Falling Slowly

Pt.2|Ch.14

•••••Austyn's Perspective

About five more days had passed since I'd kind of come back from the dead.

Ben had scarcely left Sky and I's apartment since then, and I wouldn't be surprised if he'd ended up sleeping on the couch a night or two.

I'd followed his instructions diligently: no skipping meals and no staying up later than nine o'clock, and by that fifth day, I was deemed well enough to go back to the theater.

"...and if you get hungry or tired, let Josh know right away, and please," Ben breathed the word in an exasperated tone, "please don't try to sing 'Watch What Happens' yet."

"Why not?" I crossed my arms. "You're afraid I'll faint when I hit the high note?"

"No," he sighed, "I just don't think you should strain yourself that much yet. Is that fair?"

"You're being overprotective." I rolled my eyes. "But yes, that's fair."

"Good." He pressed his lips to the tip of my nose and, like always, I smiled. "Have fun."

I nodded. "But don't do anything."

He closed his eyes, exhaling slowly. "Why do I even try?"

"Don't worry about anything." I kissed his lips and stood up, retrieving my jacket from the hook by the door. "Josh'll look out for me."

Ben glanced up at Josh. "Will you?"

He nodded. "How hard could it be?"

His question earned a groan from Ben and hysterical laughter from Sky in the other room.

"You know I'm actually gonna make you follow his rules today." Josh said as we walked down the stairwell to the parking garage.

"I thought you were my partner in crime," I complained.

He laughed. "I'll gladly accept that title, but Benji was here first, which means that, in this specific scenario, his word beats yours."

I crossed my arms. "That's not fair."

"Well, I hate to break it to you, sweetheart," he said as we climbed into the car, "but life ain't fair."

"Spoken like a true newsie." I mumbled.

"We can still have fun, though." He assured me, glancing over his shoulder and backing out of the parking space. "There are ways of getting around his rules."

I raised an eyebrow, considering the idea. "Such as?"

"A pair of new shoes with matching laces! Hey, no acts of violence against the driver!" He screeched when I raised my hand to slap his arm.

"For real, though." I lowered my voice, as if sharing a secret. "Are there ways to get around his rules?"

A familiar voice answered me before Josh could.

"No, there are not."

Josh and I jumped in our seats, before turning around to discover that Aiden sat in the back, with her legs crossed and her hands folded neatly in her lap.