The song is on the side for any of you who want to listen to it (:
Chapter 41
Blake's POV
"Kick some ass Drew!" Michelle shouted from the seat next to me.
I looked over to the other seat beside me and looked at how it was empty.
"I wonder why Charlie's running so late, she's never late for his games." I said biting my lip.
"She said she had something to take care of, but she wouldn't tell me what." Michelle said shrugging.
"Let me try and call her." I replied pulling out my phone and dialed her number.
It rang and rang but went to voicemail.
"I wonder if she's okay." I replied worried.
"Don't stress it. It's not like she didn't call me to tell me that she wasn't going to be late." Michelle said shrugging.
I nodded, Michelle was right. She was probably busy driving here or something. She drove over to UVA last night to watch Drew play and Charlie was supposed to come with her. The plan was for them to come here and we were all going to drive up home for fall break that had started yesterday. I couldn't be more excited than to go home for thanksgiving, especially since my father was planning a visit.
"Look at Drew go. I can't believe he's starting and he's only a sophomore. That's crazy." Michelle said as she stared at Drew play.
I leaned back in my seat and looked at him too, "He's amazing and deserves it." I said honestly.
I couldn't help but smile as I saw him play. He was incredible at the game and he made it look so easy. It was as if he were made for the sport.
I couldn't help but glance over at the sidelines wishing I didn't.
I stared at a familiar brown headed, brown-eyed man wearing a navy polo as he wore a headset around his head. I could spot Ethan from a mile away easily.
He was smiling at something with one of the football players and I couldn't help the pit of my stomach from becoming warm.
He always took my breath away and only he had that affect on me. I was starting to lose hope with every day that comes that I'd ever get over him.
After I found out about how things ended between him and Victoria, I honestly expected him to at least talk to me, but he hadn't. I took that as a sign that he really didn't love me, even if he did say it. If he truly did love me then he would have came after me, but he didn't. It was over.
I looked at him for a little bit longer before returning my gaze back to the game. UVA was up by three touchdowns and it was only the second quarter.
It wasn't until the fourth quarter that I received a phone call from Charlie.
"Char! Where have you been? I've been worried about you." I said answering her phone call.
"Hey B. I'm just outside the football field but I'm sort of not in the mood to go in and there's no point really." She said sadly. Something was wrong. Her voice was so sad that it started to make me even more worried.
"Where are you exactly?" I said sitting upward in my seat.
"I'm just now getting out of my car. I'm sitting on a bench near a statue." She said softly trying to hide her stifling.
"Okay, I'll be there in just a second, don't move." I said right before I hung up.
I got up from my seat, "Something happened with Charlie but she didn't tell me what. We need to go." I said to Michelle.
"Shit, okay." She said getting up from her chair as fast as she could.
We made our way past the people beside us sitting down so that we could go up the stairs in the stadium.
I took one last glance at Drew before running up the stairs to get out of the field.
It took us about five minutes to get out completely and we walked as quickly as we could to the benches that were right in front of the field.
"Char?" I asked walking up to the farthest bend on my right to find a girl who looked like Charlie.
She looked up at me and all I saw were sad eyes.
I sat down on one side and Michelle sat down on the other of her, "What's wrong? Why are you upset?" Michelle asked worriedly.
She sniffled but nodded her head, "I'm fine now. I'm being a little weak at the moment. I'm sorry." She replied.
I put my hand on top of hers, "What happened Char?" I asked.
She looked up at the sky briefly before looking exchanging looks at both Michelle and I.
"I broke up with Wesley." She said.
I bit my lip. I felt nothing but anger rise in my blood.
"Why?" Michelle asked confused.
"I caught him red handed. He cheated on me and I'm more than positive that he has been cheating on me these past few months." She replied sadly.
I felt my wrist clench, "You know what Charlie? I've told myself since the very first day I laid eyes on that boy that he was no good and that whatever girl he ended up with, he was one lucky bastard because he doesn't deserve anyone. Charlie, no one in this god damn world deserves you. You're the most caring person I've ever met and you sure as hell don't need him." I responded in all honesty. Wesley was never a good person and I knew it.
"I'm just so stupid! How didn't I see this coming?" She said putting her face in her hands.
"You're not stupid Char, not at all. He's the dumbass, not you. He just ruined the single handedly best thing that will ever happen in his life." I said rubbing her back.
"He really did Charlie." Michelle added.
"I'm not going to dwell over this. I can't. Why should I? He fucked this up and I didn't so I have no reason on doing so." Charlie said wiping her face.
"When did this happen Char?" Michelle asked.
"Yesterday. I fought with him all night long and he left around three in the morning. I can't stay there but I have no place to go." Charlie said softly.
"Of course you have a place to stay. You can come live with me in my apartment." Michelle said.
"Or me." I added.
Charlie looked at the both of us, "You left me." She said giving me a weak smile.
"And you missy, have a boy at your place every other night." She said to Michelle.
"Hoes over bros, always." Michelle swore.
"I love you guys." Charlie said putting a hand on top of mine and putting the other on top of Michelle's.
"We love you too." Michelle and I said at the same time causing us to laugh.
"We leave for Auburn tonight. Did you take any clothes for the week?" I asked Charlie.
She nodded her head, "Yeah, it's in my car. When do we leave anyways?" She asked curiously.
"In about two hours. The game just finished I believe, meaning Drew needs about an hour until he gets back to the house and I assume he'll want to finish packing and everything." I said standing up.
"Okay." Charlie said wiping her face again standing up. She put on a smile and I could tell that she was really trying to not think about Wesley. Poor girl.
I gave her a big hug, "Let Michelle drive your car back to my place. You can go with her, I'll see you guys there okay?" I suggested letting her go.
"Okay." Charlie said giving me a small smile.
"Okay." I replied before heading to my car and making my way to mine and Drew's apartment.
**************************************
"So how'd I do?!" Drew came in through the door with a big smile on his face with damp hair. He always looked fresh and clean post-game due to the showers he'd take after.
A grin spread across my face, "Incredible as always! Do you even have to ask?" I responded giving him a tight hug.
He gave me a kiss on my temple, "Of course I have to ask. Yours and Tiger's opinion are all that matters." He said.
"Hey, jerk. I'm here too you know." Michelle said tossing a chip at his face.
"And somewhat Michelle's." He added jokingly before mouthing to me "barely" when Michelle wasn't looking, causing me to laugh.
"Speaking of... where were you Tiger? I didn't see you sitting beside Blake or Michelle at the game." Drew said munching on a chip.
Charlie looked at him and gave him a sad smile and I knew that Drew would become curious to what was going on.
"Tiger, why do you look so sad? Are you okay?" Drew said as he stopped munching on the chips and walked over so that he was standing only a few inches in front of Charlie.
"I will be." She said giving him the best smile she could.
Drew's face dropped and I could tell that he was sad for her. I'd been too.
"Charlie, what happened?" He asked putting his hand on her cheek.
I gave a signal to Michelle, telling her to come to my room with me so that we could leave them alone to talk.
She nodded and followed me.
"I have a strong feeling about something." Michelle said as we entered my room.
"And what is that?" I asked curiously.
"I don't know really. But I feel like something's going to happen after this trip. I'm not sure if it's good or bad though." Michelle said shrugging.
"Oh, so you're psychic now?" I said tossing a pillow at her giggling.
"Ha, I wish." She replied.
"Well, we'll just have to see what happens, won't we?" I said raising an eyebrow.
She looked outside my door and glanced her way to the kitchen where Drew and Charlie were speaking before she gave me a wicked smile, "We sure will."
***************************************
"I sure hope it's not raining for Thanksgiving tomorrow." My father said as he came into the kitchen for lunch.
I smiled at him, "It's supposed to rain all day today but it's supposed to be cleared up by tomorrow morning." I replied happy to be with him. I was excited when he flew in yesterday and even happier that he flew out here with Grace.
It made me feel reassured that he wasn't lonely back in California. Chase had been right all along. They definitely were an item and their touching and giggling proved it. He and her weren't staying here though. My father felt that it would be best for him to stay in the Ritz Carlton right by our house and I didn't argue with him.
Rick was always over and I didn't want any awkwardness with him and my Dad.
"Should we eat?" My mom said placing the last plate on the table.
"Sure thing." I replied heading to the table.
It was just my mom, my dad, and I for lunch today. It was nice being together without the girlfriend and boyfriend. As much as I liked Grace and Rick, I needed some alone time with my parents.
"How's school going sweetheart?" My dad asked before taking a bite out of his burger.
"It's going great actually. I should be finished next semester and hopefully I can nail an internship with VOGUE or a small fashion magazine company out here." I replied taking a sip of my water.
"Or you can help me out with the fashion magazine that I now own." My mom added smiling.
My jaw dropped.
"You own LUSH magazine now mom?!" I asked shocked.
She gave me a big smile, "I didn't want to tell you earlier because I wasn't sure if Stacey would go for my offer but she did and as of two days ago, I'm the official owner of LUSH magazine."
I squealed, "Mom, that's incredible! I'm so happy for you." I said happily.
"Thanks sweetie. But there's also one more thing I wanted to discuss with you." She said still grinning.
I raised an eyebrow.
"I'm going to be somewhat busy with owning the magazine and traveling with Rick and all because of his job so I'm going to need help. And a lot of it." She said.
I totally forgot that she wanted to support Rick with his job and take some time off of work for a while to do it. How was she going to do that now that she owns LUSH?
"Since I am going to be traveling a lot, I wont be working at LUSH in the next few years so I was thinking that maybe you can be the President and Co-CEO of LUSH." She said grinning even wider.
My jaw dropped even more.
"How does that sound?" She said happily.
"It sounds amazing!" I squealed.
"Oh my god, thank you thank you thank you!" I said getting up from my chair to hug her.
"No problem sweetheart." She replied kissing my forehead.
"How did you buy it though? It must have been a fortune." I said sitting back in my chair.
"I had a little help with your father. We both discussed that you deserved something and we both decided that this was the best thing for you. It was a whole lot since we split the cost and with the money you'll be making just monthly, it would all be worth it." She said giving a genuine smile to my Dad.
"Well, thank you both. This means the world to me." I said honestly.
"You're welcome baby girl." My dad said smiling.
I was extremely happy at the moment. Happier than I've been at all these past few months.
Dealing with Nana's death has to have been the hardest thing I've had to deal with and with the stuff that dealt with Ethan, these past months were everything but a walk in the park.
I was so thankful that things were finally starting to take a turn for the good. But nothing ever went my way in the world and something bad was always bound to happen.
We finished lunch and the rain had stopped a little. It was drizzling but it was nothing bad like what we were expecting soon.
I cleaned the dishes when I realized that I had nothing to do.
I texted Chase to see how he was doing and we texted for a little bit, catching up with one another. After a little while, I wanted to leave my house and get some air.
"I think I'm going to get some fresh air. I'll be back in a little." I said to my parents as they sat in the living room talking and lounging.
"Okay, want me to come with?" My dad asked.
"No, that's okay. You guys stay and talk. I'll only be about a half hour or so." I said giving them each a kiss on the cheek.
"Okay, be careful with the rain and all." My mom said taking a sip from her coffee.
"I will. Love you both." I said before leaving.
Leaving where exactly? I wasn't sure yet. I decided that a drive would be nice and maybe if I wanted to go somewhere, I'd stop along the way.
I plugged in my phone to my stereo and blasted The Last Time by Taylor Swift and Gary Lightbody and turned it loud.
I listened to the song religiously lately and I never got sick of it.
I strolled down the wet streets of Auburn and smiled at the safeness my hometown gave me. Nothing could ever replace this, my home.
It wasn't until I was stopped at a red light and stared at a wet puddle when it came to me as to where I really wanted to go.
I couldn't believe that I hadn't been there in so long.
I made a U-turn at the light once it was green and headed back to my neighborhood where I parked my car at the familiar body of water that seemed to have become even more gorgeous.
I smiled as I stepped foot out of my car and onto the familiar gravel of rocks.
The rain was still drizzling but it wasn't something I cared about. I walked over to the familiar area by the lake where Charlie, Drew, Ethan, and I would play.
I turned my body towards St. Coastal Lake and took in a deep breath.
This was my safety blanket; this was one of the most special places to me.
I smiled at the water, no really sure why I was smiling.
Sometimes, we tend to forget about the simplest things in life and never really notice it until we revisit them. This was one of those moments.
The rain started to pick up and I knew that I wouldn't make it back to my car without my whole outfit drenched.
I was wearing a white long sleeved shirt with dark denim skinnies with my brown riding boots and my hair was pinned straight.
That was all about to change right now. I didn't bother making a run for it to my car as the rain was picking up its speed. The way each drop hit me, felt as if it were cleansing me somehow, from all of the bad things that I've been carrying on my shoulders.
I looked up at the sky with my eyes closed while I flared my arms out and smiled.
"You're going to get sick out here if you don't hurry your butt up and get back in that car of yours." I heard someone say causing me to set my arms down and face my head around to where the voice was coming from.
There stood an extremely wet Ethan with his arms crossed across his chest.
He was smiling at me through the raindrops that were becoming hail now and walked closer to me.
I felt my insides flutter and become warm.
"What are you doing here?" I asked him when we were about a few feet apart.
He ran his fingers through his hair before responding, "I'm doing what we both should have done a long time ago." He said.
I didn't say anything for a split second, as I was gathering my thoughts as the hail poured on top of us.
"And what's that?" I said, choosing my words carefully. I've had enough heartbreak with Ethan and I didn't want to suffer any more.
He stared at me for a while before speaking.
"You're it for me. You always have been. Everything that we've been through just proves that we're meant to be. It's all led us back to here. This one place. The one place where you became my best friend and the one place that you changed me forever. I was engaged to Victoria on accident. I didn't want to marry her, not for a single second. She was some rebound that I needed after you. And you know what the worst thing about this is?" He asked walking closer to me.
I didn't respond. I couldn't considering I had no clue what to say.
"She was wearing your ring Blake. Your ring." He responded.
I felt my hands clench into a fist, even though I really wasn't sure why. My heart was racing with every word that he said.
"The day you came back to Auburn, I pulled out the ring from my dresser to think that maybe things were about to make a turn for the good. But then she walks in and slips it on her finger without me even asking her. It was crazy and I should have told her everything but I was weak. But I couldn't deal with her anymore. I couldn't be with her when my heart belonged to someone else. I'm not letting you go this time Blake. You're the only one for me and I know that we are meant to be together. You know it too, I know you do." He said walking even closer to me through the pouring rain.
And there it was. Everything and anything I wanted to hear, everything that I needed to hear. Why had it taken him so long? Why had it taken us so long to realize this?
My hair was now drenched as well as my clothes but I didn't care. I wasn't leaving until I got all of my questions answered. I've waited long enough and I wasn't running now.
"Why did it take you this long Ethan? Why now do you decide to tell me how you feel about me?" I said as the rain was pouring down on top of us.
"I thought you moved on from me Blake. I find out you're coming back home but you're not coming alone. How do you expect me to react to that? I thought you got over me and I tried doing the same with you and I told you how everything got so screwed up after. And when I did break it off with Victoria, I went straight to your house to tell you what I just told you but you weren't there." He said causing me to be surprised.
He came for me?
"You were gone when I came and I figured that you needed to breathe. Why else would you have gone back down to UVA a day early? You wanted to get away from me and I needed to respect that. I knew that you needed time to heal but I couldn't wait any longer Blake. Every second of every day, I've fought the urge to come to your apartment and tear off that door and tell you everything. But I didn't because it wouldn't be fair to you. Quite honestly, I can't even handle not being with you any more." He said putting his hand behind my neck so that we were staring at each other directly in the eyes as each raindrop fell on our faces.
I tore his hand away from my neck and started walking away but shouted at him as I did so, "Everything that we've been through is done and over with. I couldn't care less about anything Ethan! The one thing that hurt me the most was when you said those three words to me the night of your engagement."
"Those three words that meant everything to me. You said it as if it weren't meaningful to you and it stung." I added as I turned my body around so that I was facing him again.
"I know exactly what I said to you Blake and I meant it. I drank one glass of alcohol that night before I talked to you. I meant every. Single. Word. And I still do." He said loudly.
"Nothing you do will make it better Ethan!" I shouted as he walked up to me.
"Not a damn thi-!" I managed to say before Ethan's lips had found mine.
He put his hand around my neck and brought my face closer to him as his tongue was already exploring my mouth.
And in that one kiss, all the anger, passion, and love was poured into me. It was so powerful that if it weren't for the rain hitting us, I would think I had died and gone to heaven.
"I love you. I'll always love you and only you." He said breathlessly as he pulled away from the kiss. His fingers made their way to my face and started rubbing away the raindrops off my cheeks.
I looked up in his eyes one last time. This was it between us. I didn't have to run anymore and push away my feelings. I could finally have what I've always wanted, what I needed in life.
And at that moment, I realized that I couldn't ever live without him. There was just no way.
Ethan Bradley had consumed me whole and there was no way out of it.
All thoughts of arguing with him were long gone. I was tired of fighting with him. Maybe, just this once, I could finally let myself be happy.
I took a deep breath as our eyes were interlocked with one another. I felt the words at the tip of my tongue and I could feel the butterflies soar in my stomach at the excitement of me saying it.
"I love you too, Lover Boy" I replied truthfully.
A huge grin spread across his face and almost instantly, his lips were back on mine, this time stronger.
"You don't know how long I've waited to hear you say that." He said smiling as he pulled away from the kiss.
"You don't know how long I've kept it bottled in me." I responded honestly before Ethan kissed me again. I moved my hands up his damp clothes and made my way up his face so that my fingers ran through his damp hair. He lifted me off of the ground and started spinning us around causing me to smile against his lips.
I was done fighting with him, with myself, and with everything else in the world.
I loved him more than anything and he loved me. It was all that mattered right now.
"To infinity and beyond you dork." He said happily not putting me back on the ground.
"To infinity and beyond."