Meet You There

Meet You There - Chapter 44

Chapter 44

I walked right down the hall, towards Bennett's bedroom. I was excited to see him. My heart was beating fast. The door was half open so I pushed it, expecting to see him there, waiting for me.

   But there, sitting on the end of his bed, was Maribella. Bennett was standing, not close to her, a big smile on his face, when he saw me in the doorway.

   "Uh," I said, confused. "What-"

   "Iris," Bennett said, already wrapping himself around me. He kissed my cheek. "I missed you."

   I waited until he pulled away and stepped back. "What's going on?"

   "I was in the lobby, coming up to see if you were home, and-" Maribella began, standing up quickly. She smiled awkwardly at me.

  "I was also just coming in, from getting a coffee," Bennett added.

   "So, he told me you were in New York, and were coming back today..." Maribella said, looking at her feet.

   Now, when I looked at her I really saw how sad she looked. And small. Her eyes were red. I hadn't seen her in a week, at least. With exams, Bennett and graduation, I had been busy. And she had a boyfriend. We had sort of drifted apart again.

   "Are you okay?" I asked her, still weirded out that she was there, in Bennett's bedroom.

   "I'm... I'm really not good," she told me, still not coming any closer. "Ryland broke up with me last night. And you weren't answering my texts earlier, so I just came over."

   "Oh." I felt bad, instantly. I hadn't texted her back, but her texts had been things like HEY and WHAT'S UP. "I'm sorry. I did tell you that I was going away, though -"

   "I forgot." Our eyes met, then she looked away again.

   "What happened with Ryland?" I asked her, stepping forward.

   "He wanted to be single over the summer. And then he told me he's going to France for a month, with friends." She seemed like she might cry again at any moment.

   "Oh, that sucks. I'm sorry, Maribella."

    It was silent and awkward for a moment, so I looked at Bennett.

   "I just invited her up to wait for you... she was upset," he explained.

   I nodded, as Maribella spoke again, "I should go."

   "Are you... okay?" I asked her again.

   "Yeah.. I'll call you later," she agreed, then brushed past me to leave.

   

"So... how was New York?" Bennett asked, after a few minutes. He walked over and sat down on his bed.

   It was weird being in his bedroom, since we were so rarely ever in his apartment at all. 

   "Good. Great, I mean," I said, looking over at him.

   He patted the spot beside him, so I walked over to sit with him.

   "Awesome." He smiled. "I'm glad."

   "When do your summer classes start?" I asked, even though I knew the answer.

   I really just wanted to hug him, touch him, kiss him. I wanted him to know we were good, and that I had missed him. But there was something making me feel weird. Maybe it was his bedroom. Maybe it was that Maribella had been there.

   "Tomorrow. At least it's only mornings for a couple of weeks," he answered, then sighed. "Oh, and I have a job interview."

   "Really?" I was surprised by this.

  "Yeah. Lane, my brother, heard about my situation... his boss needs a new assistant."

   "Isn't he in the magazine industry?" I asked, confused.

   Bennett smiled. "It's a music magazine, yes."

   "Well, that's great. Right?"

   "Yeah." Another sigh. "I guess. Lane said I can stay with him for awhile, too."

   "You can stay here. I mean, at Caleb's," I said instinctively.

   "I know. Until August, but..."

   "Right. I'm leaving," I said, looking away.

   "Yeah."

   Now, I was the one who sighed. "Well, we are together now. What should we do?"

   Bennett grinned. "Let's go to your place and watch a movie."

   We were making out an hour later, the TV on in the background. Caleb and Fox had gone to her place. I felt so good, entangled with Bennett, feeling how much that he wanted me.

   "Let's go... to your room..." he said, between kisses.

   Just as I stood up to lead him down to my bedroom, my phone started ringing. Maribella. I ignored it. It started ringing again as I put it down. I shut off the ringer and grabbed his hand and pulled him down the hallway.

   In my bedroom, I shut the door and put my phone onto my dresser. Bennett looked worried for a second.

   "I'll call her back later," I said to him, pulling off his shirt.

  I didn't want to think about Maribella now. I wanted to be with Bennett, together, under my blankets. 

   Later, Bennett was asleep in my bed when I took my phone out to the kitchen to call Maribella back. I poured myself some orange juice as it rang in my ear. I was hungry and cold and sort of just wanted to go back and snuggle with Bennett.

   "Hey, Iris," she answered after a few rings.

  "Hey, sorry about before. My phone was... charging," I said quickly.

   "No problem... I just... wanted to..." She didn't finished.

   "Maribella? Are you actually okay? I'm sorry about Ryland."

   "Uh, yeah. Thanks. I was really upset earlier... Bennett was just..." She let her voice trail off again.

   "Do you want to get a coffee tomorrow?" I asked, changing the subject.

   "Uh. I have to work," she told me.

   "Maybe after?"

   "Okay. I'll text you," she said quietly.

   "Okay," I repeated.

   "Iris..."

   "Yeah?"

   She was quiet for a minute. "Nothing. See you tomorrow."

   And then she hung up.