𝐅𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 828 || 𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐅𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐈𝐌𝐀𝐆𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐒

𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 || 𝐛𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐞

after the murder of grace and the kidnapping of eden, ben almost never came out of his room. you hadn't seen him eat anything in days. he didn't pay an ounce of attention to his two kids.

zeke and mick had already tried, but to no avail. he wasn't budging. this wasn't healthy, and it was taking a toll on everyone living in the house.

you were pouring syrup over your pancakes as zeke began to speak to you.

"hey, y/n, do you think you could do me a favor?" he asks, pouring you a glass of orange juice.

"yeah sure, what's up?" you ask, looking up from your breakfast. zeke clearly had a worried expression written on his face.

you had a feeling of what he was going to ask before the words even left his mouth.

"can you go up and try your best to talk to ben? he won't listen to any of us, but i have a feeling he'll listen to you." zeke says, handing you the glass of juice.

you hesitated at the idea. you didn't need ben storming off and going to god only knows where. everyone was practically walking on eggshells around him already.

"uh, yeah. i'll give it a shot." you reply in a not so convincing tone. zeke shoots you a look of sympathy before throwing on his jacket and leaving for work.

"good luck! love you!" he shouts, walking out the front door. once you hear the door slam shut, you slowly walk up the wooden stairs to the attic. you didn't have what you wanted to say to him planned out, but you knew zeke would tell you irs better that way anyways.

you knocked three times on the bedroom door. no response. you knocked again. "ben?" you called out. no response.

you twist the door knob, the room revealing to be incredibly dirty, with paper scraps and dishes all over the place. ben's sitting on the bed with his head in his hands, clearly living in his own little world over there.

"ben-" you started, but you couldn't finish your sentence. it killed you to see him like this. over the course of 828, ben had gotten you through so much, more than you could've ever asked of him.

you walked over and felt your body sink into the bed next to him. you leaned a head on his shoulder and that's when he finally realized he wasn't alone in the attic anymore.

"y/n?" he says, his voice cracking. you saw his bloodshot eyes and a few tears slipping down his cheeks. life had really taken it's toll on him.

"hey, hun." you reply, a few tears starting to fall from your own eyes. without saying anything, he wrapped two arms and your waist and started to sob into your shoulders.

"i- i don't know what to do." he cried. you didn't even know what to say.

"i- i'm failing everyone. i failed grace and eden, i'm failing olive and cal." he says, soaking the shoulder of your shirt in tears.

"you didn't fail grace or eden. you're not to blame for either of them. as for olive and cal, they just want their dad back, ben." you reply, pulling his face away from your shoulders so you can look into his eyes. you wipe some of his stray tears away with your thumb.

he continued to cry. he hadn't spoken to anyone in days, you were the first person to get him to open up at all. you laid back onto his bed, resting your head on his pillow. he leaned back with you, keeping his face hidden between your neck and shoulder.

"we'll all help you find eden. you know we would. you're family ben, we're all family. just say the word." you say, stroking some hair away from his face.

he nods his head in agreement. he knew you would, but it was almost impossible for him to ever ask that of you.

"and all cal and olive want is a hug from their dad. you're not the only one struggling. we all are. we all need you, but you lock yourself away up here." you say, your eyes dancing around the walls and floor of the messy attic.

"i know. i know." he chokes out.

"we'll work on it tommorow, alright? for now, let's just lay here." you whisper, pressing a soft kiss to the top of his head.

and that's exactly what the two of you did, drifting off into each other's arms in the attic of the stone family house.