problems // ben tyler cook

Chapter Twenty Eight

Merry Christmas to all my lovely readers!!

"Ella!"

"Rosie!"

I throw my bags down to the floor, jumping into my best friends arms. "Oh my god, I've missed you so much!"

"I missed you too!" Ella squeezes my waist. "We have so much to talk about!"

"I know right! But I gotta see my family, girl." I laugh, pulling away.

Ella and I grab my bags, throwing them into her car. "How does it feel to be back in Texas and away from the crazy New York streets?"

"Confusing." I say as I jump in the passenger side of her car.

I greet my family but not as much as normal, since I saw them a month and a half ago. They came the week after Ben left. I haven't seen Ella for a year and a half.

We run up to my bedroom like we used to when we were younger, jumping onto my bed.

"Okay, tell me everything I've missed! Tell me all about your boyfriend!"

I grin, grabbing my phone to pull up a picture of us. "I'm sure you've seen on Instagram."

"You two are all over each others' accounts. How could I not see it?!"

I laugh, pulling my phone back. "Yeah, Ben is, um, he's something else."

"What does that mean?" Ella smirks, kicking off her shoes and smirking at me.

"You've known me my entire life, El. You've seen my fall in love before, you saw me fall out of love. You know what I was like when I dated Xavier."

"Honey, you were in love with that kid." Ella laughs.

"But that was me as a high school sophomore. I wasn't mature enough to really know what was going on, and what it meant to be in love with someone. Everything is different now."

"What's different with Ben?"

"Everything." I respond. "He just gets me. Xavier was a football player. He didn't understand what it meant to be a theatre person. But Ben does, he lives the same life that I do. He understands me in such a different way. We started dating after a couple weeks of knowing each other because we just connected that easily. I knew Xavier for years before I even considered a relationship with him."

"Aww, I can tell how much you like him."

"Oh, babe, I'm surely in love with Ben and he definitely knows it."

"Agh!" She exclaims, hugging me tightly. "This is so exciting!"

"I've never felt this way in my life. I told him about the Phantom audition and was totally into it."

She gasps and places her hands on her chest. "Your necklace!"

My hand mirrors hers, and I grab my necklace gently. "Yeah, he gave me this a while ago. The only times I ever took it off were for shows."

"But I want the details, girly. Have you two, you know, done anything dirty yet?" My cheeks turn red, and I bury my face in my hands. "You totally have! Spill! When, where, why?"

"It was Tony's night." I tell her. "We went back to my apartment and just got carried away, I guess."

"And how was it?"

"Ella, this is weird." I groan, laying on my back.

"I told you details about when I gave Bobby Jackson a blowjob, you're telling me about your first time with Ben!"

"It was great, I guess. I mean, it was kinda the first time I had sex so I don't really have anything to compare it too. But he was really sweet and he was making sure that I was okay and that I was comfortable."

"Wait, wait." She holds her hands up. "Kinda your first time? What does that mean?"

Well, shit. I slipped up. It's Ella, I've known her my whole life. I might as well just tell her.

"Alright, Ella, you're about to get a story you never wanted to hear." We sit up at the same time, crossing our legs. "At Beauty and the Beast, my stage managers name was Andrew. He was absolutely awful, and bullied me into anorexia."

I can tell she's already stunned. Her lips part and she blinks rapidly.

"Since we started the show, all he would do is tell me that I'm fat and that I basically don't have any talent. Then I met Ben, and he found out that I was starving myself. He told me that I should get help, and I didn't believe him. Then he went off on tour."

I take a deep breath, looking down at my hands. "Long story short, I went to a part after a show one night and Andrew raped me. The next day, I checked into rehab. I was there for two months and came out, went to Ben, then to the Tony's."

"Wow."

"I know that's a lot to take in right now. And I feel awful for not telling you, I just wasn't ready to tell you yet."

"Oh god, Rosie, it's totally okay. I understand. That's awful! What happened to him?"

"Well, after I got back from rehab, he got fired and I don't have to deal with him anymore. I'm better though. I think I was really traumatized at first but now I'm, like, recovered."

"That's great. Does Ben know?"

"Oh yeah. I called him next next day to say goodbye before I checked into treatment and he totally understood. And that's probably why he was asking if I was okay so much. He wanted to make sure I wasn't having flashbacks or anything, which I didn't. He was very gentle and loving and just made me feel really comfortable."

"Fuck, I really wanna meet this guy now." Ella whines.

"He'll be in Texas in two weeks. Go see Newsies."

"Wait, you're leaving in a few days!"

"I know."

"You'll be so close, yet so far." Ella sighs. "That sucks. I'm sorry."

"I'm gonna be honest though. I'd rather our time apart be extended then only seeing each other for a few hours, just to be pulled apart again." I explain. "Do you get what I mean?"

"Yeah, I totally get it. Makes sense. But I'm gonna harass this boy, I swear. Oh, I got it! Give me his number!"

"Ella, no."