Page 34 of Love is a Lyric
Ben looked from the burgers to the bacon. Once again, this girl knew him too well.
“Hi, honey.” His mom wrapped solid arms around him. “Imagine my surprise when these two,” she pointed to Chase and Piper, “show up at the door an hour ago and claim my eldest son is asleep in his old room.” She swatted his shoulder. “You should have woken us up when you got in.”
“I didn’t want to bother you.”
She patted his cheek. “You, my boy, are never a bother. Come. Let’s eat.”
His dad wrapped him in a one-armed hug on the way to the table. “We missed you, kid.”
Ben couldn’t force the words out to tell them how much he’d missed them. Living in L.A., going on tour, nothing ever felt normal. Sometimes, it seemed like a dream he couldn’t wake from and other times a nightmare. But being home where he’d once only been Benji, the oldest Evans kid, he was able to forget about the press who’d show up the moment they learned the band was in trouble.
He sat in the chair he’d always occupied as a kid, right across from Chase. Piper sat to his left as if she’d always belonged at this table. He supposed she did. He might have been away in college, but she’d joined the family at ten years old and never left it.
The only person missing was Quinn, but she’d chosen her path. His jaw clenched as he thought of her and Conner.
Piper nudged him. “Hey.” He looked sideways at her. “I think we’re going to be okay.”
He wanted to believe her, wanted to believe everything he’d worked for, every dream wasn’t shattering into a million pieces. But not even his family could fix this. No amount of bacon burgers would erase the pain inside him.
He ate silently, letting Piper and Chase carry the conversation, bantering between them as they’d always done.
“Piper,” his mom started. “Your old room is exactly how you left it.”
“Hey.” Ben looked up. “Why was mine the only one turned into a gym?”
“Because, son, you never come home.” His dad said it like he was just stating a fact, but Ben knew it hurt his parents. Piper returned to Columbus whenever the band gave her time off, but Ben stayed in L.A., living his life on beaches and in fancy restaurants, leaving his Ohio roots behind.
Piper shrugged. “We can switch if you want. That bed can’t be comfortable for you.”
“No, it’s your room.” He sighed. “There’s just so much changing right now, and the room was a shock.” He couldn’t believe he admitted that out loud.
His mom reached toward him to take his hand. “I don’t know what’s going on or why you’ve come home, Benji, but this will never change. Your room might change, but your family will always welcome you home.”
He used to call his mom the cheese queen when he was a teenager because she was the master of emotional lines and went out of her way to let her kids know how much she loved them. Now, with older eyes, he knew she wasn’t cheesy. Every bit of her was genuine, and that was what he needed.
Piper offered him a smile, her eyes echoing the sentiment.
Chase pretended to cough. “Cheese.”
His parents laughed, and even Ben found himself smiling. He’d been wrong. His entire world wasn’t falling apart, only a small piece of it.
