Page 99 of Because of Blake
“I’m not even sure, to tell you the truth.” With my final stretch, I finish the video and turn to face Blake. He’s leaning forward, resting his elbows on his knees with his hands clasped in front of him.
The look on his face is pure concern. “So, now is a good time to talk, then? Where are the kids?”
“Um, Sydney is probably in her room, and Dylan is… I don’t know, actually. I kicked him off the Xbox to do my workout. Why?”
“I really don’t want to be interrupted.”
My stomach drops, nausea taking over.“Okay, well, Dylan won’t come down here until I come upstairs so, what do you want to talk about?”
“Us.”
Uh oh.I swallow down my heart that’s worked its way into my throat. “What about us?”
Blake pats the space next to him. I sit, wringing my hands together. This is it. I’ve done it. I’ve pushed him away too many times and he’s fed up.Good job, Maggie.
I keep my gaze on my lap. “Blake… I’m sorry.”
“Maggie. Don’t.”
Tears well in my eyes, so I shut them.
“Things have been weird for a while, and I’ve been wracking my brain trying to figure out what I did.”
My workout was pointless. Now I’m a stinky, sweaty mess with a pit of guilt in my stomach. And it’s grown two-fold. Not only for this business about forgetting Charlie and keeping Blake in the dark, but now for making Blake think he’s the problem. “It’s nothing you did.”
“I know.”
I snort, and turn to look at him, wiping away a tear. “Wow. Cocky, are we?”
He lets out an airy chuckle and drops his gaze to my hand, reaching over to take it. “I know this is a hard month for you. And next month is even harder.”
“How do you know?”
“Michelle told me.”
Heat creeps up the back of my neck. “She what?”
“Don’t be mad with her, Maggie. She’s only trying to help, and so am I.”
By talking about me behind my back???
“Look, it may have been wrong of her to tell me, or for me to have asked her, but you weren’t exactly being open with me.”
With a huff, I pinch my lips and turn away from him, ripping my hand from his. The last thing I need right now is a guilt trip.
He reaches over, grabbing my chin and turning my gaze back to his. “Rule number two, remember?”
I melt as his deep brown irises pull me in. All the anger and all the anxiety lift from my shoulders. As I release my pinched expression and my jaw quivers, Blake runs his thumb across my bottom lip.
“Please, talk to me.”
Unable to contain my emotions anymore, I burst at the seams like a water balloon exploding on contact. I bury my face into Blake’s chest, my hands wrenched into his shirt as I sob.
Blake wraps his arms around me and strokes my hair. “It’s okay, Maggie. I’m here.”
Sydney’s requests for me to explain everything to Blake ring in my ears. “That’s just it,” I whisper.
“What is?”