Falling Slowly

Pt.1|Ch.14

•••••Benjamin's Perspective

I woke up early, beating the sun by at least an hour. Unable to find sleep again, I climbed out of bed and wandered into the kitchen.

The apartment was dark, but the pale blue, early morning light was beginning to seep its way through the window curtains, and it was bright enough for my to see where I was going.

I had just set foot in the living room, however, when everything got a lot brighter.

The lamp in the corner suddenly flashed to life, nearly blinding me.

"Why are you up?" Josh asked, crossing his arms.

"Why are you up?" I countered, rubbing my eyes.

"Because I knew that you'd be up."

I blinked the black spots from my vision, continuing my walk into the kitchen. "Then why'd you ask why I'm up?"

"Interesting question, interesting question." He said, in a very 'Sherlock Holmes' voice. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

"No, actually." I opened the fridge, retrieving a carton of orange juice.

"Well, I have a question that I think you'll be very interested in answering." He sat down at the counter, folding his hands.

"Shoot." I said, pouring a glass of juice and putting the carton back in the fridge.

"Well, I noticed that you and Austyn sort of, shall we say, disappeared last night."

I let out a long, irritated, dramatic sigh of protest.

Josh shook his head, looking down at me in disgust. "You are pathetic."

I uttered another complaining whine, but relented. "You know the top floor? There's a creepy hallway up there that leads to this balcony."

"And you...talked?"

"Yes..." I said slowly.

"Oh my gosh," he gasped and covered his face with his hands. "You kissed her, didn't you?"

"Well, actually, she kissed—"

"Why didn't you tell me?" He demanded.

"Because you fell asleep as soon as we got home!"

"You should've woken me up!"

"How was I supposed to just 'wake you up'?"

"Pour water on me, or something!"

"Shh!" I scolded, dropping my voice to a whisper. "We're gonna get complaints!"

"Okay, okay," he took a deep breath. "I'm chill."

I raised an eyebrow. "No you're not."

"I know I'm not, but it'll do for now. So," he propped his chin up on his palm. "Did you tell Sky?"

"After what happened last night?" I shook my head. "I'm not gonna bother him with anything right now."

He nodded. "I feel bad for him."

"How come?" I asked, admittedly glad that the subject had switched tracks.

Josh shrugged. "He just wants to keep Aiden safe. Make sure she's okay."

"But, she's Aiden." I stated in confusion. "There's literally no possible way for any of us to ensure either one of those things."

"I know. That's why I feel bad for him."