It had been two weeks since he heard from Rhys and he was growing concerned. She and Ziggy still followed him on Instagram, but she wasn't replying to any of his messages. She hadn't even bothered to open them. He got in his car and headed to the apartment complex on 2nd. He had to see what was up. He parked on the street and walked the rest of the way. He noticed there was a call button on the front door to allow access into the building. As he scrolled through the names, he had gotten past the letter P and there was no Padgett listed. He kept scrolling in desperation until he stopped on a familiar name.
Tackitt, Z.
He dialed the code for Ziggy's apartment and her voice came over the intercom. "Who is this?" she asked. "It's Ben. Ben Simmons," he said. "I'm on the fourth floor," she said before she buzzed him into the building. He took the elevator up to the fourth floor and she was waiting at the end of the hall for him. He walked over to her and into her apartment. It smelled like lilacs and lavender. "She told me you would come," Ziggy said as she closed the door. "Have a seat," she said as she walked past him and sat in the chair. She grabbed the cup of lemon water that was already sitting on the end table and took a sip.
Ben sat on the couch and a dog slowly approached him. "What's his name?" he asked. "Uriel". He sniffed Ben's hand and reluctantly let him pet him. "So why are you here?" she asked him. "I haven't heard from Rhys since we went for dinner two weeks ago. I was just wondering if you knew what was up?" he said. Ziggy stopped drinking the water and smiled nervously at him. "She can tell you herself. Go to her place," she says. "She doesn't live here?" he asked.
Ziggy chuckled and shook her head. "No. Just me and Uriel". She looked over at the still hot tea kettle on the stove. "Do you want lemon water?" she asked. "No!" Ben nearly yelled in confusion. "What the hell is going on? Why is she fucking with me?" he cursed. "I told you to leave her alone and you didn't listen!" Ziggy barked at him. "If you want answers, you can go ask her yourself". She grabbed a note pad and pen off the coffee table and scribbled down an address. She ripped the note off and handed it to him.
"Why are you so persistent? You're a household name, you don't need to be chasing after her". He folded the note and put it in his pocket. "I just want to see if she's okay. I think I deserve some kind of explanation". He stood up and walked towards the door. "I love her dearly, but just leave her alone. She's going through enough. She doesn't need some guy who's going to leave her high and dry". Ben turned around and shook his head slowly at her. "You don't know what my intentions with her are". Ziggy scoffed.
"You men are all the same to her. You're one of many Ben! She requires a lot of love and I don't think you can provide that for her. I'm just looking out for her interest," she reasoned with him. "She's a grown woman. She doesn't need you to protect her". She stood up out the chair. "I'm not trying to pick a fight with you. I told you that night to leave her alone for a reason. She's got her own shit to handle and doesn't need a guy like you in her life. Someone like you can't understand a situation as complex as Padge's". He opened her door and shook his head.
"You don't know me so you have no idea what I can handle". He closed the door behind him and angrily left her building. He sat in his car and calmed himself down. He took the note out of his pocket and entered the address into his navigation system. As he pulled up to the address he was puzzled. She must've wrote the wrong address.
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He walked out of his car and up the front door of the home. He rang the doorbell and waited for someone to open the door.
Rhys' P.O.V
The doorbell rang and she turned around and looked towards the door. She wasn't expecting company so she was hesitant to open it. She dried off her hands with a towel and walked from the kitchen to the front door. She opened the door and Ben was standing there. "Benjamin," she said. He pushed past her and walked into her house. Her living room was full of plants and he could smell incense burning. "Well I didn't invite you in but okay," she said as she closed and locked the door. He stepped down into her living room and sat on her couch. "Would you like something to drink?" she asked.
"Sure," he said with his back turned to her. She went back into the kitchen and poured a cup of tea for him and one for herself. As always, he took note of what she was wearing. A maxi dress with long sleeves that had an astrological print and kitten heel sandals. Her hair was in a messy bun and she was wearing cat eye glasses. She sat the tea down in front of him and sat in the lounge chair next to the couch. "I hope you don't mind. It's unsweetened". He observed the steam rising from the cup. "Can I get some honey?" he asked. Rhys stood up and nodded. "Of course".
She came back with the honey and a stirring spoon. "So why are you here?" she asked him as he put honey into the tea and stirred. "You haven't answered me since we went out for dinner," he said. She shrugged nonchalantly. "I haven't really talked to anyone. I value my alone time". Ben drank some of the tea and cleared his throat. "You could've told me that," he said as a cat entered the room. Rhys picked the cat up and Ben took notice of how delicately bandaged her wrists were under the sleeves. "What happened?" he asks pointing at the bandages.
Rhys holds the cat close to her chest and pulls the sleeves back down. "An accident," she said as she sat the cat in her lap. "Is the accident why you were M.I.A for two weeks?" he asked her. "Something like that". When the cat finally got settled, she put the tea cup to her mouth and took a sip. She sat the cup back down and looked out the window, avoiding his gaze. "How'd you find out where I lived?" she asked. "I went to the apartment complex and found out Ziggy lives there, not you. She gave me your address and said you would explain why you ghosted me".
A soft smile cracks on her face. "Well you got your explanation". He took another drink of the tea. "Not a great one but I think I can infer what happened. Why'd you do it?" he asked her. She pet the cat and sighed deeply. "I wasn't kidding when I said that what I carry is too much for me to bear". Rhys continued to look out the window and a subtle frown appeared on her face. She cheered herself back up and looked down at her empty tea up. "I'm going to pour myself another cup. Do you need more?" she asked Ben. "No I'm good".
Rhys placed the cat on the floor and took the tea cup into the kitchen. She noticed that the pot of hot water had gone cold. She poured the current water out and refilled the tea kettle. She sat it on the back burner and turned the flame on. When she turned around, Ben was standing by the kitchen table. "I didn't scare you?" he said with a smirk. "I'm not easily frightened". A cat, different from the one in the living room, walks over to a bowl of water on the floor. "How many cats do you have?" he asked. She looked at the bowls scattered around the large kitchen that Ben was also taking notice of.
"Five". He looked shocked. "You have five cats?" he blurted. "Yes I do," she smiled. Rhys leaned against the kitchen island and looked at the cat drink from his bowl. Ben walked in front of her and put his hand on her face and rubbed her cheek with his thumb. She gazed into his eyes. A soft sadness turned into a sweet seduction. He leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. He stood upright to gaze into her eyes. "One more wouldn't hurt," she grinned. He leaned back in and kissed her again. Their tongues meeting as they parted their lips. Ben grabbed Rhys' face with both hands.
She pulled away and smiled hesitantly. "Okay. That's enough of that". Ben looked down at her and licked his lips. As the tea kettle began to whistle, she pushed him away and prepared herself another cup of tea.
