Music And Silence- A Reylo AU

Chapter 25- Merde

It was Wednesday when Ben made an appearance at work. Rae had neither heard from him in that time nor seen him. As she walked into the office, pausing her rather depressing mix of acoustic Slipknot and Metallica tunes, she could see his distinctive frame, arms crossed, looking down into the office from the gallery. He looked tired and tense; his dark eyes seemed darker; she imagined he'd had little sleep since Sunday. She paused by her desk, looking up at him as she removed her headphones. There was no smile to greet her or even the penetrating look. It seemed to have been replaced by this new sorrowful one, both cold and distant. She raised her hand in a greeting. She saw him press his lips together and nod in acknowledgement. It was better than nothing, but it was as if they were in the throws of a difficult breakup. She really hoped that wasn't the case, that he'd given up. She took a deep sigh, turned and plonked herself down at her desk. She refused to allow that to be it. No matter what was going on, she would not simply give up on this.

No matter what happened between them, she loved this job and the people she worked with and right now, there was a mountain of work to be done. She had better things to think about than obsess about what he was thinking; however, the wedding was this weekend. Why couldn't everything go smoothly without some form of shit hitting the fan? Why was it always her personal life that did? Ugh. She wanted to lay her head on the desk but was too proud. He was still probably staring downward and perhaps at her. She was here when he was ready; she just had to be strong and get on with her job, but it was so hard.

-X-

In the gallery above, Ben looked down at Rae. She looked tired, but at least she didn't seem angry. Her lack of anger was a surprise, given what had happened and his lack of communication. For the first time, he honestly couldn't read her. How had everything gone to shit so quickly? He couldn't allow this issue with Lucinda to ruin what he so desperately wanted, but until it was dealt with, he felt he couldn't approach Rae. That was, however, being dishonest with himself. He didn't want her to know any of the truth. It made him feel unclean under his skin; no matter what he did, it wouldn't go away. He didn't want her to know the worst thing he'd done because he was afraid of what would happen if she knew. How could she not be repulsed by him when he was? He watched her as she turned on her computer and started to work, a gnawing, desperate sensation in his stomach.

"Has she said anything to you?" he muttered.

"What?" Hux said, coming over to him.

"Rae, has she said anything to you?"

"About???"

Ben gave Hux a knowing look.

"About Sunday? Yeah, she did on Sunday, and I told you. She doesn't care. When you're ready, she'll be waiting."

Rae already knew most of his past debauchery and had told Hux she didn't care.

"Gotta suck it up, mate, cos the longer this," Hux motioned to Ben and back at Rae, "goes on, the harder it'll be. Don't wanna get stuck in friend zone," Hux placed his palm on Ben's chest.

Ben nodded; Hux was right. He knew Hux was right; he so often was. Didn't make him any less terrified, though.

-X-

Around lunchtime, a woman sauntered past Janie into the office, followed by a timid, petit, dark-haired young woman. The older of the two women was incredibly elegant, with an air of superiority emanating from her presence. Her demeanour and appearance classed her as someone with wealth. Only the truly rich could wear that much white and keep it looking pristine. Janie tottered after her professing concerns about a lack of ID or an appointment.

The elegant woman turned, "Young woman, I'm Mrs Andrews, your boss's mother. I don't need an appointment. I'm simply here to provide sustenance."

She waved her hand at Janie as if she were a fly in the air that annoyed her. She continued to strut through the office, and Janie raced back to her desk to inform Mr Andrews about his mother's impromptu visit.