mentanoia - ben gross

prologue;

prologue;

The newly painted front door slid open without a single crack. With sweat dancing in the palms of her hands, she allowed herself to take one more deep breath before she watched the boy appear from behind the massive door. She let out a nervous chuckle, instantly looking down at her feet before waving her hand lightly.

"I'm the one taking over my mother's shift, um..." Hesitating whether it'd be appropriate to extend her hand for him to shake, she needed a few seconds before she decided to just make eye contact instead. "I'm Jane."

He looked her up and down, a hint of recognition somewhere hidden in his eyes. Extending his hand, he put up a smile for her. "So you are Patty's daughter. Come in, come in." He stepped aside, his hand still holding onto the door frame as he watched her enter his house. "How's Patty doing?"

Clasping her hands behind her back, Jane didn't even look twice at how enormously big the house was compared to what she was used to. Instead, she held her gaze on him.

"She's devastated, of course." Jane nodded, chewing on the insides of her cheeks, "She's just trying to hold on onto everything she has left, you know. I can't imagine how destroyed she must feel."

An almost empty sigh escaped his lips, the boy stayed quiet for just a moment. "Give her my condolences, will you?" He watched Jane nod.

Pushing a hand on her hips, Jane's eyes drifted around the practically empty house. Aside from a couple of couches and only the necessary furniture, it really was empty. "Could you point me into the direction of the cleaning closet, perhaps?"

He nodded slowly, confusion dancing in his eyes. "You don't have to do this, you know. My parents aren't even going to be home for another two weeks and I really would not tell on you." He paused and put his hands in the pockets of his jeans. "It must be just as hard on you." He then said slowly.

Jane stared at the tiled floor, tempted by his kind offer.

"Are you okay?" The low vibrations in his voice gave her goose bumps.

She forced herself to look up at him and nod. Noticeably gasping in a breath of air, she made her lips curl up into somewhat of a smile. "So, um. the cleaning closet?" She mumbled.

It took him a few more seconds before he started leading her through the huge corridors. He could hear her quick little breaths but pretended like he didn't hear them, knowing that she simply needed to be distracted for some time. His pace slowed down and came to a halt in front of the twentieth door they passed.

"Your mother's shift usually ends at eleven, but it's totally fine if you want to go home early." He told her, "Just... Let me know. You know, so that I can turn the alarm on for any possible burglars." He paused again, "My dad just bought this brand new Cartier ring for my mother, so we can't be too careful."

Her eyebrows jumped up for half a second. She nodded and watched the boy back up and turn to walk away. Observing him increasing the distance between the two of them, she saw him look over his shoulder and into her eyes. He held up a hand and waved at her kindly.

"My name's Ben, by the way."

~

Aside from a single breakdown during vacuum cleaning what had to be Ben's bedroom, Jane had managed it all better than one could've expected. She'd frustratedly tried to wipe her tears off his nightstand and sprayed maybe a tad too much of the room freshener around to make sure Ben could never smell the few molecules of salt that'd been left behind by her.

After a last visit to the cleaning closet, she found Ben in one of the living rooms, entirely sprawled out across the couch that seemed everything but comfortable. He was hugging and drooling onto a pillow as his phone rested in the loose grip of his hand.

"Ben." Jane whispered, her sweet voice completely disappearing in the loud noises of the action movie that was playing on the television screen. Clearing her throat, she tried again, this time a little louder. "Ben, I've finished cleaning."

He shifted on the couch and slowly started opening his eyes. When his sight focused on her, he instantly shot up straight, accidentally dropping his phone onto the tiled floor.
"Oh, yes. Yes, of course. I'll let you out." He was noticeably still half asleep as he grabbed his phone from the floor and got to his feet. Quickly glancing down at his phone, his eyes jumped open a little wider. "Did you drive her?"

Jane shook her face left and right and grabbed her thin coat from the wardrobe. "I took the bus." Buttoning herself up, she stroke the thick fabric straight. "Okay, well. I'll be going then. Goodnight." She opened the front door herself and stepped out of the frame. Nodding once more at Ben, she walked away.

He, however, called out for her.
"It's two in the morning. There are no buses driving around anymore."

She looked over her shoulder, but continued walking. "It's fine. I can appreciate a quiet walk at night." When she didn't hear him respond, she waved at him. "It was lovely meeting you."