Page 72 of Possessed By You
CHAPTER NINE
Benjamin’s sister is a mirror of caution, using our time at lunch to shield me from children, to occupy me with relaying the details of Benjamin’s proposal, our marriage. It’s admirable how intensely she cares, although I can catch her discomfort whenever someone stares at her stomach for too long or stops by the table to ask how far along she is.
My intimate conversation with Benjamin has made all of this bearable. To enter public society and withstand the intrusive photographs and questions is frightening in itself, but I feel the breaking point has passed. I’ve gone numb. So when they ask Rebecca about her baby, I find a way to tune it out, to focus on my food or some pedestrian passing by.
It works better than I thought it would.
The chicken salad sandwich I ordered is sitting on the plate untouched. However, I’m on my second glass of freshly brewed iced tea, which this restaurant is known for. I still can’t keep much down.
Rebecca regards me kindly after minutes of silence. “It will get better.”
“I know. I know it will.”
My positivity is forced, and it doesn’t slide past her.
“When I heard from Mom that you and Ben were in the hospital after a terrible accident, I don’t think I’ve ever been so scared.”
“Yes, she came to see Benjamin a few days after he regained consciousness, with Alexander.”
Can she hear my disdain?
“Things between them were already rocky with Alexander’s runaround to Ben about parting from Scott Industries. How long did they stay?”
“A few minutes.” I consider whether I should keep my mouth shut and leave their family drama to them. That proves to be too difficult. I set down my glass, sighing. “They asked him for money for their new company.”
Rebecca’s blank stare is a perfect representation of how anyone with a pulse would react to that statement. Alexander had enough grace to look mortified by his mother’s lack of care for her other son, but it didn’t make him rethink taking money from him. That makes them both unworthy in my eyes.
“They did that in the hospital?”
“Yes.”
“How much did they ask for?”
“A million dollars.”
She chokes on her tea. “Excuse me?”
I nod, glad someone is as appalled as I am. Benjamin acted as if it were an everyday occurrence.
“So they went there and asked him for money andleft?”
“I reacted to it pretty badly. If your mother didn’t completely loathe me before, she does now. I ran after them, told them that Benjamin’s heart stopped in that accident, that the doctors had to pump his chest with electricity to revive him. It’s a miracle he’s here at all.”
Rebecca’s mouth opens in disbelief. “His heart stopped?”
I glance to my stomach, a flat, hollow thing, a thick lump in my throat. “His sprained wrist? That happened when he shot his arm out to protect me and the baby from the impact of the crash. He was impaled by a shard of glass, and he still found the strength to get me out of the rubble.”
Her features have paled considerably, making me believe I’ve ruined this lunch. But she needs to know this.
“They have no idea how amazing he is. He and I were fighting when it happened, and I know that weighs on him, but he did everything he could to try to help me. They hardly cared, and it destroys me that he knows that.”
We’re interrupted by the waitress, who deposits our check with the to-go meal I ordered for Benjamin. I take the bill before Rebecca, which is a similar reaction to one Ben gives me when I do that. She doesn’t fight me like him though, which I’m grateful for.
“I’m going to give her a piece of my mind tonight. Alexander too. We have our differences, but we’re blood. This shit needs to stop. He’s not their bank account.”
Her words relieve me a great deal.
“Benjamin would probably kill me for telling you all this.”
