Starboy

Chapter 45: Wait, What?

"Don't you miss him?" He asks. "Your dad, I mean. You should go have dinner with him, B. He's all alone on Christmas Day, you have to go be with him. I'll be fine on my own, okay? I'll eat really quickly and be over in no time."

I sigh, realizing he's right. I hadn't thought about my dad for the past few hours. "Maybe you're right. I hate that."

"I'll see you tonight," he promises, kissing my cheek. "Love you."

"Yeah, yeah, I love you too." I smirk.

Andrew drops me off to my dad's house before he drives Benji to his dinner. I run up to my dad's door, excited to surprise him by showing up early. I haven't seen Dad in what feels like forever.

He opens the door and grins as soon as he sees me. "Honey!" He shouts.

"Dad!" I hug him. "Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas, baby," he says. "Come in, it's freezing."

"Is Benji not coming in?" He asks after looking at him in the limo.

"Not yet, he has dinner at his parents house," I explain.

"You didn't want to go with him?"

"No, I did, but I wanted to see you more." I smile.

Dad and I sit on the couch and exchange our gifts for each other. I get this horrible feeling that I am getting old because I wasn't here this morning to live out our Christmas traditions. I can't believe I am actually out of the house and living with my boyfriend. I shouldn't feel guilty about it but today I really do.

"So what did you do today?" Dad asks.

I choke on my hot coffee and wipe my mouth clean. "Me? What did I do today?"

"Yeah, you. Did you do anything fun with Benji?"

I bite my lip and shake my head. "N-no, not really. Nope. I mean, we—we watched a c-couple movies but that's... all," I stammer.

He nods, a confused look written all over his face. "All right, then. How is he, by the way? Benji."

"Good, good. I think he really enjoyed that lunch that you two had together. Thank you for doing that, Dad. I really want you to like him."

"Sure. I mean I'll never like him the way that you like him, but he's all right by me. He's just a kid, you know? I thought he was this bad, mysterious guy that you should stay away from, but he's just lost. I hear he's got some pretty strict parents."

"Emily and Steven," I say. "They are... interesting people, that's for sure. I never told you this, but they tried to force him into dating this girl: Natalie. I think it really messed him up."

"Wait, when was this?"

I sigh. "A few weeks ago. Maybe months. But it's over, he ended it."

"His parents are okay with that?"

I chuckle. "I mean, yeah. I guess they were... pretty serious about it..." I think out loud, realizing I never quite understood how Emily and Steven were okay with Benji breaking up with Natalie. "But I mean I'm sure..." I stop. "I never thought about that."

"Thought about what?" He asks.

I sigh. "Nothing," I lie. "I'm sure everything is fine. Even though she kissed him..." I think out loud again. "And she's obsessed with him... and so are Emily and Steven."

"She kissed him?" He shouts. "While you two were together?"

I gulp. "Uh," I zone out. "Yeah..."

"I will tell you right now, Brand, something about this situation does not add up. If I were you, I would keep an extra close eye on Benji. Maybe I was right about him after all. Maybe you should stay away from him."

I lean back into the couch and cross my arms as I think about everything. I was convinced that Brandy and Natalie were over but the more I think about it, the more suspicious the situation becomes. Benji never even told me how Natalie took the breakup. And how did his parents let him break up with her? I know how serious they were about it all.

"Dad, I think I need to go," I say as I stand up.

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I just need to check something, that's all." I kiss his cheek. "I'll be back soon, I promise." I head out the door in the freezing cold and make my way to the subway. I don't even know why I'm doing this but I don't think I have another choice.

I finally reach Benji's parents house in the Upper East Side and get into the elevator. I tap my foot repeatedly as I anxiously wait for it to reach the tenth floor.

I knock at the door and listen to this indistinct chatter coming from the other side of it. An unfamiliar face opens up for me and asks who I am. I ignore him and push my way through. I scan the penthouse as I look for Benji. I make my way to the dining room and freeze as soon as I see him.

And her.

I shake my head as I see her laughing and looking desperately in love with him. I realize that I hadn't actually planned on what to say because I didn't really expect for her to be here with him. I was hoping I was wrong. I had hoped that he didn't lie to me and that he wasn't still fake-dating Natalie.

Or is it real? Why else would he lie if it wasn't real?

Benji finally sees me and I can tell he knows he's been caught in a lie. I scoff as I turn back around and head for the door. I hear him running behind me so I walk faster.

I have no idea what his explanation will be.

—

Hello!

I've got to be honest, I love Brandy's dad.

And even though I am writing this book, Benji is pissing me tf off 😭 LMAOO

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See you all tomorrow for the rest of this storyline.