Learning to Love

Chapter Twenty One

Blake Lawson's Point of View

I walked down the sidewalk, kicking a few rocks along the way. I pulled out my phone and scrolled through my contacts.

I knew I could walk home, but I honestly didn't want to. I wanted to drive home, cover my head up with a blanket, and never come out. It wasn't just that, but my house was a good hour's walk from Victoria's.

As I looked down at my phone and pressed the call button for Peter, I noticed a few drops of water on my screen. 

What the-

A raindrop hit my nose, making me realize that it might rain sooner than I thought it would.

I called Peter, getting his goofy voicemail. I call Claire, only to get her voicemail too. And Hunter? Just his regular voicemail saying he was busy.

What could everyone be doing? Why wasn't anyone picking up?

I thought about calling Sophia but I felt too awkward... And I knew Anthony was at work. So basically, I'm fucked.

I continued to walk down the sidewalk, feeling some more raindrops hit me. A few raindrops turned into a lot of raindrops... And then it was pouring.

I started running home after shoving my phone into my back pocket, feeling the cold rain pierce my skin.

"Shit." I cursed to myself, trying to run faster. After what felt like forever but I knew was only about a half-hour, I saw my street come into view. Even though my lungs and legs were on fire, my hair was drenched along with my clothes, and I would probably catch a cold, I still smiled. I jogged up to my house, stepping onto the familiar patio, and patted my pockets for my keys.

My keys.

"Fuck." I cursed when I realized I had forgotten my keys inside the house. I closed my eyes and threw my head back as I groaned.

I paced back and forth on the patio, trying to figure out what to do.

No one was answering their phones, Anthony was at work... If only there was some way I could climb into one of the windows...

I snapped my head forward, remembering something from when I was a kid.

I walked over to the tree on the right side of the house, looking for an easy way to climb it. Feeling less rain under the tree, I jumped up to grab one of the branches.

Big mistake.

Once I jumped up and grabbed a branch, the branch broke and I fell. I landed on my feet but slipped forward and scraped my knee against the tree.

Don't give up. Just breath.

I took a deep breath and got up. I looked down at my right knee, feeling the cut burn as some blood started coming out from the cut. I looked at my left hand, noticing the blood coming from my bandages.

I sighed and walked around the tree, finding another branch to grab onto. I carefully planted my feet onto the ground and jumped at another branch. When it didn't break after a few seconds, I figured it was safe enough to pull myself up. I hoisted myself up the tree, feeling the cut on my left hand start to sting.

Once I got onto the branch, I glanced over at the roof of the house. I smiled and laughed a little when I saw the window of the bathroom.

"Yes." I backed up to the tree as much as possible, measuring the distance from the tree to the house. I shook myself a little, trying to get my jitters to go away.

You can do it.

I took a running start, jumping when I was about to step onto the thinner part of the branch. Time slowed down as I seemed to fly through the air.