Station 126

12 : The Truth

"I'll go get dinner started." I say, standing up.

"Oh, no, we'll get going-" Maddie starts, but Blake stops her.

"You have to stay for dinner."

"It's okay, we wouldn't want to intrude."

"It's okay Maddie, I'll make lasagna." I say.

"Yeah! It's Lasagna Tuesdays!"

"Isn't it supposed to be Taco Tuesdays?" Kevin asks.

"Do you know this guy?" I chuckle. "We do Taco Wednesdays." I say.

"Of course you do." Maddie says to Blake. "We started that when you were old enough to eat Tacos. His tooth was hurting on a Tuesday, so we had tacos on Wednesday."

I laugh before walking towards the kitchen.

Quickly making two trays of chicken lasagna, I put them into the oven. I'm making the salad when Maddie walks into the kitchen.

"Hey." she says.

"Hey." I look up from the lettuce, which I am currently cutting for the salad.

"Mmm, it smells amazing!" Maddie compliments.

"Thank you. I'm making my famous Chicken Lasagna." I tell her. "It usually never lasts for more than two minutes on the table, especially if Blake is there."

Maddie chuckles.

"So, how did you end up with my brother?" she asks, walking over and leaning on the counter.

"We're on the same team." I point out.

"Right."

"Mhm. Actually, he annoyed the hell out of me. Still does too. We would always banter. Hated each other. Then I got into an accident on the job, and couldn't work. His captain who is my brother, TK, made him stay back with me at the station so I wouldn't be alone, and so he could take care of me in case I needed anything."

"So you bonded over an accident?"

"Yeah. Over a broken leg and some second-degree burns." I laugh.

"Wow. Romantic."

I laugh.

"Yeah, pretty romantic." I look up at her. "Why weren't you and Blake talking?" I ask.

She looks me in the eyes. "He didn't tell you?"

I shake my head no. "No. I didn't even know that you guys weren't talking. He told me so much about you, Kevin, and Iris, but he never said anything about you and him not speaking to each other."

"It was him not talking to me."

"Why?"

"Last year, when I was pregnant with Iris, our parents came to see us. Blake was in therapy. He never told me why. I hoped he would tell our parents. It turned out he was trying to get over the fact that they didn't care about him."

"But they do, right?"

"Yes, of course. We all do."

"Then what happened?"

"Blake's mother didn't die giving birth to him."

"What?"

She nods sadly. "My mom and Blake's Dad were having an affair. They worked together. I worked for Nora, Blake's mom, in her flower shop. My mom was divorced, and she had found a good job in Britain, so we moved there. Blake's mom found out and decided to leave his father. She died in a car accident. Blake survived. He was just a few months old. After Nora died, Blake's father married my mom. Our parents didn't want him to know about Nora. They made me promise not to tell him. Blake found out last year. He was pissed at all of us. He ran, again. Left without telling any of us. I don't know how he got a job, but he managed to continue doing what he loved."