Why is it that just because of one mistake or good thing people forget about all good or bad things others did to us? What is it in our nature that makes us either forgive or loathe?
I couldn’t believe that I, Kaley Evansville, agreed to live with and marry Blake. It’s like throwing yourself into a lion’s den. Maybe I had some fever because, in all honesty, something was wrong with me. Do you know what the worst part was?
I didn’t even mind it.
Who knows, maybe this would turn out to be good or something? But then again, I had that nagging feeling that it would all turn out to be hell.
I decided to leave Ayden once again at Blake’s before coming home to pack our belongings because the man was pestering me to move in as soon as possible, and my brother was rubbing salt to my wounds, saying he wanted to meet Amy.
“This?” Blake called from the living room, holding an old, rusty doll. Yup, I forgot to mention that he was helping me, but I let that thought slip from my mind.
He found her!
I immediately put the photo frame with the photo me and Ayden grinning during Christmas from three years ago and headed toward Blake to take Gretchen. It was an old doll I apparently had since I was a baby, and I thought I had lost it.
“Oh my God, you found her!” I exclaimed before taking it. “She needs a few stitches here and there, but she’s alive!” I hugged her as he warmly smiled at me.
“What?” I asked with a glare, and he lifted his arms in surrender.
“Nothing, just…I had one too, a sailor boy, but it got burnt,” he said, and I felt sorry for him. No one deserved to see their childhood toys get destroyed. Moreover, how did it get burnt?
“Oh, well…” I started. “We can always make you one,” I suggested, making him chuckle.
“I have a new hobby now. I’m making boats and ships, so I don’t really need one. Besides, I’m a grown up now,” he said, and I rolled my eyes before going back to my room to finish packing.
“Just wanted to help,” was all I said before resuming with what I had been doing for the last two hours.
Few more minutes later, everything necessary and what held some sentimental memory for me was packed inside of six boxes. Blake cracked his knuckles before pulling the keys from his pocket and handing them to me.
“Press this button toward my SUV.” He showed me which one. “Then open the back doors for me. I’ll get them inside.” He pointed to the boxes.
I remembered that Mel didn’t know about me moving in her brother’s house. Seeing as she knew that I was pregnant, I needed to tell her how and inform her of baby’s father.
Scared.
Yes, I was, however, very scared to do that.
When he had finished moving boxes to the car, he got in the driver’s seat, put on his safety belt, and told me to do the same.
“And house locked, boxes packed, you packed. Did we forget something?” he asked, and I shook my head.
“Nope, all that is left now is to move in. Someone else will take the house,” I mumbled, though I doubted that someone actually would.
“I’ll take it,” he said, starting the car. “With nice investment, it will be a great safe house.”
“Safe house?” I asked with confusion, and he grinned, not taking his eyes off the road.
“My company has this branch that is focused on building safe houses all over the world. So far, we built one hundred and forty-five just in America and Europe. Great accomplishment if you ask me. This place can be taken down and used to build another safe house for those abused in families or for those without a home. You know how it works,” he said, and I stared at him with my lips slightly parted. “Its location couldn’t be any better. It’s an extremely safe environment, and the police station is not too far from here. Since you’ve been renting it, I’ll have to talk with the owner, but I doubt that they’ll complain.”
I was in awe from his explanation. Safe houses aren’t the type of project one could earn a lot from or anything, yet they managed to build so many of them. It takes a lot of money and effort to start up something as building a single house, and it’s rare for anyone to invest that much money into something that won’t really bring them anything in return.
“Oh, what is that your company about?” I asked, interested in it.
“You know, buying buildings, selling them to people who’ll further sell them to other people who’ll further sell them to other people—be it to live in them or rent them…Something like that, but we have more branches that are about other things as well. Main is here in Seattle,” he explained as I nodded, taking in the newfound information.
I was right about him being a businessman.
“Oh…And what is your job?” What is his position in a company like that?
“Who, me?” He grinned, “Well, I’m a—” And just as he was about to continue, he suddenly hit the brake, stopping the SUV.
“Fucking idiot!” he screamed before heading outside and slamming the doors shut. The guy in front of us had almost slammed his car with ours, and all I heard was Blake shouting at the guy who had the audacity to fight back. I only stared at them from inside, wondering as to what the hell happened. It lasted for few minutes before eventually the police came and settled down the matter.
“Put all that in the third room on the right, first floor,” Blake’s voice echoed through the halls as I stayed silent, still trying to recover from the accident from earlier. The police came, and they talked and talked and talked. I almost fell asleep before Blake came back inside with satisfaction written all over his face.
He had probably won the argument since the police stayed to talk more to that guy as we drove off, and when I asked what happened, Blake only said, “Invalid license, not to mention driving mistakes he made. He’s probably going to jail.”
After listening for next half an hour about how really important is to be careful when driving, I learned one really important thing: for some reason, he was really serious about driving safely. At the time, I didn’t understand why, but I was about to find out about it much later.
“And those.” He indicated to the three boxes that contained Ade’s things. “First room to the left down the same hall.” Three guys that were doing it—I was yet to find out their names—got on the job and started carrying those boxes.
Well, at least, I was close to Ade’s room. I’m not sure how it came to this situation, but after Blake had asked me to move in, I ended up saying yes. I was taken by surprise with our electricity being cut off since I spent the entire previous day at his house and remembered that I hadn’t paid yet for it. I did have money to pay, but I wasn’t really able to think clearly after all that happened. The rent got higher and higher, as I was behind on more than a couple of months on rent, so this was the best option as of right now. Blake, of course, paid everything when he saw the state of my problem as I wanted to strangle him but gave up. Second thing I learned about him: he was so adamant that it was becoming a pain in the posterior. Especially when it came to money.
The more and more I thought about living with him, I began to have fewer doubts. Somehow, Blake had offered us a roof over our heads, so I guessed that he was not as bad as I thought him to be. And he wanted to take care of our baby, which was a big plus for him.
I sighed. I just hoped that I wouldn’t regret my decision.
“Hey, are you even listening to me?” Blake snapped his fingers in front of my face, making me realize that I had zoned out.
“Umm, sorry, I was just thinking…” About something you don’t really need to know.
“Anyway.” He frowned. “As I was saying, tomorrow we will go to the doctor to check on the baby and you. Your health is the most important thing at this moment.”
“If you continue talking like that, I’ll actually start thinking that you care for me more than you do for the baby,” I replied jokingly, making his lips twitch into something that resembled a smile. Since when did we become so close? Nah, I was probably just seeing things. He was always going around like some serious Dracula, frowning and scaring the light away.
“Who said I don’t already?” He shrugged and went to the kitchen.
Touché.
Dumbfounded by his words, I glanced around and saw that the living room was in much better state than the last time I saw it. How the hell had he managed to fix it all in just a few hours?
Magic. I was getting keener on the possibility of him being a vampire with every passing second.
“Come to the kitchen. You should be eating!” I heard his voice shout from there.
Where did all chivalry go?
“I’m coming,” I shouted back. How he annoyed me…Oh, how I would like to throw him on a stake, but then again I would end up in prison. And I’d feel sorry for the stake for being forced into him.
So no killing Blake for now. I didn’t know when my thoughts became so violent. Was it because of pregnancy?
“This is the second time today!” His voice, though not high at all, pierced my eardrums, and I glared at his way. “Why do you keep zoning out when I’m talking to you?” he asked in disbelief. Thanks for making me feel like sunshine.
“Sorry, what were you saying?” I asked once again as I watched him take out a bowl with macaroni inside. I so wanted to eat it.
“Heated or cold?” he asked, going to the microwave, and I grinned.
“Heated please,” I said as he proceeded to do it. Who’d ever eat them cold?
“As I was saying before you zoned off”—he glared at me again—“you should eat properly. Don’t forget that there are two or maybe three of you now,” he said after sighing loudly. And this time I glared at him again. “And you should start taking proper medicines now because of the baby.”
“No offense, but your hips are too small. Therefore, I think that you might need a C-section because there’s a high chance of your pelvis creating a problem during labor. Who knows maybe it’s possible for it to go the natural way? Though, we should talk with a doctor,” he spoke, and I tilted my head in confusion.
“You seem to know a lot about pregnancies,” I pointed out. “Why?” I asked, making him groan with a sour expression on his face.
“Well, when you have a gynecologist as your best friend who talks a lot and whom you stayed with for nights while he was preparing for exams…A lot of things can be learned that way,” he explained, and I laughed. “I’ve been helping him with his studies quite often, so I got to pick up a thing or two.”
I shivered at that. I didn’t want to know about it anymore.
“And who is he?” I asked instead, changing the point.
“I think you know him. From what I could understand, he likes to annoy you…Max,” he said, and my mouth dropped.
Of course, why was I confused? He came at my workplace with him, and Mel is good friends with him…It’s obvious that he knows Max. And in the hospital when I fainted…Could it be Max who told Melissa about my pregnancy? If it were Melissa who asked, then it would be no wonder.
“Yup, and we’re going to him tomorrow. I trust only him when it comes to this situation.”
Overprotective much? Nope, more like “I’m the boss, and I have only one person who I will make you visit because I’m a hysterical moron who wants to have it all his way.”
“Wait, what? I’m not going to your friend, mine as well. Get me another gynecologist. Why would you think I’d let him check me down there? He’s a guy!” I immediately protested. There were no chances that I’d let something like that happen. Why were guys into that job, anyway? I want a woman for my doctor!
“You are not being reasonable, Kaley. It doesn’t matter if he’s our friend or not. The point is that I have trust in his skills. You would eventually need to go to one, but if it’s your doctor, I’d rather prefer someone we can both trust than some stranger.” And again, the truth of his words stung like a bitch.
“Fine.” I sighed in defeat and dug into the food he gave me. It was macaroni with cheese, and he got up from his chair and handed me a bottle of ketchup from the fridge.
“Try it with ketchup. It’s much better if you ask me,” he said, and I decided to trust his cooking advice. He made the best chicken with mashed potatoes, and that said something. At least there was some use in living with Blake; he made meals to die for.
One thing that bothered me was Blake told me that since I was pregnant and was going to live with him, there was no way in hell I would be working.
“Again, really?” He groaned, slamming his hand down on the table I was eating at. “Stop zoning off!” he said, and I glared at him.
“It’s not my fault that you’re very boring,” I told him nonchalantly, and this time, he was the one glaring at me. I couldn’t understand myself. Why was I so easygoing with him like nothing ever happened, like we were friends for a long time?
“Very funny,” he said sarcastically before leaving me alone with my meal I enjoyed, forgetting about my internal battle once again. He was right; it tasted much better with ketchup.
It wasn’t even that long before Ayden came rushing to me. The thought of me doing something wrong struck me again.
“Sis, sis, you need to see my new room. It’s so huge. And I have my own train rail and baloney.” He still couldn’t say balcony, which I found extremely cute.
“Ooh, come here.” I lifted him up, letting him sit on my legs as I hugged him tightly.
“Did I ever say how much I love you?” I asked him and giggled. I was way too emotional for my own sake. I kissed his cheek as he tried to wiggle out of my grasp, but to no avail.
“Eww, nooo. Let me go!” He tried to escape while laughing, but I really wanted to hug someone and had found a perfect target.
“Let me go. It’s not cool for a hero like me to be hugged and kissed. Let go, sissy!” He continued to wiggle around, but I only continued to land kisses on his face even more.
“You do know that behind every great man stands a strong woman?” I asked him, and he huffed.
“Well, I’m a boy, not a man,” he said, and I grinned. Smart indeed. “And I’m way more cool than you.”
He stuck his tongue out at me.
“Wait, if you’re cooler than me, does that make me hotter than you?” Ha, take that. I heard Melissa using that against Max once, and it turned out to be a powerful weapon against everyone.
“What does that even mean?” he mumbled in confusion, making me chuckle. I so missed having fun with Ade. Ever since his surgery, we haven’t had time for ourselves. Except for today with ice cream, but Blake interrupted that.
Snow.
It was really surprising since it never snowed before Christmas, and Christmas was in three days. It was relieving to know that I will finally be able to spend time with Ade on that day. I should go and buy him a present now that I thought about it.
I should have probably thanked Blake as well, although I still didn’t like him, and this alone wouldn’t be able to fix our relationship, if we even had one.
“Kally!” Ade screamed my nickname.
“Yes, Addie?” I returned his special nickname, and he groaned.
“That’s a girl name,” he protested.
“So? It’s cute, just like you.” I tapped his little nose, smiling.
“I’m not cute!” he protested even louder this time.
“You are.” I threw back at him.
“No, I’m not!” He thrashed his tiny feet, making me put him down on the ground as he jumped few times in place.
“Are too,” I continued in a sing-song voice, leaning on the chair and enjoying the way I annoyed him.
“Am not!”
“Blake!” I called him once he entered the kitchen, realizing that it was the first time I called him by his name. “Ade is cute, right?” I asked, and he nodded with a frown, obviously not understanding what was going on in there.
“I’m not! I’m very manly!” he argued, and Blake laughed.
“You should never say to a guy, even if he’s just a kid, that he’s cute,” he said, and I grinned. Boy, oh boy.
“Why? You can’t bear the fact that you’re cute, unlike other guys, huh?” Blake glared at me and before grinning with mischief, realizing something.
“So you think that I’m actually cute, unlike other guys. Do you now?” he said, and my mouth dropped. That little…I mean tall!
“Well yeah, most guys I see are either hot and sexy, but you, on the other hand, are cute.” Two can play this game.
“Why thank you. I think you are a cute girl as well.” Did he just? “Unlike other women I’ve been with who were hot and sexy.”
I don’t know why but his words made me speechless and made me want to cry. They shouldn’t. There was no need for that. He made a fair statement, no different from what I did. I just got up, muttering a weak “excuse me” as I made my way to the bedroom, but before I got far, Blake got a hold of me. He took my hand before spinning me so that I was looking at his eyes.
“But unlike them who only had a hot body and a horrible personality, you are actually beautiful.” And with that he moved away from me, leaving me speechless once again.
Whether he said that as an excuse for his mistake or because he really meant it, it made me feel relieved.
I really didn’t know just what was the real face of the man who I thought was a monster for last few weeks.
I accepted everything, believing that it was the right way of living life. But little did I know that just accepting things makes me no different from those who don’t know how to live because the true way to shaping oneself lies in having opinions.
Opinions I didn’t know how to voice out.