Someone, Somewhere // Ben Bruce

Chapter 12

I woke up on the sofa cuddled up in the blankets. I slowly sat up as I was still groggy and half asleep. I looked around as I rubbed away the crust of the sleep that coated my eyes. Never get a puppy if you love sleep. I looked around to see Marley and Ben were nowhere to be seen.

I walked up and slugged to the kitchen. Still no one there. I slowly walked to the stair case. As I approached the stairs I heard a giggle come from the bathroom. I opened the door slowly and popped my head in to see Ben trying to brush his teeth as Marley ran around and played with the water that Ben had splashed on the floor.

I giggled as Marley ran towards me with his little rose pink tongue hanging out of the side of his mouth. He ran over and leaped up at my legs. I bent down and picked him up. He wriggled around in my arms and tried to lick me to death. I stood and gave him kisses as he licked my face.

Ben walked over and took him in his hands "Excuse me, I'm the only one that's allowed to kiss her! Bad Marley!" He said in a deep, stern voice before placing him on the floor and looking at me before taking my face in his hands and kissing my lips before putting his forehead on mine and giving a smile.

I sat on the sofa throwing little chew toys and a little tiny squidgy ball for Marley. Marley ran back and forth even though he was out of breath but he was full of fun and mischief. I sat as Ben cleaned up the hall since Marley had ripped up a couple of pieces of paper. He walked through with a large brown envelope.

He sat next to me and just held it in his hands and stared down at it. "Are you okay?" I asked as he snapped out of his little day dream that the brown envelope had taken him into. "Yeah" he answered as he gave a half smile. "Well open it then" I snapped as I raised my eyebrows. He took a deep breath before opening it to reveal a bright white layer of stapled sheets of paper. It was the divorce papers.

He read them all carefully to make sure he wasn't getting conned into paying out thousands. Once he made sure she was only getting what she deserved he signed them before putting them into another brown envelope and placing it on the counter in the kitchen.

"I'll send them away tomorrow" he said as he looked in the fridge for food. "I'll do it today, the sooner they are sent away, the faster this whole thing will be over" I said as I started getting milk for Marley. "Thank you" Ben said as he walked over and kissed my neck. I smiled as I threw the bottle of milk at him "You can feed Marley when I'm getting changed!" I said with a smirk as he looked at me and rolled his eyes before picking up Marley.

I walked to the bedroom and looked through all the drawers to find something comfy to wear. I found a pair of grey Of Mice and Men leggings, a black bra and grey lace top to go over the top. I stood and brushed my hair until it was knot free and I styled it in the right way.

I ran down the stairs and walked into the lounge to see Ben rolling around the floor as Marley chased after him and bit every area of flesh that he could catch. I stood and giggled. As Ben heard me giggle he looked up to see me standing in the door way before shooting up onto his feet.

He stood and looked at me up and down as everything fell silent. Even Marley had stopped running around as he lay on the floor. "You are..." Ben started to say as I butted in "Ugly?" I suggested as he shook his head and bit his lip whilst looking me up and down again. He walked towards me and placed his hands on my hips. I looked down and then back up at him as the fringe swept across my face as I put my hands on the tops of his arms. He took one hand off my hip and gently took my fringe off my face and swept it behind my ear before leaning in and whispering "Perfect" in my ear and kissing my neck before trailing up to my lips as my hands glided up his arms and shoulders to wrap around his neck. As he pulled back from kissing me I opened my eyes as he smiled and I smiled back at him, shyly.

I sat on the sofa as Ben banged about upstairs. I sat and shook my head. Then I heard heavy footsteps coming down the stairs. I looked out of the doorway to see Ben wearing black skinny jeans with his belt, Jack Daniels top, a leather jacket, and vans. I looked at him when he walked in. "Where are you going?" I asked. "All the guys are going out for a drink and they've asked me and I really want to go but I'll stay if you want me to" he said as he pouted. "No, go out, I'll be fine with Marley" I said as I smiled. "Don't worry, I've got someone to keep you company" he said with a smirk as he leaned down and kissed me before walking out the door.

I sat on the sofa and looked out the window. Who has he got planned to come and see me? I sat and played with Marley to try and keep my mind off of it. It was silent, only the sound of the TV and Marleys snores in the background. Suddenly there was a knock at the door. I walked out of the lounge and down the hallway to the front door. I put my hand on the door handle and turned it to reveal who Ben had invited.

"Come in" I said as I shut the door behind her. She stood awkwardly in the hallway as I walked past her and into the lounge. "I'm guessing Ben invited you?" I asked as she looked around the lounge. "Yeah..." she said awkwardly. I stood and looked at her as everything was silent "Don't you think there's something you have to say?" I asked as I sat down on the sofa.

"Look, I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt you like that it was just I can see how much you love Ben but you have to remember that he was married to her and they were also in love as much as you two are now. I know what it feels like to see the person you love be with someone else and it hurts like fuck and you know how it feels as well, you had to deal with it for two years with Ben and Sam. I was just trying to protect you from people who might take photos and try and interfere in your relationship and that will give you a bad name and also Ben which means the band will get a bad name as well. I don't want that to happen to my best friends. All I was doing was protecting YOU and the band"

I looked at her as she looked back at me for a reaction. "I know but you should have just fucking said that Elisa!" I shouted as she nodded before sitting down on the other side of the sofa. "So how has it been with Ben?" she asked trying to break the ice. "Perfect to be honest. I love him and he loves me and I can't ask for anymore. How are you and James?" I asked.

She opened her mouth to gossip which would take a couple of hours. I acted quickly and shouted "In three words!" before she could say anything. She looked at me and laughed before saying "Good... Sex... and... Eh... Emm... BONDAGE" I looked at her and burst out laughing, it was already back to normal.

We sat and put on the TV as Elisa noticed Marley. "When did you get a dog?!" she yelled as she ran over to him and sat next to his bed and stroked his as he snored and dreamed about getting a steak or chasing cats. "Ben and I went and got him yesterday" I said as I watched her look at him in awe before deciding to leave him alone so he could sleep whilst saying "He's adorable!"

We sat and watched Russell Howard whilst eating a large pizza and ice cream. Elisa took the plastic spoon ad stuck it on her nose as we both laughed like dying cats. It was like all the days before we worked for AA and some occasional ones on the bus when the guys were away.

Everything was going great as I went and put away the pizza box and tubs from the ice cream. I stood and smiled like an idiot in the kitchen thinking about my life and how happy I was with Ben and having my best friend back and having my little baby pup.

I walked back to the lounge to see Elisa looking at her phone in shock. I stood at the doors and looked at her as her face got redder and redder as she took in whatever was on that screen. "Elisa are you okay?" I asked as she turned and looked at me as she started to give me a sympathetic look before biting her lip in anger.

"Lyle..." was all she managed to say before I took the phone off her. I looked at the screen to see a photo on Samanthas Instagram with the caption 'A final goodbye' I looked up at the photo to see Ben kissing Sam. I looked at it as I felt my heart getting torn out of my chest. Everything around me became distant as my world collapsed only hearing "I'm so sorry" getting said faintly in the background.