Bennett

My gaze darted to Lee who had gone still beside Henry. I instantly regretted saying the word mother out loud. And not checking the caller I.D before picking up, but her words led me to believe she'd been trying to get ahold of Lee first. Maybe it was best I'd been the one to pick up.

Beside me Henley grabbed my free hand, gripping it in hers, reassuring me.

"What do you want?" I asked again, lowering my voice.

"Do I have to need something to talk to my son?"

"That's how it usually goes."

I could only imagine her withering stare on the other end of the line. "I'll get straight to the point then," she said.

"Please do."

"Your father met with you. What did he want?"

I tensed, a cold feeling spreading through my stomach. She already knew. She already knew and was acting as if this wasn't some life-changing revelation. As if it wasn't a big deal that she'd hid everything from us. As if she didn't think twice about what kind of effects it would have on us when we found out. As if lying about our father being dead wasn't sick and disturbing...

Why was I even surprised by her actions anymore?

I almost scoffed. "That's all you have to say?"

"Judging by your tone, he obviously has given you some sob story. I should have known he would try to weasel his way back into the company the moment I left."

I didn't know how she knew we'd met up with him, but I didn't care. She probably still had people around keeping an eye on our actions. I had no doubt the board members and even employees of the hotel still kept tabs on us for her.

But I wasn't going to play into her games anymore.

"It's none of your business what he said," I said.

"If it's about my company it is."

"It's not your company anymore. It's Lee's and mine," I told her.

"Bennett James—"

"Don't call again." I hit the end button before she could respond. I swallowed as I shoved my phone back into my pocket, hating the anxious feeling setting into my bones again. Hating how she continued to affect me.

Henley's hand tightened around mine and she looked up at me with a concerned expression. "Are you okay?"

It was funny how one question from her could make me feel so much better so quickly. Some of that tension faded and I smiled at her. "I am now."

"What did she want?" Lee asked, coming over to me, his face devoid of color.

"I didn't ask," I lied. I knew the way my mother's mind worked. I could make a good hypothesis as to why she was asking about our father. If she had nothing to hide from anyone anymore, why wouldn't she aim to remove Lee completely from the company and family? Just like she did with our father?

She probably treated Lee so badly all these years in hopes Lee would just leave himself.

"But—" Lee began.

I cut him off. "We shouldn't care, either. Don't answer your phone if she calls. We know full well she'll use this situation to her advantage."

"Bennett is right," Henry said, placing his hand on Lee's back. "You already have enough going on. Ignore her for now."

"I have to talk to her at some point," Lee responded. "Even if she isn't my birth mother, she still raised me. I'd at least like to hear her side."

Henry and I exchanged a glance. Her side? I didn't imagine it would be very nice for Lee to hear. Henry looked like he wanted to argue with Lee, but I gave him a slight head shake. This was a typical response from Lee. He would never hate her, no matter what she did. Maybe he would distance himself eventually, but it wouldn't be overnight. And no one could tell him what to do. He was free to make his own choices. We both were now.

"Sebastian says he's at McKellan's," Brandon announced, completely missing the atmosphere. "He says he has a table for all of us. Is there good?"

Henley raised a fist at her brother. "Brandon. Read the room."

Brandon raised his eyebrows. "What?"

"It's fine," Lee said, smiling a little. "McKellan's sounds good to me if it is for everyone else."

I put my hands in my pocket, ignoring the increase in my pulse. Out of all the places for Sebastian to be. McKellan's? Henley must have been thinking the same thing because she went silent as we all headed outside. Brandon and Lee both didn't seem to be bothered at all. I supposed that was a testament to their easy-going nature.

It amazed me how different Lee and I were when it came to things like that. While I locked bad memories up and had a hard time moving on, Lee could take them with stride, adapt, and move forward. He had his tipping point, of course, but so did I.

Heat crept along my neck at the memory of the last time I was there. Drunk and miserable.

Then I came to a complete stop as I noticed how close Ariana had parked her car to mine. It almost looked like it was touching mine. I tried to subtly walk toward the back of my car to check it out. Henley's gaze followed my movements knowingly

"Don't worry, I am a pro," Ariana said, clapping me on my shoulder, startling me. "I didn't touch your precious car."

"No, I wasn't—" I tried, but she just patted my shoulder again.

"There, there."

Henley smirked as I returned to the passenger door, hunching my shoulders. I opened the door for her and she moved to get in, pausing with one foot in the car. She pulled her foot back out and turned to others. "Oh, wait. Lee, why don't you go with Bennett?"

"Hm?" came Lee's response.

"I have something to discuss with Henry and Ariana, so I'll go with them. You should keep Bennett company."

"You don't want to come with me?" I asked her.

She stepped away from the car. "I'll ride back with you. Here, Lee."

Lee didn't have any complaints and got into the passenger side of my car, looking up at me expectantly, making no move to close the door. Sighing, I closed it for him and turned to Henley. "See you there, then."

"Yep, see you in a little bit," she responded, kissing me on the cheek.

I smiled a little as I watched her head off to Henry's car. She shoved Brandon out of the way to get the passenger's seat. "Drive safe," I told Henry. "You have precious cargo."

"You too," he said pointedly.

"I always do," I said, gesturing to my car. "The car itself is—" I closed my mouth as Henry climbed in his car, completely disregarding me.

I stared after him for a moment until Lee honked the horn, making me jump. Scowling at Lee through the windshield as he grinned back at me, I climbed into the driver's seat. "Don't you think Henry is different these days?"

"Not really, why?"

I put my seatbelt on. "I feel like he doesn't respect me as much anymore."

"Well, you aren't his boss anymore, so why should he?"

"I'm his boyfriend's brother though. Isn't that scarier? Don't answer that," I said when I noticed the apprehensive look Lee was giving me.

"I think the only one who really scares Henry is our mother," Lee said and then froze, the humor slipping off his face. "Ah..."

"She scares everyone," I said, pulling out onto the road behind Henry.

"I suppose it's a good thing she isn't actually my mother," Lee continued. "I can't imagine how she would take to the fact that Henry and I are dating."

I curled my fingers around the steering wheel. "Who cares what she thinks? She has nothing to hold over us anymore."

"Is that what you think?"

I glanced at him. "What do you mean?"

"Nothing. I'm just overthinking things."

"Don't worry about her, Lee. Let's just focus on ourselves. I told you earlier that this doesn't change anything between us."

Lee didn't respond for a moment, staring out the window. "I think it will change things between us."

"What? Why?"

"Because eventually everyone will find out the truth about me, and they already don't like that we ousted our mother— her, from her position. And they especially don't like me. They believe the rumors she spread about me after my accident. They think I'm incompetent."

I wanted to disagree with the fact that other people would find out, but I knew they would. If my mother knew my father approached us, she probably was already plotting something. "Maybe some of them will think that way, but not everyone. You were appointed CEO fairly," I said. "There are more people who believe in you than who don't."

"Do they believe in me?" Lee asked, pushing his hand through his hair. "Or do they believe in the Calloway name?"

"You're still a Calloway," I told him.

"I've spent almost every single moment of my time investing in this business since the age of thirteen. To the point of putting it before anything else in my life. Putting it before my mental health. All of that for this to happen in the end. Do I even belong here anymore? Aren't I just intruding at this point?"

I put my blinker on, pulling over to the side of the road. Lee turned to me, confused, and I angled my body to face him. "Lee. Stop. The more you linger on negative thoughts, the more you will suffer in them. I know I can't quite exactly understand what you're going through, but it's not like I haven't had a life-changing realization, either. But we don't have to focus on the negatives of it."

Lee clenched his jaw, turning his head. "Easy for you to say."

"It is easy for me to say," I said, "because I have you."

Lee tensed.

"When you were gone, it was the worst time of my life until I met Henley. And even after meeting her, I still wasn't content until you came back. I realized then that all I need in order to be happy is the people I care about. I don't need our father. I don't need our mother—"

"Your mother," he interjected softly.

"Lee," I said tersely. "If you wanted to leave the company and asked me to leave with you, I would. The company means nothing to me compared to you. Does it really mean so much to you?"

He fell back into his seat, his hair falling in his face. "No. It doesn't."

"Then don't worry what anyone thinks," I said. "I'm not saying you can't be hurt by what's happened. No one would expect you to be able just to accept this. I am hurt and angry, too. But we didn't do anything to deserve this. We didn't ask for the truth. So, if we don't want to do anything about it, why should we? It's not our responsibility to take the burden of the mistakes other people made. We owe them nothing. We can continue living as if nothing has changed. And if and when we're ready and want to face those mistakes, that's when we will."

Lee held the strap of his seatbelt, staring down at his lap. "Are you sure this doesn't change anything between us?"

"Nothing," I promised. "This changes nothing between us. Nothing between you and Henley. Nothing between you and Henry. Who your mother is has nothing to do with how they and I view you."

Lee nodded slowly, sitting up straighter in his seat. "Yeah, you're right. I don't know why this is making me feel so unsettled."

"Because you believe something like this will change how people view you and you care what people think about you. Just take it easy. Take some time off work if you need to, too. I will manage fine. Talk with your therapist and see what she recommends."

"Why are you so calm?"

I checked my mirror before pulling back out onto the road. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"You've always been the more stoic one, but this is a bit..." Lee trailed off and I shot him a questioning look. "You're not bothered by our father's appearance?"

I gave him a wry look. "Do I seem unbothered?"

"To me, yes."

"I told you I already had a long conversation with him. I've already accepted the fact he's actually alive. And for now, I plan on living the way I have been. I don't know if I want to be involved with him. I'll decide that later. But it wasn't like I wasn't upset at first. I still am. I just know my well-being comes first."

Lee heaved a long sigh. "I wish I could be more like you."

"Why? You're you because you're you. Henry wouldn't want to date you if you were more like me."

Lee considered this. "You're right. I don't want to be like you."

"I know I shouldn't feel insulted, and yet..."

Lee laughed. "It's okay. Henley likes you for you."

"Somehow I think she'd like me more if I were more like you," I muttered.

Lee tilted his head to the side, confused, but smiling still. That was all I was after. I just wanted him to relax a little.

"Oh," he said after a moment, mouth falling open. "Did Henley like me? While you two were broken up? Is that why you think that? I guess that's possible."

I whipped my head to face him. "What?"

"I can't exactly blame her. We did get close quickly back then. She even saw me shirtless in the bathroom that one time," Lee said thoughtfully, tapping his chin.

"She what? She saw you shirtless?"

"Bennett, pay attention to the road."

I forced my attention back to the road. We were almost to McKellan's now. I had never really asked Henley about the time we were separated. What had happened with Lee back then? She'd really seen him shirtless? Why?

"Oh, wait, there was that time, too. I forgot we did that," Lee said to himself, looking deep in thought.

I suddenly remembered that Lee had joked on occasions that he liked people with names starting with H.

Feeling like a piece of paper floating in the wind, I numbly climbed out of my car, barely remembering to lock it behind me as Lee made a beeline for the door, making me chase right after him. Inside we located the others easily, already sitting at the table with Sebastian.

I noticed too late there was only one spot open between Henry and Henley. Lee sat down before I could return to my full physical state.

Sebastian, who sat on Henley's other side, noticed me and pointed at the spot next to him. "There's a spot next to me, Ben."

I moved toward it, only for Brandon to push me out of the way, taking the open seat. "Sorry, man. I want to be able to see the game," Brandon said to me, gesturing toward the television where a soccer game was playing.

I glared at Sebastian whose expression turned bewildered.

Resigned, I went to sit in the spot on the furthest side of the table.

"Bennett." I paused as I heard Henley's voice, turning toward her. She patted a newly created spot between her and Sebastian. "Sit here."

With a light feeling in my chest, I closed the distance between us in a few long strides, determined not to let anyone take the new spot. There wasn't a lot of room for me between them, so I pushed Sebastian's stool further away to give myself more space, nearly making Sebastian spill his beer all over Brandon as his stool tipped onto two legs.

Henley reached for the napkin dispense in the middle of the table, offering it to Sebastian, leaning into my chest to do so.

"Do you like my chest?" I asked her.

She raised her eyebrow, face close to mine. "Uh, what?"

"Why were you in a bathroom with Lee?"

"What?"

I pulled at the collar of my shirt, suddenly feeling overheated. Then I remembered Henley said she liked when I left a few buttons undone and quickly unbuttoned two more from the top, trying to keep my face impassive.

Henley stared at me for a moment more and then her eyes widened. "That reminds me..."

I bit my lip to keep from smirking, unbuttoning another. As if Henley would ever like Lee—

"Lee!" she called, spinning on the stool to face my brother. "You can't forget that you owe me a day letting me borrow your Maserati."

I froze, my hand still at the buttons of my shirt, blinking.

"Oh, you're right. I did promise you that. Oh, and that other thing. You'll have to come see me and Henry at our house for that, though. I'm not sure how we'll do it yet, but I'm sure we'll figure it out."

"Do what?" I demanded loudly, facing the pair. "What are you planning, Lee?"

Henley jumped a bit, nearly falling off her stool. "Why are talking so loud?"

Lee covered his mouth, eyes crinkling as he chuckled. My eye twitched.

I'd fallen for it.

"They're helping me with a project for one of my classes," Henley said as Henry nodded. "You told me you couldn't help because you have that business trip coming up, remember?"

I stood up from the table. "I'll go get us some drinks."

"Um, someone will come to the table," Sebastian began but I headed off toward the bar, spotting Wilson in the distance.

"Hey, Bennett," Wilson greeted me. "Are you feeling warm?"

"Huh?" I looked down, realizing I'd unbuttoned my shirt more than I realized, nearly revealing my entire chest. I flushed, quickly buttoning it back up. "Could I get a pitcher of whatever IPA is on tap?"

Wilson nodded. "Sure. It's so nice to see everyone together and enjoying themselves. I was afraid none of you would ever want to return here to hang out after what has happened. But seeing you all here makes me feel relieved. I'm glad everything worked out for you."

A sudden rush of affection for the middle-aged man came over me as he went to fill a pitcher. That was right. He was here for all of it, but not directly involved. He had hoped for the best all this time, too. He knew Lee, Brandon, Henley, and myself and worried for us. And in my mind, I never thought about returning because of the bad memories. But there were more good ones. And Wilson had done everything he could to help Henley and Brandon the entire time, and then with the news of Lee, everything he could as a witness.

I could understand why Lee hadn't hesitated in agreeing to come here now.

Wilson came back and handed me two pitchers full of beer. "One is on the house."

"Thank you," I said.

"No problem, Bennett. Enjoy yourselves. I'll open a tab for you."

"Wilson! Can I get another shot of whisky?" a patron called from across the bar and Wilson turned to take care of them.

I took out my wallet and stuffed all the cash I had it into the glass tip jar on the counter, pressing it all the way to the bottom so no one could easily take it out.

I returned to the table, noticing that everyone had spread out a little more so I wouldn't be squeezed between Sebastian and Henley. Sebastian listed off orders to the waitress and ordered my usual for me, surprising me. He still remembered that?

"What!" Brandon yelled loudly, causing both Sebastian and me to jump. "That was a cheap shot!" He grabbed Sebastian's arm, pointing at the T.V. "Come on, man. You have nothing to say? Aren't you Italian?"

"Does that mean I have to like football?" Sebastian answered dryly, not bothering to make Brandon let go of him, and sending the waitress off with an apologetic smile.

"You even call it football!"

"Brandon, most countries call it football," Ariana said, grinning. "Only a handful call it soccer by default."

I turned to Henley, noticing she was staring down at her phone hard, completely still, ignoring the commotion from the others.

"Is everything okay?" I asked her, putting my hand on her lower back.

She started, nearly dropping her phone, glancing up at me with a pale face. "H-huh? Oh. It's nothing," she responded, locking her phone and tossing it onto the table.

I frowned. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, a classmate just texted me reminding me of a project I forgot we had to turn in soon. You know that feeling of forgetting a school thing, right?" she said, forcing a smile onto her face.

"No."

Her lips twitched. "Of course, you don't."

"Is it anything I can help with? When I'm not on my business trip?" I asked, wondering if it was too late to cancel the trip. It wasn't until next week. Then maybe I could help her out with the other project too.

I wanted to ask what the project was, but I wouldn't give that satisfaction to Lee, who still looked vaguely proud of himself.

"No, I can handle it," Henley said, pouring herself a glass of water from the vase on the table. "You already have enough on your plate."

"That's true," I agreed with a sigh. "There is too much going on right now. On top of all the work issues. I hope we can both get a break soon. I'm not sure how much more I want to handle."

Henley smiled tightly, taking a sip of her water.

I looked down at my own phone as it buzzed in my hand. A text from my father popped up and I thought about ignoring it, but slid it open anyway.

Your mother contacted me. We should meet up again soon.

I didn't move for a second, waiting for the tightness in my chest to return. But it didn't. I remembered the words I told Lee.

It's not our responsibility to take the burden of the mistakes other people made.

I closed my phone and slipped it into my pocket.

I would deal with it on my own terms.

Author's Note:

Hello, it's me again late like always. I am going to have to take some time and actually outline this because tbh I have no idea where it's going lol. This is why I usually don't do sequels, but I am sure I'll get it together eventually and it'll be easier to write.