Falling Slowly

Pt.3|Ch.14

Oof sorry about that last one
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•••••Benjamin's Perspective

The rest of that day went by with a heavy, unsettling tension in the air.

We plastered smiles onto our faces for the evening show, and let them fade away as soon as the curtain was drawn.

Austyn and I hadn't said a word to each other since the fight had happened. She hadn't even looked me in the eye.

Josh had somehow slept through all the shouting that had taken place hours before, but he could tell that he'd missed something. He kept glancing at me nervously on the drive back to the house, but didn't say anything.

When we got home, I decided to head to bed early, and made my way to the kitchen to get a glass of water before turning in.

I reached up to open the cabinet that held the glasses and bowls, but my mom's voice suddenly sounded from behind me.

"Hold it there." She said sternly.

I turned around, raising my hands slightly in surrender.

She rolled her eyes. "Don't get smart with me."

"Sorry." I let my arms fall lifelessly to my sides.

Stepping into the kitchen and lowering her voice, she let out a sigh. "Alright, let me hear it."

"Hear what—"

"What is going on with you?" She asked. "And I'm not stupid, so don't you dare say 'nothing'."

"I wasn't planning on lying anyway." I mumbled.

"Does this have anything to do with the fact that you and Austyn haven't so much as breathed in each other's direction recently?"

I nodded, rubbing my eyes. "We, uh, argued."

"About what?"

"She—" I stopped, shaking my head. "It's a long story."

"Hmm." She walked around to the counter and pulled out one of the stools. "Good thing I have time."

I glanced out at the living room. Aiden was watching a rerun of one of Josh's alien conspiracy theory shows, every so often looking down at the notes he'd taken over it for her, while Sky dozed off against her shoulder.

Josh sat next to them, but his eyes were on me, still trying to riddle everything out.

Austyn was nowhere to be seen, and the door to her and Aiden's room was closed.

I exhaled slowly and turned back to my mom. "She's planning on flying down to Texas with her dad on Sunday. They're trying to figure out if she wants to live there or not."

Mom raised her eyebrows. "Wow."

"Yeah."

"Have you tried talking her out of it? Or, at least asking her to take a step back?"