"That is so gross!" Blair complained, swatting at Chuck's hand. He brought cá for lunch and was having too much fun taunting her with it. At least the week had been uneventful so far. diễn xuất like a normal couple was proving to be almost too easy, much to Blair's surprise.

Chuck pulled her towards him and gently kissed her temple. "Sorry, I couldn't resist." He picked up her cereal bar and studied it. "How is it that girls can eat one of these things and are full the entire day?"

Blair rolled her eyes, leaning into his touch. "Not all of us can be as adorable as bạn without making an effort, Bass."

Chuck smiled. "True. You'd be lucky to reproduce with someone with my genes."

Blair leaned over with laughter. "Are we seriously talking about kids right now? God, can bạn imagine us married? We'd kill each other."

"Uh, yeah. There's a weird thought." Chuck said, chuckling a little. He realized at that moment he wasn't smiling anymore. He had unconsciously brought up having kids. With BLAIR WALDORF. The same Blair he used to tease on the jungle gym when her mother made her wear one of those ridiculous, over sized bows in her hair. The same Blair who bailed him out of jail in the eighth grade, because he was too afraid to call Bart hoặc even Nate, and never told anyone about it. The same Blair he used to dream about (and still did), despite the fact that he knew in his soul she was the one girl he didn't just want to have sex with.

As he looked over at her, it dawned on him. He really didn't deserve her. He sighed, hoping he'd come to terms with it eventually. Blair slipped her hand in his. "I was only kidding, Chuck. We're eighteen. We have time to figure that stuff out."

"You were considering marriage with Nate a little over a năm ago." Chuck reminded her.

"Well, I was in tình yêu with Nate. We had been together forever, bạn know that. It just wasn't meant to be."

Chuck looked down at the table. "I could make bạn happier than he ever could. I'd..." He exhaled for a long moment, giving himself some time before the tiếp theo part. "This is completely nuts and unlike anything I would ever say, to anyone, but I'd marry bạn Blair. In a heartbeat. And I'd make bạn happy, and keep bạn safe, and do all the things a husband is supposed to do."

Blair became lightheaded just hearing those words come out of Chuck's mouth. It was easy to see that he meant every word. Maybe he really was changing, for her of all people. She squeezed his hand a bit, looked down, and then caught the sight that still plagued her. "Trust is the most important thing. It's what holds a marriage together." She locked eyes with his, trying to get the point across without having to ask him first. "We have to be able to tell each other anything. No matter how terrible it is."

A few thêm phút of talking that intimately didn't do any good. He kept trying to change the subject bởi kissing neck hoặc touching the small of her back. And yes, she noticed him fidgeting with his leg under the table. Something he did when he was nervous about something. The chuông, bell rang and they were off to their classes. He mentioned picking her up at eight for bữa tối, bữa ăn tối that night.

If he wasn't going to tell her whatever it was he was hiding, she was going to find out without his help.

--

The neighborhood wasn't hard to find. As she suspected, it was only a few blocks away from the dorm. Her eyes lingered on the back of the cab driver's ghế, chỗ ngồi as they passed the building. Breathe. Keep breathing. A few moments later she was fine. There. That was easy. She paid the driver and made her way up the sidewalk.

The light in the tiny hallway flickered as she knocked on the apartment door. Footsteps from inside. A guy a bit older than her opened it. He looked half asleep. It was almost four in the afternoon. "Yeah?"

She stared back at him, opening her mouth to answer. But he did instead. "You here for Cory hoặc Kevin?" He asked her, running a hand over his face.

Cory. Cory. Cory. The name played over and over in her head. This was his apartment. Chuck had found him. Blair involuntarily moved back a few steps in the hallway. "Cory."

He looked back at her strangely before yelling his name and going back into the apartment. Time to weigh her options. Obviously, Chuck hadn't done anything to him, since he was there and still in one piece. Keep breathing. Two, if she left now, all of this could be forgotten. No one would know she was ever there. Keep breathing. Three, she wanted him to pay for what he did to her. Keep breathing. Four, she was scared out of her mind and on the verge of a nervous breakdown. She didn't want to see him, hear him, smell him... be within a hundred miles of him.

Yes. She would leave and forget all of it. That was the best thing to do. The smart thing. But as soon as she turned around, someone was in the door frame. "Can I help you?"

It was a girl's voice. Blair faced her awkwardly. She was wrapped in a sheet, looking like she just rolled out of bed, probably with him. Her stomach turned. "Um, I was just waiting for..."

"Cory's unavailable for the rest of the day. If you'd like to leave a message, I'll make sure he gets it." She said, a smirk playing on her lips.

Blair shook her head, starting for the elevator. "You know what? It wasn't important."

The only thing she could think about when her feet hit the concrete outside was the girl in the doorway. She had no idea what Cory was capable of. That he was a monster. She hated him thêm than she'd ever hated anyone. He deserved to feel all the pain, and more, that she felt because of what he did to her.

She wiped a tear from her cheek and searched through her contact danh sách for a name in her cell phone. This ends tonight.
--------------------------------------------------A/N:The last two chapters will be đã đăng later!!Please bình luận and/or rate this!!They are my love...

XoXo

Abigail