Blake
Blake reached for the handle of her car door, then paused before frantically reaching for one of the tissues she'd started keeping in the car as her face scrunched up in preparation for his knees. She barely got it up in time to avoid spraying the inside of the car and blue her nose a few extra times just for good measure before tossing the tissue in the trash can between the seats in the back. She was still snippily even after that.
Motherfucker; stupid allergies.
Blake had been dealing with them since New Year's, and things hadn't really gotten too much better.
Of course it starts happening now that I have something I really want to work on.
The sneezing thankfully hadn't impacted her shows just yet. When she did sneeze or something, her viewers just made jokes, and she made the usual insinuations about his knees being a facial orgasm, and how she was surprised that her butt plug or whatever toy she had inside her at the time didn't go flying out after a particularly hard sneeze.
Instead, it always seemed to have bother her most when she was in bed or at her desk doing some research on what she would need to do with the house. Still, the research had been welcome, as the distance with Liam was starting to get to her. They still texted all the time, and talked and video chatted occasionally, but Blake didn't want to be some needy girlfriend taking up all of his time period especially after he'd stayed with her over Thanksgiving. He was lucky to have so many friends and family that loved him and wanted to spend time with him and she didn't want to get in the way of that.
The few extra visits with Dr. Cardaso had also been helping a bit. Blake knew she shouldn't necessarily rely on her therapist too much--the help was nice, but she still needed to stay independent--but lately, her sessions had proved invaluable.
Blake was on the way back from her latest session, and had stopped to get some gas. Once the attendant had the pump running, Blake walked over to the mini-mart in search of a snack. Her grandparents were great at making healthy, delicious meals that helped her keep her figure, but they were unfortunately severely lacking in the sack department. That was a good thing most of the time, as it kept Blake from eating junk, or just eating more than she should, but every once in a while she needed to pick up something to satisfy that craving.
Once she'd picked out a handful of dark chocolate bars that looked interesting from a variety of brands--some she'd had, and some she'd never tried it before--as well as a bag of kettle chips and some flavored water, Blake went over to wait in line.
It was only two people, but that made her need to wait long enough--and not have her attention focused on the cashier--that she was looking toward the doorway when someone walked in that nearly made Blake's heart stop.
Blake would never forget this woman's face. Her skin had more lines, and her eyes were nearly as red as the last time Blake had seen her, but otherwise, she about the same as she did the last time Blake had seen her, if less well dressed since they both weren't in a courthouse at the moment.
Blake tried to look away, but she couldn't. Her eyes remained fixed on the woman, and when she finally looked at Blake, their eyes locked and a cold hand gripped Blake's heart.
A storm of emotions passed through the woman's eyes: recognition, surprise, pain, fury, and pain once more, though mixed with exhaustion this time.
The woman held the blake's gaze for a moment, those eyes like a vice around Blake's throat and chest. Then she sighed and just move to deeper into the store.
For a moment, Blake just stood there, barely functioning. It was like she'd forgotten how to do anything and everything.
It's just the shock, some still functioning part of her mind told her, she doesn't want anything to do with you, so just move on. Remember Dr. Cardaso's advice.
Blake sucked in a deep breath, trying her hardest to ignore her racing pulse. As she counted to four, held for two, then blew out for six, Blake's world slowed.
Everything that happened after that blurred together. She paid for her snacks, then went outside and paid the attendant and got in her car. She nearly stopped there, but some part of her had the presence of mind to pull out of the spot so someone else could get in.
Blake drove only far enough to get to an empty parking spot, Turned off her car, and her last breath out turned into a ragged, heaving sob as she hugged her knees to her chest and broke down in the gas station parking lot.
A/N: I know you dudes have been guessing. Does this confirm or change what you're thinking? This and the next chapter are going to be on the shorter side, but I felt they needed to be distinct, and I have a few longer ones coming up after this.