Winning her back

19. Door left open

*Warning! Mature content ahead*

Lisa

I gathered my things, said my goodbyes and quietly headed out. I passed the security on my way out and couldn't help but question whether the security guard was there on my behalf. Clark went to extreme lengths to keep me safe, a thought which made my heart warm.

Luckily, Ben's house was only a few blocks away. Nonetheless, Dr Rowland arranged for a chauffeur to pick me up and drop me off every single day. At first I thought that the idea was a little extreme, but when I put things into perspective, I leveled to her frame of thought.

Coming home to an empty house was not what I was used to. Ben was always around, whether he was trying to 'take care' of me or argue with me, his presence never went unnoticed.

I poured myself a glass of wine before settling onto the couch and loosening the first few buttons of my blouse. As I took my first sip, I couldn't help but feel accomplished for today's work. It went much better than I had expected. It seemed like slowly and steadily, my life was returning back to normal, or rather to the normal I was used to.

I removed my heels and sought a more comfortable position on the couch. It didn't take long for me to doze off into a deep, desperately needed sleep.

____________________________________

The sound of shattered glass disrupted me from my sleep. From the corner of my eye, I could see a sloppy figure easing their way into the kitchen.

This was it, it had to be my attacker, finally finishing the job .

My heart beat started building up as I reached for the light switch.

Soon enough, the sloppy figure revealed to be no other than Ben, standing next to a broken vase.

"Jesus Christ, you almost gave me a heart attack", I began as I approached him.

Something was definitely off. His eyes were dark as midnight and his clothes were disheveled. The first thought that came to my mind was that he had been mobed. Until I got closer, that's when the stench of cheap alcohol reached my nostrils.

"You've been drinking?", I asked whilst bending down to clean up the broken vase.

"Leave it", I heard him mutter.

"I'll take that as a yes", I said, ignoring his request.

"Why would you care? You're too busy f*cking your boss".

I rolled my eyes and turned to face him ready to give him a mouth full. Reaching his eyes, my tongue got caught in my throat. His hazel eyes were filled with hurt, displaying an almost like window to his soul. That's when I saw it. He was broken, his eyes mirrored the same emotions I had gone through almost a year ago.

I had broken him, just like he had broken me.

"What the hell have you been drinking?", I asked inching closer to him.

"Some shit", he mumbled.

I bit my tongue choosing to go off on him the following day, in a sober state. I let him rest an arm around my neck. "Come on, let's get you to bed".

Walking up the stairs was a challenge. Ben had shifted all his weight on me, making me stumble a few times. With each step, his weight became heavier, making it even harder to balance.

"You know", he started, "I should be the one taking care of you, not the other round way".

"You mean the other way round", I corrected. I couldn't hold the smile that crept onto my face. I hadn't seen this version of Ben since high school.