by Shayna B
I was therefore surprised when he didn’t seem to have the same reaction to Blake. When I talked about him, Jake didn’t frown or give any outward signs of not approving of him. When I asked him about that, he merely lifted his shoulders. “Jared,” was his only explanation.
“Jared told you about Blake?” Jake nodded. “And you’re okay with him?”
“Yes.”
“That’s probably a good thing, since I intend on keeping him around.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” Blake said from behind me.
I turned in my seat and saw him standing in the doorway with Liam behind him. “Hey, he didn’t lose you. Good job Liam.”
Liam made a face at me. “I don’t always lose things, Hailey.”
Jake made a coughing sound behind me that I took to be a laugh. “Car,” he said to our uncle.
Liam looked sheepish. “I didn’t lose the car. I just temporarily misplaced it.”
I laughed and shook my head. “You lost your car? When was this?”
“A couple years ago. And I did end up finding it again.”
“How did you find it?”
He sighed. “I called OnStar,” he muttered.
We all started laughing at that and Blake and Liam came into the room. Jared joined us a few minutes later and we all spent most of the day there. When it was time to leave, I was surprised to see my car in the parking lot. “How’d that get here?”
“I drove it here earlier for you,” Jared said. “I’ll ride home with Liam so you can take Blake home.”
“Thanks. I’ll see you both at home in a few hours.”
I drove to Blake’s house and we went inside together. He brought both the bags –which someone had obviously put in my car- into his room and I sorted through them to separate our stuff. I kept one of his t-shirts though, so I could sleep in it at home.
When that was done, we went to the living room and curled up on the sofa. Sophie was out with friends and his aunt was in her home office, so we had the room to ourselves. I turned on an episode of The Big Bang Theory that was in described video so we could watch it together.
I snuggled into Blake’s side as the show started. “This turned out to be an interesting weekend,” I told him.
“It did,” he agreed. “How are you feeling now?”
“Still a little shocked. I can’t believe he’s actually awake. I always hoped one day he would come out of the coma, but I never actually expected it to happen.”
“He’s still got a lot of hard work ahead of him.”
“I know, but he has all of us to help him through it.”
“Am I included in the ‘us’?” he asked.
“Of course you are. We haven’t been an actual couple for very long, but I already know that I don’t want to be with anyone else. It’s a little scary how intense my feelings are for you.”
“I feel the same way. Some people probably think we moved too fast, but our relationship is anything but normal.”
“I don’t really care what other people think. They aren’t us.”
“Exactly what I was thinking.”
We sat in silence for the rest of the episode and then we practiced the song for the talent show. At ten o’ clock, I reluctantly went home. I wanted to talk to Jared and Liam, but neither of them were home so I went to bed. I wore Blake’s shirt as I curled under my blankets, and the scent helped me drift off into a peaceful sleep.
Chapter twenty-four
For the next two weeks, I spent every day after school at the hospital with Jake. Blake came with me more often than not, and then we would go to his place and work on the song for the talent show. Jake’s speaking improved a little and he was now able to string three or four words together, though he had to speak slowly and concentrate more than he liked. I knew he often became frustrated, but he persevered and the progress he had already made had astounded the doctors.
Amanda was also now a regular visitor, and it seemed that their relationship might start up again, though Jake refused to say anything about it. I had a feeling he wouldn’t ask her out again until he was able to walk and talk properly again. He was gaining strength in all his muscles again, and we were hoping that within the next few weeks he’d be able to walk without assistance. Everyone’s moods were buoyant now that he was awake, even though it was still hard to see him struggling.
The day before the talent show I was sitting in Jake’s hospital room alone with him. “So are you going to be able to come to the show?” I asked.
“Yeah. I’ll be in wheelchair,” he replied with a grimace.
“I know how you feel. Being in a wheelchair sucks, no matter how long it’s for,” I told him. “But at least you’ll be there, so that’s good.”
“It is.”
“And you’ll get better with time, so it’s not like you’ll be in a wheelchair forever. That’s something to be grateful for.”
“I am. I got lucky.”
I fidgeted in my chair a little, trying to get more comfortable. My back was a little sore today and I was praying that it wouldn’t act up too much tomorrow. “Has the doctor told you when you’ll be released permanently yet?”
“Maybe few weeks.”
“That’s great!” When he just grunted, I raised an eyebrow. “It’s not great?”
He shrugged. “Not on my own.”
“You mean you’re upset because you’ll have to live with us for a while?” He nodded and I sighed. “I can understand that I guess; you’re used to being on your own. But I’m glad you’ll be with us. For ten months I thought you’d never wake up, so I’m selfishly happy that you’ll be in the same house as I am all the time.”
He reached for my hand and gripped it tightly. “I know.”
“And you’ll be out on your own in no time. Then you can stop being an idiot and get back together with Amanda properly,” I told him.
He grinned boyishly and nodded. “I want.”
I glanced at my watch and saw that it was time for me to head out. “I need to head home. Blake’s coming over shortly so we can rehearse one more time before the show tomorrow.”
Jake nodded and squeezed my hand once more. “See tomorrow.”
I left the hospital and drove home, thinking about the talent show the next day. When I got home I went directly to the music room and started playing around on the piano. Blake found me there half an hour later and joined me on the bench. After kissing me hello, he dove right into the song.
By the time we finished practicing, it was pretty late so I invited him to stay the night. He was more than happy to agree, and I fell asleep wrapped in his arms after making a mental note to thank my uncle for being so cool about me spending the night with Blake.
When I woke up the next morning, I was relieved that my back didn’t hurt too badly. It was a little sore, but nothing unbearable. I woke Blake up and he grudgingly got out of bed and joined me for breakfast. We ate and then drove to his house to drop Abby off and pick up Sophie so we could go to school.
The talent show wasn’t until after school, so I was fidgeting the whole day. When the last bell finally rang, I hurried to find Blake and Sophie. Sophie was the only other student in the school who knew about us performing, so she was coming to my place with us and then to the show afterwards.
The three of us went directly to my room when we got to the house. Blake had brought his clothes for the show over the night before, so he went into the bathroom to change. I grabbed my clothes and peeled my shirt off to change it.
Sophie’s gasp caught my attention and I looked over my shoulder to see her looking at my back. I silently cursed myself as I tugged my fresh shirt over my head before turning to face her. I’d told her about the accident after Jake woke up, but she hadn’t seen my back yet.
“I knew that you’d had a few surgeries done on your back, but I never realized how much damage there really was,” she said.
“Yeah, it’s not that pretty to look at,” I replied.
; “That’s not what I meant. You obviously went through a lot of pain because of your back, but you never let it show.”
I sat on the edge of my bed. “That’s because on the days where it’s noticeable, I tend to hide from people. I know that if a lot of people knew about what had happened to me I’d get a lot of sympathy from everyone, and I couldn’t handle that. I don’t like talking about the accident as it is.”
Blake came out of the bathroom, dressed in clean jeans and a black dress shirt. “You ready?” he asked me.
“Almost. Sophie just saw the scars on my back for the first time, so I got a little sidetracked.”
“Oh. Well hurry up, we need to get back to the school soon.”
I rolled my eyes and stood up so I could change into my black jeans. I was wearing a purple short-sleeved blouse over a white tank top, so it went well with the jeans. I had debated on getting all dressed up for this but then decided that going semi-casual would be more comfortable.
Once we were all ready, I hunted down my uncle and Jared. I found them both in the living room, watching TV. “We’re heading out now. We’ll see you after the show, okay?” There was going to be a kind of Christmas party after the show in the school gym, and family and friends of students were invited as well.
They both glanced up at me. “Sure thing, good luck,” Jared said.
“We’ll be the ones cheering like idiots and embarrassing you,” Liam added cheekily.
I just shook my head and walked away, joining Blake and Sophie by the front door. We bundled into our jackets and got back into my car to drive to the school. Once there, Sophie veered off to find a seat while Blake and I made our way backstage, finding a corner to sit in out of sight of everyone else. Blake had his guitar with him and he set it beside him once we were seated.
The show ran fairly smoothly and before I knew it, it was time for us to go on. I took in a shaky breath and grabbed Blake’s hand, clutching it tightly as we walked onto the stage.
I led Blake to the bench and he sat down facing away from the piano, settling his guitar on his lap. I adjusted the microphones so that they were sitting properly and then took my place beside him facing the piano.
I moved my own microphone a little and then blew out a breath before speaking into it. “Hey everyone, I’m Hailey and this is Blake, we’re going to perform a song for you and we hope you like it.”
Blake scoffed a little. “I don’t care if they like it,” he stated.
That caused a few people to laugh and I rolled my eyes. “Please excuse him, he has no manners.” I inhaled a deep breath and then started playing.
Blake joined in with his guitar and a moment later, he started singing. After a couple of lines, I joined in and our voices blended together perfectly throughout the entire song. There had been other music acts throughout the show, but Blake and I were the only ones to do a duet. I closed my eyes as the music flowed through me, enjoying the peace that always accompanied playing the piano. As the final notes died away, Blake leaned over to kiss me softly. There was a moment of silence in the audience and then applause and cheers thundered out. I looked over and blinked a couple of times at the sight that greeted me. “They’re giving us a standing ovation,” I murmured to him.
“It’s because we kick ass,” Blake said with a grin.
I laughed at that. “We really do,” I agreed. I got to my feet and he stood up as well, taking my hand as I came around the bench to stand beside him.
The cheers increased when he bent his head to brush his lips over my cheek. “I think my cockiness is rubbing off on you,” he said teasingly.
I shrugged a little. “I just know that we nailed that song, that’s all,” I replied. I scanned the crowd and spotted Rachel and David, both of them staring at us with open mouths. I smiled at them and that seemed to shake them out of their stupor and they started cheering as well. Then I found the group containing my family and I had to bite back a laugh when I saw that Liam was holding up a sign that said Hailey and Blake Rock. I gave them a quick wave and then Blake and I left the stage.
Once we were backstage, Blake pulled me into his arms and lowered his head to give me a long kiss. “Thanks for suggesting that we do this,” he said after he pulled back a little. “It felt really good being out there.”
“It did, didn’t it? Even though there were close to two thousand people watching us, it still felt like it was just you and me when we were singing.”
“Yeah it did. Are you ready to go face the masses now?”
I shrugged. “I’d rather just stay here where it’s quiet with you. But I know that everyone will want to talk to us, so we probably should go out there.”
He nodded and took a step back, taking my hand in his. “Lead the way then. Try not to run me into anything back here.”
“I should run you into something, just for saying that.”
“Nah, you love me too much to do something like that,” he responded.
We started walking towards the exit door and I was careful to avoid all the cables running across the ground. “I guess that’s true,” I said. “And you love me enough to give me a massage later, right?”
“Always. Is your back bothering you?”
“A little, but nothing too serious. It’s more of an annoyance than anything and I think it only hurts because I was nervous about the show tonight. It made me a little tenser than usual, and that always affects my back.” We exited the backstage area and headed towards the gym, where I could hear a lot of voices.
“I’ll give you a good massage tonight then so that you can get a good night’s sleep. Sound good?”
“Yeah it sounds really good,” I replied as we walked into the gym. My family spotted us immediately and they came over to us with Amanda pushing Jake in his wheelchair. Jared had brought Laurel with him as well, so there was a group of five coming towards us.
“You did good,” Jake said when they reached us.
I bent down a little so I could give him a hug. “Thanks. It was a lot of fun.”
“You both have amazing voices,” Amanda stated. “I think a lot of people were moved by the song.”
“We thought it kind of suited us,” Blake said.
“It does,” Jared agreed. “I’ve heard you two rehearsing for the past few weeks, but it was nothing compared to tonight. You had everyone captivated, which is no easy feat when it comes to a bunch of teenagers. I think you chose the perfect song.”
“I didn’t know you could sing like that, Hailey,” Laurel said. Her light brown hair was pulled back in a messy bun and her hazel eyes were sparkling happily.
I grinned at her. I’d met her a few weeks ago and immediately decided that I liked her. “Yeah, not many people know about that. I’ve never performed in front of anyone before.”
I heard someone calling our names, so I turned my head and spotted Sophie coming towards us. She gave me a quick hug and then did the same to Blake, much to his dismay. “You guys were awesome!” she exclaimed. “Who knew my cousin could actually sing like that?”
Blake scowled at her. “You’ve heard me sing plenty of times.”
“Yeah, but this was different. You actually showed some emotion this time, which you don’t normally do.”
He folded his arms over his chest. “Whatever,” he mumbled.
I nudged him lightly. “Are you embarrassed?” I asked.
“No.”
I smiled a little. “Yes you are. Don’t worry; I think it’s kind of cute.”
He tilted his head in my direction. “Men aren’t cute, Hailey. They’re hot, or sexy, or even handsome. But not cute.”
I reached up and patted his cheek. “Sorry. But it’s still kind of cute,” I replied with a cheeky grin.
He rolled his eyes and uncrossed his arms to put one around my waist. “You’re such a brat sometimes.”
“I know. But you still love me.”
“True, but sometimes I don’t know why.”
I elbowed him in the side
. “Jerk,” I muttered.
He laughed and kissed the top of my head. “Yeah, but you still love me,” he taunted.
I decided to just ignore him and tuned back into the conversations everyone else had been having while Blake and I were talking. We stood with them for another five minutes before Rachel and David found us. Rachel was almost bouncing with excitement when she pulled me into a hug. “You didn’t tell us you two were performing!” she said.
“We wanted it to be a surprise. Sophie was the only student in the school who knew about it. Mr. Avery helped us keep it quiet by letting us rehearse in the auditorium when no one else was around.”
“Well, you sounded absolutely amazing. I never knew either of you could sing like that,” she stated.
“I knew Blake could sing, though it’s been a few years since I’ve heard him,” David said.
Blake shifted a little, obviously uncomfortable. “Yeah, I haven’t exactly let anyone hear me sing or play the guitar in the past couple of years.”
“Well, you’ve gotten even better over the years, that’s for sure,” David complimented him.
I knew Blake didn’t really like all the attention, so I changed the subject. “Hey guys, let me introduce you to everyone. This is my brother Jake and this is Amanda. You already know Jared, and that’s his girlfriend Laurel. And this is my uncle Liam, though he hates it when I call him my uncle.”
Liam made a face. “It makes me feel old,” he said.
I could see the curiosity on Rachel’s face, obviously wondering why I’d never mentioned my brother before, but luckily she didn’t say anything about it yet. I had a feeling she would be asking me a lot of questions later though. “It’s nice to meet you all,” she said warmly.
We all hung out together for another half hour, before Jake had to go back to the hospital. He looked up at me with a small smile. “See you tomorrow?”
