LOVE IS A GIFTED FLOWER | Ben X Luna ~ Fate: The Winx Saga

Chapter 7 - Passport To Oblivion

It was very late this evening when Farah and Saul found some privacy in their room. Ben had been at their place for several days, depressed. The Queen was still in a coma and the police had been able to clear the botany professor of any wrongdoing in the fire in his suite, which was already being renovated.
Many journalists had tried to infiltrate the school the day after the tragedy, but had finally given up.

The couple took advantage of this moment of privacy to indulge in a few cuddles without really being in the mood to do so.

"Honey, I'm worried about Ben," murmured the mind fairy, who was getting multiple sensual kisses on the neck. "He's in really bad shape, he's having a breakdown and I'm afraid he's going to do something bad."

Her husband hugged her tenderly in a comforting and protective manner.

"I don't believe it, I know he'd do anything to see Luna again, he's stable," he reassured her before nibbling her ear. "And we're here for him."

"Maybe you're right, but I still feel guilty about cuddling when he's in the next room suffering from the absence of the woman he loves," she admitted, embarrassed.

Saul placed his hand on his wife's cheek, caressing it with his fingertips.

"Farah love, I understand your point of view, but we're not going to end our married life because our best friend is sleeping in the living room. I feel a bit guilty too, but life must go on."

She smiled at him, obviously convinced, and loosened the straps of her nightie, before the Specialist's skilful hands took over.

***

In the main room, Ben was lying on the sofa in total darkness, plagued by negative thoughts. He hadn't heard from the clinic, from Luna, he didn't know if she was still in a coma or if she had woken up. Not knowing was the worst thing in a relationship.
He imagined her lying in that bed, alone, in the middle of that sterile room, bandages covering most of her body, hiding that terrible image that would haunt him for the rest of his life.
He remembered her body against his on the sofa, her floral fragrance and above all, their most sensual and painful kisses. It hurt like hell.

Ben suddenly heard a steady creak coming from the next room, accompanied from time to time by a slight moan.
It was the most natural thing in the world, the thing he might never share with the woman he was in love with.
His heart sank and tears began to roll down his cheeks. In his situation, hearing his friends make love was torture.
At that moment he thought of the cabinet full of bottles. He had something to drown his sorrows in.

He got up, lit the bedside lamp on the stool that served as a nightstand and went to the cabinet.
He chose a bottle of whisky and a bottle of vodka, before coming back to the sofa.
He started with the stronger alcohol and took a sip. It burned his throat, he preferred herbal liquors, but he continued to sip the bottle.

After a while his head began to spin, he was no longer himself. Yet he kept on drinking the alcoholic beverages until he lost consciousness and fell into a deep coma.

***

The next day was Sunday, and the two lovers had taken the opportunity to sleep in.
As they walked through the living room to the kitchen to have breakfast, they were not surprised to see their friend still asleep late in the morning. Since Luna had been at the clinic, he had been taking sleeping pills and often slept until late, sometimes the afternoon.
The couple sat down at the table after preparing tea and soft-boiled eggs, which they planned to eat with bread.

"Shouldn't we go and wake Ben up?" questioned the fairy, dipping her bread stick. "It would be nice if he could have breakfast with us."

Saul nodded and winked at her and stood up.

"I'll see if he'll accept to get up."

The Specialist walked over to the sofa and put his hand on his friend's arm, shaking him slightly.

"Ben, won't you come and have a good breakfast with us?" he whispered.

No sound came out of his mouth, and his body seemed completely still.
The smell of alcohol suddenly rose to Farah's husband's nostrils and, when he looked down, he noticed two empty bottles under the coffee table.
Alarmed, he listened to the earth fairy's breathing, which was very slow, before taking his pulse.
Saul's heart raced: his friend had taken advantage of the night to drown his sorrows in alcohol, so much so that he had lost consciousness.

"Farah! Can you come here, please!" he cried in panic. "Ben is in an alcoholic coma!"

Surprised, the fairy dropped her bread stick in her egg and rushed into the living room.

"What?!" she exclaimed, overwhelmed by events. "Ben!"

She grabbed his wrist in turn to check his pulse.

"He drank both bottles last night, and it's whisky and vodka," her husband informed her, pointing to the bottles on the floor.

The fairy turned her head towards him and the couple exchanged a worried look.

"We should have known he'd do something stupid," she muttered reproachfully.

"I'm sorry, Farah," he apologised flatly, taking her hand. "It's my fault, I should have listened to you. Well, I'll call the ambulance."

He took out his phone but his wife stopped him from calling.

"Wait, Saul, I don't know if it's a good idea to take him away by ambulance. If this story gets back to the students and other staff, especially Andreas, it could be damaging to him, especially in terms of his career."

The headmaster sighed, very annoyed. How were they going to save their friend?

"So, what do we do?" he asked, concerned.

***

Stella had spent the whole morning with Andreas in his office, talking about her mother. The light fairy was suffering more and more from her absence and she trusted Andreas, who had become a father figure. Since the accident she had confided in him regularly and this morning they had discussed her mom's relationship with Ben. The girl still had not changed her mind about her teacher, whom she kept blaming for the fire.

Suddenly her phone rang. Was it the clinic? She hoped it wasn't bad news.
Trembling, she timidly picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Princess Stella of Solaria?" replied a female voice.

The fairy swallowed hard, dreading what she was about to be told.

"Yes, it's me."

"This is the Royal Peace Clinic, I'm calling to tell you that your mother has woken up," the secretary explained. "You may visit her during scheduled hours, and as you are a minor, you can choose someone to accompany you, but it must be the same person each time, the protocol is very strict."

Stella gave a cry of joy, relieved by this good news. She was finally going to see her mom again.

"Great, I already know who I'm going with," she retorted, staring at Andreas, her eyes sparkling. "Thank you, goodbye."

She hung up before rushing into the Specialist's arms, laughing.

"My mom is alive and we can both go and see her!" she rejoiced, hopping.

Andreas smiled: everything was going as planned, and he would finally have Luna to himself.