Chapter Twenty-Eight

Morning comes quickly like I anticipated. Being curled up in Blake's arms must have some effect on time, because the next morning feels like it's taken five minutes to arrive. The shuffling of sheets, and movement in the bed shakes me from my light sleep. I catch a glimpse of Blake's retreating figure to the bathroom, which shows I still have a little longer to sleep. But what is minutes feels like seconds because as soon as I shut my eyes to drift off, my shoulder is being shaken and Blake Rivers is hovering above me with a cheesy smile and a fresh blue button down shirt. "I'm heading to the shops, take care of Lo for me?" He smiles. "Sure." I move the blankets away from me and sit up instead of going back to sleep. I don't want to sleep through anything important and have Tori and Blake on my ass about it. As Blake disappears out the doorway, I remove myself from the bed and walk over to check on London. She's currently laying in her bed wiggling her limbs around with a pleasant expression on her face. "Aren't you just the happy one?" I stroke her forehead. As I pick her up, I get a whiff of poo and wrinkle my nose. "I don't know who the gift is from; your father or you." I frown. I lay London back in her crib and go to the bathroom to set out the change mat and a fresh set of clothing. Once everything is prepared, I double back and collect London from her cot. I lay her on the mat and start removing her clothing. "Anything I can help with?" I jump slightly, then find Tori standing at the doorway with her back leaning against the metal frame. "I'll trade this dirty nappy for a clean one?" I smile. Tori slowly moves into the room and grabs the orange disposal bag and holds it open for me. I dump the dirty one and start cleaning up her bottom. "I'm sorry if it continues to appear that I'm taking over your role. Blake and I do respect you as London's mother, and I would never take that role away from you. It's just that-" I lose words to explain my situation. "You don't need to keep apologising," she reassures, "and to be frank, I wish I was around more to help. But it's comforting knowing there are so many wonderful people willing to step in and take care of London. That's more than I could ever hope for." Her little speech brings more reassurance about the situation. In fact, I will always feel like I need to apologise. "I'll always be here to help and support." I smile. "Besides." She looks down at the disposable bag, "I'm glad I missed this present." The atmosphere around us is suddenly lifted, and I take a deep breath only to be smothered with the toxic odour floating through the air. I quickly strap on her nappy, dress her in a cute little button up jumpsuit, then pass her over to Tori so that I can clean up and wash my hands. "Aren't you just the cutest?" Tori kisses her cheek. "Just the cutest." I smile at London. "How about you have a cuddle with Ava while I make you a bottle?" Tori gives her one last kiss on the cheek before passing her back to me. I snuggle her to my chest, then follow Tori downstairs. I head to the couch where Tori was once sleeping, while Tori heads straight into the kitchen. "Hey, Uncle Jude." I wave London's hand. Jude sinks lower into the couch and pulls the blanket over his head. "I'm not a morning person," he mutters. "Are you serious?" Tori asks, "Get your lazy bottom up!" "Yes, wake up!" I say in a baby voice. "You do realise it's ten in the morning, right?" Tori says. The blankets shuffle some more, and then finally Jude's face submerges from the depths of the blankets. He groggily looks around and snuggles up to the blanket. Tori see's this from her position on the couch, which makes her abandon the task in the kitchen to come running over to the couch. "Stop being lazy!" She leans over the couch and flicks his nose. "If you want breakfast, you have to help too, no free loaders here." Tori heads back to the kitchen and finishes preparing the bottle. I hand London back over to her and make my way upstairs to freshen up and change back into my clothes. As I scoop up my clothing, I hear footsteps and then I see Jude. "So you've surfaced?" I giggle. "As it seems." He shrugs his shoulders. "Is there something you want?" "Just want to use the shower. . ." "I'm sure your parents' house would be great for a shower." I nod my head. "Yeah, since it has all my stuff." He nods his head along with me. "So?" "I wanted to-" He stops talking and I frown. "I wanted to, well." He lifts his arm up and hovers it in the air before scratching the back of his head awkwardly. "You wanted to what?" I ask. "To talk with you." He smiles brightly. "Then talk to me?" I laugh nervously, "I won't bite." "But I will." Tori says as she appear in the room. "Okay?" We both say. Tori shakes her head and moves further into the room and looks around before grabbing a pink and white striped teddy. "I was just joking," she replies before disappearing downstairs. "Did you have something to say?" I ask. "No." He shakes his head, "Not that I can remember." "Well, it was fun chatting to you." I head into the bathroom and lock the door behind me. I rest my head against the door and take a deep breath. What was Jude mumbling about? What did he want to tell me? I dismiss these thoughts from my mind and push myself away from the door. I place my clothing on the bench and turn to the shower and start the taps. The water pours out the faucet and splashes onto the ground. I quickly strip out of my clothing and hop inside the shower to start washing my body. The soap smells like boy, and so does the hair shampoo and conditioner. I wrinkle my nose, but persist with the products – I don't really have a second choice. I finish showering and work on drying off and putting my own clothes back on. When I open the door, Jude is sitting on Blake's bed. "Shower's free," I say. "I wanted to talk with you," he says more confidently. "Okay, let's talk then." I smile. Chills creep up the back of my spine, my stomach churns and my palms sweat. I wish he'd just spit it out and tell me what's happening. "I have something to tell you." "What?" "I was the reason your brother drove drunk."