Chapter Thirty-Four

Monday morning collapsed upon us without a warning. Blake refused to return to his own party in fear of missing another moment with his daughter. Thomas and Angela closed the party down with the distaste from party goers. But as the wildfire of Tori's outburst seemed to consume the air, people quickly understood and left without too much more of a complaint. Instead of the perfect night partying, Blake and I did what we usually do, watched movies and enjoyed the company of each other. With one arm around London and another around myself, Blake felt comfortable and happy, and that's what mattered the most. What I worried about was the return to school. How would people treat Tori and Blake? I honestly felt bad for Tori, she wouldn't make an easy come back now. Cheating on your boyfriend and trying to steal the baby didn't give you mother of the year award. But most of all, I worried how people would treat Blake. Would they say they're sorry or congratulate him on what appears to be his free escape? If London turns out to be the daughter of someone else Tori's had an affair with, then Blake would be able to resume his studies, get his spot back on the sport team and enjoy a wider variety of after school activities without worrying about baby schedules and nappies. If London was to go, I'd worry about what Blake would do. You can't just switch that kind of parental mode easily. Tori isn't a stable to care for a baby and everyone knows it. She's deluded if she thinks she can win back London with the promise of DNA. Either way, at least if this clears the air, Blake will know where he stands with Tori and London. I close my locker door and come face to face with Kyle. He leans his shoulder against the smooth grey metal and smiles down at me. With his left hand, he runs his fingers through his hair, messing it up in the process before placing his hand on his hip. "No Blake?" he asks, "Can't say I'm surprised." Kyle rolls his eyes and looks down at the ground tiredly. I shake my head with annoyance and shove Kyle's shoulder roughly, as if to say, 'quit it.' But Kyle just straightens up and smiles down at me. Darn his extra tall legs. "No Blake today," I say, "he's probably with London." I shove my childcare books into my backpack and swing it over my shoulder. "No Tori either," he points out. "Perhaps they're getting a paternity test?" I offer, "Seems like the logical thing to do on a Monday after what happened on the weekend." "Wouldn't Blake tell you that?" asks Kyle. I shrug my shoulders, "Blake's been spaced out since the whole throw down. I try not to interfere and just wait for him to tell me about it all," I answer. Truth is, I didn't know what to say. I just smiled when he smiled and frowned when he frowned. Spending time with Blake at the moment is like walking on razor sharp eggshells. A wrong smile, action or breath felt like I might set off the volcano inside Blake. But I understood, I wanted to be there for him, I just hadn't figured out how. "Fair enough, Ava." He nods his head. "Yeah." I look to the ground to avoid Kyle's gaze. "You should swing by Blake's house at lunch time to check on him," says Kyle. "Really?" I frown, "I thought you'd be begging me to have lunch with you." I guess Kyle understood as well. I think a lot of people understood the pain and confusion Blake was going through, perhaps a little more or less than the next person. The problem was, nobody knew what to say about it. We were all numb by the idea of doing more damage than good. Kyle shrugs his shoulders and fixes his backpack to one shoulder, "Circumstances have changed and I understand that Blake needs you." "Oh." "I'm not that much of a douche, thanks." He punches my shoulder. "If I was going through that, I'd want my girl to be there supporting me through it." "How am I supposed to get to his house though?" I ask, "And through school time?" Kyle had some great points and I really did want to be by his side supporting him through this time, but Kyle's plan seemed impractical. I'd never be able to leave during the middle of school to see him. "Call in sick?" he offers. "My mother would make me go straight home though," I point out, "she also wouldn't want me skipping school, Blake or no Blake." I could see the reasons to why my mother would say that. Too much of Blake could be deadly for my school work, especially with the amount of hours I put into spending with him. "Skip?" he offers, "what's your next class?" "I have library after lunch." "See!" His face lights up with excitement, "You don't usually get checked off that class." "And what happens if I get caught skipping school?" I ask. "We deny it?" He looks at me like I'm stupid. "We, hey?" I tease, "Are you coming too?" "Someone needs to drive your butt there, and I don't want to do the math test ether." He wrinkles his nose. "I'm, cough, feeling a sickness coming on." He winks. "You're an idiot, Kyle, I hope you know that." "When you call me names like that, it makes me want to not help you," he says, a deep frown overcoming his face. "Fine, sorry, let's just get to class." I brush past Kyle and head towards my childcare class. I'd have a whole hour to determine if I wanted to skip the rest of the day to see Blake or follow what I was supposed to do and see Blake. Either option seemed deadly, like a test of fate. I walk into my childcare class and take a seat. I see Kyle wave as he walks past. I pull my books out and rest them on the table as I get ready to take down some new notes about healthcare and regulations. As I jot down the notes, my mind wanders over towards Blake. I couldn't say no to Kyle's offer. My heart twinged with hurt of the idea of spending dead time milling around the halls waiting for an escape. I know my mother would eventually accept my reasoning and perhaps forgive me for making the mistake of skipping school. However, I couldn't forgive myself if I didn't find the courage to spend time with Blake. And there I found myself settled on the idea of skipping class.