“It’s calledIndie Darlings,” Ben replies seriously. “They’re a good media fit for you. A small indie publication, very cool and fresh. They’ve even published song lyrics and poems in the past, so you’re a logical interview choice for them.”
“Well, to be fair, I’m pretty sure I only got the interview because you’re doing it with me,” I say flirtatiously, planting a kiss on Ben’s scruffy cheek.
He doesn’t reply and his face remains impassive.
“Is everything okay?” I finally ask, worried by his silence. “You’ve been kind of grim since yesterday. I thought your listening party went really well, didn’t it?”
“It did,” he says with a nod. “I got some great feedback from the journos. It’s just…” His voice trails off as he glances at me, hesitating.
“Yeah?” I ask, feeling my heart start to beat faster. What isn’t he telling me?
“Remember that girl you talked to? About us?”
“Yeah, the assistant?”
“She wasn’t an assistant. She was a blogger.”
I rack my brain in a panic, trying to remember if I said anything weird that I shouldn’t have. But I can’t think of anything.
“Our conversation was pretty innocent,” I say uncertainly.
“Yeah. But she took what you told her and twisted it. It’s become a media shitstorm, to be honest. Everyone is saying that I’m fucking my sister.”
My heart drops as I stare at Ben, open-mouthed.
“But that family connection was years ago! And we werestep-siblings. Barely! Your mom and my dad were married for less than six months!” I finally protest, my voice shrill with shock and urgency.
“I know,” Ben says, his voice heavy. “But the media wants a juicy story and they’ve found a way to create a juicy story. So if we were technically ‘siblings’ at one point, even if juststep-siblings, they’re going to focus on that.”
“Shit,” I say softly, my eyes welling up with tears.Is this all my fault?“I’m sorry, Ben. I didn’t realize.”
“Hey, hey, hang on, Lace, I’m not saying you did anything wrong,” Ben says quickly, giving my thigh a squeeze. “Look, I told Josh your full name, right? Any journo with half a brain would have probably done some digging and figured out the ‘familial’ relationship. And Josh is a smart guy. So he definitely would have figured it out.”
Ben rolls his eyes as he emphasizes the wordfamilialbut it makes me cringe internally.
“Still, I shouldn’t have talked to her,” I say despondently, feeling like I’ve let Ben down. “You and James hadjusttold me! Nothing is off the record.”
“Lace, look at me,” Ben says seriously, turning to face me in the back of the car.
I reluctantly meet his gaze.
“You didnothingwrong, okay? This would have gotten out eventually. It was inevitable. I just didn’t think it would be such a big deal,” he says, his jaw tense with anxiety.
“Is it such a big deal though?” I venture timidly. “I mean, once we explain the reality of things, people will understand. It’s not like it’sincestor something!”
“That’s what they’re saying now,” Ben says quietly. “Incest. I got my own hashtag. #IncestRocker. Oh, and #SiblingFckr.”
“Oh my God, Ben, that’s awful.”
I reach across the backseat of the car and give his shoulder a comforting squeeze. I’m distraught by what Ben’s told me but I’m also not hopeless. Surely, we can work around this situation. We’ll just have to tell people the truth and be clear about our parents’ marriage, explain that it was short-lived, a blip on the radar, and move on.
“James thinks our relationship might be too taboo for the fans,” Ben goes on, hardly reacting to my hand on his shoulder.
“Oh, come on. Your friends were fine with it. It’s unconventional, sure, but it’s notactuallytaboo. It’s notactuallyincest. It was six months of our lives, years ago, that we had no control over. We were kids, literally.”
“I guess so,” Ben says, looking intently out the window. Clearly, my argument isn’t working on him. I wish he would meet my gaze. Even though he’s assured me that I’ve done nothing wrong, I still feel awful. I pull my hand back from his shoulder and sink back into my seat, looking out my own window as the city streets pass by.
Ben stays quiet the whole way to the interview, leaving me to stew on what he’s just told me. I’m surprised that he’s so rattled by the situation. Yes, it’s shitty. But it’s also a misunderstanding. One that we can clear up. Maybe this interview will be the chance to do just that.