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"You what!?" Ben shouted. Him and Callum stood there in the kitchen, Callum looking on the verge of tears and Ben staring at Callum in anger.
"Ben, please... Just listen to me..." Callum begged.
"Go on then, I'll listen," Ben replied, wanting to know some reasoning behind his boyfriend's betrayal, "you explain to me why your boss has just told me that you and him have been working together to send my dad down,"
"It's not how it seems -"
"What is it then Callum, cos from where I'm standing it seems pretty clear!"
"I was protecting you!" Callum shouted, sounding so desperate that his voice broke. "By sending my dad down!? So it was you that planted the bug in the Arches?" Callum nodded solemnly, "Why!?" "Because I was protecting you! Thompson had CCTV of you in that warehouse and found out about us and then threatened to send you down if I didn't get your Dad sent down instead, I didn't want Lexi to grow up without a Dad, I didn't want to have to live part of my life without you, I was doing this to save my family, because that's what you do,"
"No, that's not what family do, Callum, my Dad is family, and you've betrayed him, and me!"
"I told you! I was protecting you! Why won't you listen to me!?" They both fell silent, and tears began to trickle down Callum's face. Neither could look the other in the eye. Ben too hurt by the betrayal, and Callum too scared of losing Ben again. They both stared at the ground, silent, both a little scared of what would happen next.
"Ben, please, believe me please, I love you..."
"Don't! Don't tell me that you love me, not after you've been lying to me for months," Ben said angrily, though deep down he just wanted to forget this was all happening, just wanted to forget what Callum had done, what his DI had told him. He just wanted to hold Callum, to kiss away his tears, and to tell him that he loved him too and that they would make their way through this, But he couldn't, his pride wouldn't let him. And he knew what he had to do.
"Ben! What did you want me to do, he was gonna have you sent down! I couldn't watch you get dragged away by the police, knowing I could've helped you!"
"You could've come to me! You could've come to me and my Dad and we would've helped you!"
"I'm sorry..." And back to silence it went. The words were the on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn't bring himself to say it. A few minutes later and Callum spoke again.
"Ben, please... Say something..." He pleaded.
I'm giving up on you
"Get out..." He whispered so quietly, Callum might not have even heard it.
"W-what..?"
"I-I said get out," he repeated, louder and more sure of himself this time.
"Ben- Ben please don't do this, you don't want this- I know you don't,"
"You don't know anything, now get out. We're- We're done..." And Callum began to shake profusely, the tears rolling down his cheeks faster, and his silent cries turned into sobs. It broke Ben to see him like this, but he didn't know what else to do. His Dad always said family first, so once again, he stood here breaking up with Callum for the second time in just over a year, all for his Dad. It was endless loop. He'd sacrifice his happiness just for his Dad and now look where it's got him, stood in the Mitchell kitchen fighting back tears, just as he had last time.
"Go now, and I won't tell my Dad, and if he finds out, I'll stop him from doing anything stupid, if he finds out and we're still together, and you're still living in this house, I can't guarantee your safety, and I won't watch another boyfriend die,"
"Ben, we can run away together or something, please, I'm begging you to help me set this right, help me fix this, so we can still be happy,"
You're the one that I love, and I'm saying goodbye
"Goodbye Callum," he said coldly, slamming down a ring box on the table, "Take this too, sell it or something, get yourself out of Walford, get yourself somewhere safe, away from my Dad, I-I love you..." He let the tears fall, "I said I'd protect you, and that's what I'm doing, so take your bags and go, please, for me..."
"I love you too..." Callum said, picking up the ring box, walking over to Ben and kissing him one last time. He half expected Ben to push him off, but Ben carried it on. They were both wishing it could last forever, take them somewhere far away from here where they would both be safe. Ben was the first to pull away.
"If you keep doing that, you'll never leave,"
"Maybe that's what I want," Callum whispered in his ear and went in for another kiss, but Ben pushed him away.
"We can't do this anymore, we had a good run, good luck..." And with that, Callum turned on his heel, grabbed his already packed bags, which he had discovered when he first entered the kitchen, and walked out.
"I will be anywhere that you are..." Ben whispered under his breath as the door shut completely. He leaned against the wall, sunk down slowly, head in hands and allowed himself to sob. Callum Highway watching the love his life breakdown through the window, listening to his screams of "I'm sorry baby," and "I just want to be happy,"
"I'm sorry too..." he mouthed, before walking out of the garden and towards the Tube. And whether Callum ever sold that ring? All you had to do was look at his finger to know that Callum Highway would never get over Ben Mitchell.