Free Love is Blind by Shayna B

by that, but
strangely I’m not.”
    I smiled. “That’s because you aren’t normal.
It’s why we get along so well.”
    “Again, I should be insulted, but I’m not. I
should probably be worried.”
    “Probably. But since we’re at your class now,
you’ll have to deal with it on your own.” I led him into the
classroom and brought him to his seat. “I’m going home now. I might
be at the park later if you’re not busy. Otherwise, I’ll see you
tomorrow.”
    “Talk to you later.”
    I’d intended to go straight home, but I somehow
found myself on the highway that would take me back to where I used
to live. Apparently my subconscious had decided I needed to go
somewhere before going home. An hour later, I pulled up at a
cemetery and parked my car. I got out and made my way to a pair of
familiar gravestones. I lowered myself carefully to the ground in
between them, using the one on the left as a back rest. “Hey mom
and dad,” I murmured. “Sorry it’s been so long since I last
visited.”
    I closed my eyes and tilted my head back.
“Jake’s still in a coma. Some days I think I should just let him
go, but I can’t make myself do it. I know technically it’s Liam’s
decision, but he’s left the choice up to me. In a way it’s a good
thing he did, because I know I’d have trouble forgiving him if he
decided to pull the plug. But sometimes I wish he would take the
decision away from me so I don’t feel guilty about keeping Jake
alive like this.” I let out a long breath. “Marcus keeps trying to
get in touch with me. I don’t know why, since the last time I saw
him I was throwing things and screaming at him. Jared and Liam
think I should get a restraining order, but I don’t want to give
him the satisfaction of knowing he’s bothering me.”
    I rubbed my hands over my face. “It’s been
more than nine months since you guys were taken from me. Sometimes
I wake up in the morning and I still expect you to be there. Those
days are always the hardest, because it’s as if I’ve lost you
again.”
    I went home after sitting there for another
ten minutes. Jared and Liam weren’t home and Grace had left for the
day already, so I had the place to myself. I immediately went to
the music room and played around on the piano until later in the
afternoon. Then I took Tonto to the park and went to the bench that
I now considered mine and Blake’s. Blake wasn’t there yet, so I sat
down and listened to music until he showed up.
    He sat next to me and tilted his head in my
direction when I pulled my earphones out. “In a better mood now?”
he asked.
    I shrugged. “Not really, but it’s not any
worse.”
    “That’s better than nothing, I guess.”
    “Yeah.” We sat quietly for a while after I
automatically handed him one of the earphones so we could listen to
music together. My phone vibrated, signaling a text from Jared. He
informed me that he had a date which meant he wouldn’t be home and
since Liam had a meeting, I’d be having dinner alone. Apparently
Grace had left a casserole for me so I just had to heat it up when
I was hungry. I looked over at Blake after putting my phone away
and bit my lip as I had an internal debate with myself. “Do you
want to come over for dinner? I just got informed that I’ll be on
my own for the rest of the night.”
    He thought about it for a minute before finally
nodding. “Yeah, sure. You’re not going to poison me or anything,
are you?”
    I smiled a little. “No, our housekeeper left a
casserole for me to heat and she’s a great cook.” I got to my feet.
“Let’s head there now so we have time to heat it up.”
    Blake stood up and he and Abby followed me and
Tonto back to my place. When we were there, I led him inside,
warning him when there was a step to go up into the kitchen. He sat
at the table while I preheated the oven and took the casserole out
of the fridge. Once the oven was warmed up I stuck the food in it
and set the timer. Then I set the