Return III

Chapter 39

A/N

I'm going to fast forward through the funeral scene out of respect for the family. There will be bits and pieces of memories and flashbacks with Katherine to remember her happily in the story even though she isn't actually dead in real life.

Blanket's POV

I would never wish that kind of experience on my worst enemy. Nobody should ever have to go through something like that- especially with someone you love as much as we loved her.

My dad wraps his arm around me and pulls me into his chest, attempting a side hug, but I yank away from him. The anger returns from when he had first come home, and once again begins to bubble up. I can feel my eyebrows furrowing and my cheeks turning red. 

No.

"I don't need you." I mumble as quietly as possible. My dad looks down at me sympathetically and I just shake my head and turn away from him. I look at my mother and her expression turns from sad to terrified in a matter of seconds. She already knows. I walk up to her and kiss her cheek quickly, then turn around without another movement and storm off. I don't know where I'm going, but I can't be here anymore. 

"Blanket!" Natalie calls after me, but I ignore her. It's not that I'm mad at everyone else, it's just that I need some space. I just lost the most important parental figure in my life, and then having my dad come back and all of the sudden think that he can just take her place sends me over the edge.

If there is anyone in this entire place that I am willing to talk to at all, it's Paris. She is one that I had gotten the closest to after dad left for the first time. Our relationship grew when Natalie was in the hospital, and she was the only one that made things clear to me. Her words always made sense to me.

Don't get me wrong, I love my father, but just it angers me how he all of the sudden wants to play daddy again. He was a great father before he left us, and I know that he had his reasons, but it also hurts me that he only came back for Natalie. Because of Natalie.

I find my way to the bathroom and throw myself against the wall. I allow my body to slide down until I'm sitting on the floor with my knees up to my chest. And it is then that I let more tears out. 

I haven't cried this hard since the day Natalie was supposed to die. It reminds me of when grandma came and talked to me when I ran off that day. 

**Flashback**

"Blanket?" my grandma's voice sounds from behind the door and I sniffle. I stand and walk to the mirror. I stand in front of it and stare at the ground. The last thing I want to see right now is my reflection. I hate the way I look.

Three more taps sound and I finally look up at the mirror. My face is stained red and my cheeks are soaked from the tears that I finally managed. I grab a paper towel from the dispenser and wipe my face.

"Yeah." I say and my grandma jiggles the handle some more. I walk over to the door and unlock it. I walk back to the mirror and wait for her to open the door herself. I don't really want to talk to anyone right now, but I need to stop blocking people out and pushing them away whenever I'm upset.

My grandma slowly opens the door and walks into the bathroom. I stare at her through the mirror and she comes no closer to me than she already is. She moves to close the door and I turn around.

"Can we go outside?" I ask. "This is a little awkward." my grandma nods and holds the door open for me. I push past her and walk outside again, not bothering to wait for her.

...

"I wish people would just leave you alone anymore." my grandma says and I feel like screaming. I ignore her and she continues after sighing.

"Blanket, honey, I know how you are. I have been blessed to have the privilege of raising you. You really are a great kid, young man, I should say. You are just like your father. Boy, was he the same way when he was a child. You two are just alike. I remember him coming to me, telling me how insecure he was about himself. But that was because he had outside pressure. From strangers. But you. You, Blanket, you should not feel that way. You should not let people get to you the way you do. You should not bottle up your feelings the way you do." my grandma explains and I turn around just as she begins to explain my dad's insecurities.

I wipe my face, though it is dry, and look up at her. I swallow hard and nod, then stare at the ground once again.

"I know."

**End of Flashback**

I sniffle and wipe my eyes and nose. I breathe in and out heavily and stare blankly with my eyebrows furrowed at the stall in front of me.

"Stop crying, Michael."