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Another day at the helm, another day of peace in the Engine and violence right outside the door. Ben was looking over the tracks in front of him absentmindedly, mind wandering around aimlessly. Alex sat behind him playing around with some old equipments that were scattered around on the floor.
“Do you know who my father is?” Alex just spoke her thoughts out loud before she could stop herself. Ben choked out of surprise and turned his chair around to face Alex. She crossed her hands and leaned back on her chair, her expression changed as the silence went on. Ben seemed mildly uncomfortable, but as soon as Alex changed into a questioning glare he understood what she meant.
“No, I’m not your father. I met your mother when you were 2.”
The relief on Alex’s face almost frustrated Ben somehow, but he remained a neutral face. He wondered why Alex just thought about asking him this question when she could very well ask her own mother. Perhaps Wilford was getting in the way, but that old man comes into the engine more often than he disturbs Melanie.
“Your mother never married anyone, but she also wanted a child. So you technically don’t have a father in the family, Melanie said you were enough for her.” Alex ran through Ben’s sentence in her head again, then smirked at him.
“Is that why she lets you sleep with her but not marry her?” The look on Ben’s face made Alex internally scream, but she controlled the tight smile on her face just to be polite. Ben breathed deeply and tilted his head, he could very well admit that Alex got him this time but he wasn’t going to back down to a teenager.
“Did she really tell you that? Or is it just Wilford’s terrible humor?” Perhaps it was his tone, Alex saw through him instantly.
“Just the way you two look at each other contradicts with what you just said.” Alex made a face that utterly defeated Ben, she knew what they were up to. Maybe she was just making sure that she’s not bullying her own biological father without knowing. Ben dropped his head into one of his hands, supporting it in defeat.
“And I heard you two doing it last night.”
Ben almost fell out of his chair at the addition from Alex. The young engineer’s tight lipped smile now seemed mixed, but Ben focused and held his ground. Something in his mind struck him, that’s when he realized something was terribly wrong.
“Last night?”
“Yeah, I was at the helm. My mom was screaming. Plus I heard yelling from Wilford so pretty sure he intercepted it.”
“We didn’t-”
“What is it that concerns me?” A booming voice from behind startled both of them out of their chairs, they stood up and faced him. Wilford was in one of his his wonky looking robes, and looked like he just woke up. Ben bit his lip to not laugh at Wilford’s ridiculous hair, and Alex looked even more uncomfortable than Ben when she exposed him.
“Sorry boss, with respect sir, it’s Melanie’s shift, not yours.” Ben crossed his arms behind his back and said slowly after a pause. Alex studied the floor quietly, and Wilford just scoffed.
“Well, she’s still in bed. Go wake up your mother, Alex.” With a wave of his hand, Alex went for the crew cabin. On her way out, she glanced at Ben just to see him giving Wilford the strangest gaze ever. The old engineer sat down in Alex’s chair, his feet up on the control panel. Ben didn't move, and never took his eyes off of Wilford, who seemed to feel his gaze.
“What’s wrong? Can’t keep your hair in shape?” Wilford asked carelessly as he lit a cigarette.
“I need to go ask Melanie something.” Ben said gravely, making Wilford open his eyes and look at him properly. Ben was staring at him with a neutral expression, but even his neutral face seemed like it was barely holding together.
“Fine. I have the train.”
The man quickly hustled his way out of the control room and stormed into the crew cabin. Melanie was tying her shoelaces when Ben stood looking at her with an angry glare. Alex was sitting on a stool on the opposite of the room, when Ben entered with obvious hostility around him she stood up and watched him carefully. Melanie looked up and him, leaving her shoelace half done.
“You’ve lost it, Mel.”
She froze at his comment.
“You did it with him?! Have you lost your mind?!” His face was red, eyes wide and fuming. Melanie just sat there and closed her eyes, but then a smile crept onto her face. Alex watched the scene with a dumbfounded expression, but decided to just let it escalate. Ben straightened himself and ran both of his hands through his hair, trying to compose himself.
“Ben, there’s a huge misunderstanding.” Melanie said calmly with a smile that’s getting bigger by the second. Just when Ben was about to meltdown further, Melanie stood up and held his shoulder. Her eyes met his, instantly blowing out every last spark of anger in him. Both gentleness and amusement were present in those green eyes in front of him, just her presence could settle his heart.
Plus Melanie looked like she was about to break out laughing so something was probably hidden in the dark.
“He and I got into a fight. I slapped him with a pillow because he kept on complaining about my lamp. That’s it, Ben, what did you think it was?” Her voice calm with a hint of fun, firm enough to be believable while not being too defensive. Ben fully relaxed his shoulders and laughed at himself for his massive insecurity. He could just hear the teasing from the two women in the Engine while his eyes roamed to Alex, who knew exactly what’s coming.
“I was never a part of this, Ben.”
“Alex said that you two were doing it last night, she said you were screaming and Wilford somehow got angry.”
“I just told him that maybe you two were doing it, and then Wilford ruined it. I didn’t know it was just a pillow fight?”
“Well I guess now you could say that Ben’s a jealous man.” Melanie let the door slide close behind her with a swirl of her silky hair and a playful smile.