The Girl With Many Names

▪︎ Chapter Forty-Three ▪︎

"Hey" he greeted, his blue eyes lighting up.

"Hi" I replied, with a little smile on my face.

"Of course, I'd love to come in, thanks" I replied sarcastically after some minutes of just standing and staring.

"Oh, sorry" he apologised sheepishly and let me in. I made my way to his bed and plopped onto the edge of the extra soft king-sized bed, while he walked towards his desk, pulled out the chair and sat down.

I let my eyes wander the walls of the familiar room and then I noticed a picture frame on his bed which was turned upside down. I picked it up and couldn't stop the grin that made it's way to my face.

It was a picture of Blake and his parents when he was like what eight? And trust me, puberty hit him real hard.  He had a missing tooth and he was sporting the cutest smile ever. His mum and dad were on either side of him and just by looking at them, I could tell whose physical Gene's were stronger.

His mum's. He didn't really look like his dad except that they had the same smile, if you know what I mean. His mum was a pretty young woman and she had the most captivating eyes. His dad was also handsome, but his mum definitely took home the award. They looked like such a happy family.

My smile dropped when I remembered what had happened to them and I looked up to see Blake staring at me, his chin resting on his crossed fingers which were resting by the elbows on his knees. He had a straight face on so it was hard to know what he was thinking.

"I'm sorry about what happened to your parents" I started gently. I wasn't really good at comforting people who were in pain but from what I'd heard, talking about the problem always made them feel better.

"Thanks" he replied, casting his gaze upon his red comforter.

"What were they like? Your parents?" I continued. He didn't reply for a while and I thought he wasn't going to, but then he did.

"My dad was both the hardest and softest man I'd ever met. He was extremely strict about matters concerning the gang and his business but when it came to caring for his family, he became the exact opposite. It was hard to believe he was the same person to be honest" he chuckled as if remembering something "He was hardly ever around but whenever he was, he always made sure to enjoy some quality father-son time with me and I grew up learning a lot from him. A lot of people thought I would become as strong as he was and be able to balance my life like he did, but they were wrong. I'm no where near as strong as he was and sometimes I just feel lost without him"

His face was contorted in pain and seeing him like that made me sad. I wished I could hug him so tight, all of his sorrows were squeezed out, but unfortunately, it doesn't work that way.

He stood up, ran his hand through his hair and then leaned on the desk. I sensed he wasn't done and so I waited for him to continue.

"My mum" he chuckled again, crossing his arms over his chest "she was amazing. Now that I think about it, she was a lot like you"

"Like me?" I asked with wide eyes.

"Yeah. She was stubborn and always did what she thought was right. I'd seen her handle mafia business quite a number of times and against the judgement of gang members due to her gender, she was great at it. She was a tough woman alright. She was more present than my dad was and she always tried her best to keep us away from mafia business"

"Hmm, seems to me like she was a badass woman" I commented trying to lighten the mood and I was successful for a fraction of a minute.

"That she was. I'm pretty sure my dad got scared of her some times to be honest" he replied, a small smile resting on his lips. His eyes were dazed and I could tell he was reminiscing.