by Brittany Bly
Chuckling, I throw a pillow at him “Oh really?”
He catches it, effortlessly, “Oh yeah, the creepiest.”
Soon, we fall into silence as we continue watching the weird shit increase. The ghost starts terrorizing the kids, and after the little girl gets sucked in, well, all hell breaks loose. Fox chooses this time to jump up into my lap, about scaring me to death. Glaring down at him, he pays me no attention, curling up into a ball and falling asleep.
Once they retrieve her from the TV people, the family barely escapes. The credits roll, and my stomach takes this time to growl as loud as it can.
“Should we feed you?” he asks, sitting forward, propping his elbows on his knees.
“That would probably be wise. Take out?” I ask, standing and knocking Fox to the ground. This time, it’s his turn to glare at me. I open my kitchen drawer with all the menus from restaurants in the area stuffed inside.
“Sure, just pick whatever you want.”
I honestly had planned to do that as soon as I saw the Mexican menu. Grabbing my phone, I order our food and climb back onto the couch amongst the pillows. I begin scrolling again and land on Final Destination.
“Heck yeah, I loved these when I was younger,” Bryant says, slinging his legs over the arm of the chair sitting sideways now.
We get about a quarter of the way through it when the doorbell rings.
Hopping up, I skip to the door, “Thank goodness, I’m starving.”
Flinging the door open I stop, my smile widens. This isn’t the type of delivery boy I was expecting, but Blaine stands there holding my precious bag of food.
Chapter Thirty-Four
He grins saying, “The guy was here when I pulled up, so I paid and figured I would surprise you.”
“Thanks,” I reach out and kiss him lightly on the lips.
“Well, are you going to let me in?” Blaine asks, grinning, he cocks his head to the side.
“I…” but I don’t get the rest out.
At that time, Bryant hollers “Do you need any money?”
I watch Blaine’s carefree expression morph into something of bewilderment.
“Who’s here?” he asks his voice going cold, but he doesn’t wait for me to answer. He pushes past me walking right into the house.
Bryant glances briefly over at Blaine, but his attention goes right back to the tv. He quickly looks back to Blaine. His relaxed posture hasn’t changed, but now he’s staring at us in confusion.
“Lila, what’s the delivery boy doing?” he asks.
“Who is this?” Blaine says through gritted teeth.
Bryant simply raises an eyebrow unaffected by the whole situation unfolding.
“Blaine this is Bryant, a friend of mine,” I say taking my bag of food away from him. Just because the drama has suddenly started, it doesn’t mean I’m not still hungry.
“A friend, huh?” Blaine scoffs, his fists clenching and unclenching at his sides.
“That’s right,” Bryant says, crossing his arms over his chest “and who the hell are you?”
“I’m her boyfriend,” Blaine growls.
“Boyfriend?” Bryant and I ask at the same time.
Turning toward Blaine, I place my hand on my hip, “We haven’t discussed that.”
“After last night, it’s just a label,” he says, cutting his eyes in my direction.
“Lila, is there a problem?” Bryant asks, swinging his legs around, placing them both on the floor.
“There’s about to be one,” Blaine says taking a step forward.
Rolling my eyes, I place a hand on Blaine’s chest and look at Bryant “No, there isn’t a problem.”
Turning, I lock my gaze with Blaine’s “Behave,” I growl. He doesn’t flinch, but his jaw’s ticking like he’s having a hard time controlling himself. “If you can’t, you’ll have to leave,” I say holding his stare.
“Fine,” Blaine replies through clenched teeth.
Bryant relaxes leaning back into the chair, turning his attention back to the TV.
“Are you hungry? I ordered enough for ten people and since you did pay for it…” I ask Blaine as I take the bag into the kitchen.
“Sure,” he takes a sit on one of the barstools facing me while I prepare the plates.
“Bryant, drink?” I yell over the TV.
“Soda of some kind” he answers never turning toward me.
I wander around the kitchen, gathering what I need and dispensing food accordingly.
“Friends, really?” Blaine asks his voice taking on a hard tone.
I look up from the plates, my bitch face fixated in place, holding his stare. I say again, “Yes.” I don’t elaborate, leaving it at that with finality in my voice. I will not continue to talk about it or explain myself when I have no reason to. “Help me carry this in there,” I said, nodding toward the living room. Grabbing a plate in each hand, I walk into the living room and find Fox curled up on Bryant’s chest.
Rolling my eyes, I hand Bryant his “You know you can just push him off right? He thinks he rules this place, but sometimes he needs to be knocked off his pedestal.”
“Thanks. Nah, he’s just chilling… you missed most of the movie,” he says, nodding toward it as he takes a large bite of food.
Laughing, I take my seat, “It’s not like I haven’t seen it before.”
He shakes his head, “But still.”
Blaine silently takes the seat beside of me, his eyes moving between Bryant and me before he settles back into the couch.
×××
I stand at the sink, washing the dishes. The food was delicious, and I’m more than satisfied. My hands disappear within the soapy water as I search for the remaining utensils that are sitting on the bottom. I have to feel for them since my view’s blocked by the bubbles. As I wash, Blaine rinses and Bryant dries, stacking them off to the side.
Blaine and Bryant talk about any and everything. Once Blaine realized that Bryant and I were, indeed, just friends, he stopped the whole jealous act.
“I still can’t believe you’re the lead singer of Ashes. That’s badass,” Bryant says drying off a plate.
“Being a tattoo artist sounds awesome. I imagine you see a lot of crazy shit,” Blaine says, handing a glass to him.
“No crazier than what you see” Bryant turns leaning against the counter.
“Oh my god, will you guys just fuck and get it over with,” I say rolling my eyes.
“We might just do that” Bryant says winking at Blaine.
Blaine just smiles and wags his eyebrows at him.
Giggling, I pull the plug and wipe off my hands. I catch sight of the time and realize why I feel so tired. “Guys, you have got to leave, I’m going to bed.”
“You can’t stop our love,” Bryant says, crossing his arms over his chest.
I hold up my arms “No, none of that. If you guys want to continue this, be my guest. It’s just got to be somewhere else.” I shoo them along, waving my hands in emphasis, “Thanks for hanging out with me and helping, but seriously, I’m exhausted.”
“We’re going. See you later,” Bryant says giving me a quick hug before heading for the door.
Blaine lingers, waiting on Bryant to shut the door.
I put the now clean dishes away “Did you hear something different than him?”
“I didn’t think it applied to me.”
“I said you guys, didn’t I?” I close the cabinet and turn to prop myself against the counter.
“Yeah but...” Blaine answers, scratching his head.
“But what? You think you get to act like an alpha male and I would just overlook it?” I cross my arms over my chest, raising an eyebrow.
“When I heard his voice, I about lost my mind. I’ve waited five years and finally got you back” he explains, running his hand through his hair “I imagined the worst and thought I’d lost you before I’d actually gotten you back.”
/> “I told you we were just friends.”
“You did but...” he says looking at me.
“No buts” I walk over, standing right in front of him. Craning my head, I look him directly in the eyes, “I have the same worries, but when I tell you something, it’s the truth. I won’t lie to you.”
Blaine drops his gaze from mine “I’m sorry, you’re right.”
I step up on my tiptoes, placing a quick kiss on his lips. Tilting my head back, I meet his eyes, “I love you.”
“I love you,” he says, burrowing his face in my neck. From there, he hugs me tight.
Chapter Thirty-Five
The buzzing fills the air before the needles pierce my skin. The moment it does, shit, I’m aware of it now. I knew a tattoo on my spine would be a bit more painful than I’ve experienced before, so I concentrate on my breathing. In through the nose, out through the mouth. The instructions are needed but just as I’m relaxing, Bryant hits a tender spot, and my teeth clench causing my inhale to turn into a hiss.
“You okay?” Blaine asks, reaching over to take my hand.
“Yeah,” I exhale “Just a little more tender than I expected.”
Vibrations travel up and down the middle of my back. I grit my teeth and squeeze Blaine’s hand to keep from hissing again. This one is up there on the pain scale, greater than the ribs and ankle. My face lays in the hole of the chair, and I alternate between staring at the floor and closing them tight.
“How you doing, Scully?” Blaine asks.
At that, I open my eyes, and I’m surprised to see Blaine sitting on the floor directly below my face. His green eyes are shiny and looking somewhat worried. Grinning, I say, “I’m fine. Nothing I can’t handle.”
“Well, you did pick one hell of a spot,” he says eyebrows raised.
“I know…” I hiss, the current spot hurts like a bitch “I didn’t want it anywhere else.” I eventually get my sentence finished. Blaine’s face scrunches up, his eyes searching my face. “Stop worrying, it isn’t like this is the first time I’ve done this... well, even today.”
Before Bryant started on this particular one, he inked a black and white orchid along the curve of my left breast. He replicated one of my own pictures from Ireland.
“That does nothing to calm me,” he counters squeezing my hand.
Rolling my eyes, I mumble, “Mother hen.”
“I like these pet names of yours… last night it was god, wonder what tomorrow will be…” a sexy grin spreads across his face.
I can feel the heat inching up my cheeks, narrowing my eyes, I snap, “Shut up, ass.”
“Oh no, continue, I want to hear this” Bryant says from behind me.
Blaine disappears for a second out of my line of sight. Words are exchanged, and I can’t make them out over the guns buzzing. But soon, Blaine’s back in front of me chuckling.
“What did you say?” I asked, glaring at him.
“Nothing, my dear,” he answers his face morphing from annoyed to calm in an instant, “You’re almost done.”
“Really?”
“Yep, and it looks beautiful.”
I’m grateful to Blaine for keeping me occupied. Even though I’ve indeed done this before, I don’t have a high pain tolerance. I don’t do it for the thrill of the pain as I’ve heard some people do. My passion is about the craft and creating my own piece of art. Each one I chose is special to me in some way or another. “Everything happens for a reason” now flows down my spine. I don’t remember the defining moment that it became special to me, but it was a way that I handled my father’s death. Just thinking there’s a higher power that guides people in the right direction helped me sleep better at night. And for me, at this time in my life, there’s no better time to mark those words on my skin permanently.
“Okay beautiful, we’re done,” Bryant says his stool screeching as he slides back.
“Let me help you,” Blaine says, standing from his place on the floor.
My back throbs, but thankfully, it is finished. I sit up, covering myself as I do. Since the tattoo is down my spine, my entire back had to be bare. My bra lays across my breasts, but I have to hold it there, so it doesn’t fall.
Blaine’s right there helping me up from the chair. I walk over to the mirror hanging on the wall. Turning, I look over my shoulder. Each word beautifully swirls and flows down my back elegantly. I whirl to Bryant, my hands still cupping my bra “Thank you! It’s perfect!”
“Glad you came back to see me” Bryant replies the corners of his mouth turning up.
Blushing, I turn. Blaine smiles beside me. “Do you like it?” I ask, unable to contain my smile.
“Oh yeah, I can’t wait to trace each letter with my tongue,” Blaine says his fingers lightly touching the bare skin of my lower back.
Bryant clears his throat, crossing his arms, he eyes Blaine “Wait until they’re healed.” His copper-colored eyes move to me “You already know how to care for it, but I do need to bandage it up.”
“The ointment sounds wonderful right about now” I quickly make my way over to the table. Leaning forward, I give him full access to my back. I groan as he rubs the thick cream, soothing my throbbing skin.
“Okay, bandage her up. It’s my turn,” Blaine says, his voice sounding strange.
I look up my brows furrowing “Your turn? I didn’t know you wanted one?”
“I need to get one finished,” he shrugs, “I figured why the hell not since you were getting one.” He whips his shirt over his head, revealing the ripped muscles and every art piece connecting to create his chest piece. Blaine lifts his left arm, the words “I found her… I lost her…” are stacked down his ribs with a blank space below them. I can’t find the words, I can only stare. He takes my silence as time to explain.
“I left it blank because I wished each and every day, to whoever would listen, that I would find you again. I didn’t know if I would, but I couldn’t imagine a life without you in it… I’m a patient person.”
Tears begin to flood my eyes; and the moment Bryant has the bandage secured, I pad over to Blaine, kissing him firmly. My bra stays in place pressed between us, and I run my hands up his shoulders and take hold of his hair at his nape.
Blaine pulls away first. Smiling, his eyes hold my gaze a few seconds before looking over my head and saying to Bryant, “Let’s fill this spot.” Looking back down at me, he says, “I found her.”
Epilogue
Marissa, Bryant, and I stand on the side of the stage. The vibrations run up my legs as the music fills the arena. No matter the city, the sheer amount of people that fill the spaces never ceases to amaze me. People who aren’t just filling the seats. The roar that echoes off the walls when thousands of people sing together is incredible. I know I’m not the only one, the guys are in awe each time they take the stage. They adore their fans.
This just happens to be their last show of the tour. Things will be winding down for a little bit before it’s time for them to hit the studio again for their next album. Blaine has continuously promised that we’ll be spending that time to make up for every second we missed.
Despite the exhausting tour schedule, not one of the guys complained. Each night, they swaggered out onto the stage and played their hearts out, giving each crowd one hell of a show. The moment they pick up their instruments, you see the excitement take the place of exhaustion. Their passion can be felt. No one can miss it.
Smiling, I lean against the wall and enjoy song after song. I’ll never get tired of hearing Blaine’s smooth, husky voice no matter how many times I hear it. I don’t see how anyone can after the first time. That’s my honest and utterly unbiased opinion.
Blaine’s voice slowly dies, replaced immediately by the roar of the crowd. Smiling, he looks out over the mass of people, his breath can be heard through the microphone. He attempts to speak, but not one word is heard due to the magnitude of the screams that increase every time his mouth
opens. Marissa adds to the chaos, screaming and clapping from the side of the stage.
He chuckles, holding up his hand, waving to the mob; slowly but surely, the roar quietens. “Thank you, guys, for making our last show so awesome. It’ll be something we remember for the rest of our lives. I can guarantee that!” Blaine says causing the crowd to erupt into screams again. He waits patiently, giving them a minute before continuing “Soon, we’ll be hard at work on our next album… well, that is after we rest our weary bones.”
Shaking my head, I giggle. You would think he’s a hundred years old with some of the things he says. He turns his head smiling in my direction “Can you guys help me with something?” Receiving another roar as an answer. He continues, grinning from ear to ear, “Give my girlfriend a warm welcome to the stage.”
My eyes widen as tension fills my body. I immediately shake my head. Marissa tries to shove me out behind the edge of the stage, but I hold firm and slap her hands away.
Blaine turns back toward his fans, trying his best to sound sad, “Guys, she said no. I think she’s a little shy. Want to try again?”
When I don’t move, Blaine walks over to me. His grin never leaving his face. Taking my hand, he brings it to his mouth, pressing a kiss to my palm before slowly pulling me toward his microphone stand. The lights are blinding, but I can make out the thousands of silhouettes occupying the arena. Some are standing, some are sitting, all shouting. I throw up a hand to wave at everyone but quickly turn to face Blaine.
I’m not necessarily frightened of crowds, but I also have never been in front of this many people before. He begins speaking to me, his voice vibrating off the walls around us. The crowd goes silent – as silent as the empty arena when the guys play their sound check. “Lila, I’ve loved you for eight years. Even during our time apart, that love never went away but simply laid dormant, like a beautiful sleeping curse. That is until the stars aligned, allowing me to find you again. I’ll forever be grateful to those stars.”