LESLIE BENNET
Leslie often found herself taken aback by how quickly life could change.
Just half a year ago, Leslie had been sitting on a Hospital bench praying for her son’s life, while juggling two jobs, yet now that very same boy was offering her the chance to retire.
“Five million?!” she tried to make sense of that number, but that was easier said than done.
“Well, after taxes and stuff, I’ll probably only see like two million at once,” and for her, even that was quite a large sum of money, and she tried to calculate how long it would take her to earn such a sum.
“Still, that will be enough for us to move to a better neighborhood,” and she was quite happy here at East Highland, but it was obvious to her that her son had given it much thought.
“Sweetheart, you don’t have to spend your money on us,” she clarified, and as a mother, it was her duty to care for him and his sisters.
He had no obligation to spend his money on them, though she could hardly stop him.
Leslie’s account was fuller than it had ever been, and he had told her how he had already put aside nearly a hundred grand for Rue and Gia’s college.
Remus himself was yet to make a decision on going to college, for he had no need of it.
Her son was now a singer.
A proper singer, who had just signed a major deal with a record label.
“I know, but I want to,” he countered, slowly looking her directly in the eye.
Remus had always been the mature child in the family, yet the accident had changed something in him.
Before the accident, there had always been an underlying nervousness to him, but afterward that underlying anxiety was gone and had been replaced by a soothing calm.
“I know that you have precious memories here,” he said, looking around, and that was true, for this was the house where Leslie and Robert had planned their entire lives.
All three of their children had been born in these very halls, and Robert had spent his dying moments in this very place as well.
“So, we can keep it and move to a better place,” and that would be unnecessary.
“I will think about it….” she answered, when suddenly Rue walked out of the kitchen.
“It’s time,” she said, and today Remus was meant to take her to therapy with him, and though she had been reluctant at first, Rue had later agreed to go to Pasadena and give her new therapist a chance.
Remus glanced at the clock.
“There’s still time?” he noticed, and Rue nodded.
“Yeah, but I told Jules that we would pick her up, so we gotta go now,” and that was the main catalyst behind all the positive changes in her life.
Jules Vaughn, and she had yet to meet this enigmatic angel who had helped Rue change.
Rue’s addiction had nearly torn this family apart, and though they were not out of the water yet, they were healing.
“Yeah, cool, lemme grab my jacket,” and with that, Remus gave her one final glance before he raced up the stairs, as she looked towards Rue while his question continuously ran in her mind.
“Rue,” she called out, and her daughter’s head snapped towards her.
“Yeah,” she answered, and Leslie could tell that she had heard some of their conversation and was still processing it.
She would need to speak with both Rue and Gia about this as well, for such a decision would obviously have a great effect on them as well.
This was not just her decision.
She was not just the mother of Remus, the rising star.
She was also Rue’s and Gia’s mother, and had to decide what they wanted.
“Rue, maybe it’s time you let us meet this mystery girl who’s been helping you,” she teased, and it was rare for Rue to be awkward, but she saw her daughter blush.
“Ugh, why do you even care?” Rue answered with a groan.
“Because I wanna meet the person who’s helped you turn things around,” Leslie answered honestly, and suddenly an idea popped up in her head.
“Your brother is going to meet a new friend today, so why don’t you invite Jules to dinner today?” This dinner was long overdue.
“Mom!” Rue groaned, but she had made the declaration.
She was doing her a favor because, with Remus gone, she would be facing less scrutiny and embarrassment.
“You don’t even have her number,” Rue challenged, and she should not have done that.
“And you don’t think that I can find that out in the next five minutes,” she responded, as they both looked into each other’s eyes, until Rue’s shoulders sagged.
“Fine, I’ll ask her,” she relented, and that was good enough for her.
“Good girl,” and just then Remus slid down the stairs, with a jacket on.
“Let’s go,” he said, picking up the keys from the wall.
“Hey, don’t show up empty‑handed, first impressions matter,” she reminded him as he was about to walk out the door.
“I won’t,” he answered, and then, with that, the House was empty.
Gia had gone to her friend’s house earlier in the day, leaving her all alone.
Her son had already forced her to quit one of her jobs, and so she found herself with some leisure time.
She could not remember the last time she had been free like this.
She enjoyed the quiet for a moment before she rose up from the sofa and began to walk around the House, and until now she had never really had the time to do so.
She walked into the kitchens and found herself gazing at all the little grazes and scratches on the cabinets that marked years of use.
She spotted a crooked door and smiled about the massive argument she had gotten into with Robert over that thing.
It had been years since then, yet she could remember each and every word still.
They had built this together.
All by themselves, and then he had left her alone.
Cancer and the mere reminder of his loss and suffering brought tears to her eyes.
His disease had pushed her to the brink, and even in his death, Leslie had pushed herself to be strong, for she knew that this was what her children needed her to be.
She could not falter, yet now in this moment she allowed herself to grieve over his loss.
She saw the markings on the door frame, where they would measure their children’s growth, though they had stopped doing that years ago.
The last ones were from four years ago, the very year when her husband had died.
She was walking around when suddenly the doorbell rang much to her surprise.
She was not expecting any guests at this time, and Gia had the keys.
Still, she took out her phone and opened the camera app to see who it was, and found herself a bit surprised as she saw a familiar face.
It was Amy, her son’s manager.
She had met Amy a week ago, and given that Remus was still a minor, she had been the one to interview the person who would be looking after him.
Amy had come highly recommended.
Leslie had liked the lawyer Gina and Bill had arranged for them.
It was obvious to her that the man was a big shot, but he had been very kind and eager to help her son navigate his newfound fame and career.
Leslie wiped away her tears as she walked up to the door and opened it.
The black-haired girl smiled there.
“Hi, Mrs. Bennet. How’ve you been?” Amy greeted her warmly.
“I’m good. How about you?” she asked, leading her into their House.
“I am fine,” she answered, looking around.
“Is Remus here?” Leslie shook her head.
“No. He left a few minutes ago,” she told her, and she saw the dark-haired girl glance at her watch.
“I was hoping to catch him — I’ve got a few things he needs to look over,” and then she shrugged.
“Is it urgent?” she asked, and she could call him back if it was but Amy shook her head.
“No. Not urgent. Just some things he asked me to check out,” and she knew well that her son would be in safe hands with her. Get faster updates on novelping.com.
“Can I ask you something?” Leslie cut in, taking the young woman by surprise.
“Of course,” Amy answered.
She led her to the sofas, and she was hoping that she could help her make an informed decision about what to do with her son.
Remus had always been a very responsible child, and had taken over many of her burdens after Robert’s death.
Even now, he had just made a million dollars, yet unlike his peers, he was busy trying to help her and his sisters.
It was very good of him, but Leslie worried for her son.
His life was about to change, and she did not wish to be a burden on him.
“Remus brought up something today,” she began, as Amy’s eyes came together.
“He wants us to move out of East Highland,” and she saw Amy give a small nod.
“So he’s already talked to you about it,” Amy added, and just as she had expected, Amy knew of it.
“You already knew?’ she asked still, and the young woman nodded.
“Yeah, he mentioned it weeks ago. I even reached out to some Pasadena realtors — lined up a few options,” and he had already thought so far ahead, yet Amy frowned, noticing her expression.
“You seem troubled?” Amy questioned, and this was all so new to her that she did not know what to do.
“I know my son,” She began as she decided to share the troubles plaguing her mind.
“He’s always been mature, but I don’t want him carrying too much on his shoulders.” Leslie clarified.
“He has already done too much for us. For me, but I don’t want to be a hurdle for him and his career,” and that was how she had been feeling for some time now.
Leslie felt as if she was holding him back, and the thought of it was eating away at her.
“Well, he is quite mature indeed,” Amy agreed, with a small smile.
“But that is a very good thing for someone in his situation, and I can assure you that he doesn’t think of you as a burden at all.” That was kind of him, but it did little to ease her heart.
“Why does he want to move? What is the real reason?” and she wanted to know if there was anything more to this than he had told her, and she saw Amy stop for a second before she finally gave her the answer.
“Well, the truth is that he will have to move,” and now she frowned at that.
“Your house is very nice and warm, but it simply doesn’t have what he needs,” and now she was listening closely.
“Remus is a singer, and given his independent nature, he wants a studio in his home where he can go and work on his songs, and he simply does not have that here,” and now it all made much sense.
“Your son is talented, but he has a lot of work ahead of him. Making an album is not an easy thing, and he has promised to deliver one to the label in the next six months,” and Leslie finally understood the burdens of being a star.
“Concerts. Media appearances. Paparazzi. His life is about to change completely,” and that all but made her decision for her.
Her son’s life had enough troubles of its own now.
She would not add to them, any more than she already had.
“But don’t worry about him. He will be fine,” Amy assured her.
“Just… look out for him, okay? He’s still a boy,” she spoke softly, and Amy gave her a reassuring smile.
“Don’t worry. Protecting his career is literally my job — and I’m damn good at it,” she assured her.
“I have one last question for you?” she added, making the woman sitting beside her perk up.
“All these things that you have just told me. The Media, music, and concerts,” and she looked into her eyes.
“Do you think it will be easier for him to do all that if he were to move out by himself….”
.
.
.
0000
Have a fantastic day!