Strategically Careless

Chapter 10

Blake's POV

    Today was a Monday. It's the Monday-est day I've had in a while. Work was exhausting, hell even the weekend was exhausting. 

    "Katie I'm home!" I call out as I walk into the apartment. I immediately kick off my heels and toss my bag on the ground by the floor. I regret buying those shoes they kill my feet. I look up to see Katie crying as she walks into the room. 

    "What's wrong, Katie?" I ask.

     "I just got off the phone with my mom. Dad's cancer came back. "she sobs reaching out to hug me. 

    "I'm so sorry." I hug her back as she cries into my shoulder.

    "I don't know what to do. I can't imagine losing him. I thought after last time everything was going to be ok." she cries.

    "I know I did too. He already kicked cancer's ass he can do it again." I say patting her back.

    "Mom said they caught it kind of late." she pulls back looking at me in the eyes. 

    "What does that mean?" I ask.

    "The earlier you catch it the better your chances are. So the later you catch it the worse your chances are. The doctors only gave him a couple more months to live." she is hysterical by the end of her sentence.

    "I'm so sorry. What can I do to help?" I ask

    "I think I'm going to go home." she sniffles.

    "For how long?" I ask. 

    "I don't know I just really want to be with my family." Katie cries. She stops for a second and looks at me wide-eyed "Not that you're not family you are. You're always welcome at my house... but I figure you don't want to go back there." Katie says thru tears.

    "I understand. Tell them I'm sorry. And call me if you need anything. When are you going? I can pack your things so you can just focus on you and your family." I offer.

    "My flight leaves tomorrow morning." she sobs.

    "What do you want to do for the last night in the city? How can I cheer you up and take your mind off of it?" I ask

    "Can we just invite Collin and Colby over and have a movie night?" she sniffles. 

    "Yes. I will text them right now. Do you want me to order pizza too?" I nod

    "Yes. Hey, don't say anything to Collin before I can talk to him. I want to tell him when we are alone." Katie explains.

    "Ok, no problem." I nod. "I already texted him and they said they will be down in 10 minutes," I say reading Colby's response.

    "Ok, I'm going to go change and fix my makeup." Katie sniffles.

     "Ok" I nod sending her back to her room.

    I change clothes into leggings and an old t-shirt and head back to the living room as I hear a knock on the door. I open it up to see Collin and Colby standing there. "That was perfect timing. I just walked in here." I comment. "Katie, they're here. Colby and I are going to pick up the pizza. Bye." I call thru the apartment. 

    "We are?" Colby asks looking at me like I'm crazy.

    "Yes, we are. Right now. Let's go." I say grabbing his hand and leading him away. 

    "Ok geez," he says following me as I march towards the elevator. Katie just needs space so she and Collin can figure this out. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Katie's POV

    I hesitantly walk into the living room to see Collin standing in the doorway laughing as Blake pulls Colby down the hall leaving just me and Collin. Good. I don't want to embarrass him. 

    Collin looks back at me and smiles. "Hey, we need to talk," I say quietly stepping closer to him. Collin's smiles fade replaced with worry. 

    "Is everything ok?" he asks closing the door behind him. 

     "I'm going home," I say.

    "To visit?" he says more than asks.

    "I don't know how long I will be gone. My mom called a while ago. She said that my dad's cancer is back. The doctors only gave him a few more months to live." I explain trying my best to hold back tears.

    "Oh no. That's rough" Collin sighs.

    "I don't know how long I am going to be gone. I just feel like I need to be with my family for a while." I explain glancing up at him to meet his eyes.

    "I completely understand. I'm sorry about that." Collin says hugging me. Ohh I'm going to miss that. 

    I pull away from him with a sigh, "Collin I think we should break up." I say looking at his face. "I don't want you waiting around for me and I don't know when I will be back. I want you to go live your life and have fun. We can still be friends and when I get back if we still feel the same way we can try again." I explain.

    "What? No!" Collin shakes his head. "I don't accept that. We aren't breaking up. You go home and take care of your family. We will stay together and once the dust settles I will still be here. We can call and text every day and I can come to visit you if you want." Collin says stepping a step back but still staring at me intensely.

    "You don't have to do that. You don't have to wait around for me." I shake my head.

    "I will wait around forever if that means I have the chance to be with you again. You are the most amazing person I know. I will wait as long as it takes. I love you." Collin says.

    "You really mean it?" I ask.

    "Of course I do." he nods stepping closer to me putting his arms around my waist. 

    "I love you too. Thanks for being so understanding. I got really lucky finding you." I tell him. Collin kisses me right as the living room door flies open startling us. 

    "We're back. Is everything ok?" Blake asks walking into the apartment looking at me concerned.

    "Yeah, we're good." Collin smiles at me as Colby walks into the kitchen with the pizzas. "I'm going to help him with the pizzas," Collin tells me then follows after Colby.

    "How did it go?" Blake asks in a low voice so Collin can't hear.

    "Great actually. I broke up with him" I nod.

    "What?" Blake asks me confused.

    "Then he said no we aren't breaking up and he will wait for me. He was really supportive." I explain.

    "So you didn't break up with him?" she asks.

    "No. I just didn't want him putting his life on hold waiting around for me." I explain.

    "Oh. ok." she nods. "Well, now that that's over. Let's get pizza." she smiles at me.

    "Yeah, that sounds good." I nod. I have really amazing friends. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Blake's POV

The Next Morning...

    Collin, Colby, and I drove Katie to the airport.  I helped her pack late into the night as we watched a movie with the boys. She seems to be doing ok though. I know Katie is a big daddy's girl and him having cancer last time was hard on her.... but the doctors only gave him a few more months to live.

    "Ok do you have everything you think you need?" Collin asks as he wheels one of her suitcases for her into the airport. Colby and I are walking a few feet behind them to give them space to say their goodbyes. 

    "Yeah, I think so." Katie sniffles.

    "I can mail you anything you forget. Call me if you need anything. I am only a plane ride away." I chime in. I don't want her worrying about anything as trivial as leaving something here.

    "Thank y'all," Katie says looking at all of us. 

    "Fly safe and let us know when you get there." Colby hugs her.

    "I will. I'm going to miss y'all." Katie nods.

    "We will miss you too," Collin says.

    "Tell your family I said hey. I will come to visit if I get a chance. I'll call Mama and Pops soon." I hug my best friend.

    "You know that will only make my parents worry more," Katie says sarcastically.

    "Why is that?" Colby asks.

    "Her parents think I'm trouble." I smile.

    "I thought your mom loved Blake." Colby questions.

    "My parents love her but... They are also glad we are not actually related. They worry about her too much." Katie answers.

    "Yeah. I wasn't exactly the poster child for good decisions." I shrug.

    "You're still not." Katie laughs.

    "Hey!" I fake offense.

    "She isn't wrong." Colby nods. 

    "Yeah, that's true." Collin agrees.

    "Ok if we get into that we will be here forever. You got to go you're going to miss your flight." I hug Katie one more time. "If you need anything the boys at the creek can help. I'm going to miss you."

    "I'm going to miss you too. Make smart choices while I'm gone. And call me every day. Now get out of here." Katie says

    "Ok. See you later." I say as we separate. 

    "Fly safe. Keep us updated on everything." Colby hugs her again.

    "Keep an eye on Blake for me" Katie smirks at me as I roll my eyes. 

    "I will." Colby winks at me.

    Katie leans up and whispers in Colby's ear while still eyeing me. What is she saying? Colby glances at me as he smiles then nods to Katie. I don't know what this is but I don't like it. A second later Colby separates from her and walks towards me still smiling. I look at him confused as he throws his arm over my shoulder turning me away so we are walking towards the door. I turn back to see Katie and Collin's hugging saying their goodbyes. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A few weeks later...

    The next five weeks passed and not much changed. Katie was still at home with her family and I was alone in New York. I talked to her every day and she said everything was fine but I could tell things were weighing on her. I am just glad she is with her family and they can have this time together. Collin and Colby stop by occasionally to check on me but they never stay long. Collin was too sad to stay because our apartment made him miss Katie. And I never let Colby stay too long either. I haven't seen Liam since he kidnapped someone for me. I've been trying to stick to my promise of swearing off guys until I figure out what I want. My new routine was waking up, going to work, coming home, and watching tv alone. It was normal and I liked it. And that's what I am doing right now. Just watching tv.

    Knock. Knock.

    Someone is interrupting Me Time. I glare at the door. Ugh. Why? Don't people know that I hate them? "It's open!" I call out too lazy to get off the couch.

    Colby hesitantly opens the door walking inside. "Hey what's up?" I ask him pulling my mow empty bowl of popcorn on the couch beside me sitting up some.

    "I just wanted to hang out. Get out of my world." Colby sigh plopping down on the chair next to the couch.

    "What's going on in your world?" I ask.

    "I'm having trouble writing a song." Colby shrugs.

    "Well, what are you writing a song for?" I ask.

    "The album. But before the album comes out we need a really good single to release." Colby says. 

    "Album?" I question. "You got signed!" I squeal.

    "Yeah" Colby nods smiling ear to ear. 

    "When? How did I not know about that?" I ask.

    "It happened the same day that Katie found out about her dad." he shrugs.

    "Oh, I am so sorry I knew that you had a big meeting that day but I never asked about it," I say.

    "Yeah. There were more important things going on." he shrugs.

    "Well congrats! That's a big deal. So what is the song going to be about?" I ask.

    "I don't know. I am working with a songwriter who is suppose to be helping. I don't find him that helpful though." Colby huffs.

    "Why not?" 

    "He saw some songs that I had been working on and there he is one that he wants me to use. But I don't want to use it." Colby explains.

    "Why not?" I ask again.

    "It's personal. But he says that it has a lot of potentials to help launch the band." Colby sighs again.

    "Well, I think you should use it." I nod.

    "You? The queen of no emotion in encouraging me to be more emotional? Why?" Colby asks looking at me in disbelief.

    "I have emotions. But the way I see it you have two options. Don't use the song and maybe your band takes off and maybe it doesn't. And if it doesn't you have to live with the fact you didn't chase your dream as hard as you could. Or you could use the song and maybe the band takes off or maybe it doesn't. And if it does you will know that you put your best foot forward and tried your hardest. No regrets." I explain.

    "No regrets." Colby nods.

    "That's just my opinion and what do I know. I am the queen of no emotion apparently." I shrug leaning back on the couch.

    "God, why do you have to be right. It's really pissing me off." Colby huffs standing up from his chair.

    "I just know if I had a dream I would give it my all. And I think you have worked too hard to started second-guessing yourself now." I shrug.

    "I have to go now. I need to finish that song." Colby says walking towards the door. 

    "Before you go can you tell me what the song is about?" I ask

    "I think you know." Colby winks at me. "Bye," he says then closes the door behind him. 

    "I have no clue what that means!" I yell after him.

~~~~~~~~~

    Another month passed and I didn't see Colby again, Collin said he was busy. Collin stopped by once to check in but I haven't seen him since. Katie called me less and less which only meant one thing... Her dad was getting worse. I hate that and I want to be there for her but I wasn't ready to face my past yet. At least I could live in denial a little longer.

    I walk into my apartment after a long day at work, closing the door behind me when I hear, "Blake! Hold up!" I turn around to see Collin walk running towards me. "I'm glad I caught you. Katie called me earlier," he says with a sad look. I step back from the doorway letting him into the apartment. 

    If he is telling me that, that only means one thing. "No!" I deny.

    "Her dad passed away this afternoon." he nods sadly.

    "That's what I thought you were going to say. I'll call her. Did she say anything about funeral plans?" I ask.

    "No not when I talked to her." Collin shakes his head.

    "Ok. I'll ask about that so I can fly down for it." I sigh. I'm going to miss Pops. He was always so nice to me. 

    "Let me know, I'm going too," Collin says.

    "Ok. I'll let you know when I find anything out." I agree.    

    "Thanks. Oh and let Colby know too. He was to go also." Collin tells me. 

    "Really?" I ask.

    "Yeah. I thought he would be too busy with his single dropping soon. But he said that he and Katie are friends and he wants to go to support her." Collin shrugs.

    "He has a single coming out? When?" I ask.

    "A few days." 

    "That's exciting," I say. "He must be busy though, I'm Katie would understand if he doesn't come."

    "Yeah, I said the same thing." Collin shrugs.

    "He is too nice of a guy for his own good," I comment.

    "Hey, how are you doing with all of this? I know you're close with her family." Collin asks looking at me concerned.

    "I'm fine. Thanks. I'm going to call Katie." I nod. I quickly pull my phone out and dial Katie's number. 

    "This is Katie. I can't come to the phone right now. Leave a message after the beep." her voice mail picks up the first ring telling me her phone is off.

    "She must be busy," Collin says sadly. 

    "I'm going to call her brother." I shrug. Collin looks at me scared.

    "Shouldn't we just wait for Katie to call us back?" he says with a nervous laugh.

    "No" I shake my head.

    "Well I think we should just wait," he says again nervously. 

    "Wait, are you afraid of her brothers?" I smile.

    "No" he denies dramatically. "Well, only a little bit," he says sheepishly. "They sound scary and I feel like they are going to do the stereotypical brother speech."

    "Brother speech?" I ask.

    "You know... you hurt her I hurt you speech." 

    "What are you talking about?" I laugh.    

    "Every girlfriend I have had that has had a brother has given me that speech. I've even given it to my sister's boyfriends." Collin says. "But I feel like that's not just an empty threat with her brothers."

    "That's a thing?" I ask

    "Yeah" Collin nods.     

    "I guess I have never had a brother that would give that speech. I've also never introduced any guy to my family." I shrug.

    "Well yeah. It's a thing. And I've been warned that I am going to get the speech so I've been putting it off." Collin blushes a little bit. 

    "Her brothers aren't intimidating. Don't worry." I shake my head.

    "Maybe for you" Collin scoffs. "Any way you slice it it's still two versus one for me." 

    "Then I suggest you leave before I call them." I tease.

 RING. RING. My phone rings and Katie's name pops up. 

    "Saved by the bell." I tease Collin before picking up the phone. "Hey, I heard. How are you?" I ask

    "Good as can be expected. We planned the funeral today. It's in three days." she says.

    "Ok I'm going to look at flights," I tell her.

    "You don't have to. We all understand if you don't." Katie denies.

    "Katie. I want to be there for you and your family. You all have done so much for me its the least I can do. Collin and I want to be there for you. Plus, he was the closest thing I had to a dad too." I tell her.

    "Collins there?" Katie asks. I put the phone on speaker. 

    "Yeah, I'm looking at flights right now," Collin says into the phone. 

    "Oh that's so sweet." she sounds like she is about to cry.

    "I still need to talk to Colby about when he can come down but I can be there tomorrow." Collin comments.

    "Colby's coming too?" Katie asks.

    "He wants to if that's ok with you." Collin nods.

    "Blake, that one is up to you," Katie says.

    "Yeah, it's fine." I sigh looking at Collin who looks very confused. "Ok, I'll keep you updated on flight information." 

    "Will you need a ride from the airport?" Katie asks.

    "No, I will figure something out," I tell her. 

    "Just because you are home doesn't mean you can act like you used to." Katie scolds me. 

    "Fine, I won't steal a car. I will just have to get a ride like a normal person." I laugh rolling my eyes. 

    "Whatever loser," Katie says sarcastically. "Text me the info, ok?"

    "Ok. Is there anything I can do or bring?" I ask.

    "Just my favorite people. Ok bye," she says with a voice crack. 

    "Bye, Love you," Collin says quickly before she hangs up the phone. 

    "That got way too mushy for me." I joke.

    "Ok I should go work out a flight plan with Colby," Collin says with a tight-lipped smile. 

    "Ok." I nod. "Tell him I said congrats on the single." 

    "Has he talked to you about it?" Collin asks looking concerned.

    "Not really. He came by about a month ago saying he needed a break from songwriting. He was having some writer's block but someone else liked another song he had written but he didn't want to use that song. I don't know. I just told him to chase his dream with all he had." I shrug.

    "Did he say what the song was about at all?" Collin asks.

    "No, he just said it's personal. That's all. Do you know what it's about?" I ask.

    "Yeah. I'm sure he will tell you sooner or later." Collin says 

    "Why don't you just tell me? It's not a big deal." I shrug.

    Collin shifts his weight uncomfortably avoiding eye contact. "No this is something you should hear from him." he shakes his head.

    "Why?" I asked squinting my eyes at him. 

    "You'll figure it out." He waves then quickly leave the apartment.

    Why do they keep doing that? I roll my eyes and plop down on the couch with a huff. I am not ready to go back home. I especially don't want Colby there. Is it bad that I hope he chooses to stay here and focus on his career? Instead of being a good friend and being there for Katie. It's getting late I guess I better get ready for bed. Ugh, I just want to scream.

    After I get out of the shower I check my phone to see a text from Collin. "Hey, I talked to Colby. He can't go until the day after tomorrow. I might go down tomorrow and he can come later. Do you want to come with me or wait for Colby?" the text asks.

    "I can go tomorrow. I want to help Katie and her family any way I can." I respond.

    "Ok, I will text Katie and let her know." Collin texts back quickly. 

~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day and a short flight later...

    "I'll get our backs if you call an Uber," Collin says as we walk towards the baggage claim area. It's weird being home. I never thought I'd come back here.

    "I can try but I don't know we have that here but I can try." I shrug. I texted a friend last night telling him I was coming to town and I have a feeling he is waiting outside. I didn't ask for a ride but I know my friend.

    Collin grabs our bags as I text Katie telling her we landed. Then we head out of the airport. It's a small airport and the parking lot is very empty except for about a dozen or so cars. It doesn't take me long to see the ugliest pair of pants I've ever seen in my whole life. 

    "This is cute," Collin comments looking around following me as I walk towards the ugly pants. 

    "Oh, we aren't home yet. This is the city. We still have about an hour drive left." I tell him.

    "This is the city?" Collin asks surprised. "It's so... small," he says making me laugh. "How far away is the Uber?" he asks

    "Really close," I say stopping near the guy with his back turned to us smoking a cigarette wearing the ugliest pants in the world.

    "Those are the ugliest pants I've ever seen!" I call out at the guy. Collin looks like a dear in headlights looking between me and him.    

    "You can't go around insulting people," Collin says lowly.

    "Yeah, lady. You can't go around insulting me." the man says stalking towards me puffing his chest out looking as intimidating as he can but the smile gives him away.

    "I can if I see that they picked up a nasty smoking habit," I say crossing my arms. 

    "I meant to put it out before you saw me." he blushes.

    I roll my eyes as he breaks out laughing. "How ya doing Kid?" I ask hugging him. 

    "Great, until I heard you were coming back here." he teases.

    "It's good to see you." 

    "We've all missed you. A lot," he says.

    "Oh thank god you know him." Collin sighs in relief.     

    "Yeah everyone knows [Blake]. How could we forget her?" Kid says patting my shoulder proudly. 

    "I am pretty great" I praise myself then start laughing.

    "I'm Collin nice to meet you," Collin says sticking his hand out. 

    "Everyone calls me Kid." Kid says shaking his hand.

    "Kid?" Collin raises an eyebrow.

    "Yeah. They all like to baby me." Kid shrugs.

    "That's because you are a baby." I tease.

    "I'm two years younger than you. I'm still legally an adult." He argues.

    "No, you will always be a kid. Thanks for giving us a ride." I say tossing my bag into the back of the pickup truck.

    "You know I would do anything for you." Kid says hitting my shoulder.

    "I know. Ok, We better get going before we start causing traffic to back up." I say sarcastically.

    "Yeah, all of one car could be waiting on us." Kid rolls his eyes.

    "While we are driving I want to hear all about you. What have you been up to? How is life? How is everybody? Tell me everything." I say scooting to the middle seat of the pickup truck. He's got an old pickup truck with a bench seat.

    "Ok, I'll tell you. Everything is the same. Nothing changes here." Kid says starting the car as Collin gets in the passenger seat.

    "Want to let me drive." I smile.

    "I'm not stupid." Kid laughs. "This car is my baby and I've seen you drive." 

    "Well, that's changed." I roll my eyes.

    "This car has always been my baby." Kid says.

    "No, I meant about you being stupid." I smile as Kid rolls his eyes. I've missed him.