Christian's POV:
There was something unsettling about my conversation with Blaine. I was used to Phoebe lying to me but never Blaine. He was trained to lie but I was trained to be able to figure out whenever someone was lying to me. It was him that I turned to as a way of figuring out what was wrong with Phoebe.
"What has you scowling?" Ana walked into my office.
"When was the last time you talked to Phoebe and Blaine together?"
I thought about the last few times that I talked to Phoebe on the phone and she was always alone and made some type of excuse to why Blaine was not able to talk. I did not think much of it until now and I was determined to figure out what was going on.
"I don't know, it's been a while," Ana paused at the door, "Why?"
My conversation with Blaine was different, almost like he was hiding something, "I think we should take a surprise trip to New York."
"Christian I'm sure everything is alright, couples argue. Maybe they have been taking a break from spending so much time with one another. It's actually healthy because they were so obsessed with spending their time with each other. Plus Phoebe is a working girl now she's probably busy. Blaine is balancing school and work so I'm sure his days are long."
I was not easily persuaded about this. Ana had a habit of giving people the benefit of the doubt which in this case was not working for me, "What's wrong with going to New York and seeing their new place?"
"Nothing, just as long as you tell her that we are coming. We aren't going to ruin her trust in us again by popping up whenever you have a sneaky suspicion that something is going on!"
"Fine, I'll let her know that we are coming."
Ana shook her head but said nothing else as she left the room.
Phoebe's POV:
The next day at work there were flowers on my desk. Oliver being the nosey busybody that he was pounced on me the moment that I sat down.
"Did you sleep with him last night after I left or something?"
"Can a girl have some coffee first before being accused of being a whore?" I teased, "But to answer your question, no I did not sleep with him. I'm not looking to rebound with Damien, he's too sweet of a guy. We're just friends."
"Then what's with the flowers? I consider him and I friends but I never get flowers from him."
I was wondering the same thing. I thought I made myself clear last night that I needed some time to think. My thoughts were interrupted when Damien knocked on my door. Oliver sprung up from my chair and scurried back out to his desk.
"Do you like the flowers?" Damien seemed sheepish.
"I love them but what are they for?"
"I saw them and thought of you, strictly platonic of course."
He was making this difficult, "Damien, we need to talk."
"I would love to but I have a conference call. How about tonight over dinner?"
"We can't."
"My place around seven? I'll text you," then he left.
Damien was smooth and was used to getting what he wanted, that much was obvious. My pity party was interrupted by my father's phone call.
"Hey dad, I can't talk long I'm at work."
"No worries, I was just letting you know that your mother and I were coming to New York in a couple of days."
"Why? I told you that Blaine is very busy right now."
"We just wanted to do some sightseeing and see where you worked and the new apartment. Maybe Teddy and Gwen could come down for a weekend. It would be great to see everyone."
My father knew, somehow he knew something was wrong from the other side of the country. I had tried so hard to keep this away from him and that of course did not work.
"I'll let you get back to work but I'll send you some dates. Can't wait to see you."
He hung up before I had a chance to say anything else. I was too busy to think of another excuse to keep my parents from coming to town and knew that the only way to keep the charade going was to have Blaine come to dinner. We had not talked since the apartment but I knew that he would be willing to keep the charade going for me.
Phoebe: I think my parents know
Blaine: What do you want to do?
Phoebe: They are coming to town & expect dinner
Blaine: I'll go if you want me to
Phoebe: I'll let you know
Damien came back to my office during lunch carrying two takeout boxes from our favorite café, "I got you some lunch."
"People are going to start talking."
"Let them, it'll be easier to fire them," he shrugged, "People talk regardless of what they know or what they think that they know."
"I have two friends here and I would like to make more. Having people think that I am sleeping with my boss is not the way to make friends."
"You worry too much about what other people think, that's your problem. When was the last time you did something for yourself? You have to let go of the fear of letting people down or other peoples' feelings. You're too much of a people pleaser."
What he was saying was right which made it that much harder to listen. I was too afraid of letting my parents down to tell them that I was no longer with Blaine. My mother would sometimes forward me wedding dress samples as if the wedding was next month.
"I've messed up a lot in my past which makes me want to make my parents proud of who I am now. You understand what it's like to be raised in the spotlight and unlike my brother, I only embarrassed my parents. I don't want to be that girl anymore which is why I'm trying to turn over a new leaf."
"I'm sure your parents love you regardless of what you did in the past. You're an amazing photographer and I just wish that you would be as carefree in life as you were in your photos. I wasn't kidding when I said that I wanted to see that girl again."
"I told you I'm working towards that again."
I was trying to move on without Blaine in my life and that was the hardest part.
"Good, now about dinner tonight," Damien grinned, "I was thinking Italian."
Damien was not going to let this go, "What if I hate Italian?"
"Then I'd make whatever you like."
Moving on from Blaine was difficult but Damien was making it easier.
Blaine's POV:
It was my first day off from work so naturally I stayed home to help Heather with Caden. I could tell that Heather was thankful for the extra help from me. She was pretty much alone with him all day but understood that I was working or at school. We had finally put Caden down for a nap and were relaxing on the couch.
"Do you think it gets easier?" I asked her.
"No," she laughed weakly, "But we're going to get better at this whole parenting thing, even if it kills us."
"You're a natural with him."
"It's because I'm always with him. I know his cries, his schedule, what he likes to play with."
I felt guilty that I did not even know my own son, "I'm going to get better, I swear."
"I'm not trying to guilt you Blaine. You're a great father to Caden whenever you're here. Even when you aren't here you're always texting me and calling for updates which is awesome because it shows that you really care about him. You're working and going to school just to provide a better life for him and once he gets a little older I'm going to be doing the same thing. I don't want him growing up thinking that his parents were losers. I want the best for him."
"You're a great mom too Heather, give yourself from credit."
Heather did not talk much about her parents but I could tell that they damaged her good. She was constantly trying to be a better mother to Caden than her own mother was to her and from what I saw; she already was doing a better job. Caden adored her more than anyone.
"Are you hungry? I can make you something to eat," Heather made a move to stand up.
"Sit your ass down, I'll make you something to eat. What do you want?"
Her head rolled back, "A nice nap and shower would be really nice."
"Your wish is my command. Go shower and get some rest and when you wake up, I'll make you something to eat."
It was the least I could do and while she slept I could catch up on some studying.
"I'll take you up on that," she stood to shower, "Wake me up if Caden needs feeding."
I was not going to wake her up but nodded in approval. The apartment was finally quiet giving me some time to study and catch up on everything. I even ended up cleaning the apartment so that Heather did not have something to stress over. Midway through cleaning the kitchen, my phone buzzed with a message from Phoebe. She had texted me earlier about having dinner with her parents when they came to town.
Phoebe: I'm going to tell them the truth
My heart broke, realizing that she was prepared to move on.
Blaine: I really don't mind going to dinner
Phoebe: Thx for the offer but it's time to let them know
She was officially not mine anymore and I had to accept that.
