As I silently climbed down the stairs that next morning I could hear my mom and my aunts talking in hushed tones.
“I don’t know…she thinks that she’s good at hiding it, but it’s written all over her face. I just…” my mom sighed, “it’s worse than last year.”
“She hasn’t tried to…you know…” I head Isabelle join the conversation.
“No, no not since last August.” My mom’s voice was so distraught. I could tell that she was on the verge of tears.
“Have you tried talking to her?” Aunt Karen asked.
“I’ve tried, but she always says that she doesn’t want to talk about it. I’m worried that she’s bottling everything up and she’s going to explode.”
“I wouldn’t worry about her too much, Jane.” Aunt Christy said, “She probably just really misses her boyfriend. I’m sure that she’ll get better when he comes back.”
“I don’t know, Christy, I just don’t know.”
I silently backed up so I was at the top of the stairs and then bounded down them, making sure that they could hear me coming down.
My mom sniffed, “Oh, good morning, London.”
“Good morning, Mom,” I wore a big grin just for her, “I’m going down to the beach.”
“Already?”
I grabbed hold of my walking stick that I had left just outside the back door, “Yep, see you later” I chirped.
I walked along the shore with my feet in the brisk water. Mornings on the beach were my favorite. The air was crisp and raw, still smelling of dew. The only noises were the waves meeting the shore, the seagulls hunting for breakfast, and the occasional morning jogger. It was the definition of peaceful. Alone with just the rolling tides and my thoughts to keep me company; these were the moments that I could truly savor and enjoy while on these vacations.
“Hey! Hey, you!” pat, pat, pat the strangers feet thudded across the sand, coming closer and closer. His voice was familiar, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. “Hey,” he said again as he placed his hand on my shoulder as if to reassure me that he was, in fact, addressing me, “Hey,” he said, he was slightly out of breath; a morning jogger.
“Uh, hi…I’m sorry, do I know you?”
“Right, I’m sorry, I’m the guy you tripped over yesterday.”
“Oh…”
“Right, well I, uh, I just wanted to apologize for being such a, uh, such a jerk yesterday. I shouldn’t have yelled at you like, like that.”
“Really, it’s fine.”
“Cool…cool.”
There was an awkward pause.
“I’m Blake by the way,” he said, breaking the uncomfortable silence.
“London,” I grinned half-heartedly.
“It’s nice to officially meet you, London.”
“Yeah you too,”
He stopped walking and put his arm out in front of me to stop me, too. “Am I doing something wrong? Am I offending you or something?”
My eyebrows knitted together, “What?”
“You’ve been giving me the cold shoulder. I apologized and you accepted it but I’m beginning to think that you didn’t really mean it. Should I leave you alone?”
“I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude. I’m just not in the best place right now. There’s a lot going on in my life and it’s just-it’s complicated.”
Blake took my hand and led me up the beach a bit and away from the water, then tugged on my arm, telling me to sit. As I took a seat on the soft sand he said, “Go on,”
“What?”
“Tell me about it – everything. I’m a great listener.”
“It’s a very, very, long story.”
“I’ve got all day.”
I sighed, and then I told him everything – my entire story. I told him about Derek and how he left me. I told him all about my depression, about how me and Robin met and how he saved me and how every waking moment all I can think about is him and I worry about him so much. I told him about my necklace and Aunt Christy and Damien. I told him about Spencer and Ariel. I told him about how I worried about Spencer and Aubree breaking up and how I was concerned that it was my fault. I told him about Zachary and Ariel and how I hope that they end up together. I told him how much I wanted things between me and Spencer and me and Ariel to be better, but I had no idea how to fix it. And when I was finally done, I told him how I couldn’t believe that I had told all of that to a guy that I had just met.
Blake laughed and offered to buy me ice cream at the pier to cheer me up. Of course I agreed.
As we walked along the pier together trying to keep out melty ice cream off of our fingers Blake said, “You know, London, you’ve got an interesting story.” He paused, “And I’ll tell you what: you need to suck it up and talk to your brother and your friend. You’re waiting for them to make the first move, and they’re probably doing the same exact thing. If you want things to change, you’ve got to make it happen. Promise me you’ll at least talk to one of them tonight?”
“I promise,” I said with a mouth full of ice cream.
Keeping that promise, I talked it out with Spencer that night. He apologized for what he did to Derek and I heard him out. I told him that even though I didn’t approve of his methods, I still appreciated what he did for me. I apologized for over-reacting about everything, and I apologized for any trouble that I stirred between him and Aubree. He assured me that everything between them was fine; actually, it couldn’t be better. Sure, she was a little mad that he gave some guy a black eye, but all was forgiven later.
It was so good to have that all off of my chest. For the first time in weeks, I felt at peace when I went to sleep that night.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Yay, I finally updated! How'd you like this chapter? What do we think of Blake? Please let me know!
Much Love,
xRebeccaDarling
YOU ARE READING
The Color Blue
Teen FictionShe was one who didn’t judge a book by its cover; maybe it’s because she couldn’t. Blind since birth, London Cabre always relied on her brother to be the judge of people for her. She was scarred from her last boyfriend, misunderstood by her own fami...
