Beginning of the end

Part 25 [May 7th, 2022.]

The guest list for their separate parties was not particularly shocking. Blake had not actually asked to know who was coming, but Kiefer volunteered the information unprompted. That was fine. Maybe that was good. Kaleb was there, obviously, and his influence was more than enough to keep things on the up and up. Blake trusted Kiefer, but Kaleb was still a level of padding for any situation. He was the best man, of course he was there. A small group of Kiefer's other friends, some of whom worked for him, were on the list too. All men, and all ones that Blake had met at least once. Their plan for the bachelor party was not entirely relevant to Blake. They had their standards, and those were only slightly relaxed for this night.

A strip club was okay for tonight, if they really wanted that, but no lap dances. No porn in general, but they would make for a weird excursion on the night. A group of friends sitting around to watch naked women in videos? Blake thought that was similar to the weirdness of a strip club, but she didn't bother to voice it. It didn't matter, because it wouldn't come up. It was the last big party as an unmarried man, but it no way was this a single man's party. Whatever some people did, others did not dictate the terms of Blake and Kiefer's relationship. They had done trial and error, they had broken up and gotten back together. He'd promised to marry her if she had his child, and instead dumped her promptly after the birth. When they got back together they knew all of this. They'd gotten engaged less than six months into being a couple again, but it was not their first attempt. They knew themselves better, and knew what they truly wanted. Since then they'd been engaged for over two years. They were ready. A bachelor party was not a funeral, it was the celebration of ending a chapter before putting your whole energy into the new one.

Blake was ready for this start. They had discussed what to do about her surname. Kiefer was torn in his feelings. He had some associations with his unpleasant father, but he also wanted them to share a last name. Blake was fine with that. She would still be known professionally as Blake G. but could legally become Blake Carter. More accurately, Blakely Camille Carter, but who really kept track of all of that? She was excited. Once the marriage certificate was signed and they'd had their honeymoon, Blake would make a trip to the social security office. After all of her documentation was settled, they would decide what to do with Zelda. She had always used Blake's surname as her primary, despite carrying both her parents surnames. She could keep Gutierrez as a second middle name without much trouble. Blake would prefer that. Kiefer hadn't argued, but they also hadn't decided 100% that this would be happening. Marriage was so complicated. It wasn't that it was pressure so much as it was a legal contract, and that carried with it a lot of strings. Blake didn't like strings very much, but she would be happy when everything was settled. So maybe she did like strings, but just not setting everything up.

The honeymoon was something Blake looked forward to almost as much as the wedding. Getting married was a huge deal, but taking a week and a half trip to a resort in Hawaii was the whole dessert, not just the cherry. Rosie had agreed to come down on their dime so that she could be a primary babysitter for Zelda. That way they wouldn't miss their daughter, but they would have plenty of time for couple things and fully enjoying themselves. None of them had ever been to Hawaii and they were all excited. The trip was one more reason Blake temporarily put off going to the social security office. She already had her documents in order, and she didn't want to adjust them or have her name be "incorrect" on anything right before flying over the ocean with a minor. It would be bliss.

Blake found herself daydreaming again. A musician with a currently successful punk pop/rock band was dreaming of white picket fences and babies. Some people would laugh. Some people had what she wanted, and wanted what she had. That was fine. She wanted them both, but she promised to put her family first. Music was her passion, but Zelda and Kiefer were her heart. You could get by without passion, but you'd quickly find you went cold without a beating heart. She knew what was most important.

"Hermana, are you ready to go or what?" Carla gave a few small knocks to the door as she waited. Blake took a breath and unlocked it, stepping out a moment later. Carla whistled, as if she hadn't knew exactly what Blake would look like.

Black hair up in a high pony tail, bright red lipstick and a black and white checkered crop top, tight skinny jeans, red high heels, and several dangly jangly pieces of jewelry. Her figure was on full display. No big butt, no huge boobs, but a petite and fit little body. Each curve was accentuated by the high heels, but she was a stick compared to Carla Martin. Blake did sometimes wish she had a figure more like her best friend, but if Kiefer was happy, then Blake was happy. She didn't need anyone else's figure. She pulled off some very cute outfits just fine.

So there she was all done up and ready, and swung by her bedroom to grab a bag. Zelda was staying with Seraphim Drake-Tanaka overnight. It was some sort of full circle. The night that Kiefer and Blake had babysat Lainey Tanaka had been the night that Kaleb decided they were actually serious. Now they were getting married, and Seraphim was babysitting their daughter for an evening. While everyone was out partying the only ones at home would be Leeloo and Valerian. Leeloo was currently perched on a cat tree in the living room, while Valerian was hiding beneath the bed, unhappy with so many guests at once. In the living room were those guests. Carla, Blake's friend Sabrina, Drew's fiancé Miranda, and Blake's sister Rosa. The women most connected to and important in Blake's life. Blake had considered inviting Kiefer's sister Cecelia, but there had been no need. At the mere suggestion from their mother about if Celia might have wanted to go, she scoffed and said that she had better things to do. She was a very confusing woman, but Blake still tried. She would have invited her if Celia had wanted to come, but she would first have to admit that, and there was no risk of that.

Blake did not know exactly who all was with Kiefer, except that it was all men, and it was orchestrated by Kaleb. They were also staying at Kaleb's place that night. Where Carla had abdicated her home for the evening for the bachelor party, Kiefer had abdicated his for the bachelorette. This way it was only one evening apart, and that was truly enough for Blake. She would see Kiefer in the morning. Hopefully he would not be terribly hung over. She didn't want her guests to get hung over. They'd have to leave by ten in the morning, and doing that with a hangover wouldn't be fun. On top of that she actually wanted them all to enjoy and remember their evening activities.

Making memories was of upmost importance to Blake, and it was with this in mind that she brought a bag into the living room. Everyone took a seat at her request and she started pulling out small bundles of brown packing paper. They were like small paper balls you might throw in a rowdy classroom, but with a single piece of paper to insure the structure remained intact.

"What's this?" Miranda asked, never one to be too quiet. She was the only blonde there. Her hair was a sort of intentionally messy beach blonde, with the same brown eyes as everyone else, but lighter. She wore a metallic silver tank top and some high waisted jeans. It was visibly obvious that she and Rosa were the youngest in the group.

"Zelda helped me wrap them," Blake said instead. She handed out the last one to Rosa.

"Gracias," she said, her eyes shining in expectation. She knew there was a present inside, and that was enough to excite her. Rosie wore a long floral pattern dress and her hair in braided pigtails.

"Can we open them? I'm dying here," Miranda piped back up.

"Patience," Sabrina told her with a gentle hand in the air. Miranda was not patient, and Carla just laughed. As if to say "good luck," but she didn't go so far as to voice it.

"I just..." Blake set the bag down and reached up to touch her necklace. The silver ring necklace that her fiancé had given her so long ago. A gift for her birthday way back when. The first time they dated. A simpler time. Long before she really loved him. Before she knew what it was like to lose him. It was silly to celebrate being a bachelorette, but Blake was celebrating her friends. The people who had supported her, in the first relationship, the breakup, and her engagement. For a lyricist, she wasn't all that eloquent in speaking. "I'm really grateful for you guys in my life... so I wanted to get you presents. Well, a present, for everyone. I have one too," she admitted. Blake reached back into the bag and slipped on a bracelet for herself. "You can open them. They are all the same."

Each girl opened their gift and found a mostly identical charm bracelet. Blake hadn't been entirely accurate in saying that they were all the same. They were almost all the same. A silver chain with clasp, and black beads between each charm. Opposite the clasp were five outliers. Two white beads on either side, one silver bead etched with a first initial, one bead etched with 2022, and one white bead between them. The other beads were symbolic of each girl, but the same on each bracelet. A skull and crossbones for the bride. A musical note for the bassist, or more so for her single tattoo of a musical note. A rose for Rosie. A dreamcatcher for Miranda and all of her dreamcatchers. Finally a fairy for Sabrina. Blake had thought long and hard about her decision. Primarily she made the choice, and then spent a while overthinking it and second guessing herself. It did not help that her only resource for second opinions had been a three-year-old. They were entirely there for symbolic purposes, and she eventually accepted that the women would like them no matter if there would have been a slightly "more appropriate" charm for each.

Rosie squealed. Carla smiled. Miranda erupted in "awwww," and Sabrina made a similarly appreciative but much quieter noise. Sabrina's noise was followed by a short "this is really thoughtful, Blake." Rosie then got up and hugged her sister. Blake blushed.

"Like I said... I'm just really grateful. I wanted to thank you all for being there for me and... yeah. So you'll have a memento."

"I like the skull and crossbones," Carla remarked, smirking.

Miranda laughed, "A funeral for your single life."

"Its not that deep," Blake said with a shrug and a smile. "But that's one way to look at it, sure. You don't have to wear them tonight, or ever, but I still wanted you to have them."

They all thanked Blake in their own way and individually chose to put them on and wear them for the evening. They headed out. When it came to selecting a designated driver, prior to the day, it had been almost funny. Blake offered to do it, but Carla immediately shot her down. Even if Blake did not drink, which was entirely her choice, she was not going to be responsible for driving everyone around. Carla was a mother-hen and very much motivated to stay sober and guard everyone, but Sabrina also wasn't keen on getting drunk. Miranda and Rosie both agreed that they wanted to drive and did not want to drive, even though they agreed to drive Miranda's jeep for the occasion. In the end Carla took the role with the decision that Sabrina could drive if Carla changed her mind. They all had a toast when they arrived at the club.

Dancing at the club was some kind of magical. Blake and Carla got pumped, and Blake managed to dance with everyone. Even the usually reserved Sabrina relaxed and danced up a storm. Blake was vaguely aware of some people taking pictures and the fact that a few people recognized her. She did not have a sash or anything identifying the purpose of their partying but it was possible they just knew the band.

Blake had her arms on Sabrina's shoulders, swaying back and forth with her happily as she heard a familiar sound. The chords of a guitar played by Carla. She turned suddenly to look at Carla. Carla wore the same knowing expression, looking over to the DJ. Walking away from the DJ was none other than Miranda.

She stepped over to the knowing eyes, a proud smile on her face even before Blake's voice was heard from the speakers. It felt surreal for a moment. Blake had heard her songs on the radio a few times, and it was always exciting. Miranda had a habit of recording it anytime this happened around Drew and posting the clips in a girl chat. She was funny like that, and it made Blake smile. Having their newest single played in a club while they danced was something else.

"Hey, is that girl Blake G?" "Isn't that other girl in her band?"

Surreal. Bizarre. Blake wasn't complaining. She went to the bar after the song and a tall woman with Barbie blonde hair leaned over to her.

"Was that your song?"

"Huh? The... Chico? Yeah, heh," she giggled awkwardly.

"Whoa..." She starred. "Can I have your autograph? It was a good song."

Blake blinked in surprise. She glanced back toward her friends. Sabrina was sitting next to her, and the others were currently still dancing. "Yeah, if you want one."

"Awesome." She pulled out a small notebook from her purse and gave Blake a pen. Blake laughed.

"You know..." she said, tapering off for a moment. There was no way this girl knew. No one knew. Blake and Kiefer knew, and maybe he had told some friends, but that was a small pool of people. The pool did not include random enthusiastic fans. Fans who were probably only opportunistic, but none the less pleasant. "When I met my fiancé, I ended up signing him with my number. He thought it was funny," she smiled. It felt warm to tell that little tidbit to someone. Even an eagerly listening stranger. She left out the part of the sharpie he always kept on him in case a fan girl wanted his signature, or how she signed his bare chest with said sharpie. He'd probably still sign a girl's boobs if given the opportunity. Blake wouldn't hold it against him. A guy like Kaleb would baulk and step away from such a request. Blake did not hold that against Kiefer. You didn't question such an opportunity. If it started happening a lot she would, but once in a lifetime sounded funny, and innocent enough for Blake.

"Awww," the young woman gushed, "That is so cute! You guys are engaged, right?" She circled back to the word fiancé. Blake had no idea how much this woman knew about her or the band. Carla was going to start looming soon, no doubt. Blake nodded. "When are you getting married?"

"Oh, pretty soon, actually. Uh, the 10th," she said, nodded after that. It was spoken into existence. This was nothing new. Every time it came up, she felt like it was a new thing. Speaking her marriage into existence. She looked forward to calling him her husband. That would definitely be a new one. A good one. "This is my bachelorette party."

The woman's eyes shone. She gushed several statements at once. One of them was a congratulations, and another included asking if she could take a picture of Blake. Blake nodded. "You can take a picture with all of us if you wanted... Its just like... I mean,if you want."

She wanted. She wanted this a lot. Carla frowned at first, but then obliged with a smile. She didn't like the distraction maybe, but Blake found it all pretty fun. This was a fun distraction. The biggest selling point was surely that it made Blake happy. She lit up like a glowstick, shining bright and pretty very quickly. They all took a picture, and the girl even took a picture without herself in it and sent it to Randi. Blake felt that Carla might have side eyed that, but if Randi wanted to give out her phone number to a stranger, it was very much her choice to do so. She would not be told otherwise. With that they had another few dances and headed out.

Miranda wanted a detour. "Just a really quick one. Just for like a minute. I just want to get a couple of bottles. We have to play a game when we get back... and we need wine."

"If we're stopping at a liquor store, I am going inside," Carla told her firmly. It might have been to keep Miranda from going overboard, but Blake noticed that when they returned to the car they each had a brown bag in hand. No, Miranda had two. Two bottles of wine to Carla's one bottle of hard liquor. She could handle her liquor though, and Blake was not worried. There was a chaser and a shared cup, and Miranda and Rosie both took shots in the parking lot of the skating rink. It was closed for the night except for them. All lit up in pretty lights and colors. Blake mostly liked the booth under the blacklights where they stuffed all of their items. There were only two attendants there. One to help clean up and get them small snacks if they asked, and one to run the music. Carla and Sabrina had supplied a playlist for such an occasion, and it started playing just after they stepped inside.

Blake bit her lip. She was the center of attention. She liked that. She was someone who lit up on a stage, but off the stage she didn't expect that much attention at once. It was lovely being out with some of her closest friends. They had a blast for a good while, but Blake noticed Carla had wandered off at some point. She asked Miranda, who said that Carla was outside. It was fifteen minutes before she came back inside, and Blake was sitting in a booth snacking on some nachos. Carla took a seat across from her friend, her posture tense.

"Hola. What's the news?"

Carla looked surprised. Then Blake looked confused. A look of realization ran across Carla's face before she smiled. She wasn't happy about something.

"Hermana, can you call Kiefer for me real quick? I just want to see if he answers."

"Uh... why? He's with his friends." Something told her this was not true. Why? "Is everything okay?"

"I'll try to explain when we get back to the loft. Just call, please?"

"Okay..." Blake fished out her phone and pressed in for speed dial number two. Number one was her voicemail. Number two was her lover. It might ring, but she doubt that he would pick up. Actually it did not ring, it went straight to voicemail. That was fine. He turned it off because he was with his friends. Being a boy at his bachelor party. This was to be expected. Carla watching her made Blake feel like this was not normal. "Hey Chico. Just checking on you. Te amo. Have a nice night." Blake hung up. Carla was squinting at her. "What?" Blake put her phone away. "Is something wrong? You're acting really... scary."

"Don't worry about it, Hermana. Just enjoy the night. We will figure it out. Do you want to skate some more?"

Blake did want to skate more, and she agreed, but the moment was somewhat tainted. It was weary, and confusing. Worse still was when Carla opted out of driving back to the loft. Something hat convinced her to drink, and she still didn't want to get into it. What did Kiefer have to do with any of this? Blake resolved to figure things out before facials. It would be nice and relaxing, but she needed the pit in her stomach to go away. She pulled Carla into the bedroom, noticing that Carla was already holding a mixed drink, and they'd only been inside for five minutes.

"What is going on? Something is wrong, its freaking me out."

"Hermana... I..." she swallowed, and then took a drink. Dangerous signs. Neon red flags bursting up everywhere. She pulled out her phone, opening a text conversation with her boyfriend. Kaleb should not be texting. He was the best man, he was at the bachelor party. He should be enjoying himself. Carla showed Blake a few texts, as if she needed evidence to believe Carla. As if Carla would make things up.

Blake sat down on the bed, looking at the texts. Scrolling up and down, and re-reading things. There wasn't much from that night. Many questions from Carla, few answers from Kaleb. He initiated contact. Kiefer disappeared. He turned off his phone and no one could get ahold of him. He had been texting more and more, and then he just disappeared. He sent Kaleb a text saying to have fun without him, and then he was off the radar.

As the blank look reigned on Blake's face, Carla gently took her phone back. She scrolled around. "That's weird but... I found this. Its from tonight..." She held up a gossip site for Blake. Carla always told Blake to avoid those. Why now? Blake held the phone in numb hands. Kiefer, dressed as he'd done that night, with a girl. The time stamp was that night, before Carla started drinking. The haircut, the hair color, the figure, Blake knew this girl, and she knew this was tonight. Those things felt secondary. This evidence framed a picture made of spikes, and confusion, and loud noises rushing through Blake's ears. His arm around her, pulling her close as she pulled him along. And then into her car. And that was all. Two pictures.

"What is this?" Blake asked, in quiet Spanish.

"It..." Carla took a long drink, "its... Blakely, I'm sorry. I don't know, but it looks... he disappeared. This is the best I can gather for where he went and with who... Its... damning... but you need to talk to him about it, when he is back. He needs to explain this. Look at me." Blake did not. "Blakely, look at me. Look at me." Blake swallowed, eyes finding Carla's face finally, reluctantly. "Demand answers."

She wouldn't say it outright. Carla wouldn't make the accusation. She gave just enough grace to let Kiefer try to explain himself. She would not allow it to go unresolved. She would not assume innocence. She would expect to know after Blake knew. Blake didn't want to know, or think. She set the phone down, nodding absently in some sort of confirmation for Carla, before walking out of the room and to the kitchen. She walked to the kitchen, and poured a glass of liquor. She very nearly drank it all, but then went and poured herself some water. She couldn't. She would lose her mind and dissolve. She needed to talk to Kiefer. She just didn't want to talk to anyone else, at all. About anything.

All she remembered from that point on was curled up under a blanket against Carla, ignoring the quirky shows they put on the tv, and her friends eventually falling asleep. She must have, eventually, as Carla stroked her hair to sooth her. She didn't want to know.