TOUCH OF BITTERSWEET (Touch Trilogy #2)

8. Worth the Effort (part 1)

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The man sat at the same table as the previous week and, just as before, Blake could feel his eyes on his back. He knew that if he turned around, the man would look away, so he didn't bother.

He had shown up the previous day, too. Blake's mother had seen him walk in and asked one of the servers to take his order. Just like the previous week, he has chosen the cheapest meal of the day and a cup of water and had preceded the meal by watching Blake, Finn and their mother interchangeably when he thought they weren't looking. He didn't talk; he didn't make eye contact with them, and he didn't interact with anyone apart from the occasional server that approached his table to refill his cup of water. It looked like he hoped that if stayed still enough, Blake and Finn would just forget that their estranged father sitting in the corner.

It didn't bother Blake as much as the first time the previous week, but that wasn't saying much. The three of them didn't talk about his presence, but Blake could tell Finn was just as tense as the last time their father had been there. Blake didn't blame him, he wasn't much better.

Soon after the man had arrived, Blake texted Dean about it. There was nothing that Dean could do, Blake knew, but in a weird way, it felt better to tell him. It was as if, somehow, he could feel the support all the way from Dean's house.

The previous week, he and Finn had gone to Dean's place for dinner and it had been just what Blake had needed. Dinner had been delicious - dessert even more so - and they had spent a great evening before returning to the dorms.

Dean's mother had been as polite and graceful as ever, but her happiness in having Dean's friends for dinner was clear, even if it was only Blake and his brother. Finn had kept mostly quiet, but Blake could tell he had enjoyed himself. At some point after dinner, Dean had taken to show Finn something on his desktop and they had spent a while chatting about it.

The stiffness that had taken over his brother seemed to crack for the first time since their father had shown up and if it weren't for the risk of abusing Mrs Metharom's hospitality, Blake would ask Dean if they could do it again. Although Blake doubted Dean's mother would object to having Finn over again.

During dinner, she had made conversation with the brothers about various things. Once the topic had leaned into their childhood and Blake had mentioned how Finn had been almost a parental figure for him - helping him with homework, teaching him how to tie his shoelaces and assuring he had everything he needed for school - even though they were close in age, Mrs Metharom's eyes had sparkled with admiration. From then on, her commitment to being a good host tripled and even presented Finn with the first slice of meringue cake.

There was something very comforting about knowing Dean's mother liked his brother. Blake and Dean hadn't been dating for that long, so it was probably weird to think that way, but he didn't care. It felt nice that their families got along and Blake would enjoy it.

"Blake?" a voice pulled him from his musings.

He stopped cleaning the table and turned to see Skyler, one of the other two servers apart from Blake and Finn. They looked up at him, face devoid of colour apart from the plethora of freckles and the dark circles under their eyes. Even their ginger hair tied in a ponytail looked dull.