Chapter Three
Ben
I watched Ginger walk away from me, my hand rising automatically to hold her back. But I stopped before I could touch her.
She was doing her best to act strong, to act like she wasn’t bothered. But it was hard to miss how tense her shoulders were, and it was enough to let me know she was putting up a brave act, not feeling brave. My heart ached that this was what our relationship had come to, but I had no one to blame but myself.
So I just watched her walk away until she disappeared into the back of the salon, and I turned around to leave without a word to anyone else.
Shit.
I walked slowly back to my car, opened the door and got inside. Then I just sat there for a few minutes, fighting the urge to cry.
“That could have gone better,” I muttered to myself, rubbing my eyes.
I drove back to the hotel, back to hiding away. On the drive, I debated about whether I should bother going back. Ginger was mad at me, obviously, and she had every right to be. The only question was whether I had the courage to keep going back and facing that anger until I could get her to talk to me, or not.
By the time I arrived at the hotel, I still hadn't come up with an answer.
I parked the car and walked inside.
“Hey, Ben!”
I looked up at the call of my name.
“Dan, hey,” I murmured listlessly. “I didn’t know you’d be here. Are you looking for my sister?”
Dan and Scarlett were engaged, though from what I’d heard from my sister, they’d had a son together long before that. That little tid bit hadn't exactly endeared me to the guy, until I met their son Makas, who I sometimes got to babysit because I rarely left my room, anyway. He was such an easy kid to love, even though he could sometimes cry through a whole night when he was being particularly fussy. I could see clearly that Dan cared for the both of them, so I was relatively okay with their relationship together.
Not that my sister would let me have a say in it, either way.
“Nah,” he said with a shake of his head. “Makas is with her right now; she’s too busy to hang out with me. I came looking for you. I was surprised to hear you’d left.”
“I’ve left the hotel before,” I pointed out.
“Scarlett said you went to visit Ginger,” he admitted.
Ah.
We’d all grown up in town together, all gone to the same high school. Dan knew about Ginger and me, though how much he knew, I had no idea. Most people around town would have guessed it, anyway. She and I were together for a while before I left, and in the time since I’d been gone, Ginger had a daughter that no one bothered to tell me about.
“How did it go?” he asked.
I sighed and led the way over to a small lounge area. I slumped onto a couch, and he took the single seat across from me.
“It went terribly,” I admitted. “As expected. She wouldn’t just welcome me with open arms, would she?”
He shrugged. “Maybe if you’d met her as soon as you arrived instead of putting it off…”
I frowned at him, and he let his voice trail off. Yeah, I knew it had been cowardly of me to hide, but I just couldn’t bring myself to see her. Back then, coming into town had been the extent of my courage. For the whole of the first week, I couldn’t even leave my room, and my sister had to keep bringing me meals, because I didn’t know how to cook, either. When I could leave, I’d gone to see my dad. And that pattern had gone on like that for months.
“Did she say anything to you?”
I sighed. “Not really, just that she was busy.” Then I groaned and buried my face in my hands. “Not that I had anything grand to say, anyway. She looked like she couldn’t stand the sight of me, and I can't even blame her.”
“Give her time,” Dan suggested. “She still cares about you. I came by once and saw her standing outside the hotel, but she left without coming in.”
My head snapped up, eyes wide. “She did?”
He nodded. “Yeah. I thought about going over to her to tell her to walk in, but when she just walked away, I figured I’d just let her go. It was weeks ago.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I forgot,” he said sheepishly, shrugging. “I walked in to look for you to tell you, but then Makas got sick, and Scarlett and I had to take him to the hospital. Remember that day?”
I nodded. “Yeah. When he caught that ear infection and wouldn’t stop crying.”
I’d ended up looking after the kid, who seemed like he wouldn’t stop crying for three days straight.
But still. Shit! Ginger had come to the hotel to see me first. Just thinking about it made me feel ashamed of myself. She hadn't made it inside, but she’d made an effort, and I had no idea.
“Sorry about forgetting. You might have had an easier time if I hadn't forgotten.”
“Nah. She was probably still mad at me back then. She might have been coming to shout at me.”
“But, you still would have had it easier.”
I sighed. “Should I just get back in the car and go back to see her?”
“No way. That won’t make anything better right now. Just picture women like a minefield. You need to know where to step, and if you make a wrong one, you’ll blow yourself up. Like your sister. We’ve been together for a year, and I don’t have her completely figured out. She’s like a pussycat, affectionate most of the time, but incredibly independent, and lately, she’s been exceptionally moody.”
I didn’t like hearing him talk about my sister that way. While I was relatively fine with their relationship, it was still a bit awkward to come back and find my sister engaged and with a kid. I might have grown on the idea recently, but the awkwardness was still there.
“If she's moody, maybe it’s that time of the month? Scarlett isn’t one for being moody.”
Dan shook his head. “No way. I have that marked down on my phone as the days to avoid messing with my fiancée, so it has to be something else. When I ask her, she doesn’t say. So I’m keeping out of her way and doing my best not to get on her bad side, and hopefully, she’ll feel ready to talk to me later.”
Was that what I was supposed to be doing? I’d taken the first step, and she hadn't taken it well, it would be good to give her some time. But, just how much time was enough? How long would I have to wait before it got too long, and she just got madder instead of softening toward me?
Shit. Ginger and I had dated before I’d left. I’d known her the best, better than anybody else besides her mother, but that had changed. And it was all my fault, so I couldn’t even complain.