"I have a pounding headache, and your constant whining is making it worse."

My head whipped up in surprise, my lips parting at the immediate sight of Ray glaring across the table at Taylor, one of his friends. Both boys looked ready to throw themselves on to the table and start fighting, but neither of them made the first move to do so.

"Blake, you want to come with us to Marco's tonight?" Taylor eventually tore his eyes away from Ray and let them fall on me. I dropped my spork in surprise, my eyes probably looking seconds from watering.

"Isn't that a sports bar?" I asked after a few minutes of reeling in shock.

"Yeah." Lucy, a petite blonde girl with big brown eyes responded, "But they have pool and other pretty cool games there." I nodded slowly, catching Ray's eyes on me out of the corner of my eye.

"I mean, if Ray goes, I'll go." I answered, nudging Ray's arm playfully. He smiled weakly and shrugged.

"Sure. I'll pick you up at seven, 'kay?" He said, rubbing his temples with his eye shut. I set a few Advil on the table in front of him as the bell rang, pushing my unopened water bottle toward him before I started to walk away. He picked them up, relief flashing through his eyes. Just as I was about to turn around he threw a grateful smile in my direction. I couldn't do anything other than return it.

*

"Harder, Blake." Cam groaned.

"I'm trying. It's hard, Cameron." My best friend rolled his eyes and snorted obnoxiously loud as he walked over and placed the volleyball in my hands with a look.

"You've got to hit the ball harder, okay? If not, the ball will hit the ground or you'll drop it on your face." He said slowly, as if he were lecturing a four year old.

"Okay, smart ass." I muttered, pushing him away with a laugh. I followed his instructions and started jumping up and down and squealing like a little girl when it actually reached him.

I, being the klutz I am, didn't realize it was flying back in my direction. It hit me in the middle of the forehead, knocking me back so I stumbled into Wes.

"Sorry." I mumbled, warmth starting to spread through my cheeks as the rest of the class erupted in laughter.

"Like any of you could do better!" Cam yelled, hitting the ball back over the net so it nearly hit some girl in the face.

"It's cool." Wes said quietly, moving away from me slowly, as if he were afraid he'd catch some sort of virus from me.

"Want to go, Mendoza?" Taylor grinned, grabbing the ball and spiking it over the net. I threw my hand over my mouth when it hit Cam in the face. A few minutes later, he moved his hands and showed us how red his face was. But it wasn't from embarrassment or hurt, it was from laughter.

*

"Mom! I'm going out with some friends!" I yelled, jogging down the stairs. I scanned the dining room for any sign of her, but she didn't seem to be home. I couldn't help but feel worry starting to build in my chest. Her shifts usually didn't start until midnight and she hadn't mentioned anything about having to fill in for anyone.

"Your mother is at work, sweetheart." James was sitting in the middle of the couch, flipping through the channels with one hand and holding a beer in the other.

"You're not supposed to eat or drink on the couch." I whispered.

"Yeah? And what happens if I do?" He retorted, giving me a sarcastic look.

"Are you going to go tell your Mom?" He went on when I didn't say anything, "Because as much as you hate to hear it, Blake. Your mother loves me, she's pregnant with my child, and you and your sister-"

"Sister?" I cut him off, "I don't have a sister." I waited for him to do something, to looked shocked, or even make a sarcastic remark. Instead he laughed. He laughed like he'd just watched the funniest thing in the world.

"Your mother didn't tell you?" He shook his head, amused.

"Tell me what?" I could feel my heart starting to pick up, my mouth hanging open.

"Sit down." He demanded, gesturing toward my bean bag chair on the ground. I sat slowly, hugging my purse to my chest.

"How much do you know?" He questioned.

"About what? James, what the hell are you talking about?"

"I got your mother pregnant when she was fifteen. We were at a party, drunk. She had Brianna Rose the next year. She was the light of her life, she loved her more than anything. Including me." My dad took a swing from the beer bottle in his hands, staring up at the ceiling.

"You came along as soon as we finished high school. Your mother was struggling, she couldn't support two children and herself, and her parents wanted nothing to do with her." He sighed, "So I tried working, but that didn't work out. I wasn't smart enough to get into any colleges, so of course I did what most guys wouldn't. I left. I left your mother and both of your girls to fend for yourselves." I gave him a disgusted look, ready to stand back up again. This wasn't a story that was going to change my hatred for him.

"So your mother decided that she couldn't take care of you both and told me that she was going to let her mother raise you while she tried to get her life back together. Your mother called me the day after she dropped you off and told me you wouldn't let her go, that you wouldn't get out of the car and would scream if she forced you too. I take it that's probably why she never went back to her mother's house, to our other beautiful daughter that won't ever know she has a little sister or that her parents wanted so desp-"

"Wait a second." I stood up, holding my hand up, "How dare you say parents? If you had been there with Mom in the first place, she would have never had to make that decision. Mom loved us, she did everything in her power to get back on her feet. She took me to college with her so she could study for medical school. She created this life for us, one that you weren't part of." I stepped closer to the couch, glaring down at him.

"Mom never told me I had a sister, but maybe that's for the better. It would have been even better if she lied to me about my father too." Without another word, I stalked toward my front door and slammed it shut behind me.

*

I sat up in the treehouse most of the night, sure that Ray would get the message when I didn't come to the door and would head to Marco's or back home.

I was surprised when he appeared at the top of the ladder, peeking his head in with a lopsided smile.

"Did someone get cold feet coming to hang out with us cool kids?" He winked, ducking in through the doorway. He glanced around the small space, smiling when he saw a few pictures of Cam and I on the walls.

"Hey, what's up with the frown?" Ray wrapped his arms around his legs, pulling them closer to his chest so their was more room around us.

"I just found out I have a sister." I mumbled, "And my dad's an even bigger piece of shit than I thought." Ray's eyebrows furrowed for a moment, his eyes narrowing.

"I'm sorry, Blake." He said, "I could tell you a story if you think it'll help." I shrugged in response, rubbing my arms.

"Well, my parents weren't around a whole lot when I was younger. My father was constantly working and my mom was always on business trips. One day, Mom never came back home. My brothers and I, we didn't know what to do or say, so we acted as if it weren't a big deal. But we could see it in Dad's eyes every night, when he would stare at the door, as if he thought the bitch would come back. It broke my heart, seeing him like that." I felt my lips tug down into another frown, my hand finding its way to Ray's. He shook his head and laughed.

"And you know, he took my coming out a lot better than my brothers did. He's a great person, Blake. And I know that you're close with your mom, I think that you should talk to her. Figure everything out, you know." I moved across the small space between us and hugged him, sniffling.

"Ray?" I whispered.

"You're welcome." he joked.

"No, no. I wasn't going to say that." I looked up at him, "I didn't know you were gay." He raised an eyebrow.

"Really? I was sure Cam would tell you." I shook my head.

"Nope, it's news to me. Great news, too. I have someone that I can talk about guys with when Shay's out of town, right?" He threw his head back and let out one of the most contagious laugh I'd ever heard in my life.

"Of course, Blake. I'm here. I'm here."

**

I snuck into Cam's room, offering Ms. Mendoza a smile when I met her in the hallway.

Most people would freak if they found someone they hadn't let in, in their house.

But our moms had grown used to Cam and I showing up unexpectedly, and most of the time Cam didn't care to use the front door.

"Is Cam here?" I asked her, hoping that my swollen eyes had gone down a bit.

"He went to pick up Jacob earlier this evening. They should be back any time now. You can go watch TV in the living room if you'd like." She continued down the hall with the hamper in her hands. I nodded after her and made my way down the hall, smiling at the pictures of Cam and Jacob on the walls. Most of them with me photoboming them.

"Blake, sweetheart. I. . . I have a question." Ms. Mendoza hurried out of the wash room, holding a pair of jeans in her hands.

"Yeah?" She pulled out a couple small packages out of the pocket of one.

"I've noticed that Cameron's been carrying these around with him a lot more. I was wondering if you knew if he's seeing someone." I felt blood rush to my cheeks when I saw what they were. Condoms.

"Uh. . ." I trailed off, shifting on my feet nervously. I really didn't know how to respond.

Cam had been carrying condoms around lately? Why the hell would he do that? Did he. . .

"Mom, we're-Blake, what are you doing here?" Cam dropped Jacob's bag in front of the fireplace, shutting the door in Jake's face behind him.

"I wanted to talk to you." I said, smiling. His eyes fell on the small packages in his mom's hands, his own cheeks tinting pink. He actually looked really cute when he blushed, it wasn't something I saw often.

"Mom, you-"

"Cam, sweetie. You usually keep me updated on everything. Who's the special girl?" Cam blushed even more, moving toward me and burying his face against my shoulder with a groan. I pushed him back and spun him around to face his mom, rubbing my hand against his shoulder.

"Mom, I really don't wanna talk about this with you." He moaned, rubbing his forehead. I laughed and outstretched my hand to Ms. Mendoza.

"Well, Ms. Mendoza," I said, "I guess that special girl is me."  

***AN***

Hope you guys enjoyed! 

Let me know what you thought!

~ChasingMadness24