27

I don’t care.

I don’t care.

I don’t care.

I kept chanting the words over and over again as I drove back home from my sister’s house. Liam bid me goodbye, not without a kiss and a cupcake of course. The roads were mostly empty- thank heavens- so my ride back only took me a few minutes.

As I kicked off my shoes and greeted Bruce and Skittles, the temptation of seeing Blake started to grow bigger. Trying to push the thoughts of him aside, I fed the two wide eyes, tail waggling dogs in front of me.

The fridge was empty, except for a few cupcakes, some bacon, and ice cream in the freezer. Yes, that’s what I need. Ice cream.

I don’t care.

I went back to the living with ice cream in my hand as I searched for yet another horror movie to watch. My phone started ringing. It was Reese.

“Beth I heard Blake’s sick!” she said as soon as I answered the call.

I narrow my eyes at nothing and no one in particular. “How did you know?”

“Dani told me.” She replied. “Apparently her girlfriend works with Blake. Wait- you know?! Where are you right now?”

“At home.” I shrug.

“What?!” she shrieked making me put some distance between my ear and the device. “You know and you’re still at home? What is wrong with you woman?”

“Nothing?” I replied a little confused. There is nothing wrong with me.

“Everything!” she cried out. “This is your chance to fix whatever the hell broke.”

“There’s nothing to fix. I don’t care anymore.” Okay those were clearly lies because if they weren’t, why on earth was I inhaling ice cream and watching horror movies like I was in some kind of competition? “What’s there to fix anyways if nothing broke in the first place?”

“Chicken shit.” Reese snapped. Uh oh, she’s mad. “Go and fix things. The poor guy’s sick Beth. Go and take care of him. For all we know he’s probably unconscious and falling down the stairs as we speak. Fix things.”

And with that, she hung up on me.

A few spoonful’s of ice cream in my mouth later, I tossed the ice cream pint in the freezer and ran out of the house. I jumped in my car and drove off.

The pull of wanting to see Blake to check if he was really sick was stronger than the power of ice cream. I was driving dangerously fast, and I’m the one to say I’m not the world’s best driver. I thank my lucky stars that the roads leading to Blake’s house was mostly empty, otherwise my story would’ve stopped right here.

I was about to knock but decided not to. I stood by the door of Blake’s house, I pondered on whether or not I should be here. After what happened, I don’t think Blake would want to see me. Hell, even after what I did, I don’t want to see me either.

My hands itched to just ditch knocking and just barge in.

Taking a couple deep breathes, I made my decision and turn around. Step by step, I walked down the stairs of the front of the house. This was a terrible idea. There’s no way he’s want to see me.

I got back in my car and heaved a huge sigh and just as I was about to turn the ignition, a loud breaking sound was heard. It came from inside the house.

As if it was an automatic reaction, I jumped out of my car and sprint towards the house, not bothering to knock and just charged right in. I found Blake crouched down on the kitchen floor, picking up the large pieces of what seemed to be a glass bowl just a few moment ago. He was in pajamas and a sleeveless shirt with a robe that was going to fall off his shoulders anytime soon.

I know this isn’t the time to be thinking of this but oh god did he look good, deliciously good. He looked like one of those commercials selling sex. Well maybe not sex but something like that.

I’m not sure if he heard me, or the loud slamming of his front door which thankfully didn’t break, or it was just a mere coincidence that he looked up. We locked gazes before the corners of his mouth tug upwards into a small smile.

“Bethany.” He showed a tired smile, his eyes were swollen, his face was in a light shade of red but his nose, oh god, he looked like Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer!

“Oh my god you really are sick.” I mutter before rushing towards him. The large piece of glass that was in between Blake’s fingers slipped fell back to the ground, creating a small cut on the pad of his thumb.

“Ow.” He hissed lightly as he looked down on his now bloody finger.

“Blake what are you even doing in the kitchen?” I asked, thrusting his fingers down the faucet to rinse away the blood. I frowned at him.

“I wanted something to eat.” He sniffed, looking at me.

I sighed and shook my head. “Go back to your room. I’ll make something for you to eat and clean up, okay?”

He sneezed, rather loud and scared the living daylights out of me. I’m not sure of what he as thinking about but he frowned at me and snapped, “Get out Bethany. Go away.”

I blinked, turning the faucet off and faced him. That hurt.

“Blake you’re sick. I’m not going anywhere until-”

“Leave Bethany.” He snapped again, pulling his hand away from mine. “Go.”

“Blake damn it!” I almost yelled. Why is he being so stubborn? “I know I hurt you and I know you might not want to see me again but please, you’re sick right now! I can’t leave you here alone to-”

“Where did you get that idea from?” he asked, cutting me off completely. “Of course I want to see your beautiful face again.”

“Huh?” I looked at him confused. “But you just said…”

“I want you to leave because I don’t want you getting sick.” He said, followed by a loud hacking cough and a series of sneezes that could burst lungs. “See? It’s bad.”

“That’s why I’m not leaving.” I stated. “Go and rest.”
“But Betha-”

“Blake.” I said and glared at him. “Go.”

“I don’t want you catching my flu.”

“I’m a healthy girl.” I lied. Eating numerous pints of ice cream in one week isn’t healthy, it’s a recipe for diabetes. “Go and rest. I’ll be right over so that we could clean up that wound. Okay?”

He gave a meek nod in defeat and trudged back to his room. Just as he was about to disappear, he turned around to face me. With a small smile on his face he said, “I missed you Bethany”

He didn’t give me the chance to say anything because he turn back around and continued walking.

Half an hour later, I’m in his room feeding him chicken soup. He looked so tired, and so bloated, and so red. He looked a lot older than the last time I’ve seen him. I’m sure a week’s worth of aging wouldn’t have that much effect right now.

Believe me or not, we were both watching Safe Haven that was currently playing on Blake’s wide flat screen television that was mounted on the wall in front of the bed. Why he had a copy of the movie perplexes me. But a man who likes watching chick flicks with me is something I like.

“I wonder what that dude wants from the girl.” Blake muttered and sipped the soup. “Ow! This is hot.”

“I told you it was hot. Let me cool it down.”

“No it’s fine.” He shook his head, blowing on the spoonful of hot liquid in front of him. “What do you think he’s doing?” he asked gesturing to the screen in front.

I shrugged. “Maybe he’s a stalker.”

“Would it creep you out if I said I stalked you?” He asked.

I stared at him wide eyed, unsure if he was joking or not. Please tell me he’s kidding. “Definitely.”

He nodded with a smile and turned to me. “Well then, it’s a good thing I didn’t.”

“It’s absolutely a good thing.”

“As much as I’d want you not getting sick but can you sit beside me?”

“I already am.”

“Not there.” He rolled his eyes then he scooted a little bit before patting the empty space on the bed beside him. “Over here.”

“I’m not a dog.”

“Bethany.” He said, exasperated.

“Blake.” I mimicked him.

“Please?” He pouted and that did the trick. He looked freaking adorable.

“Only because you look cute.” I stood up and went to the other side before wrapping myself in one of Blake’s blankets.

He frowned. “I am not cute.”

“Fine then.”  I shrugged. “You’re adorable.”

“That’s better than being ugly.” I heard him mutter.

I raised a brow at him. “Who said you weren’t?”

Blake narrowed his eyes at me. “It doesn’t matter if you find me ugly. You’re here beside me right is what counts.”

My face turned red instantly. How the man beside manages to make me blush just by saying a few lines baffles me.

“Bethany. Bethany. Bethany.” Blake started repeating my name and at the same time poking me at my side. Ugh, not this again. “Bethany. Bethany.”
“Stop poking me Blake!” I glared at him and slapped his hand and when I did, he gave me another poke. “Blake!”

“I think I need a sponge bath.” He announced with a schoolboy grin. “I feel really hot right now.”

“I am not giving you a sponge bath.” I told him. “No.”

He pouted at me. “And I thought you wanted to take care of me.”

“No sponge baths!”

“Please?”

“No.”

“Please Bethany?”

I sighed. “No.”

“At least wipe my face?”

I raised a brow at him. “You’re not vegetable. You only have a fever. You can do that by yourself.”

He continued pouting. “But I’m tired. I don’t have the energy to do so.”

I don’t know why I even agreed to this. Maybe it was because of the guilt of what I did to him. So here I was a few minutes later with a basin and a washcloth, slowly wiping his face as we continued to watch Safe Haven.

“Josh Duhamel is hot.” I grinned as I watched Josh Duhamel in all of his shirtless glory at the beach on the screen in front of me. “Very hot.”

Blake turned to me with his eyebrows creased together. “No. You can’t say that.”

“Yes I can.” I said and just to spite things I repeated, “Josh Duhamel is hot.”

He continued frowning at me and just when I was to repeat what I had said (again just to spite him) he grinned at me like fat kid who found out they were having buffet for dinner.

“You have a father fetish.”

I snapped my attention back to him, completely ignoring the shirtless Josh Duhamel on the screen. My jaw dropped as I registered what he had just said. “Excuse me? A father fetish? I am so not attracted to men who could be old enough to be my father!”

“Wait, before you get mad let me explain.” He said still sporting the grin as he raised his hands up in surrender. “First of all, not that kind of father fetish. That is disgusting and wrong in so many different levels. It’s the ‘You’re attracted to fathers- men who have children’ type of fetish. Not your father-father fetish. Second, Josh Duhamel plays the role as a dad in the film and you think he’s hot. I’m a father and let’s face it with the amount of times I caught you gawking at me, you find me hot.”

I blushed as I recalled those times- the one at the beach for example. That was extremely embarrassing. But let’s divert the topic here to Blake. Holy smokes he’s so blunt when he’s sick! Usually he’d be shy and would tease me a little but holy cow was sick Blake way different!

“I think Robert Downey Jr. is hot.” I said, trying to prove his little theory wrong. “Iron Man is not father.”

“Iron Man isn’t but Robert Downey Jr. is.” He smirked. “See! You have a fetish for men with children!”

“You are so weird.” I rolled my eyes.

“Thank heavens for Allie!” he cried out making me laugh.

________________________________

First of all, it scares me how fast the votes of the chapters reach 500. It is absolutely terrifying

Second, I know it took me quite some time to update. Reason 1: I failed one of my subjects but now after a little explaining and a lot of begging (it was just one number! I didn't write the correct answer because it was a multiple choice type of test but I did have my solutions) my teacher said she'll consider.

Third, I won't be joining the Wattys yet, not until I'm sure I can finish the book by December.

Fourth, this is just a filler chapter. I know you guys would want an explanation and for Bethany to apologize to Blake (let's be honest, I too would want her to apologize) and that will come! I just needed a filler.

Fifth (well this list is getting longer), i know this isn't my best work. Writer's block has been with me and the burden of knowing I failed a subject just didn't really get me in the mood for writing and it destroyed all of my imagination.

Sixth, the last (finally), like my facebook fanpage! I update you guys on what happens and when I will get to update so go like www.facebook.com/erasingpencil