Hellfire Mansion - Ben's Quarters
"Please...Ben, you musn't say a word."
His mind wandered that night, all his dreams turning to nightmares. The revelation that he was the brother of Erika King had caused a shift in Ben, and that night, he re-lived every slight against him, every way in which he was mistreated, first by his father and then by the many incarnations of The Inner Circle over the years, when in reality his father had been one of the club's first Black Rooks. He was related to a member of one of the legacy families in the club. There had been far worse people treated far better than he had over the years, and when he awoke..he was
done with it.
But his body, was not quite ready for that.
"Ahh..fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck..."
Ben grabbed his head which was pounding like a drum in his head. He was dehydrated and drained. In the moment, brief flashbacks of his night came back to him in small moments he had forgotten.
Ruby said:
Ben: *slurring*: “You haf somefing on your fathe.”
“Yes, I know that I have something on my face. Thank you, Ben.”
Ben: *slurring*: “’elcome.”
:: They were now in his chambers and she helped him into his bedroom. She half-dragged him to his bed and set him down, where he promptly fell over. ::
“Okay, big guy.”
:: Cass took off his shoes, and his pants. She managed to take off his blazer before he protested, not as much with words as they were just sounds, as she tried to take his dress shirt off. ::
“Okay. Okay. I’ll back off.”
:: Then Ben grabbed her wrist. He was looking at her, his blue eyes sad. ::
Ben: “I miss my father.”
:: His father. She had forgotten. She smiled and ruffled his hair. She pressed her forehead against his. ::
*quietly*: “I know you do, my sweet boy.”
:: The affectionate endearment, my sweet boy, was one that Cass had used with Ben even before they were ever romantically involved – simply because he definitely was NOT a boy. It was used exclusively between the two of them. Ben didn’t let go of her wrist, only gripping it more. ::
Ben: *hopeful*: “Thtay?”
“Yes, I’ll stay. I’ll be on your little couch here in your room. Would that be okay?”
:: He mumbled something in the affirmative and then he closed his eyes. Cass wondered if he’ll remember this interaction. ::
"Cassandra..."
She had found him passed out in the lounge after Kelly King blew his fucking world apart. He blinked his eyes, trying to adjust to the light around him, to minimal effect. In the corner of the room, he made out his armchair by his sparse bookcase. Normally, it was full of clothes, but now, The Black Princess was asleep in his room. It had been a really sweet thing to do considering the way he often ended up treating her, although the way she acted often warranted. He had asked her to stay, which surprised him. But he had just found out something about himself that made him the happiest and most pissed off he had ever been. The rage of his past came burning through him again.
"Kelly King that fuckin' CUNT."
He shot up from bed, wearing a lot less clothes than he remembered going to sleep in as he clapped his hands together loudly, waking her up.
"Get up. CASSANDRA!"
She shot up to her feet, frightened at the tone of his voice.
"Get out of my
goddamn ROOM and go make yourself presentable for breakfast!"
As he looked at her, his could not help his misguided anger. He used to think they were VERY different, until last night, when he realized he was just as
pathetic as she was, and he was DONE being that person. Seeing Cassandra reminded him of that, so he unloaded.
"And do me a favor, will ya?! Leave me alone. LEAVE. ME. THE.
FUCK. ALONE..Do you understand me? Are you stupid or something?! I don't LOVE you Cassandra. I'm not some bloody doppleganger. The guy you love doesn't exist in some fucking FAIRY land you made up in your head because you HATE YOUR LIFE. And I'm done being a part of it. REALLY, truly, madly, DEEPLY done with it. So stop with the texts, the stolen glances, the fuckin doe eyes all the time, and MOVE ON. Stop BITCHING about what Kelly did to you, because look around, SHE'S not here anymore! GOD! Just..."
His mucles on his thick neck convulsed as he looked at Cassandra with pure rage and hatred. It was not FOR her necessarily, It was for every little thing he kept his mouth shut about over the last twenty something years, coming out of his mouth in the only way he could process it. Cass IMMEDIATELY bolted from the room as he was left there, his chest heaving up and down.
"Shit. Fuck shit."
Cassandra did not deserve that. In the slightest. Well, maybe a little, but not like
that. He was beginning to panic a little. There was no way that he could keep this information to himself. He had promised he would not tell Erika, but he felt as if he had no other choice, but to tell his Queen. He angrily stormed through the black corridor and found himself banging on Ava Cassadine's door with a thunderous echo.