It's Obvious

Chapter 9

Benny's POV

Everyone had left and now it was just me and Avery.
"So did you have fun with your friends?" She asked.
"Yeah, I had a lot of fun," I answered. That was completely true. I really enjoyed hanging out with them tonight.
"So when were you going to tell me?" Avery's question was cryptic and I had no idea what it meant.
I raised a eyebrow. "Tell you what?"
"Tell me that you have a crush on June!" She said.
"I don't know what you're talking about," I struggled to lie. I knew Avery was going to see right though me. She was my sister after all. Yet, I still tried to lie. I didn't want her to know about my feelings for June. She would tease, torture, and ridicule me about them. Avery's teasing was worse than anything the guys could do.
"Benny, how stupid do you think I am? We both know what I'm talking about. You like her," Avery said.
"I don't like her," I mumbled. Don't ask me why I kept arguing because I have no idea. I don't have a single clue about why I retaliated so much.
"Yes you do! I can read you like a book. I know you like her. I watch you interact with her. I see how you look at her," she ranted.
"She's just a friend," I murmured. This really was my hill to die on.
"Benny, friends don't look at friends that way," she remarked. "Friends also don't hold each other's hands during horror movies," she added. I didn't know she saw that happen. I hope she was the only person who did.
"I was just comforting her," I replied. Seriously, why was I putting up such a fight?
"Huh-uh," Avery mocked me. She opened her mouth to speak again, but her words got replaced by the ringing of a telephone. "We will get back to this conversation in a minute!" She snapped.

She walked over to the phone and picked it up.
"Hello!" She chirped. Her tone of voice had significantly changed from what it was only seconds ago. A unknown voice said something on the other side of the phone and Avery's face fell. Her expression was simultaneously concerned and sad. She carefully brought the phone away from her mouth. "It's June," she said, "She wants to talk to you. I think something is wrong. She sounds petrified."

I rushed over to the phone and took it away from Avery.
"Hey June," I tried to sound as calm as humanly possible. I needed to be calm for June.
"My dad is drinking again," she got straight to point. Avery was right though, she did sound like she was petrified.
"Are you parents fighting?" I asked. June had talked about how her parents would fight while her dad drank.
"No, my mom isn't home," she answered quickly and quietly. It was like she was hiding from somebody. Unfortunately, she probably was.
"So is your dad yelling at you?" I knew that was the next question to ask. June also mentioned that if her mom wasn't around when her dad was drinking he would start screaming at her.
"No, he's doing more than that," she swallowed, "He tried to hit me Benny."
I couldn't tell if I was more heartbroken or infuriated. "June-"
She cut me off. "I don't know what to do. I'm scared Benny." She sounded like she was on the verge of tears.
"June, come over to my place. Bring over a pair of pajamas because you are spending the night," I said.
"Benny-"
I cut her off this time. "Don't even bother arguing with me. I'm not budging on this. Now please come over."
"Okay, I'll see you soon," she said and hung up.

I put down the phone and walked over to where Avery was standing.
"So I assume June is staying here tonight?" She asked.
"Yeah, she is," I nodded.
"Is she okay?" Avery was deeply worried.
"I don't think she is. She is going through some family issues," I explained. I didn't get fully into it because I respected June's privacy.
"Poor thing, I hope she feels better once she gets here," Avery replied. The two of us didn't go back to our earlier conversation. I don't know if or when we would go back to it.

About five minutes passed and then I heard a knock on the door. I now had a new goal. I was going to make June feel safe and happy in any way I could. I was willing to do whatever it took to achieve that goal.

Author's Note: Chapter 9! I know this chapter kind of ends abruptly and on a cliffhanger. There was supposed to be more to this chapter. This chapter got so long though, so I spilt it up into two chapters. Essentially, chapter 10 was originally supposed to be part of this chapter but if I kept it in this chapter would end up being SUPER long. I hope that you still enjoyed this chapter!! 😊❤️
I also made a Tate McRae reference in this chapter and if you get it, we should be friends! 😄😂
Like usual, I proofread but if you discover any typos please let me know! 👍