Semi-Unedited!
Sapphire’s P.O.V
Joshua and I didn’t exchange words as he picked up Noah. I think he wanted to ask me how it went with me watching Noah, but made it clear I didn’t feel like talking to him as I kept my arms crossed over my chest, my lip sealed and my eyes looking anywhere but at him.
When Joshua and Noah were finally gone, and realized I was alone in the house. Looking around I saw how empty and quiet it was now in the house. I suddenly gave off a sigh, much to myself as I stood there by the front door.
I started to plunder on the mere idea of how I should have invited Joshua over this Friday ... But, I was just so confused about this whole situation. For a split second I consider maybe breaking ties with both Joshua and Blake ... and starting a new chapter in my life. Only thing was I didn’t feel like that was the right choice to make right now. I was too far down the rabbit hole.
My body sluggishly inched towards my room. The second I entered, I went over to my bed and collapsed on it. My eyes glanced over at my alarm clock to see that it was three in the afternoon. Mom would probably be home in a few hours and Linx would probably not be home until late tonight.
I considered flipping on the television and watching some T.V. But that thought was immediately suppressed by my laziness to get up, get the remote and turn on the televsion.
It wasn’t long, however, before my eyes drooped and sleep consumed me.
***
“Sapphire, wakey, wakey,” a deep voice said to me. I felt a hand being placed on my shoulder and then I was slightly shaken. “Wake up, Sappy.”
Cracking open my eyes I saw Blake sitting on my bed beside me. He smiled the moment I fully opened my brown eyes and looked at him.
“Good morning,” he muttered to me.
I buried my head in my pillow and gave off a moan. I was in no way wanting to get out of bed at ... wait! What time is it? My head snapped in the direction of my clock to see that it was ten-thirty in the morning. I arched an eyebrow in confusion. There was no way that I slept nineteen hours straight. That was impossible! Sitting up quickly I rubbed my eyes. “What time is it?” I asked Blake, hoping that my alarm clock was wrong.
“Ten-thirty,” he stated.
I grunted and moaned, “I have slept over nineteen hours ... yet I want to go back to sleep.”
Blake gave off a small chuckle, “come on. I have everything planned for today and since you cancelled on me yesterday, we are starting two hours early. Now, get up, get dressed and let’s go.”
I gave off another moan and then faced dived forward unto my bed. “I don’t wanna get out of bed!" I whined.
“Don’t act like three-year-old, Sappy!” Blake demanded as he realized I really wasn’t willing to get up.
“You’re one to talk,” I said before I could consider what just spilled out of my mouth. The room fell silent after I those words left my mouth. I knew I spoke out of line for today. Grumbling I sat up once more in my bed. Looking at Blake, I saw that he was looking at me with his dark green eyes. Placing my hand on his cheek I gave a small sigh. “I am sorry, that was out of line.”
Blake put his hand over mine, capturing it on his cheek. “No, you are right. I have been acting like a three-year-old for the longest of times. I don’t think I knew how to communicate my emotions to you and instead I acted all toddlerish. I am sorry and today I will prove just how sorry I am.”
“I know you will,” I replied.
“Do you have to go to the bathroom?” Blake randomly asked me.
“What?” I asked as I removed my hand from his cheek. Ignoring how my palm felt cold after leaving his face, I gave him an applaud expression.
“You are rocking back and forth. You do that when you have to go to the restroom.”
I froze and realized that I had in fact been rocking back and forth in order to hold in my urine. “Yeah, I gotta go ... but I will get dressed and ready too. I should be ready in twenty minutes,” I informed Blake as I raced off to my bathroom.
***
“So what are we doing today?” I inquired as I walked out of the bathroom after getting dressed.
“As cliché as it sounds, I’m not telling you. All I am going to say is that we are going to walk down memory lane today,” Blake admitted.
I chuckled as I walked over to my full length mirror that was on the other side of my room. I looked at myself in the mirror and gave a half smile of contentment. I didn’t look stellar, my curly brown hair was once again forced into a loose bun and I wore no make-up ... but I had to admit that these black skinny jeans were slimming. I spun sideways and pulled down my black Lady Gaga tee so that it wasn’t bunched up in the back.
“Ready?” Blake asked as he got of my bed and walked over to me.
I gave a nod, “yeah, just let me get my jacket.” Strolling over to my closet, I pulled out my dark red cotton jacket. Slipping it on I felt sudden warmth.
“Oh man! Now that you are wearing a jacket I can’t give you mine as a romantic gesture!” Blake fake whined.
Slapping him on his chest I giggled. “Come on Blake, show me how much I should be with you.”
Smiling Blake grasped my hand, “will do.”
***
“Why are we here?” I asked Blake the second we entered his backyard.
Blake looked at me and smirked, “because, Sappy this is the place we spent most of our time growing up.”
Looking around the backyard I knew Blake was right. Just glancing around I had thousands of memories flood into my mind. I gazed over at the tree in the back of the yard and remembered how we use to climb up the tree all the time and we would get so high that we could practically see the neighborhood. I smiled as I came to realize that we had to stop climbing the tree because Blake got clumsy once and fell out of the tree. After the doctor said that Blake broke one of his arms and legs, Mrs. Dazer forbid we climb the tree. She even threatened to cut it down ... but we managed to pull the puppy dog eyes on her and get Mrs. Dazer not too. Even then we knew it held so many memories and we couldn’t let her cut it down.
“Remember all the summers we would hang out in the pool?” Blake asked as he and I stood there analyzing the yard for memory after memory.
“The only thing I remember is every time I would get on a floaty you would flip me off,” I stated with a smile.
Blake chuckled, “all you wanted to do was lay on a floaty, I wanted to play.”
“You mean all you ever wanted to do was try and drown me,” I corrected him.
Giving me teasing glare Blake responded. “That was one time! And I didn’t mean to almost drown you!”
Rolling my eyes I huffed, “whatever you say.”
“I got this scar from jumping off the roof,” Blake said as he pointed to the long white scar on the side of his arm.
“I know, Superman,” I said as I remembered once more of him thinking he was a superhero and trying to fly off the roof.
“See, Sappy we have good memories ... memories that make us,” Blake stated.
“Yes, we have good memories, but also this backyard is stained with bad memories. This is the same place, if recall right, that you tossed me in a garbage can and sat on it. I was stuck in their for two hours.”
“You took my action figures-”
“This backyard is also the place where you punched my friend Nat for handing me a Coca Cola-”
“You were mine even back then,” Blake interrupted.
“We were in fifth grade and he was just being nice. His parents moved a week later, thinking that he was being bullied. “Also, if I am correct, this is the exact place where you double teamed me with your friend Carter and threw footballs and soccer balls at me.”
“We were playing around.”
“So, so throwing them so hard that I got bruises on my arms and legs, was just fun? Really? I like you to tell that to my ten year self that was in pain for a week.”
“Okay, so maybe this wasn’t the best place to come too...”
“You think?” I question in anger.
Sighing, Blake stuffed his hands in his pockets. “Alright, next place here we come.”
***
“The park? Really?”
“What? I think we’ve had good times here. I mean look at the monkey bars! Remember when you couldn’t swing from one bar to another and I helped you.”
“Yeah, I remember you helping me for all of three seconds and then pushing me off your shoulder while complaining about how heavy I was.”
Blake gave a frustrated sigh and looked around the park. “What about the swings?”
“You pushed me off them more times than I can count. I believe you even did that last time we were here.”
“Okay ... Uhhh, what about that bench over there? You and I have spent hours sitting on that bench talking.”
“Wasn’t that also the bench that you told me I was fat and Martin Hill would never date me. Oh and also that was the exact bench you tormented me on by eating an ice cream cone and not sharing. It was a hundred degrees and you bought yourself a cone and didn’t share.”
“Yet, that is our thing Sapphire. We fight, we play around, we torture each other-”
“What makes you think I want that?” I questioned. “What makes you think I want a guy that argues with me every five seconds-?”
“I don’t argue with you every five seconds! I just disagree! But that is our relationship!” He fired back.
“You're right, that is our relationship, as friends.”
“You know Sapphire the only reason this date is not working, is because you are not letting it. You are trying to look at the shadows when I am trying to show you the light. If you want a perfect relationship then, Sappy, good luck trying to find it. And if you for one second think you and Joshua are not going to fight and have bad memories like us, then you are wrong ... You have to take the good with the bad.”
I stared at Blake, thinking hard about what he was saying. I knew deep down he was right but I just ... I couldn’t face the truth. “I have to go,” I muttered and spun around.
“Don’t you walk away from me Sapphire! We need to talk this out!”
Turning around to face him I sighed. “Talk it out?! I don’t know what more to say to you! Other than you are right! I want a perfect relationship where everything is fine and dandy. Yet, I know I will never get that...”
“You will never get it, if you keep fighting it.” Blake stated as he looked down at me. Suddenly I felt him grasp my hand. He moved my hand to his mouth and placed a small kiss on my palm. “I love you Sapphire ... and I want you more than I’ve ever wanted a human being. You have been my enemy, my therapist, my escape and my best friend. You’ve always been there for me, through thick and thin ... Sapphire ... I am ready to be more than friends. Not because I am afraid of losing you but because I’m truly in love with you.”
I’ve never felt like such an ass in my life. Here Blake was, throwing himself at me all day and I have been trying to see the negative in all this. Yet, now as I looked into his dark green eyes I wondered if he was the one. I mean, I’ve grown up thinking Blake was the one guy for me. But just the other day, I was thinking that the tables had turned and it was Joshua. Now, as I stood in the middle of the park, holding Blake’s hand ... I realized the rabbit hole was much deeper than I thought.
Now the only question was ... Blake or Joshua?