Everything is going well at Salvation's gig. Ryan and Ben get to dance together on the band's break. That's when Ryan has an epiphany - he wants to marry Ben, but he doesn't want to pop the question inside the club. Ben agrees to leave the club so they can talk, but they run into two unexpected familiar faces. The first is Cameron, who's acting weird. And the second is Ben's mother, Ryan's once time stepmother, Liza. See how this plays out in this week's chapter of In Pieces. Don't forget to visit the other Briefers and see what's up with them. Their links follow my tale! Enjoy!
What the hell was she doing here was Ryan’s first thought,
followed quickly by how the hell did she even find them? What
does she want? Questions swirled through his head, so many he had no idea
where to begin. But then he realized how stiff Ben had become. Not to mention
he hadn’t said a word and neither had she. The hair on the back of Ryan’s neck
felt as though it had just come to attention, as a wave of panic surged through
him. He fought to control it, focusing on the silent Ben.
Liza looked surprisingly much as she had when Ryan had last
seen her. She was blonde, like Ben, but where his eyes were crystal blue, hers
were dark and soulless. He could not remember a single time when she had
voluntarily smiled at him, except perhaps in his father’s presence, when she’d
put her on loving stepmother act, such as it was. He hadn’t liked her when he
was eight, and their ten year acquaintance had done nothing to endear her to
him. Especially after she had torn him apart from Ben.
Her gaze was fixed on Ben for a long moment before she
glanced up, in his direction. Perhaps gauging if they were together or not.
Their linked hands should have been a clue. Ryan stared back almost defiantly.
What could she do to him now? Nothing. He was beyond her reach. She had no
power to hurt him anymore. But Ben was another story.
At first, her eyes held no interest in him, as though he
were of no importance. But then, as he watched, sudden recognition flared, and
her lips curled back into her familiar sneer.
“Little Ryan. I didn’t expect to find you here. So it’s
true, what I was told. You crawled out of the woodwork, did you? Come back to
finish what you started, ruin my sweet Ben?”
Ryan tried not to flinch at her words, even as he wondered
what she’d been told and by whom.
“What do you want, Liza?” Ben spoke before Ryan could frame
a response. His voice held no warmth. It took a moment for Ryan to realize the
words had actually come from Ben. Since when did he call his mother by her
given name?
Liza seemed taken aback by his tone as well. Her eye widened
as she turned her attention to her son. “What do I want? Do I have to want
anything in order to see my only son?
“I think you do. Now, if you’ll excuse us, we were just on
our way outside. We only have so long before we need to start the next set. I
don’t want to spend that here with you.” Ben tightened his grip on Ryan’s hand.
He sidestepped Liza, but she quickly moved to block them.
“Benjamin,” she admonished him sternly. “I will not have you
treat me in this way. I gave you your space, let you go out on your own. But if
I had any idea you would find this… this creature again”—she cast a
contemptuous glance upon Ryan—“I would have called a halt to this foolishness
much sooner. I think it’s time for you to come home.”
Foolishness? What the hell? Anger bubbled up inside of him,
emotions he’d never been able to display in her presence before, out of
deference to his father.
“Don’t you dare refer to Salvation as foolishness!” he
snapped. “Salvation is a great band, and Ben’s a great singer. And he doesn’t
deserve to have you treat him like this.” Still clutching Ben’s hand, Ryan
moved ahead of him, taking the lead. “Like Ben said, we’re going outside. Don’t
try to follow us.”
Ryan could tell Liza was seething, by the tightness of her
cruel lips, the narrowing of her dark eyes as he maneuvered Ben and himself
around her. She followed them with her cold glare.
“You have no idea what’s going on here, Ryan Fremont. You
can’t break the bond between us, no matter how you try. No matter what you
think you have, Ben is mine and always has been. Ask him about us… I dare you.”
Ryan could feel Ben tremble. He quickly slid an arm about
his waist, afraid he was going to faint or something, willing his strength to
flow into Ben. Ignoring Liza, he ushered Ben outside. Glancing up and down the
street, he spotted a bench a short distance away and guided their steps there.
Ben felt limp as he handed him onto the bench, then took a
seat beside him. Ryan pulled Ben to him and held him close. He began to shake
again.
“Shh, shh,” Ryan tried to soothe him. “It’s all right, it’s
all right, I’m here. I’m here.”
Ben’s tremors grew stronger. Ryan realized, with a start,
that he was crying. He held him even tighter until Ben pushed back enough to
raise his tear-stained face toward him. “You won’t be,” he whispered. “I’m
going to lose you again.”
to be continued
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