twenty-seven, if he can’t even talk to me. This isn’t fucking high school.”
“He doesn’t confide in anyone.”
“Well, that’s not good enough for me this time,” I say calmly. “I’m not settling. I gave him time to open up last time we went out, and all that happened was that I fell in love with him and then he left me without a word of explanation.”
“Have you told him this?”
“Yes. He shuts me down and tells me I’m being dramatic.”
“Are you?”
I shrug. “Maybe?”
Our lunch arrives, and we eat in silence for a while. “What’s going on with him at work, anyway?” I ask.
He shrugs. “He’s just quiet. Angry. Furious, actually.”
My heart drops. “Did you ask him what was wrong?”
He nods. “Yeah.”
“And?”
He looks at me and smirks. “What do you think he said?”
“See what I mean?” I roll my eyes. “He’s so annoying.”
Brock’s eyes hold mine. “He’s a good man, Didge—one of the best I know.”
My eyes hold his.
“He loves you.”
I drop my fork and it hits my plate with a clang. “Did he tell you that? Because he doesn’t tell me that.”
“It’s obvious.”
I roll my eyes. “It’s not obvious to me.” I think for a moment. “You know who would be a perfect match for Ben?”
“Who?”
“A clairvoyant. A batshit crazy clairvoyant who could read his mind.”
He chuckles.
“I go away tomorrow night for three weeks,” I add.
Brock narrows his eyes. “Does he know this?”
I shrug. “I doubt it. I don’t even think he listens to anything I say.”
