[Relationship] The Rosenhof Residence

[Colette Rosenhof]

Colette's head snapped back so fast that, had she had bones, she might've broken her neck. The look of shock giving way to staring daggers.

"What my father did to my mother?" She pushed herself to sit upright and then got onto her feet, not taking her eyes off of Basil for a moment, even it if meant her head turning further on her neck than it should.

"How DARE you, Basil Benson. My father is completely and utterly devoted to my mother. That her parents couldn't see that he was the best thing that ever happened to her is THEIR shortcoming, not his. A fact I'm sure he refuses to believe even to this day."

The look of anger and insult began to give way to the softness of crying as she started to choke up.

"My mother never believed him responsible for their troubles, not once in over twenty years of marriage. But if that's the way you feel... how long will it be before I'm assigned the blame for yours?"

She didn't give Basil much time too offer up a reply or an apology as she turned and ran for the stairs, audibly sobbing.

[Basil Benson]

Basil stood very quietly while he was admonished.

By now he was sort of used to her reading the entirely wrong thing into his statements, and as shitty as the last few days had been, he wasn't really surprised they were at this point.

He thought about explaining 'No madame, I didn't mean leaving you in the poor house. I meant accidentally filling you with jelly babies', but he decided that at he moment, it simply wasn't worth it. Eventually, she'd cry her eyes out, then he'd have a chance to explain that she once again got the wrong impression and stormed off before he had a chance to explain himself.

Instead, he went to get his cigarettes so he could have a smoke on the porch while she calmed down... to discover he didn't have any. he discarded the empty pack into a waste paper basket and called out feebly.

"I'm popping off to the shop for a pack."

And that was the last thing Basil Oliver Benson said to his Madame for a very long time.

[Narrator]

Colette wouldn't see Basil that night, or the next day. Or the next.

But on a Saturday morning, a letter arrived.

Colette,

I have been doing some evaluating of our relationship, and have decided we are incompatible. My eccentricities make me difficult to deal with. I should have never burdened you with them.

The townhouse is yours to keep.My advice would be to find a room mate, or liquidate and use the funds for your comfort during your studies.

All the best,
B. Benson

[Colette Rosenhof]

Colette was not surprised to spend the first night of their fight alone, Basil previously had been sleeping in another bed due to his poor mood. So she attributed his absence to him either sleeping in the guest bedroom, or on the couch in the living room as a form of penance. She wouldn't even had noticed that he wasn't there in the morning, she had remained a literal puddle of sadness until the early afternoon when she finally reformed enough to go in search of water and sustenance. It wasn't until he hadn't returned by that night that she began to worry.

The following day she called his grandparents, and was disappointed to hear that they had not seen or heard from him since a day prior to the night of their falling out. While the girl considered the notion that Esther might lie to her about the whereabouts of her grandson in the interest of protecting him from such an awful gentile, she knew that Amit would not allow her to suffer so. He would have found a way for her to know the truth, he was far too kind of a soul to let her suffer like this. In the end she regretted calling them at all as now she was certain that they would begin to worry. She couldn't even file a missing person's report - how do you tell the police to look for an invisible man?

Her texts to Basil's number became more pleading and forgiving before becoming more desperate, asking for his forgiveness and begging him to come home. Being left on read just upset her more and more. The arrival of the letter was the straw that broke the camel's back. Not long after it's arrival Chisaki's phone was buzzing with the onslaught of text messages and missed calls from Colette's number. The first three texts were almost complete gibberish, but they started to clear up by the fifth one.

chiitan i need ur hlep

helpo

basil si gonww

we had a fight and now he wont t

wont take ym calls and he snet me a letter saying were doneion rings

i dont know what to do thsiis ducking bullets

[Chisaki Watanabe]

Chisaki replied immediately.

Code: Select all

I will do my best to find him.

[Colette Rosenhof]

Code: Select all

thnak you chiitan
do you have chasers number
Chase?
i dont have him in my contacts maybe he knows smoething

[Chisaki Watanabe]

Chisaki texted the number directly Colette.

[Colette Rosenhof]

Code: Select all

thanks chiitan u r a saint
i owe you so muhc

Once she had the number Colette almost immediately began texting Chase.

Code: Select all

Chaser?
chase its colette form school
have u seen basil?
we had a fghti and new noone knows where he si

[Chase Delacroix]

Code: Select all

No, I haven't. But if he's ignoring your calls I can try getting a hold of him to check on him.

[Colette Rosenhof]

Code: Select all

thank you chaste
i talked to his grabnsparents and tehy hadnt seen him or they say thye havent
i taught maybe you might knwo some of hsi regular huyants

[Chase Delacroix]

Code: Select all

I'll try to think of something. Lemme try a text first. Just a sec.

On his end, he typed out a text to Basil.

Code: Select all

Dude, call your girlfriend. She's freaking out.

[Basil Benson]

It took awhile for Basil to reply after he had read the message, but eventually, he did.

Code: Select all

Hey mate.

No can do. She  went mental on me for the last time, I'm done. You can tell her I'm alive if you want to get her off your back, but I won't be contacting her again.

[Chase Delacroix]

Code: Select all

You sure you've thought this through? No offense, but you've been pretty moody lately. 

[Basil Benson]

Code: Select all

Thanks for the support, mate.

Yes I'm sure.

I'm going to take some time for myself and clear my head. I'll see you when school starts again.

[Chase Delacroix]

Code: Select all

Alright, but don't hesitate to contact me if you need me for anything.

[Basil Benson]

Code: Select all

Will do.

[Chase Delacroix]

To Collette,

Code: Select all

He answered. I'm sorry, but he says he's sure he's cutting things off.  He's obviously not in a good place right now, so maybe space to clear his head is all he needs, but I don't think either of us hunting him down is going to help in changing his mind.

He hated how callous he sounded as he guiltily played a part in breaking her heart. But he was first and foremost Basil's friend and didn't really know how to say it better anyway.

[Colette Rosenhof]

It probably shouldn't come as a surprise that Colette left Chase on read. She had important crying-as-a-puddle things to do.

[Colette Rosenhof]

It was into September and the new semester before Chase would hear from Colette again. And, perhaps unsurprisingly, it was to ask for another favour. It hadn't taken long for the young woman to realize that she couldn't afford to remain in the townhouse - yes it was paid for, but she still had to pay for utilities, food, transportation - all things that were beyond her income as your average starving student. She had grown too attached to the place to sell it, still too hopeful that someday things would be different and she and Basil would make it a home again. And perhaps part of her thought that this was the only time in her life she would ever own property. So instead she had decided to rent it out, partially furnished, and use the rent to pay for the general upkeep while banking a little so that she had some capital to work with once she graduated. It wasn't an ideal situation, but it was the best that she could think of, thanks to the help of Howard and Harold.

Colette hadn't had any trouble moving her own things, taking a duffel bag or two at a time back to the campus on her daily commute. What she was having trouble with was Basil's things. She couldn't bring herself to pack them up herself, and even if she had been able to she thought it was better for him to get them than just sending the stuff to his parent's place and creating another awkward interaction between him and his mother. But Chase, well, Chase could act as a neutral third party.

Chase? iuts colette
i h8 to ask btu would yuo beable to do me a favuor???
would you eb willign to pack basil's thnigs and take them to him for me?
i tried to do it myslef byt im h
im nto good at this
cry to mush
i hbae boxes

[Chase Delacroix]

Sometime after confirming he would come, Chase showed up at her door to ring the buzzer with a concerned look on his face that he was failing to hide. Basil had never shown up like he said he would. In fact, he had texted his friend about his belongings and discovered his number now belonged to a complete stranger. And if that hadn't been bad enough, the school administration told him Basil resigned.

The invisible man had become a ghost.

[Colette Rosenhof]

It took just a moment for the deadbolt to clack and the door to open, Colette's signature facial features still forming as the door swung ajar.

"Oh, zank you Chase. Sorry, I sometimes forget to put on my face when I am... alone." There was definitely melancholy and tiredness in her voice as she beckoned the young man inside. "Please, come in. Let me get you somezing to drink."

[Chase Delacroix]

"No thanks," he answered as he followed her inside, distractedly adding, "I'm not thirsty."

[Colette Rosenhof]

"Oh, well do not hesitate to ask should zat change. Zere is water and beverages in ze refrigerator should you desire zem."

The interior of the house actually didn't look too bad, a lot of the furniture remained where it had been for several months now. What had changed was many of the personal touches that had been added to it, the little objects and uniquetities that represent the occupants. It had been a home once, now it was just a house. Empty bookshelves, bare mantelpieces, and empty anchors in the walls where picture frames had once hung.

"I... must again apologize for asking zis of you. I did not know whom else to turn to. I zought of Basil's family but zat... we were not on ze best of terms before zis."

[Chase Delacroix]

Chase gave her a thoughtful, worried look before saying, "Collette. I..."

How the heck am I supposed to tell her that I think something might be terribly wrong?

[Colette Rosenhof]

Colette pursed her lips. "Is somezing ze matter? Oh no, did you hurt your back?"

[Chase Delacroix]

"You should probably sit down," he suggested. Really, he was stalling because he wasn't ready to verbalize what he was suspecting.

[Colette Rosenhof]

Colette's face went far more pale than Chase might have thought possible.

"Oh mon Dieu, il est mort n'est-ce pas? S'il vous plaît, ne laissez pas cela être vrai! Dites-moi que Basil n'est pas mort." In her excitement the woman had lapsed back into her native tongue, though even if Chase did not understand the words her tone made it clear that she feared the worst - that Basil's body had been pulled out of the Thames or something.

[Chase Delacroix]

He at least knew what mort meant. Eyes widened a little, he said, "Oh God, no no no, he's not dead. At least, not that I know. But... I do think something is wrong. The thing is after you texted, I sent him one to ask where to take his stuff but some random guy has his phone and said he just got it. And admin says he sent a resignation letter."

"I have a bad feeling something has happened to him."

[Colette Rosenhof]

Colette looked relieved, but not by very much.

"He may have resigned knowing zat I would be at ze campus... it is not as if he requires employment, or would have difficulty in finding it elsewhere. Do you suppose zat he changed his number to avoid you as well, because you reached out to him upon my behalf?"

[Chase Delacroix]

"I can't accept that he'd ghost his entire life over a breakup. I mean, I want him to be okay but I need proof he isn't just being dramatic. Maybe I'm paranoid, but we don't know he sent those letters or ever texted with me about it."

[Colette Rosenhof]

"But... who else would send such letters but Basil himself? If he were being held for ransom or somezing, zey would not have sent letters at all, ozer zan to his parents perhaps." Still, Colette was becoming less sure of what she'd taken to be the truth.

"So, what do we do?"

[Chase Delacroix]

"Someone could have forced him or even written them for him to keep anyone from looking for him. Is the letter he sent you handwritten?"

[Colette Rosenhof]

"No, it wasn't..." Colette turned and headed for the stairs, pausing long enough to tell Chase that she'd just be a moment and for him to have a seat if he liked. When she returned from upstairs she offered the young man the letter. It had been typed, but Basil's signature was there.

[Chase Delacroix]

"We can at least try to compare the signature to something else he's signed."

Chase respected her privacy enough not to read it himself without permission. So, he asked, "Does anything about the letter seem unusual in hindsight? Like, words or phrases he wouldn't use?"

[Colette Rosenhof]

Colette looked over the letter again and furrowed her brow in thought.

"... he called me by my name at ze beginning. He never does zis, he always refers to me as madame, especially in formal moments. At ze time, I took it as part of ze separation, but now...." Colette excused herself again to go in search of the documents she had related to their home, producing the deed bearing both of their signatures. She laid it out on the kitchen island, and Basil's letter atop of it.

[Narrator]

The handwriting seemed the same, but one thing stood out.

Even if she grabbed other documents, what she knew to be his signature was always written as 'Basil O. Benson', (with a little O that kinda looked like it was waving at someone), never B. And B wasn't something anyone called him.

[Chase Delacroix]

"Does he ever sign anything 'B'?" he asked, suspecting the answer.

[Colette Rosenhof]

Colette shook her head. "No, not zat I have ever seen. Do you zink zat someone was impersonating him, or zat he signed it incorrectly on purpose?"

[Chase Delacroix]

"If they had studied his signature to forge it then they'd know not to sign it that way. I'm betting on him trying to leave us a bread crumb."

He hated himself for not catching on sooner. What good is it having assassin training if his instincts don't pick up on suspicious things?

[Colette Rosenhof]

"Well, what do we do zen? How in ze world will we find him? Do we ask ze school for assistance?"