Just wanted to thank @kinda-iconic and @bloodboundismylife for hosting @nbappreciationweek . I loved it and hopefully it will return soon. Everyone shared amazing things.
Lexis tried not to make any noise when she left her room; if her mother caught her, she’d be dead. She went to the kitchen and filled her backpack with Drake’s favorites: Doritos Nacho Cheese, Reese’s pieces, and a bottle of Mountain Dew.
She took her bike to Drake’s house. Getting into his room was no problem, he had taught her how to climb the trees in his garden to access through his window. Lexie saw Drake staring at the ceiling with the same sad expression he had in his eyes since his father had died one week ago.
She stood at the foot of the bed, looking at him. “Come on, Drake! Let’s go,” she said as she looked for his sweatshirt.
Drake furrowed. “Where?”
“To the beach. You haven’t been to school or out of this house all week.”
Drake was torn; he wanted to go out, but he felt too numb to make an effort. “It’s almost 9:00, and It’s like one hour from here!”
She raised her hands. “So? We’ve done it tons of times before.”
He stood up and put on the sweatshirt. There was no persuading Lexie when she got an idea into her head.
When they arrived at the beach, they laid down on the blanket Lexie had brought; She plugged her earphones on her mother’s IPod and gave one of them to Drake.
For a while, they laid next to each other in silence, looking at the stars Jackson loved so much and listening to The Beach Boys, his favorite band.
God Only Knows started to play. She raised the volume. “Your dad loved this one, he always repeated it two or three times when we went camping.”
Drake nodded as his eyes watered at the memory of his dad singing out of tune with the Beach Boys.
After a few songs, Drake finally spoke. “It’s so weird. This morning I was waiting for him to knock at my door and tell me breakfast was ready, and then I remembered that he’s not here anymore because he had to protect that duke!” He seethed. “He cared more about his job than he cared about me.”
Lexie took his hand and squeezed it.
“You know that’s not true, Drake. He was always there for you. He took us camping, he taught you how to fish, he coached our team on weekends. He loved his job but not as much as he loved you.”
Drake shrugged. He would never admit it to her, but Lexie always knew how to make him feel better. His stomach growled.
“Hungry?” Lexie asked.
“I didn’t eat dinner. Bas put chorizo in the pizza.” Drake grimaced. “Plus, he wants me to talk about dad all the time.”
She gave him a conspiratorial smile and grabbed her backpack. “Don’t worry, Walker. I got you.”
They ate their snacks quietly for a while.
“My mom is coming tomorrow with Savvie. For the… funeral,” he said, gloomily.
Her stomach dropped. She had heard her mom and her abuelita talking about it, the previous night. They were sure that Bianca was going to take Drake with her to Texas.
Lexie couldn’t imagine her life without her best friend. They did everything together. They shared their deepest secrets. She was the only one that knew about his crush on that stupid Jenny Stone; He was the only one that knew about her secret dream of finding her dad.
“Are you going to Texas with her?” Lexie asked, scared of the answer.
He wasn’t sure about anything. “I think so, Bastien says that I’ll like Texas, though. He says my mom’s new husband has a stable with a lot of horses and I’ll be able to live with Savvie again.”
Lexie nodded, she knew how much Drake missed his mom and sister, so she tried to be supportive. “I’ll miss you a lot Drake, but we can Skype all the time. Maybe I can be friends with Savvie too.”
Drake wanted to live with his mom and his sister again, but the idea of leaving his football team, his school and Lexie terrified him.
He stood up and picked some stones. He threw one on the ocean’s still water. It skipped five times. He turned at her smirking. Her record was three.
“Please, Walker. That was pure luck” She stood up and took a stone from his hand. She threw it but it only skipped twice. She snorted, frustrated.
He chuckled. “You’re such a sore loser.” He took another stone. “Look, I show you. When you throw, flick your wrist at the end and let go of the rock. It will spin and make it bounce,” he said as he threw one at the water. It skipped five times again. He turned with a smug look in his face.
She rolled her eyes. “Show-off.”
He sat on the blanket again, quietly playing with the sand for a few minutes before he asked, “how do you think heaven is like?”
Lexie sat next to him, cross-legged. “I think it’s a place where you’re always happy. Abuelita is convinced she’ll see grandpa Ramiro again. I guess you can do whatever you want, and you’re never scared or angry. I bet Jackson fishes all day while he drinks his beers and listens to The Beach Boys,” she said.
Drake chuckled, “Do you think there’s beer in heaven?”
Lexie answered, confidently, “Sure! Why not?”
After another stone-skipping contest, Drake checked the time in his luminous watch. “It’s almost midnight, Lex. Let’s go back or your mom will kill us.”
Three days later they were all in the O’Brien house for the luncheon after the funeral.
Bianca had arrived that morning with Savannah and, Larry, her new husband. Elena had disliked the woman since she had set foot in the funeral home. It wasn’t anything she did in particular, but her whole attitude seemed off.
Maybe it was because she was playing the part of the perfect mother around her new husband, after she had abandoned Drake when he was barely eight years old. Jackson was a good man and tried to justify Bianca, but Elena never understood. She wouldn’t abandon Lexie for anything in the world. But for the boy’s sake she was going to try to be nice to her. Elena hoped that Bianca would allow Drake to spend the summer in Cordonia.
Elena was worried about Lexie, her little girl was going to be crushed after his departure. She and Drake were thick as thieves. Lexie was trying to act all grown-up and supportive, but Elena knew how much she was going to suffer.
She worried about Drake even more. In the last two years, Elena had learnt to love him as a son. He was incredibly smart and mature for his age and had a heart of gold. Her own heart tugged, thinking about how terrified Drake must be feeling. He was barely twelve years old, had lost his dad and was about to leave the country with a woman he had seen once in four years.
Elena went to check the table where she had set the food and saw that almost all the pie was gone. She went to grab another one in the kitchen, where she saw Bastien and Bianca arguing.
“He is your son! He’s expecting you to take care of him. Fuck Bianca, you haven’t changed at all!” Bastien yelled.
Bianca answered, calmly, “I just got married and Larry doesn’t want kids for now. Leona will take Savvie but she doesn’t want a boy doing pranks around her property.” She smiled, obsequiously “Plus, it’s only for a while. When Larry gets use to the idea, I’ll come back for him. You can take care of him until then, Bas. I know Jackson left the kids his cabin. Can you move there with Drake?”
Elena couldn’t believe her ears. She was cutting the pie so angrily that she almost cut the table in half.
Bianca snapped at her, “I’m sorry, dear, but this is a private conversation.”
Elena placed the knife on the table to avoid accidentally – or not so accidentally- stabbing Bianca. “It’s me who’s sorry, dear, pero esta es mi casa (but this is my house), so I go wherever I want to. And you need to hear the truth, so I’ll tell you. First, I’m still in shock that you weren’t here the second Jackson died, Drake needed you. And most of all, I’m disgusted that you’re seriously planning to abandon that sweet boy again, because, in theory, a boy his age needs his mother.” Bianca was about to reply, but Elena raised her hand not giving her the chance to interrupt her. “But honestly, you’re doing him a favor. You’re clearly incapable of seeing what a great boy he is, how smart and compassionate. I’m sure you don’t even know anything about him. Did you know that he is on top of his class? That he loves animals? Which is his favorite football team? Anything at all?” Bianca couldn’t answer any of those questions, so Elena added, “you don’t deserve him, and sure as hell, you don’t deserve to be called a mother.” Elena turned to Bastien. “Don’t worry, we’ll be here to help you out with him, but do Drake a favor and keep him as far away as possible from this… woman.”
Bianca’s lips formed a thin line. She crossed her arms over her chest, before replying, “I love my son, but I have a right to have a life too when I’m still young.”
Elena shook her head as she spoke. “You didn’t hear a word I said.”
Bianca left with Larry and Savanah the next morning, Drake didn’t see her again for another six years.
You’re going? 🥺 it’ll be sad to see you go, but I wish you all the best for the future ♥️
I am! Or taking a very long break, but mostly likely leaving 😅 I'm gonna miss your fluffy adrian stories for sure! And your kindness and positivity too! 💕💕
Hi Kamilah! I hope that you and Amy are both well! ♥️ do you think that you have fallen in love with Amy yet?
Hello Amy, thank you for the message. Love is such a complicated feeling. It feels very “mortal” to me. There’s no reason or logic behind love, and this unsettles me slightly. Having said this, it’s true that I am quite fond of Amy...
@kinda-iconic and @otherworldlypresents are two bloons that i adore the most. @kinda-iconic is the one by whom i was inspired to join tumblr and @otherworldlypresents is the one whom after reading I decided to rejoin tumblr after leaving it . Both of their bloodbound fanfics are epic . I love them the most . They are amazing with their work. Love you two 🥰❤❤❤😍😘🤩
