Henley

"I'm so sorry," I told Bennett, holding onto the door handle tightly. "Lee and Brandon convinced me to drink and I totally passed out after."

"You spent the night drinking?" Bennett asked, frowning.

"Where is Lee?" Henry cut in.

I gestured back inside the house. "He's inside still asleep."

Henry brushed past me and into the living room. I remembered last second that Lee and Brandon were sharing the couch and gasped, quickly hurrying after him, leaving Bennett on the doorstep. "Oh. Henry, wait—"

Henry was already by the couch, towering over the sleeping men. "Wake up," he demanded loudly.

Brandon stirred, waving Henry off. "Not yet."

A muscle jumped in Henry's jaw as Brandon dropped his hand back down, over Lee's waist, snuggling into him.

I grimaced, putting a hand to my face. Not the best position to be caught in. I moved over to the couch to subtly shake Lee's foot that dangled off the edge of the armrest in an attempt to wake him up, but all he did was kick my hand away.

"Lee Theodore Calloway," Henry said tersely. "Get up."

My head throbbed from the loudness of Henry's tone. How much had I drunk the night before? Why had I let myself drink so much? My mouth felt dry, like sandpaper.

Brandon cracked one eye open and open seeing Henry glaring at him, shot up into a sitting position, using Lee's ribs as leverage. Lee groaned, trying to roll away from Brandon, only to fall onto the floor. He remained there for a moment before pushing himself up, hair all a mess in his face, eyes squinting, and an expression of straight-up confusion on his face. He noticed Henry after a moment and smiled softly. "Good morning, Henry."

Henry let out a long breath. "It's almost nine."

Lee brushed the hair out of his face, face crumpling in discomfort, and I figured he had to feel even more hungover than I did. He then took in his surroundings again, color draining from his face as he took in Bennett and Henry's annoyed stances. "Where..."

"That's what I was asking myself when Mr. Callo— when Bennett texted me," Henry said. "He said you didn't turn up for work and you haven't contacted me since yesterday."

Lee glanced at Bennett before checking the watch on his wrist. He gasped and struggled to climb to his feet. "Oh, no, I had a meeting—"

"I already rescheduled everything," Bennett interjected, appearing at my side again, arms folded across his chest. "I told everyone you took a personal day."

"I've never been late before," Lee said, stunned.

Henry stared at him. "Is that what's important to you right now? Really?"

"Why don't you calm down?" Brandon asked, sitting up and yawning. "It's too early for this. Lee has been here all night. We had a good night right, Lee? We were safe."

I groaned inwardly. Brandon could win an award for being the oblivious person on the planet. I thought Bennett was bad, but no, Brandon was worse. He needed to stop talking.

Henry flushed in anger. "What?"

Brandon looked taken aback by Henry's sharp tone. "Why are you so mad? I'm just explaining to you—"

"Lee can explain for himself."

"Henry," Lee said disapprovingly, furrowing his eyebrows. "Don't talk to Brandon like that."

Henry bristled. "Am I the one in the wrong here?"

Lee took a step toward him and groaned, holding his lower back. "Ow. That's sore."

Henry grit his teeth and moved forward suddenly, grabbing Lee's wrist. Lee stumbled forward in surprise as Henry headed toward the front door, tugging Lee along with him. A second later the door slammed behind them.

Brandon looked after them, bewildered. "What's wrong with Henry today?"

"Brandon, can you please pay attention to how you say things from now on?" I asked, my shoulders slumping. Poor Henry.

"What did I do?"

Bennett cleared his throat. "Henley, may I speak to you for a moment?"

I turned to him with a sheepish look. "Uh, yeah."

Brandon rolled his eyes. "I've never been more grateful to be single than I am at this moment."

I raised my fist threateningly at him and he feinted coming at me. Our exchange made Bennett's lips twitch and I supposed he wasn't too mad at me. Bennett followed me into the kitchen and I figured that would give us enough privacy. I went straight to the fridge and took out the water pitcher, desperately needing some water.

Bennett passed me an aspirin single packet and I was confused for a moment. Why was he carrying around aspirin? Were his headaches back? He hadn't complained of any for a while now. I still took the package gratefully, popping the pills in my mouth, and taking a long gulp of water.

"Sorry for not texting you last night," I said, putting my glass down on the kitchen table.

"Were you that busy?"

"Brandon thought Lee would feel better if he could loosen up by drinking and I joined them for moral support and I must have got drunk and fell asleep right away," I explained. "I swear I didn't ignore you on purpose."

"I see."

"...Are you mad?" I asked hesitatingly.

"No."

"You look kind of mad."

Bennett noticed his tense posture and relaxed it immediately, leaning against the counter by the sink, trying to appear more at ease. "I was mainly worried. Especially after you didn't show up for work. But I feel better after seeing your face."

I walked over to him and took his hands in mine. "Next time you're worried, just come over. You don't need permission to stop by."

"I thought about that, but you said Lee had wanted to talk to you alone. And also..." he trailed off, hands tightening on mine, lowering his gaze.

"I'm sure Lee would have understood if you were just checking on me, Bennett." I made him look back up at me. "And also, what?"

His shoulders went taut. "I thought maybe you were ignoring me because you didn't want to come back over."

My eyes widened. So, that was what he was actually upset about. "Why would you think that?"

"You didn't really sound like you wanted to when I asked. And I thought if I came to check on you and asked to stay over you would feel burdened."

"Why would I?" I asked, feeling my heart shrink. Did Bennett really think like that? "You're my boyfriend. I'm more than happy to stay with you or for you to come over to my place. And if I really didn't want to, I'd tell you that flat out. I wouldn't make excuses."

"But you won't move in with me. If you don't mind staying at my place, or me staying over here, then why won't you?"

I froze. This again? "Is that eating you up that badly?" I asked.

Bennett avoided my gaze, his head angled toward the side, the sharp outline of his jaw prominent. "Wouldn't it bother you?"

"No," I said honestly. "Because I would respect your decision."

Bennett swallowed and faced me again, looking a little guilty. "It's not that I don't respect your decision."

"I've told you. Brandon is still getting on his feet. He wouldn't be able to afford this place alone. And technically the lease is under my name, so Sebastian—"

"Sebastian wouldn't care," Bennett said matter-of-factly.

"That still doesn't change the fact Brandon can't afford this place."

"I can pay the rent for Brandon and—"

"Bennett," I cut him off, dropping his hands. "It's not only that. I still want to live with Brandon. He was missing from my life for an entire year."

"So was Lee, but I didn't care that he wanted to move in with Henry instead of living with me again."

"You can't compare us," I said. "You can't compare me with you and you can't compare Lee with Brandon. Our situations are completely different."

"How?" Bennett asked, sounding frustrated. "How is it so different?"

"You're kidding, right?"

"Do I look like I am?"

"Money," I said flatly.

Bennett looked completely taken off guard. "How is this about money?"

"Because it's something you would never understand because you grew up differently than I did," I told him, my throat getting dry again. "It's the same reason why I don't want you to buy me clothing or a new car and the same reason I don't want to be a stay-at-home wife and want to find myself a job that isn't at the hotel."

Bennett fell back a step, looking disgruntled. "And what is that reason?"

"Brandon and I grew up having no one to rely on. Even when our parents were alive, they had no money either. And as Brandon and I grew older we bought our own things. But if we missed a car payment, we had no one to ask to cover it. If we ran out of money for food, we had no one we could ask to borrow from. If we couldn't make rent, we would have to beg for a little extra time so we could find an odd job, or spare hours, to make enough to cover it." I clenched my hands into fists at my side, an uncomfortable warmth crawling over my skin. I hated talking about money problems with Bennett. I usually avoided it at all costs. "We made do with what we had. We relied on what we had. I know it's easy for you to offer your money, and I know that you would never take something away from me that you've given me, but deep down, I can't get rid of this fear..."

Bennett watched me carefully. "What fear?"

"That you will realize one day you don't love me anymore and that you want to find someone better. And that if I rely on you, even just the slightest bit, and that happens, I'll be right back to having nothing. And I'll have become too comfortable with a life I would have never dreamed of having before meeting you, only to have it ripped away. To me, it's better to never experience it than to experience it and lose it. It didn't hit me so hard before, with everything going on with your mother, but now those thoughts creep up every now and then. Any time you offer me something I can't offer you back."

Bennett's face fell. "You wouldn't lose it, Henley."

"It's easy to say that. But even just going to the grocery store and buying anything I want without worrying about the cost is a luxury I've never had before," I said. "And even something as small as that makes me worried."

"But your job at the hotel must offer some reassurance, doesn't it?" he asked.

"Sure. As long as I don't think about the fact you could fire me if we ever break up. You're my boss, Bennett. That dynamic doesn't change just because I'm your girlfriend," I pointed out. "And you're also Brandon's boss. The same could happen to him."

"You really think I would do that?"

"No. But just because I say that doesn't mean I can convince my heart of it. I know I'm lucky to even have this chance to improve my life with your help. Not everyone gets a chance like this. It's not easy to get out of the cycle of poverty. But I still want to rely on myself more than you."

"But... I'm just asking you to move in with me," he said, eyebrows pinched together. "I'm not asking you to give me control of your life."

He didn't get it. I knew he wouldn't, but it still felt like a brick settled in my stomach. Would he continue to be upset over this over and over again? Until I gave up on my own standpoint and moved in? I stared at the floor. "I don't know how to explain it any better. I just want you to give me the time I need to be ready for this. And I don't want you to keep feeling hurt by it because it really has nothing to do with being with you. It's just a me problem. One that I know one day I'll get over. But it won't happen overnight."

A moment of silence passed between us and my stomach twisted. I hated this. I didn't want things to be weird between us.

"Okay," Bennett spoke softly. He lifted his hand up to cup my cheek and I sighed, pressing into his touch. He tilted my chin up, making me look into his green eyes. "I'll wait for you to be ready, then. I'm sorry I've been pressuring you."

"I'm sorry I didn't properly explain myself earlier," I responded, bringing my hand up to cover his, and then taking it to kiss his palm. "I just feel awkward."

"You don't have to feel awkward with me, Henley. And even if you do, I'd never think of you differently for speaking your mind. We're in a relationship and we should be able to speak honestly with each other."

I smiled. "Yeah. You're right."

"I'm sure we can come to a compromise, too," he said, dropping his hand from my cheek, and instead, bringing his arms around my waist to bring me close to him. "If I want to stay the night with you, it doesn't always have to be at my place. I'll sleep here and we can have dinner with Brandon."

I put my arms around his neck. "That sounds good."

"I know it must seem immature of me to complain about this when your reasoning was deeper than I imagined."

"Not at all. We were just misunderstanding each other."

"I'm also a bit... overwhelmed right now," he admitted. "I think I got too into my head last night."

"That's understandable considering the circumstances," I said, pulling away from him. "Especially since you specifically asked me to stay over last night and I didn't."

"Lee is more important, anyway."

"That's not true. You're both important. It's not one or the other," I told him, giving him a disapproving look.

He smiled at me. "Yes, that's true."

"I promise I'll stay over tonight, okay?" I paused. "Oh, but Lee might want to talk to you today."

"Is he feeling better?"

"I think a little bit. Brandon did a surprisingly good job of getting Lee moral support."

"They have the oddest camaraderie."

I didn't think I would ever get used to Bennett's weird word choices. Not that I minded— it was adorable and completely him. "Lee said he'll talk to you and Henry though."

"I can wait until he's ready."

"Was Henry really mad? He looked really mad," I mentioned, fiddling with my fingers. "Madder than you."

Bennett nodded grimly. "Yes. I wasn't as worried about you not texting back because I knew where you were, but with Lee it's a bit different."

"I guess Lee never texted Henry just like I didn't text you, huh?"

"No. And you don't have the same history as Lee does."

"What do you mean?" No sooner did the words leave my mouth, I realized what it was. I didn't have a history of harming myself.

Bennett stuck his hands in his pocket, lips curving down. "Yes."

"But Lee is fine now? Isn't he?" My heart rate picked up. "He said he was."

"He is," Bennett said. "But I also understand how Henry must have felt when Lee just disappeared like he did without a word. Especially because Henry knew he was upset. I worry about, Lee, too. I'm worried he'll hide everything from us again and suffer alone."

Now Henry's anger made more sense to me— no, it wasn't even anger. It was just concern.

"I don't think Lee will appreciate it, though," Bennett added wearily. "He'll probably expect Henry to trust him more than that."

"They're not going to fight, are they?"

Bennett looked at me like I was the craziest person in the world. "Those two? Never. Lee has been obsessed with Henry since the day they met. One time, Lee told Henry to leave a room and he was upset about it for hours until he apologized to Henry. They aren't going to fight over something like this."

Well, that certainly did sound like Lee. I took another sip of my water, feeling a little more at ease. Hopefully Lee and Henry would have a good talk.

Bennett pulled out his phone and glanced at it. "I have to go back to work. I have a meeting soon."

"Oh. Should I come? I just need like fifteen minutes."

"I put you down as a personal day, too, so just rest up more for today." He stroked my head. "I'll text you when I'm home."

"Text me when you leave work. I'll meet you at your house. With open arms. Like this." I held out my arms as wide as I could.

Bennett cracked a smile. "You get cuter every day, Henley." He leaned forward to kiss me. "Make sure to drink lots of water."

Together we walked back to the front door and I waved as he left, waiting until his BMW was out of sight to shut the door. I leaned against it, closing my eyes.

"Hey."

I jumped, startled as Brandon appeared in front of me, an unhappy expression on his face. "What?"

"I overheard you talking."

My cheeks burned. "What? How—"

"It's a small house," he cut me off, sticking his hands in his pockets, shoulders hunched. "Listen. If I'm holding you back, don't worry about me."

"You're not holding me back," I said immediately.

"Aren't I?"

"No. If you heard our conversation, you know it's not only just about you."

He didn't look convinced. "I don't want you to think of me as a burden."

I walked over to him, elbowing him in the side. "Stop it, Brandon. I never would."

"I'm trying, too, you know."

"Trying what?"

"To get my shit together. I shouldn't be relying on my little sister like this. And I only have a job because of your boyfriend."

"You're still young, Brandon. It's not like everyone has to have their life together by a certain age."

Brandon gave me a dry look. "Why are you talking like you're the older sibling?"

"Because I don't like hearing you down on yourself," I said. "Come on. It's not your fault that you went to jail. And I'm still figuring out what I want to do, too. So, we're staying together. Got it?"

"Ariana could move in here and then I'd be able to afford it," he suggested.

"That's a big ask of Ariana," I responded, rolling my eyes. "Besides, if you did that I bet Sebastian would try to move in, too."

Brandon grinned. "He totally would."

"Why do you look like you'd enjoy that?"

"Seb is a good guy," he said with a shrug.

"You really can make friends with anyone, can't you?"

"I am the nicer sibling."

"I'm nice," I defended.

"Besides, one day soon Sebastian and I will just be two broken-hearted buds. We'll only have each other."

"Huh? What do you mean by that?"

Brandon tilted his head questioningly. "Ariana didn't tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

"I thought she was going to talk to you yesterday."

"No, because that thing with Lee and Bennett's father happened."

"Oh, I'm sure she'll talk to you soon, then."

"What do you know?"

He mimed zipping his lips. "I'm not telling you until you talk to her."

I furrowed my eyebrows, gaze following Brandon as he went back over to the couch, flopping down.

What could it be about? She'd told Brandon already, but not Sebastian or me?

A throb behind my eye warned me to stop thinking so hard. First, I had to take care of this dang hangover. So much stuff was going on. How the heck was I supposed to keep up with it?

Author's Note:

Not much to say today. Thank you for reading!

Jordan