I remembered a good few months back when Blake's visits had become less frequent. It had gone from him being around nearly every night to once a week, if that. Isaac had just said that Blake's father was back from work and he was using the time to spend some with him.

I hadn't questioned it.

"How did you convince him to let you back around?"

"I got a girlfriend," Blake admitted. "I had already told him that I wasn't gay, but it wasn't until I started dating girls again that he seemed to believe me. After that, everything just went back to normal."

I was surprised by how much...