𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴, 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 (𝘣𝘹𝘣)

forty one

Anna crosses her arms. "You lied to me."

Damien and Anna had stepped into a different room to talk while the rest of them stayed at the table. Though, they were being loud enough for everyone to hear. 

"I didn't fucking lie! But you had no right to speak to my son. He's my fucking son, not yours and it's none of your damn business."

"That's not the point, Damien! Benjamin told me. He told me almost everything. Left out most of the details for your sake."

"He's a liar. I've told you before that kid wants pity! Have I ever made Jade or Anthony uncomfortable? Is Nessa afraid of me? No!"

"But Benjamin is! You don't care bout him, you've made that abundantly clear." Anna shakes her head.

Damien steps closer to her. "Excuse me?"

"What about Jade, huh? Are you just fake supporting her sexuality? Or are you only okay with it if it's not Benjamin? Do you have some weird thing against him? Or is it solely because he's gay?"

"Wow...You're gonna bring this stupid shit up." Damien rolls his eyes.

"I just find it weird how you can tell me and Jade you support her for being bisexual but can't stand your own sons being gay." Anna shrugs.

"Fuck you, Anna. You have no right to intrude on my fucking life."

"We're married! We have a daughter! What do you mean I can't intrude on your life? I don't want you anywhere near Nessa."

Benjamin takes a long sip from his cup before setting it down on the table. He looks over to his mom and shakes his head. "This is awkward."

Olivia nods her head. "Yeah, beyond."

Nessa wakes up from all the screaming, beginning to cry. Benjamin looks over to the living room before getting up to pick her up.

"Hey, it's okay." He smiles at her.

Benjamin hadn't spent much time with Nessa, given the circumstances with his father, but she knew him enough to stop crying.

Benjamin sits back in his seat, fixing her hair. Noah looks at her and smiles, handing her his phone so she can play with it.

Benjamin turns back to his mom. "Can you stop them from arguing?"

Olivia sighs. "What do you want me to say?"

"I dunno but this is personal. Like between them? They should just go home or something."

Just then, Damien storms away from Anna, walking directly to Benjamin. "You just have to always fuck everything up, huh?"

Benjamin looks up at his dad and shakes his head. "I'm not doing this with you. I didn't do anything."

"You want me to say I'm fucking sorry? Well, I'm fucking sorry Benjamin! Sorry, you can't get whatever the fuck you want! Sorry, you can't have everything always go your fucking way."

Benjamin just stared at his dad. "You can't blame me for the things you did to me?"

"What? Punishing you? Like children are supposed to be?"

"If you're calling it punishment you may want to rethink who you are as a parent." He responds.

"Don't get fucking smart with me, Benjamin. God, you're such a fucking mistake. My life would be so much better without you in it!"

Benjamin nods his head. "Okay."

"And you know what? You deserve what you got! I don't regret a thing. But I can promise you right now if you fucked up my marriage I-."

Olivia shakes her head. "Stop speaking to him like that, Damien!"

"Why? You should've never had him! Fucking piece of shit." Damien watches as Anna walks back into the kitchen, her face full of tears. "I'm going home. I'll see you later."

Damien storms out of the house, slamming the door shut. Anna walks around to Benjamin, shaking her head. "I'm so sorry."

Benjamin just smiles and shrugs. "No, it's fine," He looks down at Nessa, "I think she wants her mom."

*
Noah and Benjamin were cleaning up the kitchen. After Damien had left, Anna was an emotional wreck. She was too afraid to go home, so Olivia was cleaning out the guest bedroom for her and Nessa.

Noah brings over two more plates to the sink, setting them down. He glances at Benjamin. "You alright?"

Benjamin nods his head as he rinsed off a plate. "Mhm."

"Bebes," Noah reaches forward to turn off the water. "Can you talk to me for a second?"

"I promise. I mean, it sucks, and no matter how many times he says stuff like that it hurts but...I'm okay."

"Okay. You don't have any urges to like...You know?" Noah tries, hoping to tiptoe around the subject.

"No, I'm okay. I'm trying to do what my therapist said to do, try and ignore it."

"How's that working?"

"Pretty good, I think. I just...I don't know. This is kind of all my fault. I shouldn't have said anything to them. I was just so angry yesterday and...Needed to get it off my chest."

"Hey, this isn't your fault. All that shit your dad said isn't true. You didn't deserve any of that shit. You were a child. And he deserved every word you gave him."

Benjamin shrugs. "I didn't mean to mess up his marriage or anything. I didn't mean to hurt Anna."

"You did not hurt Anna. Damien hurt Anna. When he lied, and lied, and hurt you. Okay?"

Benjamin nods with teary eyes. He grabs Noah's hand and smiles. "Noah?"

"Yeah?" Noah asks, looking down at him.

"I-...I love you."

Noah starts to smile, letting out a small laugh in contentment. "I love you too, bebe. Always, forever."

Benjamin leans in and kisses him twice before pulling away. Olivia walks into the kitchen. "Oh, hey guys. You didn't have to clean up."

Benjamin turns to his mom, wiping under his eyes. "We wanted to. Sorry for making your house drama central."

Olivia frowns and steps closer to Benjamin. "Don't listen to your father, Benjamin. It's okay."

Benjamin shakes his head. "No, I know. I'm fine, promise. How is Anna doing?"

"She's sad...and Scared. We're gonna let her stay in the guest room for a little while."

"That's good."

"Are you sure you're okay? Do you guys wanna stay the night too?"

Benjamin shakes his head. "No, we're okay. Plus, we have a pie and a bottle of wine waiting for us at the apartment. It's calling my name."

Noah chuckles a little. "Oh, shit. I totally forgot about that."

Olivia nods. "Okay. Let me know if you need anything, alright?" She leans in and hugs Benjamin.

Zach then also appears in the kitchen. "Anna and Nessa are in the guest room. I gave them some more blankets. How's everything here?"

Benjamin smiles. "We're good. Thanks for asking."

Zach nods and lets out a long breath. "God, that man is ridiculous. If I was still in my 20s I would've jumped over the table and beat the shit-."

"Zach!" Olivia turns to him, shaking her head.

Zach puts his hands up in surrender. "My bad. It's late."

Benjamin laughs at him. "We should get going. Sorry for this whole fiasco. Promise we can have a civilized family dinner soon." Benjamin leans in to hug Zach.

Zach smiles and pats his back a few times. "Alright, Kiddo. You guys have a nice night, okay?"

"We will. Thanks, Zach." Benjamin pulls away before nodding at Noah as they walk back out.

**