Chapter Twenty-Seven

The fog in my mind is shaken by the sound of a soft voice not far from me. Lazily, I crack one eye open and look at my surroundings. The familiar scenery reminds me that I'm currently sitting in Blake's room instead of my own. It feels surreal to be sleeping in the same bed with Blake. I've always wondered what it would be like sharing a bed with another person, but never thought it would be with Blake Rivers. The fact Blake and I have done so much than I ever expected surprises me. Blake is from a whole other universe in high school – how did we ever get the chance to meet and bond like this? "You need to stop growing, and stay my little girl forever," whispers Blake. I push the blanket away from my body and crawl towards them. I rest my chin on his shoulder and wrap my arm around his back. Blake has London wrapped up in a soft pink blanket in one arm, and the other one holding a bottle for her to drink from. The surreal feeling of it all continues to flow through my mind. Being up and close with Blake has come to feel completely normal over these past couple of weeks. But dating Blake – officially labelling and defining our relation puts everything into perspective, and it's an oddly nice feeling to have. I'm dating Blake Rivers, I can't believe it. "Sorry for waking you," he says. "You're perfectly fine." I lean in and kiss his cheek. "She's getting so big, I can't believe it," says Blake. "She's turning out to be such a cutie." I smile. "You're going to be a little heart breaker when you're older." He softly taps her nose. Once she's finished her milk bottle, he hands it to me and he holds London to his chest and pats her back. "I'll take this downstairs while you put her to bed." I kiss his cheek once more, before getting up and heading out the door and downstairs to rinse it out in the kitchen. I try to creep down the stairs quietly, but somehow seem to be louder than normal and step on all of the creaky steps. I sigh with relief when I make it to the bottom step. I do a quick scan of the room and find Tori and Jude on different couches. Jude is snuggled up under his blanket while Tori is sitting up and looking at me worriedly. "Is she okay?" she whispers. Nodding my head, I say, "You can go see her." While Tori throws the blanket away from her and makes a run for the stairs, I step into the kitchen and try to quietly rinse out the milk bottle for Blake. When I walk past the couch, I notice Jude is awake and staring into the distance. I don't want to head upstairs just yet and disturb what moment Blake and Tori are in, so I settle for the couch and look at Jude. A range of emotions flutter to my stomach. Do I ask him all the questions burning the back of my throat, or do I hold my silence for a little longer? His blank gaze says it all. "Do you love Tori?" The words feel distant and unrecognisable, but I hope Jude hears them and understands what I'm asking. The dead of night and Tori and Blake out of the picture brings a new perspective to the whole situation. Playing happy families above our heads had to give Jude some kind of feeling and emotions he needed to let out into the universe. "I love her." His response is like a gateway opening – so many questions burned and hungered to be released for his answers – but just as that gate had opened, it was being slammed shut by the sound of returning footsteps on the stairs. "Everything okay?" I turn towards Tori. "Yes." She nods her head. I remove myself from her spot and quickly walk up the stairs and away from those two. I wonder if Tori knew about Jude's feelings for her. Did Blake know? I wonder if Blake had really moved on, or if the prospect of Tori returning to him lingered on his mind as well. Was I the force keeping Blake away from Tori, or the doorway for Jude to finally get the girl he loved? "Shh, come in." I look up and see Blake standing near London's cot. I slowly creep across the room to Blake's bed. I don't want to go near London's crib in case I wake her up. I crawl into his bed and wrap the warm blankets around my body nice and tightly. Soon enough, he leaves his post near London's crib and joins me in bed again. He instantly tugs the blanket away from my body which forces me to shuffle across and cuddle up next to his side to bask in the warmth and the bundle of blankets he's hoarding. "Is Tori okay?" I ask, looking up into his soft green eyes. "The best she can be." He shrugs his shoulder. "How can I help her?" Tori felt like the enemy for so long – a bad person painted on a canvas for everyone to ridicule and critique. But she wasn't a piece of work to me. She was human, a person who could make mistakes and I wanted to help her to stop feeling like she's a person behind the glass watching life unfold – but to help make those magical moments that will be told for years to come. I don't want to keep secrets, I want to embrace acceptance and understanding. Everyone is getting hurt by no actions taken. Perhaps I'd be the first to take a stand and help break free from this exhausting feeling. Deep down, I want to know what Jude and Tori were keeping from me. "What are you hungry for?" asks Blake, "I'm going to do a big cook up of food for breakfast." Just as easy as it was falling for Blake, my mind turns away from the Jude and Tori drama and focuses on the now moment. "I'm feeling for pancakes and hash browns." I smile. "What do you want on your pancakes?" "Ice-cream and maple syrup of course." I giggle. "Mhm. That would be amazing with a side of crispy bacon." Blake lights up with the prospect of having that for breakfast. "So that's a plan?" I ask. "I'll head out early in the morning, look after London for me?" he asks. "Sure can do!" Blake turns his bedside light off and wraps his arm around me. He snuggles his head in close to mine, and then presses his lips against my cheek and whispers, "Goodnight." Which sends my heart fluttering into madness. "Goodnight," I whisper back. With a content feeling settling over my body, I close my eyes and embrace sleep once more. I don't know when I'll get another chance to be curled up next to Blake Rivers again, so I'm going to embrace it for as long as this moment lasts.