Miranda almost spit her coffee out after hearing Mal's excuse to get into the Uber; the girl had shared that Ben had some problems with his family and that Mal felt sad that she couldn't help him. The girl made it clear that she was not blaming him and that giving him space seemed like the better option now that he had Lonnie with him. Miranda agreed that family problems took some time to share with people; few people were comfortable talking about them openly, and although she was one of them, Miranda knew that everyone had a different way to handle those types of issues. Then they talked about the Boston trip; in the beginning, Miranda would join Mal on the trip and share accommodations, but when the girl texted her sharing that she invited Ben, Miranda was happy for her friend. She booked a hotel room and was ready to not spend time with her friend on the trip so Mal and Ben could enjoy their first trip as a couple.

Now Mal didn't know if Ben was up to join her and fell to find a way to ask him. "You should talk to him and be open about your doubts; offer him an out, assuring him that you would understand if he doesn't feel up to going but that you would like him to. Not much pressure, but still, you made it clear that you want him to go with you."

Mal nodded and went back to her work, making a point to put her alarm so she didn't lose track of time and forget to get home early enough to talk with Ben. At eight, she was getting out of the car and walking the path to their front door; Mal was nervous, but she reminded herself that if Ben back out of the trip wouldn't mean he wanted out of their relationship but that he needed extra time to process what was happening with his parents.

When she opened the door, the voices coming from the dining room made her realize that more people were in the house. Mal focused on recognizing them, and soon enough, she was sure that Azis, Ryder, and even Jay were talking with Ben and Lonnie. Suddenly she was mad, so this wasn't just a close friend's topic; this was everyone but her topic. Then she shook her head, trying to be open-minded, maybe Azis and Ryder were as close as Jay was, but there was something in her that didn't believe it. Slowly she closed the door, trying not to make noise, and then made her way to the second floor; apparently, they were all focused so much on the conversation that they didn't see her cross the stairs.

Mal was equally relieved and annoyed, and at that point, she knew that her emotions were all over the place, and she was not in the right set of mind to talk to anyone. Putting away her things and finishing getting ready for her trip tomorrow, she put her AirPods on and tried to focus on the music. After that, she changed into her pj's and took out the clothes she planned to use the next day to travel. In an effort to calm herself, Mal took out her journal and started writing about the day until the music cut off, announcing an incoming call from Ben; taking a deep breath, she answered, and the boy asked her if she was coming home soon.

"I'm in my room finishing some things. Whenever you want to talk, come up." Ben was shocked and asked why she didn't say hi to him. "I didn't want to interrupt you guys, and I needed to put some things away." She could hear him coming up, and Mal felt like screaming; she definitely wasn't ready to talk to him, but the time was here. When the knock came, Mal ended the call, took a deep breath, got ready for the conversation, and opened the door.

"Are you mad?" Mal wanted to say yes, but she ended up saying no. "I think you are, you left early, and I'm almost sure you cried; that's why I try to talk to you, so please be honest with me."

"I'm not mad; I wanted to give you space. I could see that you weren't comfortable sharing the conversation you had with your dad, and I understand having problems with your parents, so I'm not going to push you to talk about it with me if you don't feel like you can be open. When Jay called, you walked away, so I came upstairs, and after taking a shower, I fell asleep and then realized that I had work to do. I was going to work downstairs and asked you if you wanted to listen to something, but Lonnie was there, so I guess that was another chance for you to talk about the situation without me on the way. That's why I left, and honestly, the uber ranking might sound dumb, but I care about it. Now I came home, and Jay is here, and your other friends, so I went on my way, and I knew you would look for me when you were ready to talk. I'm guessing you want to tell me you will not come with me to Boston, and it is ok; Ben, with Jay here, there is no logic in you going away now." Ben stared at the girl and took a step closer, and Mal fought the instinct to take a step back, not wanting to put the same physical space that she felt they had put emotionally.

"You are mad, and I'm sorry I made you feel like I didn“t trust you, but there are so many layers to this that I needed to process it before sharing it with you." Mal nodded and told the boy that it was ok to need space, she understood him, and it was ok. "No, don't say it is ok. You are hurt, and I never wanted to do that, Mal. I'm sorry."

Lonnie's and Jay's voices could be heard loudly on the stairs telling Ben to stop calling Mal; if the girl didn't see that this was a time to stand by him, he should not push the situation. "Whenever she is here, we'll tell her what we think of how she acted, and honestly, Ben, you should focus on how things are getting better. You are not only not suspended, but you will get paid these days and your overtime." Then they stopped because they saw the couple standing there looking at each other, they said hi to Mal, and the girl said hi back, telling the couple that they could tell her all their opinions tomorrow morning because she was going to sleep now. Mal turned towards Ben and wished him a good day at his job and closed the door in their faces.

Ben turned to look at Jay and Lonnie, telling them that he had already said that Mal wasn't ignoring him; he had asked the girl not to talk about the call. He went downstairs knowing that Ryder and Azis were still there, and he wanted to ask them to please leave because he was going to try to apologize to Mal. Ben was sure that the girl must be assuming he said something to his friends that made them think like that, and he honestly didn't say anything about her. After his call with Jay, he went upstairs, knocked on her door opening, and saw her sleeping Ben stood there staring at her for a couple of minutes. His dad was wrong about everything he accused him of, but the worst things were about Mal; Adam had no clue how amazing she was and how he would never let him talk badly about her ever again. Ben had said that on the call, and this was the first time his father was quiet in the entire conversation. Belle used that moment to intervene, calm both men down, and explain the call that had originated Adam's outburst. That's when Ben explained what was happening with his work and how it was an unfair punishment and temporary; he went on to assure his mom that the only person he was dating was Mal, and he had no idea what all those lies were about.

Belle asked Adam if Gaston told him the name of his supposed ex-girlfriend, but Adam said he didn't remember and tried to go into the attack again, this time being stopped by his wife, who told him that he had made enough of a mess now. Ben was at a loss of who or why someone would create this situation, but he hoped that his mom would calm his dad enough for him to understand that Gaston was lying to him. However, the boy was rethinking his trip to visit his parents that year, he didn't want to be near his family, and they always visited relatives.

After he checked on Mal, Ben received a call from Ryder, and they talked about how some people in the office were telling him how John was making a mess of everything, and Andrew was trying to get other people to help them, but they all decline because of their projects. HR had checked the videos and noticed that John was leaving when they stayed and that Mal never entered the office; after that, someone from HR focused on John's working hours and found that he was constantly late. Apparently, they were interviewing Andrew about the situation and were ready to ask the man to take his complaint out and focus on explaining his preferential treatment of John.

Ben was still talking with Ryder when Lonnie arrived home, and the boy promised to visit Ben later in the evening with Azis so they could talk more about the situation. Lonnie hugged the boy the moment he finished the call and asked him about the call with his dad; Ben was in the middle of telling her about it when Mal came downstairs, ready to go out. The boy thought it was weird that she was going out when they had planned to spend the day together, but then he noticed her eyes. They were a little puffy, and Ben wondered if hearing all the things his dad said about her made the girl cry, and he felt anger filling him up. The urge of the girl to leave only made him more sure about his assumption, so he tried to talk to her, but then he decided to give her space.

Jay came near seven o clock, surprising him, and they went over the call; when Ryder and Azis came, they talked about the HR email when they were asked to go back to work the next day and join a new team. Even when he was participating in all the conversation, his mind went back to Mal and how she was feeling, so by eight-thirty, she couldn't take it anymore and called her just to find out she was in her room.

Ryder asking him what was going on took him out of his memories, and Ben thanked his friends for coming but asked them to leave, promising to explain the situation the next day at work. Both boys nodded and said goodbye; Ben turned to go upstairs when Jay and Lonnie came to stand in front of him, ready to argue, but the boy stopped them telling them that he would talk with them again tomorrow, but now he wanted to speak with Mal.

Ben went upstairs, stopped at her door, and sent her a text asking her to please talk to him; it took almost two minutes, but the door opened, and Mal stood in front of the boy, telling him to come in. The second he was into the room, he closed the door and turned to look at the girl that hugged him as hard as she could, apologizing for making him feel bad. Ben hugged her back and assured her that she didn't need to apologize; the entire situation was messed up, and he just wanted them to be ok. Finally, they let go of each other, and Ben took Mal's hand and took them to sit on her bed there; he shared the entire call with her; he told her how he ended up fighting with his dad until her mom managed to get in the conversation and helped them calm down enough for him to share the actual information with them. "I was ashamed that you heard us fighting, especially when he acted like he knew our relationship."

Mal assured Ben that she wouldn't judge his dad for what he said and thanked the boy for defending them; however, she asked the boy if they knew who the girl was that lied about being his girlfriend. "Nope, that's the weirdest thing my dad says; he doesn't remember if my uncle shared her name with him. The only good news was that I get to go back to work tomorrow."

The girl smiled, knowing how important his job was to the boy, and asked him to share the details; soon, they were talking about the news, and Mal couldn't help but cheer, knowing that John was going to get in trouble which made Ben smile. The boy leaned and captured her lips, moving the girl so she could lay with him on top of her; Mal responded eagerly to the kiss, happy to be close to the boy. Suddenly the fact that she was supposed to be at the airport at 5 came rushing back to the front of her mind. She regretfully found herself pushing the boy, making him stop immediately and apologize for assuming she wanted to go further. "No, Ben, don't apologize. I do want to, but I have to be at the airport at five, and it is close to ten, so I think I should go to sleep, and you should go to your room."

"Oh, right. I'm sorry I can't come with you. I promised I'll pay you back for the ticket. " Mal told him not to worry; she bought it with miles and was happy that he could go back to work. Then she stood up and offered her hand, telling Ben that she would call him when she made it to Boston, and they could text or call whenever he was available. Ben took the girl's hand and, turning it around, kissed her palm, making the girl shiver, "Let me stay with you. I promise we can go to sleep and I'll take you to the airport tomorrow. Please?"

Mal bit her lip, she asked him if he was sure, and Ben leaned and kissed her again, bringing her as close as possible and whispering that aside from going to sleep right away, he was sure. Mal smiled, and they kissed, agreeing that sleep could wait; in the end, the couple stayed awake for a while, and Ben took Mal to the airport early the following day. They both stood in line in Starbucks at the airport, with Ben hugging the girl from behind with his eyes closed. When they turned came, the boy waited for Mal to order, and then he order and gave his card and paid before she could; then together moved to wait, and Mal was about to complain when he kissed her again.

"We both need the coffee, and I don't regret the reason why so let me pay for it, ok?" Mal blushed and nodded telling him that she didn't regret feeling sleepy either; they drank most of the coffee, walking around the few open stores until it was time for her to go through security. Mal drank the last of her coffee and hugged her boyfriend, wishing him a great day at work and promising to call him as soon as she made it to Boston. Ben kissed her again and told her not to worry and that he would see her on Tuesday when she returned.

Ben made his way back to his car and then went on his way to pick up Ryder and Azis, who he texted, asking them for more coffee. The day went fast, and when Ben was making his way back to his desk after lunch, his phone rang with a call from Mal; he looked around and saw that most people were still out, so he smiled and answered. "Hey, that was the longest flight ever, and I didn't even get to sleep. I'm waiting for my bag before asking for my car to get to the hotel."

Ben couldn't help the smile that hearing her brought to his face, and he told her to be careful and that he was already missing her. They talked until Mal's car arrived, and she needed to get off the phone; she shared with Ben that she was supposed to go say hi to some people before checking into the hotel, but then she planned not to leave the suite for the rest of the day.

"Call me before you go to sleep, ok?" Mal agreed and ended the call. Ben continued to work and then, with his friends, made his way to a bar where Jay and Lonnie were waiting for them. Soon they were laughing and having a great time until Lonnie started posting pictures of them tagging Mal so she could see Ben. After twenty minutes after she posted the first one, Shelby magically appeared on the bar and went toward them, looking shocked.

"Ben, I thought you were leaving on a trip today. I guess things didn't work out as you planned?" Something in her tone irked Ben, but taking a deep breath, he told her that he had to change his plans. His phone rang, and Mal's face appeared on his screen; he turned to his friends, showing them the screen, telling them that he would be back later, and made his way out of the bar. Ben said hi to Mal, asking her how she was doing, when he felt a hand on his shoulder making him turn, and suddenly Shelby was kissing him.