IF YOU'RE LUCKY (COMPLETE)

20. Sunset

BENJI POV

The entire funeral was nothing but a blur.

A part of me felt a certain kind of sadness, the kind that you feel when you lose someone important. But I wasn't grieving a father, I was grieving the loss of a business partner and boss. I couldn't help that I felt that way. I wanted it to be different, I tried really hard to change my emotions. But not a single tear was shed when I buried the man that raised me.

Our relationship was complicated to say the least. I loved him because I had to, he was my blood. And I'm sure he loved me in his own twisted way, I guess. But even my eulogy was a mess. It had taken me an entire day to write it and it still wasn't what it should have been. If people didn't know me, they'd think I was talking about an acquaintance. Even when everyone had gone and I was the last one in the cemetery, half of me felt some sort of loss while the other half didn't feel anything at all.

***

VICTORIA POV

"Okay", I say, trying to catch my breath. "I think we need to take out that last spin, don't you think?" Jacob and I's first partner performance had great reviews, but we wanted to tweak a few things in our performance before the next one.

"Yeah, I agree", Jacob pants, wiping the sweat off his face. "Okay, from the top?"

I nod, fixing my ponytail. I start at the far end of the stage, baton in hand as he does the same. Jacob takes his stance as I spin, baton expertly twirling between my nimble fingers. I fall into his arms, his hand placed firmly on my lower back as he pulls me up and to his chest.

My hand gently rests on his chest as I look up, our faces only inches from each other. The lustful look he gives me is enough for me to pull away.

"Alright. Um, I liked the beginning but I feel like it needs something else", I say nervously, trying to act unshaken. I walk over to the table, grabbing a bottle of water.

"Hmm. I think we could add another big pyro moment towards the end", he smiles.

I take a sip of my water as I walk back over to the middle of the stage. "I think that sounds good, but we probably should ask the director before we change something drastic", I mention. I place my bottle down onto the stage, walk over to the edge and jumping off.

I look around the theatre, but can't seem to find her. I see one of the stage assistants and head over to him instead. "Hey, David", I smile. "Have you seen the director? I have a few things I need her to approve".

"She's at the funeral, remember?", he says.

I give him a quizzical look. "Funeral?", I ask. "Sorry, I guess I didn't get the memo".

"Yeah, the CEO passed away the other day", he mentions. "Funeral was today".

My face grows hot with shock, my brows furrowing. "I'm sorry, the CEO?" My arms cross to my chest, I can hear my pulse in my ears.

"Yeah", he says nonchalantly. "You know, Philip Blair, the owner of the hotel? Yeah, poor guy had a heart attack—"

He continues talking, but my mind goes hazy and everything around me seems to start spinning. amy breathing hitches when I start to think about Benji.