Chapter 51: Chapter 51

Rylie's POV

Dinner was okay, for the most part. I mostly kept to myself and listened as everyone chatted among themselves, everyone except me and of course, Blake.

A few times, despite not wanting to, I found myself sneaking glances at him. Whether he noticed or not, I couldn't tell but I found the urge to reach over and touch his hair overwhelm me every time I looked at him.

I had to remind myself countless times that we were over and we had moved on. And even if I hadn't, he certainly had.

I thought back to the night at the talent show and felt my heart clench. I could feel my eyes start to water so I quickly looked away. As I did, I could feel someone's gaze on me but ignored the feeling.

I just have to survive a few more hours tops then I can put this day behind me.

After everyone was done, the table was cleared and we all moved to the living room. I was quick to pick a single chair far away from Blake. I glanced at him to see something like hurt flash in his eyes but as quick as it came, it was gone, replaced by a blank distant look. He sat with Myles, directly opposite me.

"Now that dinner's out of the way, let's begin by playing a good old fashioned game of...charades!" my mom called out. "For this game though, we'll be partnering up so everyone pick a partner."

I wanted to rush over to Ava but she was too quick and grabbed onto my mom's hand. I could see Myles already seated with my dad which left three people. I walked over to Mrs. Weston and asked if we could partner up.

"I'm sorry, Rylie but I'm gonna stick with this man. He's my lucky charm," she touched her husband's chin affectionately. I sighed. That left only one person.

Already uncomfortable with the whole situation, I awkwardly walked over to Blake and sat on the space beside him, creating as much space as possible between us. I looked up quick enough to see our moms share a look. I was curious as to what that was all about but decided I didn't care.

My mom explained the rules and the game started. The whole idea of the game was for your partner to try and act out a word and you were to guess it. First up was Ava and my mom and they did pretty good. They were followed by Mr. and Mrs. Weston who didn't get too much points.

So much for lucky charm. They didn't seem to care though and laughed as they kept guessing almost every word wrong.

After Myles and my dad had their turn, it was time for I and Blake to have ours. I wasn't too enthusiastic about the whole charades of a thing and from the looks of it, neither was Blake. He got off the couch beside me and walked up to the front.

I could see him exhale deeply as he took a piece of paper from a bowl and turned to act out the word. After moving his hands in a front and back motion while slowly moving his feet across the floor, it hit me.

"Uh skating!" I yelled out quickly.

Almost immediately, his eyes lit up and he gave me one of those smiles I used to love so much. It took everything in me to maintain my straight expression. He picked another piece of paper and proceed to act out the word.

"Vampire?"

He gave me a thumbs up and we went on to the next word. At the end, we ended getting most of our words right, scoring the highest points for the night. And even though I didn't want to, I found myself actually starting to enjoy myself even though I tried not to show it.

The next game we were playing was Jenga. This game involved laying wooden blocks on themselves until they reached a certain height and then trying to remove one at a time while making sure the whole thing didn't collapse. We were also playing this game in pairs so Blake and I were stuck with each other and strangely, I was starting not to mind.

Just like the last time, Ava and my mom went first followed by my dad and Myles, Blake's parents and then finally us.

I sat on the floor beside the coffee table where the blocks were placed and tried to see which block I could remove without causing the whole thing to collapse. Blake was standing behind me, doing the same thing as well. Eventually I made to remove a block when Blake suddenly grabbed my hand, stopping me. It was a sudden move and he let go almost immediately but that didn't stop my heart from pounding furiously against my chest at the contact and the hand he touched from trembling.

"I don't think you should take that one. Remove this one instead," he pointed to another block and I nodded, quickly looking away from him. I did as he said and even though it wobbled slightly, it didn't collapse.

"Yes!" I exclaimed happily, almost hugging Blake but I was quick to stop myself before I did.

My mom and Ava went next and just after Ava removed her piece, the whole thing collapsed on her. I rushed over to help her but she was laughing so hard like she was enjoying herself. It was hard not to get infected by her laughter and soon everyone was laughing along with her.

Afterwards, we played Monopoly, Show and Tell (If You Can) and finally a game of Guess The Word where you had to guess what your partner was saying with headphones covering your ears.

We were on the final game (Guess The Word) which basically involved lip reading and it was I and Blake's turn.

"Strawberry?" I called out, after focusing on Blake's lips for a while. He smiled and nodded which meant I was right so I handed the headphones to him. He put them on and I called out Hawaii. After saying the word a second time, he said, "Is it Hawaii?"

I grinned and gave him a thumbs up. He removed the headphones and was handing them over to me when we heard a small ding meaning that our time was up.

"I guess that means Rylie and Blake won," Ava announced since she was the one keeping score.

"Yes, we did it!" Blake and I did a high-five and I found myself throwing my arms around him before I could help myself. I pulled back quickly before anyone would think too much about it, especially Blake himself. I didn't want him to think anything had changed between us because they hadn't despite how much I wanted it to be.

"Really great work, guys. You know, if I didn't know better, I'd say you guys were a couple," Mrs. Weston winked at both of us.

"Yeah yeah," I mumbled already feeling uncomfortable.

"I mean, the way you were able to read each other's actions and words… It's like you knew what the other person was going to say before it was even said. It's actually admirable."

"Mom, it's okay," Blake chimed in at this point.

"What? I'm just commending you guys for your performance. You have something most couples can only dream of."

"I think I'll be going to bed now," I jumped up from my seat, wanting to put an end to the ongoing conversation. "I'm really sleepy so good night."

"Look Rylie, I'm sorry if my mom is a little forward but she's just saying what everyone else here is thinking and we're thinking you and Blake make an excellent couple. We all know it so there's no need to pretend anymore," Ava implored me. Everyone else mumbled in agreement but I didn't want to hear it.

"Like I said, I'm going to...wait a sec!" I turned around to face them just as something hit me. The games, partnering up, everyone saying Blake and I were perfect for each other… I just realized that it was all a setup. "You guys set this up, didn't you?"

"What are you talking about, Rylie?" my mom shifted awkwardly in her seat.

"You know what I'm talking about, Mom. Did you guys set this whole thing up just to drive Blake and I back together? Pair us up so you could bring up this whole speech later on? Did you ask them to do this?" I shot Blake a look.

"Rylie, come on. Do you actually think I would so something like this?" he retorted, looking a bit hurt.

"I don't know what to think, Blake! I have no idea what to think at this point when it comes to you!"

"In any case, I didn't set this up. I have no reason to," he shrugged.

"Oh right. I forgot. You've moved on. Say Blake, how's Talia? Why didn't you bring your little girlfriend to game night? Ashamed of your fuck buddy now?" I sneered.

"You're one to talk. Immediately we broke up, didn't you start acting all buddy buddy with Sky? Don't think I didn't see you guys the night of the talent show."

"For the last time, Blake, Sky is just a friend! Do you hear that? A friend! And even if I do decide to date him, it'll be because I want to. At least, he's not an inconsiderate asshole who goes around sticking it in every available whore!" I spat angrily in his face.

I knew I'd touched a nerve there because as soon as those words left my mouth, Blake rammed me into a corner, both hands roughly gripping my shoulders.

"Get the fuck off me, Blake!" I tried pushing him off but he wouldn't budge.

"No Rylie. Now you're going to listen. Nothing happened between Talia and I-"

"Yeah right," I scoffed.

"Would you listen? Nothing happened between us and that's the truth. She wanted to ask me out but I said no. When you came out, she used the opportunity to pull me away and I would have said something but your ‘friend’ pulled you away before I could."

"So what's your point then? That Sky is to blame for your being a dick? Because Sky didn't ask you to break up with me, did he? That was all you Blake! All you!"

My words seemed to have gotten to him and he looked so hurt.

"Rylie-" he started but Myles chimed in, "Guys, maybe this isn't the best time?"

I was suddenly reminded of where we were and the audience we had. I turned my head to the side to find everyone looking at us with looks of surprise and concern on their faces. I got out of Blake's hold and flashed a smile at them.

"Sorry about that, everyone," I chuckled lightly.

"Are- are you guys okay?" Ava asked slowly.

"Oh, we're fine. We're fine. Just letting go of some stuff, I guess. But we're fine," I chuckled again as I grabbed my jacket and made my way towards the door.

"Rylie?" my mom called, concern etched in her tone but I brushed her off.

"I'm fine, Mom and I'll be back soon. Feel free to...do whatever," I ran out of the house before I gave in to the urge to break down in front of everyone.

Once the door was closed behind me, I ran to a corner in the garage where I couldn't easily be seen, fell to the floor and let it all out.

Was it possible to love and hate someone at the same time? Blake hurt me so much and I wanted nothing more than to move on from him like I did Asher but I couldn't seem to.

Why did letting go hurt so much? Why couldn't I let go to begin with? Why did everything hurt so bad?

I was still crouched down, crying in the garage when I felt someone's presence beside me. I assumed it was Blake so I sniffled, "Go away, Blake."

When he still didn't move from beside me, I shoved at him and said, "I said, Go away!"

"I can't do that now because I'm not Blake," a familiar voice responded, instantly sending chills down my spine. I knew that voice.

Slowly, I brought my head up and stared at the figure beside me. It took some time for my eyes to adjust because the room was mostly dark but my eyes eventually adjusted and that's when I saw him.

"Asher!" I called, breathlessly.