Trails

Chapter 5: Bad Blood

Our conversation ended between Jason and me as Ben gave us strange looks. "What's going on?" Ben repeated. "Did I miss something?"

Sighing, Jason finished the remains of his lemonade and left the house without saying goodbye. After he closed the door, Ben looked at me in suspicion. "What happened between you and Johnny Bravo?"

"Jason thinks you and Seth are criminals," I said carefully. "He's trying to get me to stay away from you." Ben nodded then sat on the chair that Jason was sitting in.

"That's ironic," he chuckled coldly. "Because I was saving people's lives, just like the cops-"

"Through hacking and blackmail for personal gains." I finished.

"Hey, I am the Harvey Specter of blackmail." Ben joked. "I don't understand what's going on through that Goody Two-Shoes brain of his."

"I think he's just doing this because he still has feelings for me." I replied with a shrug.

As soon as I said that, Ben's casual smile faded and he hunched over like he was going to throw up. Even though I told him about what happened at prom, Ben still feels that it was his fault letting me dance with Jason.

"I know you don't have feelings for him," he says accordingly. "And I know we broke up, so maybe you should find someone else."

"Really?" I asked in a disgusted way. Ben nodded casually, but then all of a sudden he scrunched his nose.

"What's up?" I asked.

"You can date anyone, but don't date Jason." he insisted.

But I don't want to date any guy, I wanted to say. I want to date you, Ben. Back in Michigan, there weren't any guys who matched my type. While most girls preferred abs, I preferred guys who are honest, always studies at school, and is very loyal.

However, there were times that I wanted a boy who had a sweet and  dangerous side.

Kissing Ben was like imagining to kiss Cole Sprouse, an actor that I had a huge crush on ever since I binge watch Suite Life of Zach and Cody. I wanted to tell Ben that I still have feelings for him, no matter how hard I tried to swallow it down.

"I don't want to date any guy," I snickered. "I have a terrible taste in boys, except you of course."

"What about you? Aren't you finding another cute girl?"

Ben scrunched his nose again and shook his head. "I have a lot of  research to do."

Spoken like a true Sherlock. I thought to myself. The conversation ended briefly as I picked up Jason's dirty cup and washed it in the sink. Meanwhile, Ben made himself home by picking up the remote and turned the television on to the news.

Just as I was setting the cup on the dish rack, I saw some occurrences happening in Nebraska. Abandoning the sink, I stared at the image of a twenty police cars surrounding a seemingly innocent farmhouse. It had crimson outside walls, white borders, and hay sprinkled across the lawn.

Sensing my confused reaction, Ben increased the volume, allowing the woman, who looks exactly like Hilary Clinton, to speak up. She wore a fuchsia dress, black stockings, and olive brown heels.

She was holding her microphone while the angry wind was hitting her face. "Good evening," she said urgently. "I am at the scene where the bodies of two little boys were found in a basement of the farmhouse."

"You have got to be kidding me," I heard Ben murmur. Quietly, I sat down next to him and stared at the scene. Just then, he turned it off abruptly then set the remote on the arm of the couch.

I looked at him as if he was nuts. "What was that all about-" I started to say.

"I don't think you should go to Nebraska," Ben warned. "Your mom would say the same thing."

I hated it when he treats me like a kid. "But what if it's a case?" I asked hopefully. "It has been a year since we haven't gotten one."

"I know," Ben agreed. "But, I sense that your mom wants you to live a normal life."

"A normal life?" I repeated, gesturing to the screen. "This is our normal life. Helping people is what we do."

"Mine too," he snapped. "I can't believe I am saying this, but what if we should let the police handle it for once?"

"No," I answered sharply.  "And that's final."

Ben took a deep breath then let it out. "Alright," he insisted. "We'll take the case, but I am only agreeing because I don't want you to get hurt."

I bit my lip to keep myself from losing it. Ben never thinks about having a normal life, I wonder what's gotten into him. 

"Who told you to say that?" I asked. 

I expected Ben to lie to me, maybe reasoning that I was losing my marbles or something. However, he gave me a truthful look and claimed that Jason told him. 

"What?" I gasped. "Why?"

"One time, while I was doing some spring cleaning," Ben began. "Jason came to my door, asking me crappy questions, like how I was doing and stuff."

"But when I demand him to get to the point, he says that he knows about my real name and insists that I need to keep you out of  criminal investigations or else, he will arrest me for blackmail, hiding my identity, and also place Seth in foster care."

I stared at him disbelief: I didn't know what to say.

 "Now, you know why I have been pressuring you to be normal." Ben said. 

I wanted to ask him why he didn't tell me before, but then I caught myself. I knew that he didn't want me to get involved in his business or either get dragged by his criminal schemes. 

"I'm sorry," I say. "From now on, I'll-"

"Don't apologize," Ben interrupted. "We'll solve the case together, as long as we don't get Jason involved."

All of a sudden, I heard someone's loud sneeze and coughing coming from outside the door.