Chapter 81 Unwanted Guest (2)

Chapter 81 Unwanted Guest (2)
BLAKE
Dinner that night was pretty awkward and tense. What would have been a fun family dinner filled with laughs and discussion about my new movie ended up being a painfully silent affair with minimal words spoken and an air of awkwardness and tension that surrounded the table.
My mom and dad tried their best but it was basically a lost cause. Ava kept glaring at Kristen who alternated between glaring back at Ava and batting her eyelashes at me. I wasn't having any of her sorry attempts at flirting though and did the only thing I could do: ignore her.
After I was done with dinner, I excused myself and rushed up to my room where I finally felt like I could breathe far away from the choking and annoying presence that was Kristen.
Even the mere thought that I'd once been in love with someone so despicable was sickening and beyond me. How had I not seen the signs and avoided that heartbreak?
At least, in my room, I was free from her clinginess and could breath in Rylie's lingering scent from the time she'd spent in my room. The more time I spent with Rylie, the more it dawned on me just how much of a fool I'd been to let her go in the first place. And now, because of Kristen's arrival, I'd let her go without a proper goodbye or escorting her to her door to savor those last few moments with her.
Would Rylie think that I was prioritizing Kristen over her? Would she think that I planned to get back with Kristen? I hoped that she didn't because there was no chance of that happening.
While I was considering how to let Rylie know about that, my eyes fell on the window in my room that was directly opposite Rylie's window and a thought popped up in my head. However, I hesitated. It'd been a while since we spoke to each other at the window. Would she be willing to do something after everything that had happened?
Slowly, I approached the window and looked out into Rylie's room. The window was open but the blinds were down so I couldn't see in. I sighed remembering all the times that the blinds had been up, back when we were together.
Shaking my head to clear my thoughts, I did something I hadn't done in awhile. I called Rylie from my window. At first, it was silent and I assumed that she either hadn't heard me or she wasn't in her room or worse, she was in her room and didn't want to come.
I decided to continue trying but after she didn't appear, I was disheartened and decided it was best to just go to bed. I was just about pulling my windows shut when the blinds suddenly went up and Rylie appeared, dressed in her PJs with her hair pulled up in a messy bun. She looked even cuter than when I last saw her and I was a bit lost for words.
"You came," I finally managed to say.
She smiled and nodded. "I did. Sorry for not coming sooner. I was just—"
"No no. It's no problem." I shook my head to stop her from apologizing.
"So...what did you want to talk to me about?" She propped her elbows on the window sill and looked at me squarely.
"I just wanted to— I wanted to talk to you about Kristen."
"Oh! Is that all?" Her face fell and she looked disappointed.
"Yes but it's not what you think. I just wanted to clear the air about what happened tonight with her. I know I was supposed to escort you home but I didn't after she arrived. I just didn't want you to think that she was more important to me than you are, okay?"
"Blake, I know that. I didn't need you to tell me." She rolled her eyes at me as though I was being silly.
"Well I just wanted to tell you anyway and I'm happy you know that."
She smiled at me and we lapsed back into a comfortable silence where neither of us spoke but knew we didn't need to. It wasn't only when I noticed Rylie shiver and try to hide it that I knew that it was time to go.
"Rylie, I think we should get to bed. Busy day tomorrow," I reminded her even though I didn't want to leave just yet.
Rylie's expression fell but she quickly replaced the look with an indifferent one and nodded. "You're right. I guess we should get to bed." She stepped back and was about closing her windows when I was suddenly pushed to say something.
"Rylie... I miss you," I blurted out for no particular reason.
Rylie seemed taken aback by my statement and I was sure that I'd just destroyed all the progress that I'd made with her. But all my fears were allayed when she instead smiled and responded, "I miss you too. Good night, Blake."
"Yeah, good night," I mumbled as I watched her pull her windows shut and drop the blinds. Slowly, I turned and walked over to my bed as though in a daze before eventually flopping down on my bed gleefully.
"She misses me too," I thought with a grin. I couldn't have been any happier...