The Neighbor II

The Way Things Are

The house was filled with laughter. It was odd because it usually never is. If someone is laughing it's Michael, or Cassie with Michael. But Ben? Hardly. Very rarely. But as Cassie was making dinner, his thunderous laugh was echoing throughout the apartment, along with Michael's squealing laughter and Marshall's excited barks. 

Cassie giggled to herself and shook her head. Ever since Ben has gotten his pills, he hasn't been the same. He's been joyous and loving and gentle and friendly to everyone around him. He wasn't Ben, but Cassie felt a little ashamed to admit that she liked it. 

"Alright, boys, dinner's ready!" She called as she set the dished up plates on the dining room table. Ben came in with Michael on his shoulders and Marshall following quickly behind. "Oh, this looks wonderful, mummy," Ben said with a smile. He lifted Michael off his shoulders and set him in his high chair. He sat down across from his wife and let out a large breath. 

Cassie giggled, "Getting a little old for playing, daddy?" He smirked and told her, "Absolutely not. Besides, you and I are going to do some playing tonight for ourselves, so eat up to gain your strength, my dear." As soon as he popped a piece of broccoli into his mouth, the doorbell rang. 

"I've got it," he said, before you could even react. Usually, he'd detest to get the door because he likely knew who was behind it. He walked with long strides to the door, then opened it to (wouldn't you know) Tom. "Ah, Tom!" He excitedly greeted. 

Tom furrowed his eyebrows and glanced around him. He wasn't sure if he was the Tom Ben was excited to see. "Ah...Ben," he said suspiciously. "Um...sorry, this is probably a shit time, but your mail got mixed with mine." 

He handed Ben three letters that were all addressed to him...from the hospital. Ben glanced up from the letters, the look in his eyes like Tom had remembered from many times before. It was the look he expected when the doors open. "Thank you, Tom," Ben stated. He cleared his throat before putting back on a smile, but not nearly as sincere. 

"Now, if you'll excuse me," he said, "my family is having dinner." He took a step back, then slammed the door before Tom could say anything else. He sighed and opened the letter as he listened to Cassie and Michael's laughs coming from the kitchen. 

As he was opening one of the letters...something caught his attention. He noticed that it had already been opened. The envelope wasn't nearly as sticky, but someone made a damn good effort to try and get it that way again. 

He traced around where the envelope was supposed to stick and found it ragged all along the edges. Whoever did this (and he thinks he knows who) did not do a good job of covering it up. He continued to open it and read the letter that only stated a reminder to when his follow up appointment would be. 

With a loud sigh, he crumpled the letter up and tossed it into the trash bin, then set the rest on the table and went back into the kitchen. "There's daddy," Cassie cooed. Michael gurgled a laugh and reached out to him. Ben took one of his hands and gave it a soft squeeze before sitting down. 

"Who was at the door?" She asked. He sighed, then told her, "Tom. He dropped off a few letters from the hospital. He opened one of them." Cassie gave him a double take. "What?" She asked. "How do you know that?" He shrugged and told her, "I could see it. He tried to cover it up, but it didn't work very well."

Cassie looked shocked. "He can't do that, it's against the law," she scoffed. Ben stood up with his plate and took hers as he walked to the sink. "I think he knows that, dear," he told her. "Anyways, he might have just thought it was his. I've done that plenty of times in my life." 

"Well, he should have said something then," she told him as she took Michael's empty plate and brought it over to the sink. "And you're taking this awfully well. What did you say to him?" He started putting the dishes in the washer as he told her, "Nothing, just that we were having dinner and I couldn't stay to chat." 

She smiled as she handed him a pot. "Really?" She asked. "I'm...wow, I'm impressed. And proud. No arguing, no threats?" He shook his head and told her, "Nope. Nothing of the sort." Cassie leaned up and pecked a kiss to his cheek. 

"I'm proud of you, babe," she told him. "You're doing a lot better. Do you feel better?" He turned off the faucet, then wiped his hands before grabbing her hips and pulling her flush against him. "I feel like a new man," he told her. "I feel like the man I'm supposed to be for you." 

Cassie ran her fingers through his hair and tsk'd. "Don't say things like that," she told him. "You're my husband and I love you just the way you are, the good and the bad. Even the...very, very bad." Ben leaned down and captured her lips in a kiss. 

He ran his hand down her stomach, then said, "I don't deserve you. Go and relax, I've got the dishes." He watched as she went out into the living room, then turned to do the dishes and started to think about why in the hell Tom would open his mail. 

**

"You what?!" Tom shouted. "You opened his mail! Are you insane!" Sarah looked like a cowering puppy who got caught doing something wrong. "I would bet anything that he already knows!" Sarah looked a little fed up and crossed her arms. 

"Don't you want to know why he was at a goddamn mental institution!" She shouted back. "That could lead to something big!" Tom threw his hands up into his hair. "That's why I have people who look into that," he told her through gritted teeth. "They do what you were just doing, but it's legal! You broke the law, Sarah, even if you think it was probable cause!"

He started pacing the room. "How did you cover it?" He asked. She gulped and told him, "I used the clear glue from the kitchen." He stopped pacing and shut his eyes as he sighed. "You used clear glue," he repeated. "You...wow, Sarah, that is...complete and utter stupidity!"

Sarah sat on the couch with a frown. "Stay out of this," he told her. "I told you I would give you a place to stay, clothes to wear, food to eat and all for information. Well, I've done that and I will keep doing that because the information you gave was important. But if my boss finds out I am letting a civilian help me in this case, someone who has connections with the victim, I will lose my job. So stop this, or I will stop providing you a life here." 

There was tense silence between them. It was an almost unbearable silence, until Sarah softly said, "Just tell me you're going to do something. Please." Tom sighed. He sat on a chair across from her and slouched down on it.

"I have a plan. I'm not going to tell you what it is, but it's a good one. I won't put it in effect for a few more months because it requires careful planning. Let's just say that when you set fire in the wilderness...even the lion runs for his life."