The Intern - SEQUEL to The Mentor

Why Me?

Bens POV

It's four months since the accident and Rey moved back in a week ago after bouncing back and forth between Gwen and Hux's place and Finn and Poe's place. She was happy as long as she wasn't near me, so I didn't push her to come back. Of course, now she refuses to sleep next to me so she sleeps in the bedroom while I sleep out on in the living room on the couch. Zori has graduated from her kennel at night so she has claimed my spot in the bed instead of her dog bed, not that I have much of a claim on it at this point.

Often times Rey doesn't come home until 8 or 9 at night probably in an attempt to avoid me, she never tells me where she has been and hasn't forgiven me enough to turn her location on her phone back on. She's back in classes and working for the parks department part time still so I'm assuming she's either at one of those or at friends. When Poe is over he has been pretty icy to me and even Gwen has distanced herself a little bit too, only coming over when Hux makes her.

In four days is Gwen and Hux's wedding and I'm concerned about how that is going to go when the Maid of Honor refuses to around the Best Man for more than a few minutes.

"Rey?" I open the door to our bedroom slowly, she lays in the middle of our bed working on something in her sketchbook. She doesn't look up at me and doesn't acknowledge that I'm here. "Can we talk?"

"Sure Kylo."

"Can you stop calling me that."

Her eyes flick up to mine. "When you start acting like Ben again yes."

"Okay you've proven your point, can we just talk." I try to say as calmly as possible and sit down on the foot of the bed.

"Fine." She closes her sketchbook and sits up to look at me. She has become very secretive with her sketchbook again which is another sign that the trust is lacking because she always used to leave it open everywhere, not caring if people looked at it.

"I've been seeing a therapist." I blurt out and she looks stunned. "Actually, I've been seeing the same one from High school." I look up at her but it's clear she isn't going to say anything. "Rey, I was depressed and I'm working on crawling out of my hole. Nothing seemed to matter anymore, I wanted nothing to do with anyone, and I was lashing out at anyone and everyone. Including you. So I went back to my therapist."

"So then what happened after the company party?" She asks.

"I was displacing the things that were bothering me on you and as a result lashed out. I was wrong." I run my fingers along the seams of our duvet cover.

"I've never seen you like that. And you scared me."

"I know and I'm sorry." I look up at her but her arms are still crossed.

"So what are these issues you're displacing then?" She has relaxed her shoulders a little bit but is still pretty guarded.

"That Keri died but I didn't." Her eyes twitch a little and she nods. "The same thing happened to me that happened to her, the only difference is that I was in a bigger vehicle that's higher up."

"Honestly, Poe and I have been talking about it too."

"All I keep thinking is why me?" I stare at my hands in my lap.

"And that somehow made you lash out?" She says still with standoffish tone.

"Rey I messed up."

"You pretty much accused me of cheating on you or at least thinking about it multiple times. Then you told me that I don't know you. Then when I left, you didn't come after me, it took you a month to come to me and try to fix it. That's a long time Ben." I let out a small sigh of relief as she says my name despite the bite to her tone.

"I know, I'm sorry."

She fidgets with Zoris fur aimlessly, her hand naked of her ring as it has been for a month since I found it in her jewelry dish in the bathroom after she left, and I can tell by how her Jaw is set that she thinking. "So what now?" She asks.

"I work on building your trust up again."

"This isn't going to be fixed magically overnight." She sits back against the pillows and looks at me.

"I know." I hold her eye contact until she breaks it. "I miss my fiancé, everything about you, your giggles, your hugs, and the little noises you make when you sleep. I will do anything at this point to get you back."

"Ok." She reaches out timidly and grabs my hands. I take in the feeling of her touch for the first time in so long. "I appreciate your honesty, but just know I'm going to need time. I'm recovering from a month of being pushed away." I nod in response showing that I understand.

—

Rey came out to the living room to watch our show with me, I took a minute to make her hot chocolate just as she likes it, and she seemed to relax a little bit at the gesture. She sat on the other side of the couch from me while we watched tv which I didn't mind, it was just nice to do something with her instead of sitting in the empty apartment alone. I think Zori enjoyed both of us being there too as she stretched out between us, resting her head on Rey and backing her butt up to me.

Once the episode ended, Rey got out from under the blanket immediately, her little butt sticking out from under her pajama shorts. "Bedtime Zor," she says and walks toward the bedroom. I get up and start rearranging the blankets on the couch to go to sleep but I'm caught off guard as she sticks her head back out of the bedroom door, "why don't you come sleep in the bed?"

"Really?" I ask her unsure.

"Yeah, come sleep in the bed. But good luck fighting Zori for your spot back."

Rey's POV

I lay on my side under the covers watching as Ben tries to coax Zori off the bed and onto the dog bed he had bought for her. As soon as he would get her settled and turn back around, she would get back up and follow him. He tried 4 times but eventually just quit and let her on the bed with us. "We're going to work on that." He says with a chuckle as he climbs under the covers and she curls up by my legs. She isn't full-sized yet, but definitely large enough she takes up a little more room.

He clicks the remaining lit light on his nightstand off and darkness overtakes the room. The sheets move as he settles and little rushes of air hit my legs. The feeling of having him so close is foreign but I almost feel a longing I haven't felt before. I'm cautious to forgive him but I know that I should. He's trying to fix it by going to therapy and talking to me and I so appreciate it, but after a month of this torture and the cold silent treatment on both of our sides, I'm not keen to let go quite yet.

"Good night Rey." He says softly.

"Good night." I pause for a second before adding, "Ben?" He mumbles back a 'hmm?'. "I still love you."

I can actually hear him smiles as he responds, "I love you too Rey."

A/N: Hi, sorry for the short chapter. Hope everyone had a great long weekend! I took a little break from writing but everywhere I went this weekend, I had ideas for my other fic, so I'm excited to get them written up and posted!