I'm back, and more excited than ever. Midterms are mostly over, and the stress is … not gone, but less.
I have soooo much planned for this story. You guys just wait. You haven't seen nothing yet! With that said, enjoy!
It was Friday, which meant after Benny was off work, he could spend time with his boyfriend and his family during the weekend. Mostly, that is. As he was specialized in supervillain cases, that meant there was no rest for him. Supervillains were even more unpredictable than regular criminals. Especially that pain in the ass, Vision, who Benny still suspected might be his boyfriend, for some strange reason.
As he was on his computer, trying to dig up the past of a recently caught villain, his phone vibrated in his pocket continuously, giving off the impression that he was receiving a phone call. There was only a limited amount of people who called him. Ethan, Erica, and his grandma. The rest of the people he knew just texted him. To his luck, Erica was calling. Great. This either meant she wanted to annoy him, highly unlikely as she was more serious during working hours, or that there was something case-related. Either way, he was not excited.
"Hello?" he asked.
He expected the usual, calm Erica to answer, and well, she was mostly calm while she spoke, but her tone held a hint of excitement. "Bruner case emergency! Now! Hurry up, you sorry excuse of a researcher."
"Wow, speak to me in that tone again and I might not-"
"Now!"
"Jesus Christ, fine! Coming!" He closed the phone, not even wanting to say goodbye in fear of her yelling at him for wasting time. When she worked, she was scary. He grabbed his stuff, and hurried to the door.
"Weir, where are you going?" Mr. Hicks asked.
"Jones. She needs me," he said, hands on the door knob.
"So nothing new. Fine. Leave. But I'm watching you."
"Yes, sir," he said, and left to get into the car. In a few minutes, he found himself parking in front of the firm. When he reached Erica Jones' office, he noticed her pacing left and right, her pensive expression concerning. She was always so sure about herself. Whenever a strange case appeared, she would be quick to speculate to stay ahead of the game. But now, it was strange how she seemed stuck.
"Oh, there you are," she said, relieved. "Guess who reported a piece of evidence to the Bruner's case."
"I don't know," he mumbled, not a single person coming to mind.
"Ugh, you're such an idiot." She motioned for the chair, so he sat down. "Malcolm Bruner's mother! He called!"
"What? He called? I thought he was missing!" he exclaimed.
"Yeah, I thought so, too. Here's the thing. She had her husband come in and record the conversation. The tone on his voice, it was oddly calm. Here. Listen." She put in a USB into the computer, and after she clicked on the audio file, Benny felt the hairs on his body stand up.
"-are you right now?" It seemed like the recording started in the middle of the mother speaking.
"I'm fine, Mom. Don't look for me. I'll come back." He looked at Erica, not because of what Malcolm Bruner said, but how he said it. The tone of his voice was casual. Way too casual for someone who had been missing for three days.
"Are you being held captive?" While Malcolm spoke in a calm tone, his mother had panic all over her voice. She was yelling, desperate for answers. But there was no response from her son. "Who's holding you captive?"
"I can't say anything. But it's okay. He'll let me get back to you." A shaky breath, probably from Malcolm. He? Who's he? Could it be Vision? But as far as they knew, Vision only terrorized the town, and he never kidnapped. Perhaps until now.
"Get back to me? What? Did he hurt y-" Beep, beep, beep. Call was over, and so was the recording.
"I know. Malcolm seemed strange, right?" Erica said. "Another strange thing: his mother said he never talks like that. I mean, forget the tone of his voice. But the sentences he said are not like him at all. He's way too direct normally, some would say more on the naïve side, but he's never vague like that."
Benny nodded, understanding why this was frustrating for Erica. "Oh, this is definitely something superhuman related. If Malcolm was being threatened to sound calm, we'd know, but his voice was completely stable. Even if we say the mind controller we knew was behind this, last time I checked, she's in prison. And we know she can only control the minds of people she can directly see, but I'm pretty sure Malcolm isn't somewhere near the prison cells."
"I know. But that's why I called you. You're always on the lookout for villains, so if you see anything in one of your … battles, call me."
He nodded. For the rest of his time here, they shared what they had both found, which was basically minimal, he noticed. At the moment, this case seemed unsolvable. How the hell were they supposed to find out what was happening to the Bruners?
By the end of his day at work, Benny got up and stretched. Finally, he could go back home and rest, perhaps sleep for the rest of eternity. That sounded great. Sadly, he felt his phone vibrate again. Oh, he hoped it was his grandma, or Ethan. Someone but Erica. Of course, it had to be her. "Hello? Did something happen again?"
"Hey, no. Nothing happened. I just called because, you know, it's Friday night. I wanted to hang out somewhere, if you're up for it. I'll bring my girlfriend, and you can bring, I don't know, Officer Keaner. I know you two are friends."
"Oh, I did not expect that from you," he said, a bit skeptic about this. He headed out the door, biting his lips on what to respond with. The sun was setting, so he didn't know how soon she wanted this to happen. Oh, it didn't matter. He needed a break, anyway. "Yeah, then. I'll come."
"You know what, why don't you bring your boyfriend? I've never met him. This would be a perfect chance to meet him," she said. "If he doesn't want to, I get it, though. You did tell me he has anxiety, so…"
Oh, crap. He forgot about Ethan being alone at home. Well, maybe Ethan would be leaving to his friend's house, like he usually did. Benny admitted, he was a bit bitter about that, but he guessed he was just jealous, and he had the right to be. "I'll see. I'll talk to both guys. Text me the details, okay?"
"Yeah, sure. See you!" They hung up after Benny said his goodbyes, as well.
First thing Benny did was call Rory, who was immediately down for it. The guy was annoyingly excited about this. If only he said no, but what was Benny supposed to do about it? Rory Keaner was kind to Benny, and he had kept his secret for longer than Erica had.
Next, he needed to talk to Ethan, if he was even home. Thankfully, when he opened the door to the apartment, Ethan was there in front of the TV, wrapped in blankets. Benny chuckled, which made Ethan turn around.
"Don't judge me, fuckface!" he said. "The room is cold, and I'm too lazy to turn the air conditioner off."
"Yes, cause it's more convenient to go grab the blankets from the back of your messy closet." Benny put his bag down on the couch beside Ethan, and kissed him on the cheek. "What I meant is, hey, cutie."
"No, what you mean is 'hey, big, buff, muscular, hot, boyfriend'," he said, laughing through the sentence.
"Sure. It's more accurate," he said, a hint of sarcasm in his voice. He sat down on the couch, and went straight to the point. "So, I know you love cuddling on the couch on Fridays, but my friend Erica invited me to," he looked at the text she sent him two minutes ago, "dinner and some drinks at McAllister's." He looked at Ethan again. "She'd really love to meet you, and there's only gonna be two other people with us, plus Erica."
Ethan exhaled. "I don't know. I hate social interactions." Benny gave him puppy dog eyes, which usually never works because Ethan was a master at the arts, as well. "Fine. Whatever. So, we're just five?"
That was unexpected. Ethan never hung out unless it was with his own friends. Oh, well. Benny wasn't complaining. "Thanks. I'll pay you back."
"Well, since you offered … I'll have brownies. Your brownies. Not store-bought one." Benny counted that as a success.
Since they had two hours to kill, Benny spent his time with Ethan, chatting, laughing, playing video games. It was nice to be around Ethan. His energy made Benny feel good. Oh, how stupid was Benny to ever doubt his boyfriend?
"I love you," he said to Ethan as they were preparing to leave.
"You okay?" Ethan asked, raising an eyebrow.
"What? Can't I share my feelings?"
"You don't share your feelings five times in the span of four minutes. I counted. What's gotten into you?" he asked.
Was he that obvious? "It's just that I'm having a tough time at work. Cases are getting complicated, so I guess I'm just tired."
Ethan seemed unsure about this, but he just accepted this, and said, "Okay. Well, it's a good thing we're out drinking. Actually, you drink. We still need someone to drive." They agreed on that, and they were off to McAllister's.
It was a good thing Benny had told Ethan where they were going two hours before they had to leave because, well, when Benny told Ethan who exactly was coming along, Ethan realized he knew two people from the group. Sarah and Rory. He was not ready to tell Benny that he had known both of them since he was in college. He'd rather keep his lies consistent. So, he had texted both of his friends, and told them that he had to pretend he didn't know them. Thankfully, both agreed to this. Rory was a bit hesitant, but he was okay with it at the end.
How he wished this was the worst part – pretending he didn't know the mother of his child, or that he didn't know his college best friend. It was that even though Benny was a bit more back to normal today, Ethan still felt the distance growing between the two of them. It was gut wrenching, but it was bound to happen with all the slip ups Ethan was having. His job right now, though, was to make Benny suspect him less. Hard, but not impossible.
On their ride to the restaurant slash bar, Ethan started feeling much more nervous. Benny, behind the wheel, seemed to have noticed that. "It's okay, Ethan. If you don't wanna do this. I can just turn around. You're not obligated to do anything."
Ethan shook his head. "No, it's fine. I guess I'm just nervous because this is my first time seeing your friends, is all." Lies.
"You sure?" Benny asked, and Ethan nodded.
The five minutes it took them to reach the place passed by very quickly, and soon enough, the two males were at their destination. They got out of the car, and the mere action of standing up actually made Ethan feel a bit better. They got into the place, and in a booth in the corner of the room, he saw two ladies. One was a confidently beautiful blonde – Erica Jones – and the other was the girl he knew and loved, which was Sarah Fox. Rory wasn't there yet. The girls smiled at them when they approached, though they were totally different smiles. Erica's was a smirk, directed mostly at Benny. Sarah's, meanwhile, was sweet and welcoming. She even stood up and shook both of their hands.
"Hi … Benny," Sarah said, crossing her fingers in one hand in hopes of getting the man's name right.
"Yep, the one and only," he said. "Um, actually, not the one and only Benny out there." He scratched the back of his head. "Oops."
Sarah giggled. Oh, Benny's jokes were so bad, but Sarah was considerate enough to laugh at this one. Ethan would not recommend it. "It's okay. And you're his boyfriend?" she asked.
"Yeah," Ethan said. "Hi. My name's Ethan."
"Nice to meet you, Ethan. I'm Sarah." It was strange talking to her like he doesn't go to her place at least four times every week. Like he doesn't talk to her about his deepest secrets and concerns. It was truly an unlikeable feeling, but seeing as his whole life was based on lies, this wasn't that significant to him as much as his other secrets were. Oh, you know, like how he was secretly the most feared villain in Whitechapel.
"Hellooo! I'm here," Erica said, waving her hand. She looked at Sarah. "Why do you have to be so extroverted? Now I feel inferior."
Sarah sat down, and bumped Erica's shoulder. "This is a trap. You never feel inferior. You can't fool me."
Erica extended her hand to shake Ethan's. Maybe it was because she was the most successful young lawyer in Whitechapel, but Ethan felt uncomfortable around her. If there was anyone who can find out who he was, it was her, or Benny. Actually, the two were a team, weren't they? They were one of the few people who were experts in dealing with superhumans. Wonderful. As if Benny wasn't suspecting Ethan enough, and now Erica, not-easy-to-impress Erica, as he's heard, was going to express to Benny how disgusting she found Ethan.
"Hi, Ethan. You must know me," Erica said. Sarah mouthed mockingly 'must'. "Erica Jones. Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you, too," he said. Lies!
"Erica, stop trying to intimidate him! He doesn't need this right now," Benny said, and took a seat. Ethan joined him.
"It's okay. It's not bothering me," Ethan said. Lies!
Erica took a sip from her water, of course looking flawless as she moved her fingers to touch the neck of the glistening glass. "Whatever."
"Hey, sorry guys," a voice came. Ethan knew that voice. It was Rory. He turned to look at the blond guy. Despite the fact that the two texted frequently, Ethan hadn't actually seen the guy in months. He had grown out barely seen blond stubbles on his face, and he has what seems to be a healing scar on his forehead. Probably tripped and fell rather than got hurt on the job. He was a clumsy, anyway. Ethan missed him. "Had to help my partner with something real quick. But I'm here." He looked at Sarah. "Oh, hey, Sarah!"
She got up and hugged him. "Oh, my God! It's been a while," she said, grinning from ear to ear. Ethan had forgotten the two were acquaintances who most likely hadn't seen each other since Rory had dropped out of their college and had gotten into the police academy.
"You two know each other?" Erica asked, genuinely surprised.
"Yeah," Sarah said, letting go. "We knew each other in college. I dated his roommate, so we saw each other a lot." She seemed to hesitate to give that information, but it was a good thing she was still not giving that many details.
"How's it been?" Rory asked. "Cause I mean, you still look awesome!"
"Hey, don't hit on my girlfriend. She's mine," Erica said.
Sarah grinned at the comment, but replied to Rory with. "Thanks, Rory. I'm good."
Rory, with his positive mentality, instantly lifted the mood in the room, somehow. He was very talkative sometimes, but that was part of his charm, too. The officer looked at the two males. "Hey, Benny. And … I forgot." Smooth, Rory. Ethan was pretty sure Benny told Rory about his relationship, so this just hurt. Thanks a lot, dude, he thought.
"Well, we haven't met, so it's okay. I'm Ethan." LIES!
Lies, lies, lies! Why couldn't he just be truthful with Benny for once?
After the five of them had gotten over the formalities, they had begun ordering the food. By the arrival of the main courses, the conversations came easier, and they were all more comfortable around each other, it seemed.
"Okay, but Sarah, how are you even dating Erica? She's way too much," Benny said, and then filled his mouth with a piece of steak. Charming.
"Excuse me?" Erica said, seemingly offended but it was obvious she didn't care about what he said. She was like the complete opposite of Ethan. Confident, scary, and good. All things Ethan wasn't. But they did have one thing in common: their brains. Actually, now that he thought about it, this was the perfect time to get to know who she was. Okay, so there were ups to interacting with others.
"She's actually really nice with me. Believe it or not, this sarcasm and cruel personality, it's all acting," Sarah said. Erica gasped exaggeratedly. "Yeah, that's right. Exposed."
Benny chuckled. "Yeah, I can believe that."
Erica said nothing and ate her food with a dramatically salty expression. Then she took attention to Ethan. "So, Ethan, what do you do for a living?"
Benny gave her a dirty look, but Ethan was okay with the question. "I draw for profit."
"Oh, an artist. What do you draw for?" she asked.
"Whatever people request, really. Book covers, logo designs, portraits, all sorts of things. Well, I won't draw everything."
"Interesting," she said.
"And you're a lawyer," Ethan noted. "I actually considered studying law, but I realized I wasn't into it as much as I thought."
"Oh, really? Didn't take you for a law kind of person. Actually, I didn't think you'd be an artist," she said.
"Art is my hobby. I actually studied computer science, but no luck in this field," he replied.
"Really? But I heard you're very good. I mean, Benny told me you programmed some things for him."
Erica was smart, as Ethan had thought. Here he was, trying to ask her the questions, and failing. Instead, she had taken the role of the interrogator herself and turned the tables. That was part of her job, after all. He wasn't surprised.
"Didn't say I wasn't good," Ethan said, taking a sip of his water.
Benny chuckled. "Don't let his face fool you. He's very cocky."
"Hey, stop exposing me," Ethan said, which earned him a laugh from Sarah and Rory. "Anyway, I love drawing. It's calming. But I guess I have one of the easier off jobs. I bet being a lawyer is stressful."
"Very. But rewarding. Best feeling, though, is seeing asshole lawyers being crushed," she said.
"You're sadistic," Sarah commented with a laugh.
"And very serious! Lawyers like me are the ones who gain respect. I'm the hero here!" Erica replied. Sarah gave her side eyes, and nibbled on her food. "Aw, babe. Fine. You're the hero." She looked at Benny. "She is. She's a mom. She deserves all the respect in the world."
"Really? A mom?" Benny asked. "That's awesome."
Ethan swallowed. He wasn't shocked that Erica knew about Daniel. She was dating Sarah, and she had the right to know about who lived with her girlfriend, and who was part of her family. "Yeah. Haven't seen the kid yet, but I hope I will."
Sarah pointed at her. "At least in a week. I'm taking this slow. I told you."
"What's the name of the child?" Rory asked.
"Well, Daniel, but the whole family calls him Danny," she said.
"Danny? That name's familiar," Benny said. Yeah, that's because Ethan once mentioned the name and pretended like it was a close relative's son. "Probably because it's a very common name. That's why."
Sarah laughed. "Probably." Ethan noticed the brief look Sarah gave him. He really hoped no one noticed it.
As they left, Benny had to quickly talk to Rory about something 'important', whatever that meant for Tipsy Benny, which left Erica, Sarah, and Ethan walking behind. But Sarah had received a phone call from her parents concerning Daniel, so she had to step aside. That left Ethan and Erica walking behind. Oh, boy.
"Listen," she started in a low voice, low enough for only him to hear. "I know this doesn't need to be said, but I care about Benny. He's like a little brother to me. He pretends to be tough, but he easily takes in people's energy. He's very receptive. I've noticed that in him. With that said, don't you dare ever hurt him."
Ethan gave a small smile, a passive one. "I know you're concerned, but I would never hurt Benny. I love him too much to do anything to hurt him."
"That may be so, but I don't know you well. And I don't-"
"Stop it. Seriously, I'm not trying to get on your bad side. And I'm trying to be friends with you for him. So stop talking to me like I'm a bad boyfriend to Benny," he said.
Erica smiled. "I can see why he likes you."
Ethan felt relieved, like he passed a test. But he felt like he cheated, in a way. It was true, Ethan would never try to deliberately hurt Benny. To say the least, he was in love with the guy, and he hated seeing him get mad because of something Vision did. But at the same time, he was hurting Benny. With every second of him living this lie, he was damaging their relationship. He wasn't creating a perfect lie, which meant that one day, Benny will find out about the truth, and it would create a damage beyond repair. A damage just like the one Ethan had experienced five years ago. Or perhaps a bit less frightful than the one Ethan had. Funny how the world worked. Ethan was ripped apart by someone he thought would be there for him, and he'd eventually do the same to Benny. Why couldn't he just break up with the damn idiot and rip the bandage off without Benny knowing it was there in the first place? Oh, yeah. Cause Ethan was a pussy. He always had been.
They had all said their goodbyes, and Ethan led Benny to the passengers' seat, and then drove back to their apartment building. Benny was sober enough that his sentences made sense, but all together, there was no actual aim to the one-sided conversation he had. Ethan, meanwhile, felt empty. He wished he was the one who drank, but that would've only ended badly. He could've said something he would regret, and his whole plans would come to an end quicker than he thought they would.
The two guys prepared to sleep that night. Benny was a bit horny, but Ethan wasn't going to have sex with his slightly drunken boyfriend. "Come on, we have to sleep, Benny. It's late now."
Benny pouted. "I want a kiss."
"Fine," Ethan said, and gave one on the forehead. One day, he wouldn't have the chance to do this, neither to a drunken Benny nor a sober one. He needed to cherish these moments a bit more. "I love you. Don't you forget that, okay, idiot?"
Benny nodded, then put a finger to his lips. "Shhh. I need to sleep now." Ethan smiled, and he slept as well.
He was quick to sleep, but that night, he didn't have good dreams. Sometimes, he'd have vision dreams, like he did just now. When he was physically in them, he was aware that he was dreaming, so that sometimes caused him sleep paralysis, which was even more scarier than what his dreams showed. But when God had mercy on him, his vision dreams were just like normal visions, a display of certain events, and that was it. But he wasn't lucky today. He had opened his eyes, and found himself standing in the void of his vision dreams.
He looked around, waiting for something to happen. Goodness, why was it so cold? It was supposed to be just a dream. He shouldn't feel anything. But that's how cruel his powers were to him sometimes. They made him feel pain, temperature, and other sensory experiences.
"Hello?" he asked. Sometimes it worked, sometimes his calls for someone made people appear. It didn't seem to work this time. "Anyone here? Anything here?" Nothing. No response. Nothing appeared. He hated being alone. It had to be his number one fear.
Thankfully, a few seconds later, he found himself stepping into the apartment. The place felt strangely empty despite the fact that Benny was there. He looked angry, sad, and tired. It didn't suit him at all. Ethan had never actually seen him display such negative emotions. He was always happy. Where did Happy Benny go? The scene went black again, and Ethan heard glass shattering all around him. He jumped in his place out of fear, and he thought the dream was over. It wasn't. He was still trapped in here, waiting for something else to happen.
He closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. He didn't want to be here anymore. He wanted to leave. He didn't want to be alone in his weird dream world. He opened his eyes. Still nothing was happening. He put his right hand on his left arm, for comfort reasons, but as soon as he did that, he felt the wetness in his fingers. He panicked, already smelling the iron. He looked down. Blood.
No, no, no. This was bad. It wasn't the blood that was disturbing, it was the meaning behind it. But he didn't know the meaning. He didn't know what was going on.
Police sirens sounded, and he looked up. A body bag was being lifted by four figures, which looked like authorities. "Holy shit," he whispered, his legs becoming weak. He'd only once seen a dead body, and it was his own fault. He had only killed out of self-defense. He would have been dead if he didn't do it. Still, it was the most scarring experience he had had.
Was he going to do it again? Was he going to kill someone? And who was the person going to be? Who would soon join the same fate as Jesse Black's?
If that was scary, the worst part was trying to wake up. He closed his eyes, opened them, but he could still see the dead body being taken away. He had to wake up. The second time around, he succeeded. He was conscious. But that was it. He couldn't move. He couldn't speak. He had the usual feeling of something pressing on his chest. He wanted to scream, but he couldn't. Okay, Ethan. Calm down.
There was shifting in the bed, he felt. Benny was here. If only he could communicate with his boyfriend. He felt a kiss on his forehead. It would've been sweet if he wasn't struggling to move. Then he felt Benny leave the bed. But he was still in the room. Calm down. It was mentally painful, trying to move, but he had done it successfully after reading about it online. Eventually, he was able to move his body. He opened his eyes, and sighed in relief. He hugged the blanket close to his body, and put a hand on his chest. He was breathing heavily.
Benny, by his closet, had turned around. "E?" his eyes widened, realizing what had happened. He knew how serious Ethan's sleep paralysis was, and he knew Ethan dealt with it well, but it never stopped him from worrying too much, which Ethan wasn't going to complain about. He came over to Ethan and hugged him. "Oh, my gosh. Did you have another lucid dream?" he asked. He gave a kiss on the temple. Ethan nodded, not speaking. He didn't want to form any sentences before he was sure he was all right. "You're okay now. I just wish I knew when it would happen to you so I could help, but it's hard to tell."
Yeah, probably because Ethan didn't have normal lucid dreams. They were vision dreams. He was probably not going to have the same reaction as one would when lucid dreaming. "It's okay," he whispered. "It doesn't happen on a regular interval, so it doesn't matter."
"What do you mean it doesn't matter? Of course it does," Benny said.
Ethan snuggled next to Benny. "I'm sorry I made you scared," he said.
"As long as you're okay now, I'm fine," Benny said.
Ethan nodded. His mind went back to his vision dream. Oh, right. Blood. Body bag. He looked at Benny. It couldn't be him, right? He would never kill Benny. He wouldn't want to kill anyone. Especially Benny. He was the only person who knew how to comfort Ethan, and to make him feel special and good about himself. But the more he thought about it, the more it seemed likely that Benny was going to die in his hands than anyone else. It couldn't be a coincidence that last night, Erica had talked about Ethan hurting Benny, and he had a vision dream that included a body bag and blood in his hands.
He hugged Benny even tighter. He didn't want to hurt him anymore. "God, I love you so much."
Benny chuckled. "I know, I know." He rubbed Ethan's arm a bit before pulling away from him. "I'll go make some eggs and bacon. You go get changed." Ethan nodded.
Benny had made sure this morning was a good one for Ethan especially after what had happened to him when he woke up. It was a very calm morning in general, and he frankly liked the quiet in the place. He may be a loud person, but he loved to have peace every once in a while, especially since most of his time as Wizard, he spent his time literally throwing punches at criminals who knew no better than to mess with him. Some TV and breakfast was perfect for him.
"I'll go take a shower," Ethan said. He washed his plate, then he headed to the bedroom's private bathroom.
Benny was now alone in the living room. He couldn't stop thinking about last night. He felt it went well. But damn his mind, it was still suspicious of his boyfriend. Maybe he was being stupid, again. Maybe he shouldn't even be thinking of this. Still he felt he had to ask his friends about their impression of Ethan. So first, he called Rory, who excitedly said he liked the guy. He knew Rory had to say positive things, but still, the confirmation put him at ease. Then, he thought to call Erica.
"Hey," she said. "Sorry. Not trying to be rude or anything, but I did not expect you to call. Especially not in the morning."
"No, it's fine. I'm sorry to bother you," he replied.
"You're not. Just get to the point, doofus. What do you want?" she asked.
"Well, I just wanted to ask you about Ethan. What do you think of him? Do you like him?"
A pause. "Why are you even asking me this? Do you have trust issues or something?"
"No, it's not that. I just … Okay, can I be honest with you?" he whispered, even though he could hear the water running in the shower. Ethan was showering, not anywhere within listening range.
"Yeah, of course," she said.
"I don't think I trust Ethan as much as I used to. I'm asking for your opinion because you're a lawyer. Maybe you noticed something, too," he said.
"Listen," she said. "I'm no expert in psychology, so I can't give you a one-hundred percent analysis of your boyfriend. And I don't wanna cause friction between you and Ethan. I think you two are a great couple. But … if I didn't know better, I would have liked Ethan a lot. But there's something about him that I don't trust, either. I could be delusional. Sometimes I over-analyze things that aren't even there. I really don't want to be the reason you two split up or anything."
It was so strange hearing Erica not mocking Benny, and actually being sympathetic and supportive. With that said, he never imagined, that he'd see her like this in a situation such as this one. Oh, Ethan. What are you hiding?
Boom. Dropped a lot of bombs here on you guys when I thought I'd do that later, but I felt it fit with the flow more. I'm really excited to share more of this story with you guys. Like I said, this is still nothing compared to what I'm planning to do. Stay on the edge of your seat cause I'll be teasing you more in later chapters. So. Much. Planned. Ah!
I'd love to actually hear your guys' speculation about Ethan's past. I'm curious what you concluded so far.
Until next time!
