Jace was on his summer break and he came home last night. He laid in bed staring at the ceiling, he knew if he messaged Blake off Instagram on a different account it would only get lost in the thousands of dms she most likely got a day.
"Hey mom?" Jace asked as he came down the stairs.
"Yeah?" she asked him, handing him some waffles she made for him.
"Do you have Blake's new number?"
Tammy frowned, "no I haven't tried messaging her in a while. She seems to be doing great, I'm proud of her."
Jace nodded slightly in agreement, "I want to get back together with her."
His eyes widened slightly, "really?! That's great!"
"Well I doubt she would want to take me back but it's worth a shot" he mumbled.
"Why don't you try stopping by her house? See if she is home?"
Jace nodded, if she wasn't he had until August to keep trying to get her back before he has to go back to Ohio to start his sophomore year of college.
He drove over there and almost jumped in his seat seeing Sparrow out in the yard running around.
Blake was sitting in the driver's seat, her long legs sticking out the side door as her back faced the passenger side.
Jace got out awkwardly, Blake not even paying any attention to anyone around her. Just her dog running around happily.
"Hey stranger" Jace said with a small smile.
Blake looked at him blankly, the day they broke up flashing in her mind making a pain shoot through her heart. "Get the hell away from me."
"I just wanted to see how you were."
"Jace I swear to god if you don't leave I'm going to start hitting you."
He sighed, "I want you back Blake."
She barked out a laughter, "oh is your girlfriend not enough for you? Want to come back to me now that I'm becoming more known?"
"No! I broke up with her last month, I tried calling you but you changed your number."
"Started over."
"Want to go get some coffee?" he asked hopefully.
"Hate coffee."
"Well we can go somewhere to talk."
"There's nothing to talk about, you dumped me."
He sighed at her cold tone, "Blake I miss you."
"Bullshit, you ended things and told me to wait until you're done with college. Just because you are on summer break does not mean shit to me. We will not get back together only for you to break up with me again when you leave for school. I refuse to be treated like that."
"Baby-"
"Shut the hell up Jace! You broke up with me three months ago, you moved on within a month. So leave me the fuck alone."
"I still love you."
"Congrats."
He winced at her cold tone, "please take me back."
"You're acting like I broke up with you, I'm telling you one last fucking time to get off my property or I'm going to hit you."
He bit his lip and stared down at his shoes. "I made a mistake Blake."
"No shit, I was a great girlfriend and you left me because of distance but I know you just said that just to say it."
He nodded, "yeah I did."
"You can leave now dickhead."
"But-"
"You have five seconds."
He sighed once more before retreating back to his car.
"I'm stopping by tomorrow and I'll keep doing it until I leave for college again."
She let out another fake laughter, "don't even bother. I'm leaving tonight."
"To go where?"
"None of your damn business, bye asshole!"
Blake whistled for Sparrow and walked inside with him going in after her. It took her everything in her body to not forgive him.
But there was no way she could. She couldn't just forget the hurt she had went through the last three months; the pain and heartbreak that he had caused her. He said he didn't want to date her because of distance but wanted her back once he is on summer break? She refused to be a summer fling with a boy she was still in love with. She didn't deserve to be treated like that, she was worth way more than that and she knew it. She would never let a boy treat her in a way her dad would never approve of.
Jace walked into his house grumpily. "I'm assuming it didn't go well?" Tammy asked her son.
"She yelled at me to get away, I told her I still loved her and all she said was congrats. She hates me."
"You have to keep in mind that you broke her heart honey."
"Are you on her fucking side too?!" he asked, his voice slightly raising.
"Watch your mouth with me" she said sternly only for him to mumble a sorry. "I'm always on your side but I'm just saying that you broke up with her three months ago. She doesn't trust you anymore Jace, you have to let her trust you again."
"It took so long to even get her to not hate me junior year. How the heck am I supposed to do that?"
"You have to show her rather than telling her. Show her that you love her and want to be with her rather than telling her. Actions speak louder than words."
"She is leaving today to go back on the road, how am I supposed to make her stay?"
"You can think of something Jace, you're a smart kid."
For the next two hours Jace tried thinking of anything he could do.
But then an idea came to him.
He grabbed his keys and left quickly, he drove to Blake's house and her car wasn't there but Sparrow laid on the front porch so he knew she didn't leave yet.
He knocked on the door and was quite shocked who opened the door. A grown man who was a few inches taller than him, he had dark brown hair and light brown eyes, his skin was very pale.
"Can I help you?" he asked Jace.
"Yeah is Susie here?"
"Yes, can I ask who you are?"
"I'm Jace, can I just come in?" he asked impatiently.
He nodded and opened the door, Jace walked in and saw Susie making dinner.
"Hey Susie" Jace smiled at the woman he hasn't seen in a while.
"I don't want you in my house after you broke my daughters heart."
His sighed, "I know and I'm sorry but I'm trying to get her back."
"Good luck with that. Blake is stubborn and she won't let you in easily. She hardly talks to anyone anymore."
"I know, I just need to try and get her back but she told me she is leaving tonight. Do you think you can help me?"
She sighed and the man walked back into the kitchen.
"Yeah, I can pretend I'm sick or something and need her around until I'm better. That gives you about three or four days. But after that you're on your own."
"Okay, thank you Susie" he smiled.
"Oh and I want you to meet my boyfriend David."
Jace shook his hand, now he knows why Blake was back home. Susie wanted Blake to meet her new boyfriend, he hopes she didn't take it badly. Even though he had a feeling she did.
"Did Blake take it okay?" he asked softly.
"Not really but it's understandable."
He nodded, "do you mind giving me her new number? Just so I have it when she leaves, I won't tell her you gave it to me I promise."
She looked at Jace skeptically, "I'm sorry but I don't want to get her upset when she finds out I gave it to you."
Jace sighed, "yeah I understand."
"You should get going, she should be back soon."
"Thank you again Susie, I won't let you or her down again I promise."
She nodded with a smile and he left quickly.
"He seems like a good kid" David said.
"He is, I'm hoping Blake isn't too hard on him because he was good for her."
David nodded, he could tell Jace was in love with Blake. Just the mention of her brought a light in his eyes.
Jace went out to the store and bought her a cute stuffed animal of a little bear holding a guitar. He got her some of her favorite snacks and went back to his house to take out some of the gifts she had gotten him that he kept in his dorm room.
He went to her house and knocked on the door, holding all the stuff in his hands.
"The fuck did I say about you being here?" she asked him with a flat tone.
"I got you some of your favorite snacks and a stuffed animal."
He reached it out to her and she took the stuffed animal from him. His heart began beating quickly but deflated almost instantly when she chucked it into a puddle by the sewer drain.
"I don't want your fucking gifts Jace, you broke up with me. Stop trying to play it off like it was the other way around."
"Blake I'm not, I'm really not I promise you. Look, I got you some snacks and see all these gifts you gave me before? I've kept them in my dorm room even after we broke up."
"Congrats."
He looked at her, "do you still love me?"
She stared at him blankly, he so badly wanted to see that light sparkle in her eyes. He made it go away, it was his fault.
"I still love you, I will never stop" he said softly after she didn't respond.
"Cool, you done now?"
Jace handed over the snacks, "at least take these. I really don't want them to go to waste."
She took them out of his hands, making sure not to touch him.
"Well, bye."
"Blake wait."
He went to reach out to touch her but she flew away from it. "Don't ever try and fucking touch me again" she hissed.
"You know I'm sorry."
"No, no I really don't know. All I know is you broke up with your girlfriend and because you're back in Mass you think 'hey let's get back with Blake to occupy myself over the summer.' So when you go back to college you're going to break my heart again because you can't do distance. Which by the fucking way is complete bullshit because before you even went away you told me we would make it work no matter what. So that just makes you a fucking liar as well."
He looked down at his shoes and sighed.
"But you know what? I thank you. Thank you for breaking my heart because if it wasn't for you being a dickhead then I wouldn't have written my first album that made number one in the charts within a week. So for that I thank you, bye pendejo."
She shut the door in his face and he rubbed his hands down his face harshly.
He'll just have to try again tomorrow.
———
4-12-21