20. Alone, finally!
The apartment looked completely different from what Ben remembered. During his time sheltering with the Playa, the place had been well-kept and cozy. Now it looked like a hurricane had hit it.
Papers were strewn over the floor. Mud had been tracked across the scattered pages. The once well-organized bookshelf now sat empty, with the books tossed around the apartment. Every drawer within sight had been yanked open, their contents scattered.
“Guy must’ve finally fell off the deep end. Shame. He was a good kid.” The landlord had said as he let Ben in the apartment. “You got twenty minutes to get whatever shit you want and leave.”
Ben didn’t need twenty minutes. He picked up the books from the floor and gathered them in a cardboard box. He added Bryn’s favorite mug from the cluttered counter and the first aid kit from the bathroom to the box, before fetching the suitcase from the hidden crawlspace in the closet and an oversized gray hoodie off of the hanger. He was gone from the building as quickly as he had arrived.
Alone and in the comfort of his own home, Ben set the box and suitcase next to his dresser, where they would sit for the next four years undisturbed. The only items he removed from the box were the gray hoodie and single book.
Ben wore a white button-up and navy blazer when he arranged for the book to be delivered to the bedside of the comatose Saint. When he went to sleep that night, he pulled on the gray hoodie and held on to the fading scent of Bryn’s cologne. He closed his eyes and tried to chase away the cold, sinking feeling of being alone.