''I don't own Ashes to Ashes
Huge thanks to everyone who is still reading – it's great to hear your thoughts and feedback, so please do keep it coming :)
Thank you!
Hope it's alright!
---
Gene went upstairs to wake her at eight, gently brushing his lips across her forehead, whilst his fingers tenderly caressed her cheek. Her eyes fluttered open, blinking almost drunkenly in the dim light of the room, before they suddenly fixated on his own, her hazel meeting his blue with a strange mixture of both surprise and relief. Gene managed a small, tentative smile in response, before moving to draw his hand away. Just as he did so, her own fingers slid into his hair, twirling her digits into the softly coloured locks as she pushed herself up on one elbow, tongue peeking out to wet her lips for a brief moment, before she gently pressed her mouth to his.
Gene froze slightly, surprised, not only by the sudden movement, but by the willingness of her touch in light of their recent argument. He waited for her to pull back; when it didn't happen, he remained still for only a few seconds, before responding slowly, one of his hands sliding down to push aside the duvet that covered her waist, whilst the other tangled into her bouncy curls, his mouth moving gently against her own. Alex nibbled softly at his lip, pulling his head closer to hers as her other arm slid around his back, her kiss insistent and imploring. .
With a soft sigh of concordance, Gene settled himself down alongside her, resting over her as his arm snaked around Alex's waist, as he slowly eased his tongue between her lips. Her fingers found the tie that hung around his neck, gently easing it free of his collar and dropping it onto the floor at beside the bed, before returning to his shirt, unfastening it slowly as she pulled her mouth away, looking up at him softly, waiting for his eyes to flutter open... When they did, he stopped still, gaze locked with hers as her fingers continued to free the buttons of his shirt, mouth slightly open as she watched him.
"Gene...?" her voice was soft, gentle, and questioning, and he could do nothing, simply gulping hard as she pushed the shirt away from his shoulders. She dropped it next to his tie, and then hooked one leg around his waist as she pushed up at him, directing him to his back and pressing their mouths together once again. He was breathing heavily, his body responding all too well to hers as she straddled him, her kiss imploring, desperate, needy, wanton, and he felt himself yearning for her, itching to push her straight to her back and have his way with her...
It was only the warm droplet of salt water which he felt trickle onto his lips that brought him back to his senses, that caused him to tear his mouth away from hers a moment later. His hands moved up to her face, cupping it delicately within his hold as he soothingly traced his fingers down her cheek, pressing his lips briefly to her own before drawing away.
He looked up at her, trying desperately to ignore the sudden realization that she was sleeping in one of his shirts, and that, unless he was severely mistaken, she had apparently misplaced her underwear since he'd slipped from the bed hours previously... He felt all his blood rush southwards, and it was only the still escaping tears that tracked down her cheeks that offered him his escape, his salvation...
He pulled her down towards him, his lips pressing gently to the corner of each of her eyes in turn, the salty liquid wetting his lips as he spoke softly into her skin, his hands stroking her hair lightly, breath hot against her flesh.
"Not now, Alex," Gene murmured quietly, not pulling away, his eyes closing slightly as he brushed his lips across her eyebrow. "Later... not now." He rolled her over, lying her down gently, stroking her hair and cheek in a small gesture of reassurance as she averted her eyes, biting hard on her lip to try and stem the flow of tears. "Sorry..." he muttered, gulping heavily. "I just- doesn't seem-" He stopped, directing her face towards his own so that he could meet her eyes, gently trailing one finger across her lips. "You're gorgeous, Alex," he murmured. "I just-"
"Hold me?" She whispered, interrupting him with a cracked whisper, tears spilling swiftly down her cheeks now, tracking down the contours of her delicate features at speed. Her hand moved to his shoulder, tightening around it, and a moment later he'd gathered her against him, had tugged her protectively into the circle of his arms, and was pressing his lips hard to her forehead.
"Shhh..." he soothed, stroking her hair as she clung to him with sudden fierceness. "Shhh... it's ok... I'm 'ere..."
"Gene," she whispered, sobbing softly. "I'm sorry – I don't want to leave, I don't-"
He interrupted swiftly, holding her tighter, his fingers tangled in her hair. "I know, Alex," he whispered, dropping another kiss to the top of her head as his fiercely embracing arms crushed her to his chest; "I know..."
---
They drove into work an hour later, with Gene eyeing her warily the whole time, conscious of the glazing of her eyes whenever she allowed her attention to drift slightly. Once or twice, he caught the change of colour as her skin drained white, and had to reach over to stroke her cheek on more than one occasion, waiting for the gentle flush to return to her face.
After buying them both breakfast – a bacon buttie for Gene and a cinnamon pastry for Alex- he walked her into the station, his arm kept firmly around her waist, even as they entered a strangely deserted CID. Oddly relieved by the lack of company, he perched himself casually on Alex's desk, his long legs stretched out lazily in front of him, before he wrapped himself around his breakfast with vigour, pausing only occasionally to glance in her direction.
"Where is everyone?" Alex asked after several minutes of unerring silence, having finished off her pastry and tossed the serviette into the bin.
"Ray's bringin' Bragden in," Gene replied, swallowing his last mouthful and grinding his teeth slightly as he binned his own rubbish.
"I thought you told him and Chris to-?"
"Yeah, I did..." Gene muttered, gulping. "Before... well, before you and me- y'know..." He gulped, trying hard to think of something to say, and then he sighed, rubbing his head tiredly. "Merlot's sister turned out to be a little bit more of a handful than they first thought; it took 'em two hours to find her, an' when they did it sounds like she showed some skin and Chris got shell-shocked..." he shook his head in bewilderment before he went on. "Anyway, Ray cuffed 'er an' got a kick in the nuts fer the pleasure, an' somehow Chris managed to trip the daft bitch over when she made a run for the door." His hand slid into his breast pocket, selecting cigarette and lighter swiftly, before lighting up and glancing out of the window.
"I'm surprised she didn't make a run for it once she realized we'd arrested Ciaran," Alex mused lightly, resting her chin in her hand and looking up at Gene thoughtfully. He shrugged, taking a slight drag on his cigarette before answering her.
"Probably thought he'd keep his gob shut to keep himself out of prison... From what he said, she didn't know 'e left all the evidence behind..." He took another drag, and then muttered, "That, or she was hoping we wouldn't be able to find 'er."
"Where was she, out of interest?" Alex asked, toying with the hem of her blouse.
"McKellen's old house," Gene said, frowning. "She was right though- they didn't think about it for ages; surprised she didn't sniff 'em out an' leg it in the time it took 'em to put two an' two together."
Alex sighed, rolling her eyes. "You don't give them enough credit; they got her, didn't they?"
"Yeah," Gene conceded with a nod, "s'pose so... but they still can't tell their arses from their elbows!"
With a small laugh, Alex stood up, taking his hand in hers as she stood herself gently between his outstretched legs, her eyes fixed on their interlinked fingers as her tooth toyed at her lip. "Thank you..." she murmured. "For this morning, I mean..." she gulped, before speaking quietly, her eyes averting to the floor as her voice dropped significantly in volume. "You don't know how much it meant that you were there..." She kept her eyes downcast, her tooth biting at her lower lip as she waited for him to say something.
Gene reached out with his hand, cupping her face before he tilted her chin gently upwards, his glittering blue eyes meeting her soft hazel. When he spoke, his voice was a gentle, warm, rumbling murmur in the quiet room, and Alex felt her stomach melt as his fingers traced the contours of her face. "I live with you, Bols," he said softly, "where else was I gonna be?"
She smiled weakly, stroking his cheek with a tender caress before pressing her lips to his skin. "Anywhere outside of twenty miles from me?" She suggested bitterly. "After how I behaved yesterday, I wouldn't have blamed you if you stayed away all night..." She reached out a tentative hand, brushing a hair from his shirt as she sighed, closing her mouth before she said anything else. He watched her closely, his eyes intent, his cupped hands drawing her towards him before he closed the distance between their mouths, gently sucking her lower lip between both of his.
"I was sat outside all night, Alex," he murmured softly as he released her from his kiss. "I was parked up down the street with a bottle of whiskey an' a packet of fags, listening to Nancy FM with some poofter talkin' about 'ow perfect 'is Missus was," he sniffed in distaste, glancing down at her hand, which was now stroking up his tie in a vain attempt at distraction. "Missed you," he said quietly, slipping his own hand over hers and tangling their fingers together. "It ain't the same gettin' pissed without you tryin' to nag me ears off..."
"I don't 'nag your ears off'!" She said defensively. "I just tell you when you're over the-!"
Gene chuckled, drawing her closer and sighing. "You're right," he murmured, closing his eyes as her scent descended on him, surrounding him completely... Chuckling lightly, he tweaked her nose teasingly, his lips quirking into a grin as he did so. "You spend most of the time tryin' to nag me trousers down around me ankles... then you complain I'm too pissed to drive..." She slapped him lightly on the arm, but couldn't help the light laughter that escaped her lips as he drew her in for another kiss, grinning slightly as his tongue slid against her lips. She responded softly, her arms draping around his neck, fingers in his hair as he deepened the kiss with a soft groan, a sigh of delight... He tugged her closer to him, drawing her firmly between his legs as he nibbled and sucked at her lips, hand sliding down her back and over the curve of her arse...
A light cough nearby brought them crashing back to earth, and Alex jerked away from him with a red flush over her face, although Gene drew her back against him swiftly, shifting uncomfortably to hide his evident arousal, his arms kept firmly around her as he looked towards the door; Ray wash watching the floor in evident embarrassment, his cheeks tinged uncharacteristically pink as he gulped uncomfortably, then spoke with a gruff manner that betrayed his awkwardness.
"Bragden's in the cells, Guv," he muttered, running one hand distractedly through his permed hair. "He's askin' fer DI Drake, but-?" He stopped short, glancing at the possessive way Gene had a hold of the DI before adding, "Well, I'll just tell 'im she ain't available, shall I?"
"No," Alex said, shaking her head. "No, I'm fine, I'll be right down, just- just give me two minutes, alright?" She held up two fingers for a brief moment, as if to reiterate the point; Gene thought he saw the vein in Ray's jaw jump in annoyance, before the DS nodded and left the room. Alex then turned back to Gene, her tooth toying with her lip as she spoke. "I'd better-"
"You'd better wiggle yer arse in that direction I s'pose," Gene murmured reluctantly, tugging her still tighter into his arms and sighing into her hair. "I'll see yer later, I guess..." He muttered reluctantly, kissing her cheek and allowing his hand to wander appreciatively over the backs of her thighs as he went on. "Make sure he knows I'm gunna spear his bollucks with a coat hanger for not tellin' us everything, alright?" His voice was terse and cool, and Alex frowned.
"He did tell us- he told us about seeing 'Angel'"- she waggled her fingers slightly, and then went on – "in the warehouse, and that Rosa had been there that night... he told us the same as Ciaran..."
Gene nodded, avoiding her eyes as he ground his teeth. "Yeah... maybe... just tell 'im what I said, Bolly, will you? I'm not convinced he's told us all of it."
Alex sighed, shaking her head slightly before drawing back. "You could always come with me?" she suggested, picking up her jacket from the back of her chair, eyebrows raised in challenge.
Snorting, Gene pushed her towards the door, his hand in the small of her back as he spoke. "Reckon he'll be more than a little reluctant if I fly in there right now- last time he saw me I bashed him up with fists o' fury." Pressing a soft kiss to the back of her neck, he spoke again. "And you're a bird," he said, grinning lewdly as he added, "we like openin' up to birds, so to speak." With a sharp slap to her behind, he added, "But if you need a bit of testosterone in the room to wet yer appetite, get Viv to come get me." He grinned, pushing her forwards before he headed to his office, running a hand through his hair with a slight sigh. Alex rolled her eyes, hiding a smile before she turned towards him, watching his retreating back with a roiling warmth in her stomach.
"Gene?" she said, resting her hand against the door frame. He looked back at her, quirking his lips and raising one eyebrow in query.
"Yes, Bols?" He asked, crossing his arms as he leant back against the office door.
She hesitated for only a brief second, and then spoke, her voice soft and tentative, but dripping with certainty and sincerity. "I do know I love you; better than I know anything else... It's just that sometimes, I'm not quite so sure I know how to handle it..."
Gene stood still, watching her carefully for several moments, before nodding his head gently. "Yeah, Bolly..." he said softly, not breaking eye contact, "that makes two of us." They both looked at each other for a few moments, Alex's mouth opening as if she meant to say something else, her right foot moving forward as though she intended to walk towards him... But then the door opened, and Shaz and Chris walked in, hand-in-hand and wearing identical smiles; the moment shattered, and Alex saw Gene instantly bolt into a more domineering position, at the same moment that she herself dropped her hand to her side.
"Mornin' Guv," Chris said cheerily, clearly oblivious to the broken moment as he spoke. "Mornin' Ma'am..."
Alex tore her eyes from Gene, snapping her head towards Chris, her body turning to the side as she smiled weakly at him. "Morning, Chris... Shaz," with a nod, she stepped out of the room, sparing only one wistful, meaningful glance back at Gene before she disappeared down the corridor.
Gene glanced over at Chris, offering him a terse nod, and then turning into his own office, leaving the younger couple alone, and clearly bewildered.
"Are they alright?" Shaz asked worriedly a second later, glancing from Gene's shuttered office, to the door that Alex had just exited through.
Chris shrugged, taking his jacket off and draping it over his chair. "Dunno... she looked a bit pale yesterday -maybe she's on the blob?"
Shaz grimaced, shaking her head in disgust. "That's revolting, Chris."
---
Alex stepped into Benji's cell tentatively, closing the door behind her and joining him on the ledge where he was seated. If it were possible, he'd lost weight since the last time she had seen him, and his acne was even worse; scars and cuts littered his face where he'd scratched at his spots, and the glasses on his nose were broken and held together by dirty sellotape. His fingers and arms were skeletal and bony, and whilst the clothes he wore were probably of a small size, they hung baggy from his shoulders, drowning him in the folds of fabric. His hair was greasy and lank, and had grown considerably since he had heard of his girlfriends' death; it now completely covered his eyes, and he had to push it out of the way when she entered the room.
"You wanted to see me?" Alex said, settling herself gingerly next to him and folding her hands in her lap. Benji nodded, biting at his stumpy nails and nodding his head.
"Yeah..." He said, gulping. "Yeah, I did."
Alex waited expectantly, watching him patiently before she said, "And...?"
He scratched at his cheek, pushed his glasses on his nose, and then shrugged. "Didn't want that DCI bloke to punch me again- thought you'd be less likely to hurt me than the others."
Alex said nothing, resisting the urge to roll her eyes at the blatantly sexist attitude and looking at him imploringly. He waited several minutes before he said anything further, and his voice was quiet. "I didn't tell you everything last time," he admitted. Alex's eyebrows rose slightly in surprise, and she could just imagine the smug look on Gene's face were he to hear him.
"Right," she said softly, "well, in that case, we'd better go to the interview room, and then you-"
"Can't I just write a statement?" He asked, looking up at her hopefully. "I'll put everything in it? It'll be quicker!"
Alex shook her head, getting to her feet quickly. "I'm afraid not; you'll have to come with me- it won't be long, providing you tell me the truth."
Benji nodded, sighing and getting to his feet; his whole body trembled as he moved towards the door, and Alex watched him nervously as she knocked against the metal and waited for Viv to let them out.
"I'm taking Mr Bragden to the interview room," she explained, glancing at the quivering teenager briefly before adding, "could you inform DCI Hunt?"
Viv nodded, offering a small quirk of the lips as he muttered, "yes Ma'am."
---
Gene was there in five minutes, slipping into the chair next to Alex without taking his eyes from Benji, who sat across the interview table with a red-faced expression of both fear and hatred. "I won't talk if he's here!" Benji said quickly, glancing frantically towards Alex, then back to Gene. Gene snorted, only to have Alex dig her heel into his toes, eliciting a sharp, pained gasp before he fell quiet, glowering at her for a brief moment as she spoke.
"I'm afraid it's procedure, Benji," she said apologetically; Gene's mouth twitched in amusement.
"You didn't have him with you all the time before!" Benji pointed out, still glowering across the table, as though by doing so Gene might simply evaporate into thin air.
"You weren't a known liar before," Gene retorted, eyes dancing with wicked mirth as Bragden shifted in his chair, gulping and grinding his jaw. Alex sighed, saying nothing as she settled back into her seat and looked pointedly across at Gene. He looked about to speak, but it was Benji that broke the silence, looking at Alex with determination in his eyes, though she thought she saw panic break through along with it.
"I won't tell you anything when he's in the room, so get someone else! I know my rights, and I don't have to-!" The teenager stopped, apparently in shock, as Gene suddenly pushed his chair backwards and stood up, moving to leave. Alex, too, looked up at him in bewildered surprise, twisting her body around to watch him as he went.
"Gene, where are you-?"
"Filin' a charge form, Bols," he answered almost instantly, though his eyes didn't meet her own, instead falling unwaveringly to Benji's face. "For perverting the course of justice an' withholding information from a senior member of Her Majesty's Police force... Hear it's about ten years for misleadin' a murder investigation these days, ain't it?" This time, he glanced companionably at Alex, exchanging a meaningful look that would have been all but invisible to anyone else; Alex felt herself beginning to grin, and instantly plastered an expression of utter seriousness across her face, composing herself quickly as she met his gaze.
"Ten?" She asked. "Is that all?" She feigned surprise as she went on. "Last I heard it could stretch to fifteen..." She trailed off, watching Benji's face crumple from confident to terrified in the space of a few seconds. Gene managed the tiniest of nods, his lip quirking upwards in wry amusement before he re-schooled his expression to one of complete impassiveness.
"Not enough if you ask me, Bols," he went on without hesitation. "Should hang the filthy scrotal rats up by a coat hanger ter the bollucks, and throw in some severe fudge-packing ponces to force out some of that shit they keep spouting..." Eyes narrowed, and after watching Benji's brow glisten with sweat, he glanced questioningly at Alex, and added, "But they brought in a law against that, didn't they?"
Fighting to keep a straight face, Alex nodded, biting down on the inside of her cheek before she spoke again. "Several years ago, wasn't it?"
Gene nodded back, pushing his chair back beneath the table as he sighed softly, "don't do it like they used to Bols, do they? Still... fifteen years should be long enough for 'em to choke a few ounces of shit out of you, 'ey Benj?" With a smirk, he turned to leave; he was at the door and reaching for the handle when Benji piped up, panicked and unnerved.
"Alright!" he said, his voice cracked. "I'm sorry, I'll tell you! I just don't want you to punch me again! I promise I'll tell you everything, just-!"
"Me?" Gene asked, feigning an innocence that caused Alex to cover her mouth in unprofessional amusement. "Punch someone?" He smiled, walking back and settling himself into his chair again. "Not me; wouldn't 'urt a fly." He reached for his cigarettes and lit up, watching Benji as he gulped and sweated across the table, his hands cupped around his trembling elbows as he sat there. Gene smoked silently, an expectant expression on his face, though he allowed Alex to break the quiet rather than do so himself.
She hit the record button on the tape machine, introduced the interview, and then looked across at Benji with a look so profoundly professional that Gene felt his trousers tighten considerably, and had to avert his eyes to avoid her seeing the guilty heat that burned in their depths.
"I need you to tell us exactly what happened; forget what you told us before, and simply tell us the truth... can you do that?" She watched Benji carefully, her eyes level and unwavering. Gene watched as the teenager shifted in his chair, as he brought a trembling hand to his mouth and started chewing at nails that had been so thoroughly gnawed in recent times, that they were now bloodied and red sore.
"I wanted to tell you before," he said eventually, gulping heavily and glancing from one to the other of them; when neither said anything, he grimaced and went on. "Look, I saw more than I said, but I still don't know who it was! I just wanted to forget about it!"
Alex nodded, folding her hands on the desk. "What happened?"
He blinked, glancing at Gene, then back at Alex, before he bit on his lip, swallowing hard before he spoke. "I did follow her, like I told you – an' I saw this new bloke with her, but I couldn't tell who he was... Just saw her chuck off her necklace and stuff and go and kiss him- he had his hood up the whole time, I really don't know who he was, I just-!"
Alex interrupted him smoothly, her voice calm and assuring. "Just tell us what you do know," she insisted softly. "We won't ask any questions just yet." She didn't look at him, but Gene knew she was sending him a silent warning; he heeded it, reluctantly, silently promising to remind her of her rank after they were finished as he settled himself more comfortably, exhaling slowly across the table as Benji spoke again, scratching at his acne and scalp as he did so.
"I didn't leave," he admitted, gulping hard. "I was going to but- I wanted to see what happened... who he was... I just- all I did was sit behind a shelf, I swear it was nothing more than that! You have to believe me, I didn't-!"
"We do," Alex assured him, nodding encouragingly. "Just tell us what you saw."
Hesitantly, he spoke again, his jaw quivering. "I didn't see much; it was dark, an'- to be honest, I wasn't exactly strainin' my eyes..."
Gene couldn't help the noise of understanding that rose in his throat at that; if Ciaran was telling the truth, he couldn't imagine Benji enjoying the display that had followed all that much.
"She showed him something," Benji murmured, "and he didn't say anything, and then they- she- they were-!" He gulped, and then whispered, "She wasn't enjoying it." A snort of amusement rose unbidden in Gene's throat, and Alex kicked him viciously beneath the table; it was Benji, though, that turned and spat at him, anger burning in his eyes. "How is that funny?" He snapped, his eyes narrowed. "She wasn't! I'd been there when she was enjoying it, and I'm telling you, she wasn't! She was practically crying for half of it, and-!"
If Alex noted the sly glance Gene sent her way, riddled with sexual undercurrents, then she said nothing, simply holding up a hand calmly and speaking to Benji in a gentle voice. "Ok... so you saw Rosa and 'Angel'"- she waggled her fingers, causing Gene to roll his eyes, "- together. Was there anything else? Any conversation? Anything at all?"
Benji gulped, and then nodded. "She kept calling him Angel... then afterwards she gave him something- a bottle, I think- and he did something to it, and then she drank whatever it was and- and-" he broke off with a rasping breath, pressing a fist to his face as he fought against the heavy flow of tears. When he had calmed himself down, his breathing labouring slightly, he spoke again, voice cracked and painful. "He said something to her... I couldn't hear it but, after a while she stopped talking, and I just- I couldn't watch any more... when I left she was asleep, and I just thought she'd be so far gone she wouldn't wake up... I left, and I didn't hear anything else until Joe came round sobbing the next morning, after you lot had found her... That's it, I swear!"
Gene raised a disbelieving eyebrow, but Alex simply nodded before speaking to him. "So you knew what Rosa intended, then?"
Benji nodded, gulping hard. "She asked me once, like I told you before; she said she knew how she wanted to go, an' when she told me, I just- I couldn't have done it however she asked me to, but it was disgusting... She didn't mention it for months, and then out of the blue she asked me again that night, and after she left I had to- I wanted to know for sure, and when he did that I- I knew what he was gunna do..."
"You could have called the police," Alex said softly, watching as the teenagers face contorted with guilt and pain. "We could have stopped anything happening to her... Why didn't you call us?"
"I couldn't," he replied plaintively. Alex and Gene both frowned, before the boy went on, shaking his head in despair. "He did what she wanted!" He whispered. "He did what I couldn't do- what I should've done for her... But I couldn't, 'cause I- I loved her too much..."
"So that's why you didn't tell us?" Alex inquired. "Because it was what Rosa wanted?"
He shrugged, gulping and glancing at his trembling hands. "I just- I'd have done anything to make her better, but I couldn't kill her, and he- whoever he was, he gave her what she wanted, and- I dunno. When she spoke about him, she was... happy, I suppose. Or happier, at least... Said things seemed better when he was there, and before I just thought they were friends, but-" he stopped, shaking his head and rubbing at his forehead with one hand. "I knew something was going on, but I didn't think he was gunna kill her- at least not at first... I just thought she was making herself feel better..."
"So you knew she was shaggin' this other bloke?" Gene frowned, crossing his arms over his chest. Benji nodded, swallowing hard and keeping his eyes on the desk. "An' you didn't mind?"
"Of course I minded!" he retorted, glowering at the older man. "But she was happy, and she didn't end things with me, so I just thought it was a phase, or something! She didn't love him, she just- she just spoke about him like he was a way to get what she wanted, a way of making herself feel better that didn't involve anybody else... and that made her feel better."
Alex glanced at Gene, then back at Benji. "How do you mean?" She asked softly, leaning forwards slightly and crinkling her eyebrows in confusion.
Benji bit his lip, tears glistening in his eyes; he waited several moments before he spoke, and when he finally did it, his voice was small, cracked and hurt. "She wasn't perfect, alright?" he whispered finally. "She could be a manipulative cow sometimes, and she knew how to rub people up the wrong way, how to get on their good side, how to hurt you... Me, Amanda and Joe, we were the only ones she trusted – I mean, really trusted. This 'Angel' bloke... she didn't like him- not really. He made her happy because he gave her things- things I couldn't..."
"Like the money in her bank?" Alex asked. Benji nodded, otherwise ignoring the interruption as he carried on.
"She knew Joe and Amanda wouldn't help her, and once she asked me and I said no, she realized she had to play on someone's feelings, someone who had nothing to gain from her... She only had to convince him that he'd lose everything if she stuck around, and that was it..."
"So you knew she was using him?"
"No," he said, shaking his head vigorously... After a moment, he bit his lip. "At least..." he started, then gulped. "Not at first...not for ages... I just- I figured it out after a while. She'd come back smiling, but she'd have to wash afterwards before she'd touch me. She'd be on the phone and put on this voice that wasn't genuine, but that'd convince someone else it was... She'd hang up and sigh really heavily, like she was exhausted and tired... She'd talk about him, and she'd be smiling and happy, but annoyed too. She'd say she liked him, but how he did this annoying thing where he'd pretend I'd never existed, try and insist that she broke up with me..."
"So you're saying that your Missus openly told you that some other bloke was sniffing about in her skirt?" Gene asked, frowning.
"She wasn't exactly trying to be sly about it," Benji replied, grinding his teeth without meeting Gene's gaze.
"And you stuck with her?" Gene asked in bewilderment.
"She was dying!" Benji snapped.
"Still alive enough to screw with your head though, weren't she?"
"Gene, maybe-?" Alex stopped when Gene lifted a hand, watching as he leaned forward to speak to the younger man.
"'cause we've got a bloke in custody, who says just the same thing about her relationship with you as you say about his with her; you didn't understand, you wouldn't help, you wouldn't talk about it with her..." Gene shook his head slowly, meeting Benji's glistening eyes with his own. "Sorry to tell you, sonny, but if you're both tellin' us the truth, then she was playin' the pair of you like a game of poker... An' she didn't care who she hurt, as long as she got what she wanted from one of you..." He watched the teenager carefully, seeing his jaw quiver, his Adam's apple rise and fall, his hands tremble and his eyes leak...
"She loved me," Benji replied, his voice oddly strong, despite the uncertainty of his body language. "I know she did..."
"Maybe," Gene said, voice softening, "but she was still twangin' your strings like a fiddler with epilepsy." He went to leave, standing up from his chair and nodding briefly at Alex before he went to the door. A moment later, a chair had scraped against the floor and flown into the wall, and two weak, bony arms were being wrapped around Gene's neck. In the glass panel of the door, he could just make out the reflection of Benji's grief stricken, even as he grunted against the pressure on his throat and stood stock still in the boys grasp.
"She loved me!" Benji sobbed, tears streaking down his cheeks as he tightened his arms slightly, his voice venomous and pathetic all at once. Gene said nothing, his body rigid as the teenager clung to him almost desperately, painfully..."You don't understand!" Benji went on. "I knew her! She loved me! She needed me! I know she did!" Gene stood still as Benji spoke, his own breathing shallow as he answered with difficulty, lifting one hand to stop Alex interrupting after seeing her leap to her feet.
"No," Gene murmured, lifting his hands to Benji's arms and pressing his fingers between the bones at his wrists, forcing his grip to slacken enough for Gene to breathe. "You were just easy meat; just some bloke, who might give her what she wanted, if she let yer have a quick shag..." Benji's hands tightened again, but Gene spoke anyway, gulping hard and grinding out his breaths, fighting the instinct to throw the teenager off him as he tried his best to make him see sense.
"She wanted to die," he managed, his fingers still gripping tight against Benji's wrists. "And she was too bloody selfish to do it herself ..." Benji's arms trembled at Gene's throat, tightening against his hold and pressing into his oesophagus for the briefest of moments, before they fell away, and he fell back from Gene, sobbing and choking.
Gene turned, oddly overcome with a mixture of relief and worry, rubbing his neck and taking a deep, ragged breath, before the sobbing teenager fell unexpectedly forwards, his knees buckling beneath him as he rasped and spluttered in grief and despair.
Gene caught him before he hit the floor, bracing Benji firmly by the shoulders and grimacing against his own discomfort as the sobbing boy leaned helplessly into his shoulder, tears streaming down his cheeks and onto Gene's blazer. Over the top of his head, Gene saw Alex, her eyes searching for Gene's own and asking silent questions, full of worry and concern.
"Its fine," he muttered, glancing briefly at Benji as the teenager grasped at his blazer in unashamed grief. When Gene looked back at Alex, he nodded again. "Its fine," he repeated, his left arm around Benji's shoulders as his right hand reached out for Alex's, taking assurance in the warm glance of her fingertips as she squeezed back at him.
As she did so, Benji let out another gut-wrenching sob, and Gene dropped Alex's fingers from his own a moment later, bracing the boys head with his hands, glancing down at the painfully skinny frame as it shook and trembled against him, before tightening his hand as reassuringly as he could in the youngsters lank hair.
"You're gunna be fine," Gene told him firmly, though his throat was dry as he did so. "You'll be fine..."
----
Another big thank you to Vintage1983 for beta-ing this chapter for me!
Thanks to Novindalf for the heads up on the 'perverting justice' malarkey!
Anyway, hope the first bit of this chapter went some way to resolving the arguments of the last update, and who knows, maybe they'll find the time to make up properly next time... :P
As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the chapter :-)
Mage of the Heart