Falling for the Good Boy *Editing*

Chapter 25

Please play 'Shelter' by Birdy. Thank you SO much for reading FFTGB! Voting, commenting, sharing... :)

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My bottom lip began to tremble and my eyes were stinging.

"No, she can't be. I just talked to her the other day," I whispered in protest. Blake stood up and crossed the room in three strides. He grabbed my shoulders to pull me closer to him and wrapped me in a hug. I weakly lifted my arms to wrap them around Blake's back and I made a strangled noise.

Blake rubbed his hands up and down my back and I felt him shaking with sobs. I tightened my grip on his shirt and continued to cry. After we stood like that, crying and hugging, for a while, Blake pulled away from me. His eyes were swollen and red and I'm sure I looked a lot like he did right then.

"I promised her I would take you to the diner so she could see us together, and she never got to see us," he sobbed. I didn't know how to comfort him.

Who was Mildred to him, anyway? How did he know her? Blake left the room. I didn't know what to do, so I just stood there, looking like a beached whale.

"Raelene?" Blake called.

"Yeah?" I sniffled as he walked back into the room.

"I think she knew that she was gonna pass soon, because she gave this to me and told me to give it to the person's name is on the envelope." Blake handed me pale envelope. In messy cursive, the envelope read The Woman My Blakie Has Fallen For.

I choked back another wave of sobs and covered my mouth with my empty hand.

"I can't open this..." I murmured, running my index finger along the dried ink.

"She wrote it for you," Blake said. He was holding his own letter that had already been ripped open carelessly.

"I'm not ready. I need time to process this. I just can't open it."

Blake ran a hand through his hair and wiped his cheeks clean of new tears.

"Will you at least tell me when you read it? In mine, it said I wasn't allowed to read any further than a few likes until you finished reading yours," Blake told me. His eyes met mine and I could only wonder what his letter said that meant that I had to read mine first.

I needed to call Alek. I had to stay the night here. I don't know what I was going to tell him, but I needed to tell him something. Pulling out my phone, I dialed Alek's number and raised the device to my ear.

"Hey, do you want me to come get you now?"

I took a deep breath. "Actually, I'm gonna stay the night here. What happened is a lot more serious than I thought."

Alek inhaled sharply on the other end of the line. "I don't trust him beautiful. I don't want you to be around him."

"I know you don't, but you have to just for tonight. I'm going to be missing school tomorrow, but I'm just gonna stay here, all right?"

"All right. I'll see you when you come home tomorrow," he sighed and I could picture him shaking his head.

I hung up the phone and slid it back into my pocket. I completely forgot that Blake was standing in front of me.

"You're staying the night?" Despite everything that was going on. his eyes lit up. I nodded and he pulled me into another hug.

"Thank God. I can't do this all by myself," he murmured into my ear.

I closed my eyes and rested my chin on Blake's shoulder.

"Why'd you tell him you were missing school tomorrow?"