Chapter Four

Chapter Four






I walked to work and met Blake. He sat in his usual corner, and I felt my face lift into a smile. Acting as though I hadn’t seen him, I walk behind the counter keeping my gaze away from him and began preparing for my shift.
Movement form the corner of my eye told me he was coming. Looking up his grin and scent greeted me. It was an amazing sensation, but suddenly and violently pain shot through my head. I grimaced at the same time he said, “Hello.”
“Hey,” I said, placing a hand to my forehead, massaging it.
“Are you alright?” Blake questioned, seeming sincerely concerned.
“Yeah,” came the frustrated reply, “I just haven’t been feeling too hot of late. Hope I don’t get deathly ill.” I teased weakly.
When I looked up at him, his pale face had become stony. What did I say?
“Blake,” I asked, “Are you okay?”
As fast as it had come, the expression faded from his face. He replaced it with a comforting smile, “Hm, maybe you should take a day off?”
Naw, I’ll feel better soon,” I objected.
“You sure?”
“Mm-Hm.”
“Alright,” he gave up easily. That was another thing about Blake I loved. He respected and trusted my opinions.
Smiling and biting my lip, I asked, “Any big plans for tonight?”
Shrugging, Blake answered, “Not yet. But that could change, however.”
Arching my eyebrows, I look up at him, and tried not to seem over excited, “Hm, really?”
He lifted one end of his mouth, amused. Opening his mouth to reply, the door interrupted him. A customer walked up behind Blake, waiting patiently.
“You go first, I’m still deciding,” Blake said, still holding my eyes as he spoke. He stepped away, letting the guy in front of him. Slightly irritated at the dude, I got his order, and bid him a ‘have a good day,’ and refocused on Blake anxiously. Blake again stepped up to the counter.
“So, about changing your schedule,” I prompted.
Grinning his (quite literally) pearly-whites, Blake responded, “Maybe I could take you on a cliché date instead of going home to watch re-runs of ‘I Love Lucy’, tonight?”
I laugh, “You watch ‘I Love Lucy?’”
He rolled his eyes, “That’s hardly the point.”
Smiling wickedly, I shrug, “Okay, a date. How cliché are we talking?”
“Ice skating and something to eat?” He raised a daring eyebrow.
“You’re on,” my heart was pumping so hard, it felt like it was going to explode. Well, so was my stomach, but not out of pleasure.
“I’ll meet you here at six thirty. Be sure to dress warm.” He tapped the counter twice and walked through the door. I was elated, ecstatic and any other word you could think of that means “OH-MY-GOSH-I’M-GOING-ON-A-DATE-WITH-BLAKE!”
“Yes!” I punched my hands into the air, not caring that I looked like a total geek. A stupid smile was on my face, and I was feeling better even though I was about to puke on the next customers shoes. Some people were staring at me, making me self-conscious. An older man who had been there at the same time as Blake, got up and threw out his Styrofoam cup and smiled kindly at me, “You have fun on your date,” and left, leaving me with red, embarrassed cheeks on my pale face. I smirked as he left and thought to myself, Oh yes, I will.


At six-twenty-five-ish, I checked my reflection. My hair had cooperated, curling slightly, and fit nicely under my beanie. I pulled a warm outfit together and I had to admit, I liked how I looked. The only problem was my being ill.
I coughed, clearing my throat and prayed my stomach wouldn’t decide to empty while I was out with Blake. Grabbing some cash and wrapping on a scarf loosely, my mom’s voice sounded, “Look Mark, I can’t deal with this anymore. You just left and I thought you were coming back.”
Uh-oh.
My dad spoke next, “Is that what you think of me? I’m a flake?”
“That’s not what I said! I don’t appreciate your tone with me!”
“My tone?!” My dad was angry now, “You don’t tell me what tone to use! You think I like dealing with you and your sh… You don’t have any respect for me!”
“When have you given me any reason to respect you?” My mom spat, “You dump your job, your life, and now…”
“Now, what?” Dad dared.
“Now you’ve given me up and Roxy too, for what? Some slut you pick up at the corner every night?”
“WHAT’D YOU SAY TO ME?”
I couldn’t believe it. They decided tonight to confront each others faults? The night I was going to go out on a date with Blake? My eyes stung. Tears? Oh no.
Stomping from my room, I stood in the doorway to the kitchen. Hands clenched, I ground my teeth.
They both looked my way, still furious with one another, but curious of my reaction.
“Both of you,” I began, “need to shut up.”
“What?” My dad snarled.
“Shut up! You’re both hypocrites! Both sluts! Neither one of you are innocent! I hate you both! All you’ve done is slowly kill this family! You want to know why Kalynn got drunk.”
They just looked at me, guilt mixed with anger.
“She got drunk,” I shout, “Because you two were putting so much stress on her! With the cheating, no money, the fighting and the pretending! You guys killed her!” My tears were falling freely. I glared at these two, disbelieving.
“Now,” I shook my head, “I’m gonna leave before I say too much. I’m gonna go before you two start to taint my head.” Storming through the living room, I exited the apartment. My face was damp from my tears and my head was dizzy from too much excitement.
I gasped shallow breaths in between sobs. Trying to blink out the tears, they only clung to my eye lashes. In a few minutes I had reached the Café, still shaking in fury. Hoping my make-up wasn’t smeared, I looked around for Blake. It’s when I realized I forgot to check the time. I guessed it was somewhere around six thirty. I sniffled and coughed when suddenly, as if out of air, he was there.
“Roxy?” he asked, “Are you okay?”
My lower lip trembled. “Yeah,” I croaked.
He shook his head and grabbed my left hand. Lifting his right hand, he began to wipe my tears. His finger tips were cold from the winter air, but soft all the same. His touch felt amazing. We’d never touched until now, and now that we did, I hoped he wouldn’t stop.
“What happened?” Blake asked, concerned, and looked me straight in the eye. When I looked back into his beautiful eyes, more tears flowed, and my lips trembled again.
“It’s my parents,” I began in a hoarse whisper.


I ended up telling him everything. About my dad, my mom, my sister, tonight. It felt good to tell him everything, having some one to confide in. We began to walk to the ice rink while I explained. Blake listened carefully, spoke when appropriate, and nodded in understanding. When I stopped rambling he asked, “Now, who was this girl you were with when I first saw you?”
Oh, “Kelly,” I tell him.
“Is she a friend of yours?”
“Is. Was. She suddenly changed into some weirdo that yells at me for…”
“For?” Blake prompted.
“Well, I broke up with my boyfriend about a week ago,” I admitted, feeling uncomfortable at having told him of my psycho ex, “And whenever I would insult him, she would defend his actions.”
Blake thought for a moment, before asking, “Do you know why?”
Guiltily I reply, “I have my suspicions.”
He nodded, and stared off to space. Then, turning to stare at me, he smiled kindly and told me, “Well, let’s try to clear your mind tonight. Have some fun, hm?”
I smile sadly back, “Sounds good.”