Bittersweet Agony

Chapter 7

"You totally cheated!" I screamed.

"I did not; you just suck at this game." Ellis answered, sticking his tongue out childishly.

"Well that's cause I just learned an hour ago. You've been playing this practically your whole life!" I protested.

"So? What's your point?" He countered.

"Um..." A familiar voice came from the doorway, and he cleared his throat. "Am I interrupting something? Because you know I can always come back later." Blake stood by the door, staring amusedly at Ellis and I.

For the hour and a half before Blake got there, me and Ellis had been sitting on the hospital bed playing a card game called Hola that Ellis said he learned when he was a kid. What he failed to mention, was that the game is impossible.

Before that we flipped through channels on the small TV in the room until we decided television sucks and there's nothing worth watching. That was after we got back from pacing the halls 16 1/2 times.

"No, please; get Ellis out of here. He's making my brain hurt when he's supposed to be letting me rest." I complained, shoving him off the bed.

"As you wish." Blake joked, and pulled Ellis out of the room.

Blake joked? I didn't know he did that.

"Okay; you're stuck with me for at least four hours until Axel decides he wants to come, so what do you want to do? You should probably sleep." Blake said, and it alarmed me how tolerable he was being.

He almost sounds human.

"Um, Blake?"

"Mm-hm?" He mumbled, looking down at his phone but raising his eyebrows to let me know he was listening.

"Are you feeling alright?" I asked cautiously.

"Yes, why?" He asked, stuffing his phone in his back pocket.

"You're just acting very... Strange." I was still hesitant and suspicious of him, and started to clean up the cards.

"You mean nice?" He shrugged. "Cole said I had to learn to accept you in the house." He explained nonchalantly.

"Oh, good. I thought I hit you a little too hard in the head the other day." I breathed a sigh of relief, and he gave me a glare in response.

"Don't think this means we're going to be BFF's or whatever. I still hate you. I'm only tolerating you for Cole's sake." His eyes narrowed at me.

"I would expect nothing less." I breathed tiredly.

"Okay now seriously, you should sleep." He commanded

"Blake, I've been sleeping for the past three days almost. I think I'm plenty rested." I told him dumbly.

"Fine. Then watch tv or something." He suggested.

"There's nothing on." I argued.

"Well what do you want me to do about it?" He snapped.

"I never said I wanted you to do anything." I retorted.

"Fine."

"Fine."

"Good."

"Good."

"Would you stop that?" He shouted angrily, and I couldn't help the laughter bubbling up.

I let out a loud round of giggles and Blake stared at me, unamused.