Long Away

Chapter 46

As they had said, Freddie and Clare showed up at Ben and Roger's house after a while. They were both a little annoyed that they had been searching for so long for nothing. It was one of those situations where Ben wished mobile phones had been invented sooner.
To thank the two for their efforts, Ben made dinner for everyone. While he was busy in the kitchen, Roger told his sister and Freddie what had happened. As expected, they were both furious.

"What is going on in this woman's head?", Clare spewed angrily.
Ben walked back into the living room with a stack of plates in his hands.
"I don't know. And I don't think I want to," Roger said in a tired voice.
He sat curled up in a corner of the sofa, with his arms wrapped around a pillow, gazing at the floor. The distraught look in his eyes was a painful sight for Ben.

"We have to put an end to this. I will not let her keep hurting you," he said firmly. There was a lot more he would have liked to add, but he was trying his best not to let his anger take over right now. Roger was anxious enough as it was. Freddie shifted in his seat.
"Say, you don't happen to know where she lives, do you?"

Clare looked at him with peaked interest.
Ben, who was setting the plates down on the table, shook his head.
"Well, actually," Roger hesitantly countered.
Ben raised an eyebrow at him.
"You do?"
"She told me. In case I ever wanted to visit."
Clare snorted.
"Well, I certainly wouldn't mind paying her a little visit."
Roger gave her a skeptical glance.
"And then what?"
"Oh, nothing. I just wanna talk," Clare said with a suspiciously innocent smile.

"No, seriously," Ben said.
"If you want us to go, I'm all for it, but what do we do then?"
"I'd really prefer it if we didn't," Roger murmured.
"Of course you don't have to come with us," Ben assured him.
"Yeah, we'll handle this ourselves," Freddie agreed.

Ben finished up cooking and served the food. They would need to strengthen themselves before carrying out their, admittedly not particularly well thought through, plan.
While Clare and Freddie were eagerly discussing the best way to scare Emma into keeping her distance, Roger was rather quiet throughout the meal.
"And you are okay with us talking to her?", Ben asked him after a while. He had a feeling his boyfriend wouldn't say anything if he wasn't comfortable with the idea.

Roger shrugged.
"I mean, you can. It probably won't help though."
"Why would you think that?" Freddie tilted his head.
"I just don't think anything you say will make a difference," Roger sighed.
"For all we know, she already started spreading the word. And even if not, what's going to stop her from doing that as soon as you leave?"
"You do have a point," Ben admitted.
"But we can't just let her get away with this either."
Roger hummed quietly, expressing neither approval nor opposition.

"We can find a different approach if-", Ben began, but Roger interrupted him in a frustrated tone.
"Ben. I don't care what you do. I just don't want to be a part of it. I'm tired. I don't want to think about her anymore. I just want this day to be over already."
"Right. I'm sorry," Ben murmured sheepishly.
"No," Roger backed off, shaking his head at himself.
"I'm sorry. I really appreciate you wanting to help. I just need a break."
Ben reached across the table to take Roger's hands in his.
"I know. It's okay."

They finished eating and Freddie helped Ben to clean up. Roger wrote down Emma's address for them. She didn't live far from the ice skating rink where they had run into her the first time. If only they had never gone there, Ben thought, as he slipped the note into the pocket of his jacket. Freddie and Claire were already waiting for him in the hallway, all too eager to get going.

"I will try to be back soon, love." Ben brought his lips to up to Roger's in a gentle kiss.
"Sleep well," he added.
"I will try. Promise you'll be careful?"
"I promise," Ben said.
Roger pulled Ben into a tight embrace.
"I love you," he mumbled against the fabric covering Ben's shoulder.
"And I love you," Ben whispered back.
Roger followed him to the door where he said his goodbye's to Clare and Freddie.

"You be careful too," he warned his sister.
"I will kick your ass if you get yourself in trouble for me."
Clare laughed.
"Like you could."
"Don't you worry, I will keep my eyes on these two," Freddie said.
Roger sighed.
"So I do have to worry."
Freddie opened his mouth to say something, but thought better of it.
"You know what, maybe that's fair," he admitted after a second.
"No," Ben vehemently shook his head. He knew that Freddie was joking, but Roger's nerves didn't need to be tested.
"I promised we'd be careful, so we will."
Ben hugged Roger one last time before they left.

They had to wait quite a while for the bus. By the time they reached the other stop, it was already dark outside. As Ben was the only one who didn't really know his way around, he followed after the other two. He felt anxiousness rising in his chest when he spotted a sign with the street name Roger had written down. They were getting close, and he was anything but ready to face Emma.
"I think it's that house there." Freddie pointed at a building just a couple of meters ahead.

"Wait a second," Ben whispered. Clare and Freddie spun around.
"We didn't think this through. If she sees us standing in front of her door, she is not going to open."
"What if I go alone?", Clare suggested.
"You two can wait around the corner."
"I don't know," Ben nervously mumbled. So much about being careful. He couldn't just send Clare alone.
"What else are we supposed to do?", she challenged him.
"How about we come out right when Emma opens the door?", Freddie helped her out.

"Okay." Ben exhaled sharply.
"Nervous?", Freddie asked him.
"You could say that."
"Then let's get this over with," Clare whispered sternly. Without wasting any more time, she darted across the street.
Ben swallowed. A little slower, he and Freddie followed. They made sure to stay in the shadows of the neighboring houses. Clare gave them a thumbs up after checking the house number. Freddie pulled Ben behind a fence. They cowered down on the cold concrete. Through the gaps between the wood planks, they could see Clare pressing down the door bell.

It didn't take long before someone opened. Light from inside the house fell on Clare's face.
"Now," Ben hissed. The two men jumped up and sprinted over to the entrance. Emma gasped when she saw them. Her hand flinched towards the door to close it, but Ben was faster. Without thinking, he pushed it all the way open, forcing Emma to step back.
When he saw her face, the same shocked face she made when he had walked in on her harassing his beloved boyfriend, his anger took over. He stepped inside and pushed her against the wall.
"Ben!", Freddie called out, but he was too furious to pay attention.

Emma squirmed, trying to free herself from Ben's grip, but he didn't budge.
"Get away from me!", she yelled.
"You will stay away from Roger," Ben growled.
"If there is any talk about us dating, I will come back, and you are going to pay for what you did."
Ben retrieved his right arm, clenching his hand into a fist. Emma's eyes widened.
"Now, now. You wouldn't hit a woman, would you?" She laughed nervously.

Ben hesitated. What was he doing? As if she could sense his uncertainty, Clare pushed herself between him and Emma.
"Well, I would," she stated. Her voice was calm, contrasting the vicious glint in her eyes. Clare may have been a head shorter than Emma, but that did nothing to lessen the impact her anger had on her.
"W-who are you?", Emma stammered.
"You chose to mess with my brother," Clare indirectly answered her question.
"Now you are messing with me. Do not make a mistake. If you want to keep that pretty jaw of yours straight, I better not hear another complaint about you. Have I been clear?"
Emma swallowed.
"You have," she voiced under her breath.
Clare smiled and stepped back.
"Good. I believe we are done here, gentlemen."

***
Hey guys!
I am sorry this chapter was late again. I have been struggling to write consistently, and I don't know if I can continue with weekly updates as before. The only thing I can promise is that I will finish this story, and that I will post new chapters as soon as I can without rushing them too much. I hope you understand.

Tay