Don't Stay, Don't Go (Ben Drowned Love Story)

Ch. 21

My dad will come in any minute. I just know it. How can I find Ben, or go to the mansion, with the treat of my missing persons report hanging over my head.
"Dad, do you mind if I ride my skateboard around?" I yell down the stairs. I log in and shut the screen, putting my laptop under my jacket that I changed into when I got this idea.
"Wear a helmet!" He replies.
"I always do!" I put on my helmet and grab the skateboard. I hold it in front if me and walk out the door, waiting for my dad to ask why I had my laptop. I make it outside without suspicion and dash over to my backyard. I quietly hop the fence and open my laptop. I re-log in and start up Crome (the Internet).
"Ummm. Clever bot." I whisper to myself, thinking of where I could find Ben. Or summon him? I don't know.
I ask clever bot about Ben, but it only says the usual lines of "you shouldn't have done that." And "you've met with a terrible fate, haven't you?"
Umm... Porn? He has an interest in my porn watching right? I look up the usual keywords and put on a video. First making sure my sound was off. Then I do that in a few more tabs, and re open Clever bot.
"Ben." I type in.
"Hello." I don't know if that's Ben or the website.
"Ben come here."
"I am not Ben."
"Ben I need you."
"Who is Ben?"
"Ben is my friend." I also type 'and I have a crush on him' but I delete that before pressing enter.
"I have friends."
"I need Ben. Can you find Ben?"
"I don't know any Ben's."
"Can you find Tim? Tim can find Ben."
"I do not know Tim."
"I am Elizabeth Bruce. I live in Santa Rosa, California and I need to find Ben." I'm beginning to feel hopeless, like I'll never find him.
"Where have you been?"
"What do you mean?" That is a very odd question for this site to ask. But it makes sense for Ben to ask.
"Where have you been?"
"Ben. I miss you." I leave out how I've been thinking of how he holds my hand when he takes me places, how incredible his laugh is, and how much I want to hug him right now.
"Why?"
"What do you mean why? Ben, come here."
"Why do you miss me?" I'm pretty sure this is Ben now. Otherwise this is a very, very strange conversation with Clever bot.
I sigh and take a minute to reply. There is no way I can tell him why I miss him. I sigh again. "Ben stop playing with me. Please? I miss you."
"Where have you been?"
"Ben please. Come here, I'm outside. Please Ben?"
"Why?"
"Can you at least talk to me like normal? Come here I miss you."
"No."
"Fine I guess I'll just put this laptop back under the bed, and you'll never be able to talk to me again. You'll have to break in and if you do I will call the cops."
"Are you threatening me?"
"I'm trying."
"It will not work."
[Ben's POV]
Nothing. Absolutely nothing for a few days. Now she's trying to give me a god damn overload. Clever bot is open. And several tabs of porn are open and playing.
"Where have you been." I ask her through the Clever bot site.
She dodges the question. She says she misses me. But why? She walked out on me. But I miss her too. I'm torn between going to her and staying mad, and hiding behind my screen.
She's threatening me? She thinks she has the leverage to threaten me? One more time I ask where she's been. She says she's been "being normal, like you asked". I did ask her to try and be normal. I sigh, there's no way I can ignore her.
"Stand back." She does as I ask and steps back. I come through her screen and stand up. I shake the dirt off my tunic and took up at her.