Fallen

Chapter Fifty Three

"Hey, what are you doing?"

I turned away from the stove to see Blaine leaning against the doorframe of the kitchen. He still looked a little sleepy with his pyjama bottoms slung low on his waist. I couldn't help but smile at how cute he looked.

"I thought I'd cook us all a bit of lunch," I replied.

He jumped up onto the counter beside me and grinned. "Is there a reason you're treating us?"

"I always found food can build bridges between people. I got to know Maria over a meal and I want to do the same with Jason and Carter."

Blaine reached up to stroke my cheek with his thumb. "You're amazing."

I took his hand away. "I'm not."

"Of course you are..."

"I yelled at you yesterday for trying to look after me." I faced the saucepan of gravy I had on the hob.

Blaine jumped down from the side and put his hands on my waist from behind. "You don't need to apologise. I saw you were upset. I'm not mad at you."

"I know. I just need to make it up to you."

I was turned around to see him smiling down at me. "Just being yourself is all you need to do."

I couldn't help but laugh at the shear cringe of what he just said. Soon he was laughing too and pulling me into him until we were chest to chest, forehead to forehead. His breath warmed my lips and it made my body tingled. It was moments like this that I missed when we were apart because he made me feel safe and wanted. With him, I had a choice in what I did and said and felt. It was freeing, and that was all I wanted.

"I love you," I whispered. "I never said it the night that you did, but I do. I love you."

Blaine smiled. "I love you too."

"God, get a room."

We both looked around to see Carter stood by the door. He was also in his pyjamas and wore a small smile.

"Is that sausages I smell?" he asked.

I nodded. "I thought I'd cook for everyone to say thank you for letting me stay here."

Carter's smile grew. "Can't wait."

"Well let's leave Anna to it. I doubt she wants us watching her," Blaine said, planting a kiss to my cheek before they both headed back upstairs to get dressed.

*****

An overwhelming smell of cologne engulfed me as the boys sat around the table. They were all dressed nicely in smart jeans and shirts. I appreciated the effort they put in nonetheless, since we couldn't really go out anywhere. They all thanked me as I placed their plates in front of them before tucking into the sausage, mashed potato and gravy. Blaine winked at me before taking a bite. I laughed as they all groaned and rolled their eyes back as though it was the best sausage and mash they ever had.

"This is amazing," Jason said with his mouth full. Carter nodded and stuffed more mash into his mouth.

Blaine squeezed my leg. "This is great, babe."

I grinned. "I'm glad you like it."

"Thank God we finally have someone that can cook in this house," Carter said.

"Hey!" Jason protested. "What about that roast dinner I made at Christmas?"

Blaine and Carter shared a glance that only aggravated Jason.

"I put my heart and soul into that meal!"

"Is that what it was?" Carter laughed. "I thought it was overcooked brussels sprouts."

"Well you two can cook at Christmas this year then," Jason huffed.

"Only if Anna helps out," Carter said. "She can at least teach us how to make sausages taste this good."

"It's probably the fact that she didn't spend a total of fifty pence on the meal," Blaine teased. Jason shot him a glare and sunk down in his chair.

"You're all making out like you haven't had a decent meal in years."

"We haven't," Blaine said before grunting when Jason kicked him under the table.

"Maria hated cooking," Carter murmured. We all turned to him, but he had a smile on his lips that made us smile too. "She always said she wanted to learn."

I nodded. "She told me the same thing. When I cooked for her, she asked me to teach her."

Carter's eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Yeah. She sounded pretty eager to try," I said.

I noticed Carter chewing on his bottom lip, trying his hardest not to cry. "She would've loved that."

Jason put a hand on Carter's shoulder, but he shrugged it off.

"I'm okay," he insisted. "Really."

Jason nodded and carried on eating his food. A moment of quiet passed, but it was noticeable that Carter was getting fidgety, as if there was something on his mind. Suddenly, he put his fork down and rested his elbows on the table. We all looked over to him.

"I've realised that I don't talk about my Maria enough," he said. "I don't want us to just remember how she died because she was so much more than that. I was lucky to have eight years with her so I'm going to make sure I remember as much of it as I can."

Blaine smiled and patted Carter's back. "I'm glad, mate. She deserves to be remembered for all the kindness she put into the world."

"Do you remember the time she looked after us all when we got back from that hunt in Wales?" Jason asked. "We had so much energy taken from us. Maria practically nursed us all back to health. She had three whiney men lying on the sofas complaining about migraines and aching muscles, but she took care of each one of us like it was nothing."

"Oh yeah," Blaine said. "She put on Brooklyn Nine Nine for us and ended up getting into it too."

Jason sat up. "I remember. She fancied the main guy. What was his name? Andy something?"

"Samberg," Carter said with a smile. "She had a picture of him as her lockscreen for months."

I laughed. "I love that."

Carter grinned and nodded his head. "She was the best."

"I wish I could have gotten to know her more," I said.

Carter looked over at me. "Me too. I think you two would've been very close."

Carter and I shared a smile between us that I never thought we would. We quietly ate our food when Blaine's phone rang. He pulled it out and frowned when he saw the number was withheld. I watched him disappear into the living room to take the call. His voice was muffled and quiet so I couldn't make out what he was saying, but it wasn't long until the living room door swung back open again.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Ellie got the transfer," he said. "She'll be at St Mary's Hospital next week."

I clasped my hands over my mouth. "Really?!"

Blaine nodded. I squealed and jumped out of my seat to hug him so tight. He grinned and lifted me from the ground.

"That's great," Carter said from the table as Blaine set me back down. I didn't let go of his hand as we sat back at the table.

Jason agreed. "We're looking forward to meeting her."

I couldn't help the happy tears in my eyes. "It's all down to Blaine. Thank you."

He leaned over to kiss me. "It's all coming together now, sweetie."