Part 1 − Cousin Therapy

Lara

Ben thought he and Lara would end up together. They've been together for almost 5 years now, after all, and they recently had a long in-depth talk about their future. He loves her deeply, but sometimes love isn't enough to keep two people together.

Ben

Lara?

are you okay?

did something happen, babe?

please lmk as soon as you can

i'm worried

Lara

Ben

babe, you okay?

you usually don't leave me on read for long

is smth wrong?

Lara?

Lara

Yeah well

Let's break up

Ben

...what?

you're kidding?

Lara

Let me reword that

I'm breaking up with you

Ben

this isn't funny, Lara...

Lara

Good

Cuz I'm not joking

Ben

did i do smth wrong?

pls tell me what i did wrong

i'll fix it i swear

Lara

It's not smth you can fix

So you can just drop it

Ben

but it's smth i did, right?

just tell me please

i love you, Lara

i love you so much

we can talk this out, yeah?

Lara

Yeah well about that

I just don't love you anymore

Ben

Lara please don't say that

Lara

Nothing you can do about lost feelings

And I tried to keep loving you Ben

But the feelings aren't coming back

Ben

please Lara please

i'm begging you

Lara

I'm not giving you a choice here, Ben

Ben

why are you doing this?

didn't we plan our future just 2 weeks ago?

was that a lie??

Lara

It wasn't, but things change

And people definitely can too

Ben

Lara please

just tell me what i did

i won't be mad or anything

i swear to you

Lara

Nothing to tell cuz it wasn't anything you did

I just woke up today and knew

Ben

please tell me you're joking

were those 5 years a lie??

Lara

I'm sorry, Ben

But I can't change how I feel

You can just chalk it up to

me saying "it's not you, it's me"

Ben

Lara...

Lara

Goodbye, Ben

Ben

Lara please

Lara I'm sorry

Lara??

After getting his heart broken out of nowhere, Ben tries to move on... But nothing works and in the span of a week, he becomes something of a shut-in.

Mom

Ben

Are you home?

Ben

hey mom

where else would i be haha

Mom

Dear...

Want to talk to your mom about it?

Ben

you alrdy know what happened...

Mom

I do

But you didn't tell me much else except what happened

And we haven't talked about it since then

Ben

idk...

i don't really feel like it...

Mom

You can tell me anything

You can curse as much as you want too

It won't change how I see you and how much I love you

Ben

mom...

Mom

Do you wanna talk face to face?

I'm not pushing you of course

Ben

...is it okay to just talk through text?

Mom

Of course

Just let it all out, Ben

You can tell me anything

Ben

she really hurt me, mom

idk what i did

i must've done something, right?

you don't just wake up and throw away a 5yr relationship

but idk what i did

and she's not replying to me anymore

she's not even reading my messages

and i tried to go to her place but her parents told me to leave

so i can't even talk to her

i tried moving on but everything reminds me of her

and i just feel even more miserable

i love her so much, mom

Mom

Ben...

I don't want to sound biased, but I'm sure you didn't do anything wrong

Nothing that would warrant what Lara did

But thank you for sharing, dear

I have an idea

Do you want to hear me out?

Ben?

Are you there?

Ben

i'm here

sorry mom i

had to step away from my phone for a bit

Mom

It's okay

Don't worry about it

Ben

yes pls say what you wanna say

i'll hear you out

Mom

Thank you

Well here's my idea

You remember my sister, right?

Your aunt Myrna?

Ben

yes

not very well tho

i only know what you told me abt her

Mom

Of course

She moved to the UK before you were born

Ben

okay...

what about her?

Mom

Well I was thinking

You could go to the UK and visit her

Ben

that's... kinda weird

Mom

No no

You can meet your cousin too

I think I mentioned her to you before

Ben

yeah...

Mom

She's about your age

You're both into staying fit by walking

Maybe you can bond through other things too

Ben

i'm not sure, mom...

Mom

You mentioned everything here reminds you of Lara

Ben

yeah...

Mom

Then won't a change of scenery be perfect?

Ben

i guess you're right

and it's not like i'm doing anything useful for anyone here either

Mom

Ben

yes, mom?

Mom

You do know that your father and I don't care about that, right?

Ben

yeah...

Mom

Good

So just think about yourself now

Ben

okay

Mom

Do you need some time to decide?

Ben

i think i've decided

i'll go

Mom

I'm not trying to force you

I just want to make that clear

Ben

i know, mom

and i appreciate it a lot

really

Mom

Of course, dear

How soon do you want to fly out?

Ben

in about a week should be okay

maybe even four days

how long will i be staying in the UK?

Mom

I haven't thought about that

I'll need to ask Myrna

But I want to say for as long as you want

However long it takes for you to feel like you again

Ben

okay

i should pack a good amount of stuff then

do you think i should bring gifts for them?

aunt myrna and her daughter, i mean?

Mom

Caro

That's your cousin's name

And here's what she looks like

You've probably seen her here and there on Facebook

Ben

not sure i have

Mom

You're supposed to see the things I comment on, right?

Ben

i think so

Mom

Well regardless

Now you know what she looks like

Ben

hmm okay

should i book the ticket already?

Mom

No no, I'll do it

I need to talk to your aunt Myrna first anyway

And don't worry, I talked to her before talking to you about this haha

Ben

oh okay

just let me know

Mom

Of course, Ben

Ben

and thank you, mom

Mom

You're most welcome, dear

Less than a week later, Ben flies to the UK. He meets Caro when she and her mom picks him up from the airport, and they have a quick chat before Caro leaves for a party. That night, after she gets back...

Caro

Hey, Ben

Still awake?

Ben

hey

yup, still am

Caro

Just got home a few mins ago

How's the room?

Ben

nice and cozy

thanks for asking

Caro

Ofc

Hope you have a good stay here

It was nice finally meeting you

Ben

same here

it's nice to be away from home for a while

Caro

Oh I'm sure

Ben

sorry but can i ask you a question

Caro

Hm?

Sure

Ben

did my mom or yours tell you why i'm here?

Caro

All I heard was that you needed a change

I'm preeeeetty sure your mom said a change in scenery but I'm not 100% on that

Ben

i see

are you curious abt it?

Caro

I mean yeah

But you don't have to tell me if you don't want to

Ben

thanks

it's a relief you aren't nosey

Caro

Lol don't worry about it

Everyone has their secrets

Ben

yeah

well

this isn't really a secret so i want to tell you

but i'm here to try and move on from my ex

Caro

Oh no

Bad breakup?

Ben

yeah...

not that she gave me a choice

Caro

That sounds so bad

I'm sorry to hear that

Ben

no, it's okay

we were together almost 5 years

and ig i thought that'd be til the end

but she suddenly said she woke up n knew we wouldn't work

Caro

Excuse my french but

That sounds like bs to me

Ben

i don't believe it either but

i can't really do anything

and trust me

i tried

Caro

I don't doubt it

If I may give you some unsolicited advice?

Ben

? sure ig

Caro

Throw yourself into being here

Don't give yourself time to think about her

Ben

...speaking from experience?

Caro

Lol yeah maybe a little

Ben

hmm okay

since you suggested it

can i rely on you to help keep me busy?

like with giving me a tour of the city and all

Caro

Hmmm that doesn't sound half bad at all

Then you got it

Ben

nice

thank you

Caro

Np! Gotta go get some sleep now tho

Good night, Ben

Ben

good night, Caro

Chapter Complete

Part 1

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