Blake Heritage (English)

Chapter 13

After a long sleep, Maya finally woke up at around 3:00am. Still dressed in yesterday's garments, she decided to change. Before going back to bed, Maya put on a bathrobe and wandered around the apartment to see if Blake was also awake. She found him in the living room, lit up by the fireplace and the bright city lights, contemplating the view. He looked much calmer than since she last saw him.

— Can't you sleep? whispered the young woman.

— Not really. Blake was cold and closed. He barely looked at Maya.

— Okay, can I sit down?

— This is your place, do what you like.

— Okay, I'll leave you alone, we'll talk tomorrow if you're up for it.

Maya didn't know how to approach the situation nor how she could obtain his forgiveness, she regretted saying the hurtful words earlier. Heading to her bedroom, the solution to their quarrel came to her mind. She understood what she had to do and decided to speak the truth. Although she felt uncertain about telling Blake, it was the only solution that occurred to her exhausted and half-asleep mind.

— Blake!

— What? he sighed.

— I'm going to explain to you what happened yesterday, even though I don't really want to discuss it, if that's the only way you'll forgive me, then I'll tell you everything.

— You don't have to, really.

— I do! I don't want to lose you!

— Maya...

— First of all, I apologize for the things I said earlier, I didn't mean a word of it. I said it in reaction, I'm an impulsive person and sometimes I can't help it. I'm so sorry!

Blake looked straight at her, trying to communicate to her that he would never leave and that he had already forgotten what she had said. She sat down on the sofa, facing the opulent cityscape.

— So where to start? Just before we left New York, my parents warned me that we were going to retire to a small town. At the time, I was a very self-centred, selfish and mean person, so this news made me act out. I distanced myself completely from my best friend, the one I grew up with, the one I was telling you about. She was like a sister to me. We shared everything together and if anyone really knew her, it was me. She had a lot of family problems, she had addicts for parents. But, I didn't want to be around her anymore, she was so negative about everything even though none of it was her fault. I was a monster.

Tears had formed a flittering stream down her face, she inhaled.

— Do you want us to stop? I didn't think it was going to be this hard on you.

— No, Blake, she said in a tearful voice. I want to finish. I want you to know everything about me – I need to clear my conscience. I've never spoken about all of this before, and how I felt. It's been killing me for months.

— Okay, take a deep breath and carry on.

Blake put his arm around her shoulders as a gesture of support.

— About two days before we left New York, I was coming back from the café I used to hang out with my girls when we skipped school, my mum told me the news – Melissa, my best friend – was dead. She had committed suicide in her apartment... Maya inhaled deeply, trying to placate the tears. I feel so responsible for her death Blake. I was the person who abandoned her when she had nobody else to turn to. I should have been there for her. If you only knew how angry I was! I miss her so much now.

— Maya, it wasn't your fault!

— But Blake, she had no one. Repeated the teenager. I was the only person who could help her, and I didn't. I left her to die alone whilst I was busy worrying about my predicament and how I was going to be able to come back to New York. I was aware that she was going through something, and I just abandoned her, forced her to confront her problems on her own.

— Yes, she was alone, but she was alone despite you not because of you. You are not to blame, and she wouldn't want you to feel guilty about something she chose to do. You need to move on and look forward. You're not that terrible person anymore, I can I see it, I feel it. I understand why you were ashamed to share this with me, but you had no reason to be afraid. This doesn't change the way I feel about you Maya. I accept your past and your honesty makes me love you more.

— What?

— Yes, I love you Maya, I know it's early to be confessing such things, and I can't even explain it myself. But I do. How could I not fall in love with you in front of this beautiful place?

— I love you Blake.

Maya leaned towards Blake and they kissed passionately. Both teenagers knew that this evening would mark their lives. Blake carried Maya to the master bedroom. Their attraction for each other was undeniable and the setting idyllic. Lit by the city lights, he laid Maya on the bed and gradually undressed her. Like magnets, they exchanged kisses after each item of clothing was removed, unable to resist the intimacy emanating between their bodies. In a paroxysm of desire, they made love for the first time that night and lost themselves in each other as two lovers do.

Maya was the first to wake up the following morning and she decided to make breakfast. Although she knew Blake had forgiven her, she wanted to prove to him that she really loved him. They were together now. She placed the breakfast on the chest of drawers and swiftly threw herself onto him.

— Blake, sweetheart, it's time to get up.

She planted kisses all over his face. Blake slowly awakened to the girl he had fallen in love with. Lying on the bed, both the happy sight of Maya and the view filled him with awe.

— Maya, I've been thinking about something that might help you work through some of those feelings you spoke about last night.

— Blake...

— Listen to me, you're going to love it. I think you've never been able to close that chapter on your life because it brims with negative emotions.

— Probably, and?

— It's clear to me that you don't want to be here.

— Blake no, I know how much this trip means to you!

— You are more valuable to me than this weekend Maya. We have enough time to explore the rest of the world. So, because this has now become our last day, I have an idea of how we could spend it. I think you should take me to all the places that remind you of the good times you shared with your best friend, and we should place a rose at each location, to commemorate the parts of her life that were happy and shared with you. And hopefully, this will help you mourn her, perhaps even find some closure.

— I guess there's no harm in it.

— I want you to let go of those negative ties, and to remember her solely as the best friend who enrichened your childhood.

— I understand. Let's do it! Thanks for staying and supporting me. Most people would have fled by now.

— Stop thinking like that.

Blake kissed her on the forehead.