Life in Color ✔️

45~ Bennett

"Hey, Scar, we're heading out!" Sage calls from the tv room.

Getting up, I find him stuffing a box of nerds into his back pocket, the pink box way too obvious even with his jacket covering it. "Have Saffron take a backpack."

He waves me off, "What are you gonna do while I'm out with your boy?"

I roll my eyes, not even a little bit bothered that I'm not going out with them. The two of them need to do something together, without me. "I'll clean. The twins are in the basement so no one will be able to make things dirty for a solid few hours."

And boy does our house need it.

It hasn't been deep cleaned in almost two months and I can't handle the filth any longer. Shoving Sage and Saffron out of the house, I put on an audiobook and get to work, losing all track of time.

I start in my room and work my way down, bleaching, sterilizing, vacuuming, and wiping every surface I can find. My birthday is getting closer by the day and I can't afford to have the entire house be a mess till last second. There are tons of touch ups Uncle John's pointed out but decluttering and cleaning is a good place to start.

The kitchen is the only room I'm putting off, the crumbs and sticky floors scaring me away. Plus, I'm pretty sure there's still traces of Kool-Aid leftover from Thanksgiving. But once I finish literally every other room in the house, including Silver's bedroom, I have no choice but to clean it.

I'm halfway through scrubbing the countertops when the front door opens. I pause my audiobook, checking to see if Sage texted that they were on their way home. He didn't but he could've forgotten. Sighing, I pull my gloves off, I'll finish this mess later.

"You're home early!" I call out, expecting the little girls to run into the kitchen any second.

Music starts to blare from the TV room, making it difficult to hear the nearing footsteps. I count to five, preparing myself for a sneak attack before I turn around. As I take in the person leaning against my doorway I decide I'm no longer prepared for a sneak attack.

Bennett.

He smiles at me, unfazed by the smell of bleach. His hair is buzzed off, ripped jeans and leather jacket dirtying up the wall I just wiped off.

I'm stuck behind the counter, my phone just in front of me. In a panic, I try to see how this will go. It's just me and him by the looks of it, Bennett doesn't enjoy having other people listening to our conversations.

He tends to get embarrassed by my unfaltering attitude.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I demand, placing my hands on the counter top.

He laughs, pushing himself off the wall. "We need to talk, Cutie."

Oh, the things I've waited to say to him but now isn't the time.

"Get the hell out of my house." I watch him, my hands sliding across the counter top. Sweat marks trail behind, giving away just how nervous I am.

"Stop reaching for your phone, it won't do you any good. The twins are downstairs, completely oblivious to my arrival, and the other two are out with your precious boyfriend. Let's not make this more difficult than it has to be." He sounds almost bored with his warning.

Instantly I pull my hands back, looks like that trick won't work twice. A chill works its way down my spine, he's been watching us.

He has full control of the situation, all of the pieces moved to his advantage. "I take it Scotty did a shit job of sending my message."