i still love you • blake griffin

•twelve•

January 24, 2016

Blake peeked into the living room and rolled his eyes when he saw that Vivian was watching Waiting to Exhale. After she found out about his infidelity, she watched that movie for a week straight and even forced him to watch it with her a few times.

"You mind if I join you?" Blake timidly asked.

"Your house," Vivian answered, keeping her eyes on the screen. "Do as you please."

He let out a sigh and sat beside her. The silence was uncomfortable to him, but he was too afraid to say anything to his ex-wife. While he was in Toronto with the team, he got into an altercation with the team's assistant equipment manager, which resulted in him breaking his hand. Vivian was angry when she found out but after having some time to cool off, she realized she didn't want to be mad at him — especially when she'd be giving birth to their daughter soon.

"Are you still mad?" Blake hesitantly asked, breaking the silence.

Vivian shook her head without looking away from the TV. "I'm over it."

He could usually tell when she was lying, but this time he was unsure; however, he decided not to press the issue because he knew it would only anger her again. She went on a rant about how he could do something so stupid knowing his child would be born within a couple days, and he did not want to sit through that rant again.

Out of the corner of his eye, Blake noticed that Vivian was smiling, so he looked at the screen to see why. The current scene was of Bernadette burning her husband's things in his car and suddenly, Blake felt guilt wash over him. He knew he needed to make things right, and he knew he needed to do it soon.

"Vivian, I'm sorry," he randomly apologized.

She chuckled and finally gave Blake her full attention. "I already forgave you. You don't have to keep apologizing."

"Not for that." He took the remote and paused the movie. "I never really apologized for the whole Brynn thing...and everything that went down afterwards. You were too good to me, and you didn't deserve to be treated the way you were."

Vivian was shocked. Why was he apologizing all of a sudden? Granted, she did appreciate it; but why now?

"Where is this coming from?"

"It's been bothering me for the longest," he said with a shrug. "And it was long overdue."

She nodded. "Well...thank you. That really does mean a lot."

He resumed the movie for her, and her eyes automatically went back to the TV screen. He still had more he wanted to say to her, but he had no idea how to say it.

"You have something else to say?" Vivian asked, looking in Blake's direction again. I love you, and I want you to give our relationship another chance is what he wanted to say, but he chickened out. "Blake?"

"I was just thinking about what life was like when we were married. Do you ever do that?"

"I used to, but I don't anymore," she lied before biting her thumb nail. Blake smirked to himself because this time he knew she was lying. She had a habit of biting on her thumb nail when she lied, and he was the only person that knew. "Why do you ask?"

He shrugged. "I've been thinking about it a lot more than usual these days." There was a brief pause because he wasn't sure if he wanted to say what he was thinking. Before his brain could tell him not to say it, his lips were already saying, "You know I still love you, right?"

Vivian's eyes widened at his confession, unsure of how she should react. She could sense where the conversation was going, and she wanted no parts of it.