TW: Discussions about substance abuse and mild sexual content towards the end of the chapter.

Chapter Fifteen:

"What? Are you planning on standing out here all night?" He asked her, the shadow of a smirk hanging off the edge of his lips.

She shook her head and followed his lead, walking behind him at first and then beside him, the two remaining in complete silence.

"Are we not...are we not even going to talk?" Ria asked, confused by the boy's reaction to the situation they had been in only moments before.

"Okay, let's talk. How was work today?" He responded, his eyes fixated on the road ahead. The evening street lights harshly illuminated his olive skin.

"Blaine," she interrupted.

He ignored her. "My day was pretty good, actually. It was my second day back in my old I.T. tech support job. I hated it, but at least the pay was decent. And you'll love this; I managed to get a date for a football trial through the old youth club. It's next month."

She stopped walking, knowing it would be the only way to get his attention. "That's amazing, Blaine. I'm so happy for you." She said honestly, but her tone betrayed her, for her voice was melancholic. "But...Blaine, can we maybe talk about that? About what just happened in there?" She gestured behind them - the house no longer in view as they entered the main street, but he knew what she referred to.

He halted in his track but didn't turn around to face the girl. "You should never have been there. Why did you go there?" He inquired, a hint of accusation evident in his words.

"Because it was eight o'clock and you haven't come to the house. And you weren't answering your phone, and I wasn't sure...I didn't know if something had happened."

Blaine chuckled ruefully. "You've been begging me to leave you alone for the last three weeks. And the one day I do as you ask, you decide you don't want me, too? What exactly do you want, Ria?"

"I don't know," she whispered truthfully, "but I do know that I missed my babysitter."

They were amid a busy street, and despite it being ten in the evening, the street was still a marriage of sounds like most central London streets tended to be. From the buses' and cars honking loudly to the chattering and hollering of the people preparing for a wild night around them. Blaine grinned inwardly as he turned to face her. "You missed me, huh?" He teased.

Ria rolled her eyes jokingly and almost regretted having uttered those words. She didn't respond but quickened her pace beside him.

"I'm sorry." He spoke suddenly, "for what I said the other day. You didn't deserve that."

She cleared her throat. "You were right." She continued, "I did think about having sex with him for the promotion. And maybe, if that same proposition came up again in the near future, I would have gone through with it. And that scares me." She admitted.

"You're worth more than that, Ri." He sighed, meeting her eyes briefly. "You're worth more than a thousand Rocco's. And you're worth more than a job that doesn't truly value you and recognise how much of an asset you are to them."

"And you're worth more than being a money bank to fund your parent's drug habit." She whispered.

He inhaled deeply through his nose, knowing that this conversation would arise sooner or later this evening. "Ria, you don't understand. It's not that simple."

"Well, then explain to me because you're right. I don't understand why you're throwing wads of cash for Benji when you know it's fuelling their nasty habit."

"You say it like I actually have a choice."

"Everybody has a choice, Blaine."

"No, not everybody. Ben doesn't have a choice. He's a ten-year-old kid who deserves more than what they're giving him...what I'm giving him. He doesn't deserve to suffer because of the choices they make. And yeah, you're right; maybe most of the money fuels their addiction, but at least some of it is used to put food on the table for him."

Ria bit the inside of her cheek, carefully considering her following words: "you never told me about him. Is that because he's --"

"No, it has nothing to do with him being different." Blaine interrupted protectively. "I never told you because you never asked, and honestly, it has nothing to do with you."

"I wasn't trying to intrude, you know. I was so worried about you when you didn't answer any of my calls." She admitted. "Did you...?" Her sentence faltered as she struggled to find the words.

"Did I what?"

"Did you suffer like him? I mean, I know you're suffering now but as a child? Did you have to deal with them being like that?"

He didn't answer, but the way his shoulders fell gave Ria the answer she needed.

"You did, didn't you?"

"It was years ago. What does it matter now?"

Her eyes widened as she softly gripped the left side of his shirt. "The burns."

"Ria, don't."

She'd memorised the burns from the two times she'd seen them. The first was the night they'd spent together, and the second was the morning after.  The burns were perfectly circular, spanning multiple shades of brown. "Was it your stepdad?" She inquired.

"Leave it, Ria. Please." He pleaded, hauling himself away from her grip, and strolling ahead.

"Why are you protecting him?"

"I'm not. He'd never hurt us. Not physically, anyway."

"Was it Brody? He always had a mean streak, didn't he? Did he do that to you?" She continued her interrogation.

"No!" He almost yelled at her, gathering the glares of a few people passing by.

"Well, who was it then? Who is he?!" She gripped his shirt, forcing him to face her. Either oblivious or completely not caring about the crowds of people around them.

"It wasn't a he. It was mum, okay? Are you satisfied now? Another case solved by Ria, huh?" He laughed as he said it, but she heard the way his voice caught in his throat as he spoke.

She didn't reply, but her facial expression softened to something else. It emitted sorrow, and Blaine hated that. He hated that she would now pity him. A woman hurting him, and worse, his own mother. It was another level of pathetic.

"Don't look at me like that, Ria. It was years ago. Back when I was a kid and still living at home. She hasn't done anything like that in years. It was only when she'd drank too much or taken something or...she never meant it. Ever." He weakly explained.

"Oh, Blaine," she whispered, a stray tear falling from her eyes as she glanced up at him. They were now standing outside her home; unbeknown to Ria, she'd been walked home by Blaine. She wiped the tear with her fingertips as she fumbled in her bag for her keys.

Blaine held his hand out. "Car keys?" She appeared confused at the request. "I just remembered you left your car outside my parent's house. I'll go and fetch it for you. You shouldn't go back there."

"Blaine, we can do that tomorrow," Ria replied, "come in. It's too late to walk home now."

"It's not that late."

"Reid comes back tomorrow. Let's make the most of tonight, yeah?" She added softly.

He hesitated for a brief moment but nodded in agreement.

As they got comfortable and sat in the kitchen, a cup of Earl Grey placed in front of either of them, Ria whispered, "I'm sorry, you know."

He chuckled softly. "You don't need to apologise, Ria. You only went there because you cared. It's sweet." He stirred the liquid in the cup slowly, seeing his reflection within the silver spoon; he appeared tired.

"No, not for that. I was apologising for being a huge bitch to you." She said.

"Hey, I wouldn't go that far. You're only five foot three. That hardly constitutes a huge bitch. Maybe a small one." He joked quietly.

She smiled softly at him, swivelling her chair to face him. "You shouldn't go back there, either. She doesn't deserve a son like you."

"I have to. For Ben's sake."

"We'll find a way to get him out of there, don't worry."

"We?" He repeated, the soft dimple in his cheek reappearing for a split second. "I've tried everything, Ria. The social have been involved, but they won't place him with me because I'm not settled enough, and he refuses to go into foster care, even though it might be better for him."

"Well, what about Brody? He's married and has Marcus and Mia now, so he's settled and has a good support network, right?"

He sighed, appearing deep in thought. "Brody's forgotten about them. He's left that part of his life behind. He doesn't care or want anything to do with mum anymore. Even if that means abandoning Ben."

"It's not fair that you had to deal with all this alone."

"When has life ever been fair, Ria? For anyone?" He chuckled ruefully.

"Was it always like this? With your parents, I mean?"

He glanced down at the table. "Not always, but I don't really remember a time when it was ever good. Brody does because he was older, but as far as I can remember, addiction has always been her one true love."

"I don't understand it. How can drugs be so important to someone that they forget their own children?"

"It's addiction, Ria. It's self-destructive." He hesitated. "It's cruel to everyone but worse to the person living it. Because they acknowledge that they're killing themselves but refuse to see that they're ruining everyone around them. It's a disease, but the worst kind because once you realise you have it, it's too late because you're already lost everything - money, family, self-respect." He murmured, a single tear rolling down his cheek. Ria reached out to wipe the tear, half expecting him to move away, but he didn't.

The tear was fully formed on her fingertip as she caught it, completely unbroken and round as though she'd captured the years and years of grief and single-handedly removed it from him.

"Blaine, stay with me tonight."

"I don't want your pity, Ria."

"That's not what I'm offering, Blaine."

"Then, what are you offering?"

"This," Ria whispered as she pressed her lips to his quickly. Almost as though she had to do the action before she may have changed her mind.

Her tongue fluttered against his; she was in charge this time. He was far more gentle than usual, but she ached for him fervently. Her fists bunched up in his shirt, pulling him closer to her, the warm feeling in her stomach returning at his touch.

She felt him bury his hands deep in her hair, reaching for her hair tie to set her mane free again. She smiled against the kiss; he was so predictable, she thought.

The fire within her was growing. Only Blaine could light that fire within her as though he'd thrown gasoline over her, and his lips were the lighter. And maybe, one day soon, he'd ignite a fire within her that was far too great to contain, and she'd get hurt, but that didn't matter right then.

**TW: sexual descriptions to follow**

Her hands hurriedly reached for his belt, unfastening it hastily, tugging his trousers down first. She grinned as she kneeled in front of him, eye-level with his ever-growing bulge, and she used feather-like strokes to outline the shape of it with her fingers, relishing in the guttural sounds that emerged from him.

Finally, she pulled his boxers down. She softly brushed his length with her palms before reintroducing him to her mouth. He glanced at her and saw her eyes wide open, locked on him as she hollowed her cheeks and slid down his entire length, ignoring the resistance that her gag reflex imposed. As soon as she noticed the intensity of his stare, she averted her gaze down as though she were embarrassed.

He chuckled softly, his hand finding residence beneath her chin and lifting it so she met his eyes with his member still in her mouth. "Look at me," he whispered. And so she did.

She was so beautiful, he thought to himself. And not only in her physical appearance, for that was a given. But in the way, her brown orbs burned with passion when she was concentrating or the way miniature soft creases formed around her eyes when she was arguing with him. It was in the way that she could simply move mountains if she so much as put her mind to it.

Desperate to make this time more memorable than the last, he pulled her back up, so they were almost face-to-face. His hand gripped her bottom tightly, slapping it playfully first before he hauled her up and almost threw the unsuspecting girl over his shoulder.

"Blaine! What are you doing?!" Ria squealed.

"As much as I would've loved to take you on the kitchen table, I think the bed upstairs would be far more comfortable." He chuckled, carrying her up the stairs and plopping her onto her bed.

His lips softly met once again as his hands searched for her buttons, struggling to open the first two. She laughed as she helped him. "I find buttons hard, too," she teased, hauling her shirt over her head.

His silver orbs darkened to pitch-black as he removed her beige cargo pants from her body, revealing the lacy black matching material hidden underneath.

"Ria, I think you planned this," He murmured. His finger traced the flimsy material of her bra, circling around her nipples before trailing down her pelvis and finding the moist patch on her panties. "I think this was all a ploy to get me into bed with you again." He whispered into her ear, lightly sucking on her earlobe, as his index finger and thumb met with her inner moistness. He admired her as she writhed under his touch. As she contracted against his fingers.

He rolled her back onto the bed as he grabbed the condom packet in the back pocket of his jeans before removing his clothing, joining Ria's nude state.

"I hope you brought that specifically to use with me." She quipped, pointing at the packet, but he didn't miss the envious undertones of her words. He chuckled then; he'd tell her anything she wanted to hear at that moment.

Ria didn't think the concept of protection could be sexy, but the way he used his teeth for ripping open the packet only added to her arousal. As he began to roll the condom onto himself, she placed her hands over his to aid him.

Her eyes lingered on his abdomen for a second, and he knew what she was focused on. Her fingers trailed over that area before her mouth met her fingers, soft sultry kisses coating the burnt skin before she laid back into the bed, and he finally joined her.

"Blaine, please." She whined as he rubbed himself against her entrance, taunting her silently, slipping his member from her entrance to her folds and back again.

"Please, what? Use your words, Ria. It's not like you to be speechless." He taunted jokingly.

But instead of answering, she grabbed and pulled him in, silently begging him to do the rest of the work. And he did. He plunged in and out of her, relishing how she whispered his name repeatedly like it were a holy prayer.

She was so ready and moist that he could hear the slippery sounds each time he drove in and out of her.

He leaned down, pressing a kiss to her forehead and peering into her eyes as he did so. Blaine usually disliked missionary; something about it was far too intimate and dare he say, even boring. Looking into a woman's eyes whilst being deep inside her warm was something that Blaine had never wanted to do. But with Ria, it was natural. It felt right. He knew he was crossing lines, blurring boundaries, but he didn't care.

He felt that exquisite tightness as she neared her climax, and he increased his pace to ensure they peaked together. Her eyes fluttered open as she gripped the back of his head, holding his face near hers as he continued to hammer into her.

"Blaine," she murmured as she finally climaxed with him, a gentle smile on her lips as she kissed him again before falling flat onto the bed with a quiet bang.

They lay silent for a moment before Blaine asked. "Do you regret it?"

She bit her lip as she contemplated her answer. "No, do you?"

"I didn't even regret the last time."

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Authors' Note: Hey all, thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. So we now know a little more about Blaine's back story, and the story does play into some of the plots later on.

We've hit a major turning point for our characters where they finally admitted their attraction to each other, but Reid and Lydia are back tomorrow! What will this mean for Ria and Blaine? And for poor, Indiya?

If you enjoy the book, please comment and vote, as it really does keep me going! Thank you all x