The Boyfriend Pt. 13

XIII: Merry Christmas, Kiddo

Blake

Blake drew in a deep breath as she sat down across from her dad, trying to ignore the heat behind her eyes as her dad beamed at her.

"Merry Christmas, Dad."

"Merry Christmas, Kiddo. You look like Mrs. Claus recruited you as a stand-in."

Blake grinned at that. She couldn't wear anything specifically Christmas-y, but she'd put a little extra blush on her cheeks, and worn a red knit sweater and green leggings, held together with a wide black belt.

"I did my best."

She handed him the Snickers and Cheetos bag, and her breath hitched as their fingers touched. His eyes crinkled at the edges, and Blake had to swallow to keep herself from falling apart.

"How was Christmas Eve?"

Her dad smiled, "It was good, they put on some old classics like White Christmas and definitely upped the quality of the food. No candy canes, but some nice Christmas Cookies that were almost as good as your Grandma's."

Blake grinned, "I'll have to tell her to up her game, then, if someone could make cookies that good."

Her dad chuckled, "It's good to see you, Kiddo. I just wish you didn't have to spend so much of your day driving out here."

Blake clenched her fists, wanting to reach out and take her dad's hands. She had to grip the seat instead.

"Don't say things like that," she said with a bit more heat to her voice than she'd intended, "I'd never leave you to spend Christmas without family. You know that."

Blake's father frowned for a moment, then smiled, "What did I ever do to deserve such a wonderful daughter?"

Blake's chest grew tight.

Am I a good daughter? Even though I could have stopped this?

If he thought she was...maybe she was good enough to deserve Liam, too?

"You were a good dad," she said, forcing the thought from her mind--she loved Liam, but he didn't get any of this time. This was all for her dad.

"You're still a good dad, even in here."

Blake sniffed, then forced a smile, "Which is why you got a Christmas gift. You can't open it yet, but it's going with all your other presents I have stashed at Grandma and Grandpa's for when you're finally out of here."

His eyes sparkled, "Do I get to know what it is, this time?"

Blake grinned, "Nope. You need the suspense to keep you busy."

Every holiday since her dad had been incarcerated, even the minor ones, Blake had bought her dad a present. Most of it was clothes and books--educational and fiction--but she also put a little money away for him each time. Blake knew her grandparents would help him out, but she wanted to make sure he had a little something of his own, too, which was why she was putting away enough money for him to have some starter cash, and a phone and laptop. She hadn't bought those two, yet, since she didn't want to get him anything super out of date, but he'd always encouraged her interest in computers and programming, and she would teach him how to use them when he finally could. She'd heard about universities like M.I.T extending training programs to prisons in things like coding, and had made her dad promise that if they offered, he would take them.

Her dad rolled his eyes, but smiled, "I'll trust your judgement on that, Kiddo. Anything new with you in the past two days?"

She gave him a tight smile, but shook her head, "Just adjusting to being home. I missed you and Grandma and Grandpa, but I actually miss being at school this year."

Something passed over her dad's expression for a moment, and Blake braced, forcing herself to take a deep breath as her heartbeat picked up.

She hadn't said she missed her mom.

Because I don't.

She and her dad had very different opinions on her mom's role in everything, and they had agreed after her first few visits to not talk about it--their time here was too precious.

As soon whatever it was came, though, it was gone, and her dad grinned at her.

"Because of your friends? Or because you're still a little dork?"

Blake gaped in mock-offense as her dad laughed.

"Friends, Dad. I miss my friends. Things are a little weird with one of my roommates--I think she's been going through some stuff--but I've made some really good friends this year. It kinda sucks that I've got to wait almost a month to see them again."

Her dad smiled, eyes shining, "Well, I'm glad you have some friends you're that close with. Make sure to check up on your roommate, though. If she's going through something, she could use a friend like you to make sure she doesn't do anything she'll regret."

Blake's throat tightened, and she struggled to keep a smile on her face as she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

"I will, Dad. I promise."

And she would. No matter how uncomfortable it would be.

"Good. You're a good friend, Kiddo."

Leaning back in his seat, he popped open the bag of Cheetos, "Now, I believe we left off at the end of Season Three?"

Blake grinned and leaned forward.

"Okay, so the first episode starts out with a smith melting down Ned Stark's sword while the Rains of Castamere theme plays over it."

"The same one from the Red Wedding?"

"Exactly."

A/N: What do you think of Blake and her Dad? I'm going to reveal more in time, but is there anything more you want out of these scenes?