London rests her head against my chest, then hooks her little fingers around the flimsy material of my dress. Her tears soak into the light fabric, which leaves dark wet patches. I rub her back and slightly rock her back and forth. When London's whimpers settle to a sniffle, my attention turns back to them.

"I'm waiting." I tap my foot against the ground. "What the hell is going on?"

Blake shifts on his feet uneasily as he looks at Tori. Jude crosses his arms over his chest, waiting to see what Tori will do. Instead of a grand explanation, her mouth falls open like a gasping fish suddenly thrown out of the water.

When the silence continues, I notice the distaste growing Jude's face. He takes a step out of the shadows to address the situation. I can smell the beer on his breath, so I know this courage isn't really courage, its evaporating liquid confidence.

Thankfully, Blake hasn't had anything to drink, yet. I hope he'll keep a level head throughout the conversation because we don't need another physical fight on our hands, especially if we want full custody. There's no telling what Tori might spin out of a stupid heated argument to the courts.

"I don't want to date someone who was playing around on me," says Jude.

My head falls to the side with confusion. Am I hearing this right? He tried to get with his brother's girlfriend, but Tori sneaking around behind with another man is hurting his feelings? I can't comprehend. Did Jude not think his actions were going to hurt Blake as well?

"Are you kidding me?" she huffs. "You kept showing up after things blew up. There was no relationship and we never slept together!"

"Tori," he grumbles.

"You lied to Blake about us sleeping together, I never forced you to do anything. You made me the enemy for no reason, but I played the part anyway. Look what happened, Jude, look what it did," she yells.

London whimpers but I can't find the surge of energy to move from the room. It's like my feet are stuck to the ground.

"You're nothing but a whore." Jude snubs his nose in the air.

I have to stop myself from sighing with annoyance. Why do people need to sink down to childish behaviour? What is calling someone a whore or a slut going to do?

"Keep it coming, Jude, I don't care what you call me," replies Tori. "Slut, prostitute, bitch, disgusting, dirty, tell me something new for once." The glow of anger in her eyes makes me almost terrified to be standing here. Yet, Jude's poster tightens and he launches into a counter attack. Add some Pokémon balls and popcorn, and we might have something decedent on our hands.

"Are you sure the baby is Blake's? Or did you lie about that too?" Jude straightens out his button down shirt, almost as if he's brushing dirt off his shoulder. It's like his comment was supposed to hurt Blake, but it didn't. His comment just seemed to add more gasoline to the burning fire.

"I would never do something like that."

Jude laughs at her response, which only winders her up. Tori takes a step towards Jude, but Blake catches her arm before Tori can do something irreversible. As much as I want Blake to get full custody, I'd rather the final deciding vote is based off the better parent, not something tedious like who hit who in a tiresome argument.

"Why are you helping, Tori? You know she was never in love with you, right? She loved Logan Greyson, and I bet that's his child," Jude sneers.

Blake's curious green eyes wonder to me, but I stay neutral. This isn't my argument, and I'm not going to drag myself into it. Whatever happened between the three of them can stay there, that goes for Logan. It's the past and they should leave it there.

"I'm sorry, Blake," she mumbles, answering Blake's suspicious.

"Are you saying that?" Blake's voice breaks into a quiver.

"Oh gosh no." Tori frantically shakes her head. "You took the test, remember?"

My mind wonders back to the test Blake originally took . . . the one where he'd left off information.

"But?"

"Our whole relationship was an appearance," she fumbles. "I loved Logan the whole time, and you knew it, deep down you must have."

Blake goes to shake his head, but he stands motionless instead. If I could see in his mind, I bet there are a million and one thoughts racing around.

"You loved her too," adds Tori. "I saw the way you looked at Ava while we were together."

"But I never cheated on you, Tori, that's the difference," he explains. "I thought I loved you . . . I was willing to defend you, put our life back together the moment you left."

"I never meant to hurt you."

"Instead, you hurt us will all of your lies," he says. "I can't do this, not anymore." Blake holds his hands up to surrender.

"What are you saying?" she questions.

"I can't do the drama anymore. I'm going to apply for full custody of London because she doesn't deserve to be yanked around."

"You can't take her away from me," says Tori.

"I'm not trying to do that, Tori, but you don't give me a choice. She needs a constant stable environment and you can't provide it for her. You know I'd never stop you from seeing London, but someone has to draw the line, and I hate that it's always me."

"You don't have to do this, Blake," she whimpers. "I promise I'll be better."

There's a split second of hesitation lingering in Blake's movement, but as soon as the flicker appears, it's snuffed out. Blake and I both know that Tori could be a better mother, but waiting for that to happen is a risky move, especially when you're taking an infant's life into account.

I wish things wouldn't boil down to this; I wish there was another solution.

Blake grabs my arm and tugs me towards the door. I rub London's back and kiss her forehead.

"It's going to be okay! I'll make them sort their problems out soon." I softly smile.

We step outside of the house and slowly walk towards the tables. A majority of the guests are still seated, while a few have left to resume the dancefloor. Before we get close to our seats, Blake pulls me to the side and holds my hand. His fingers lace between mine and Blake kisses my knuckles.

"How long have you known about Logan and Tori?" Blake asks.

"Not long." I shrug. "When Tori told me, I wanted to save you the worry. You shouldn't have to keep stressing about it because Tori and Jude decide to have a tedious argument. You always protect me, but I want to protect you this time."

"You don't have to do that, baby. I can take care of myself and you included." Blake tugs me closer so that he can kiss my forehead.

"Are you okay?" I ask.

"I'll get over it." He shrugs. "I just thought that maybe, at some point, perhaps she loved me. I'm embarrassed I missed the signs."

"Don't be." I squeeze his hand.

"I need some space to think about things," he says.

"What do you want me to do? Take London home?" I ask.

"Yes." Blake nods.

"Great." I smile. "Will you be home tonight, or?"

"Yes, I will be."

Blake leans into peck my lips before tugging us towards his parents. I quickly say goodbye to Thomas and Angela, giving them the excuse that London isn't feeling well. The excuse isn't farfetched because her face is still slightly red from the tears.

We walk towards the car and Blake straps her into the seat with a few kisses in-between. He closes the door, then grabs my hand once more. I look up into his green eyes and tug on a smile.

"Thank you for doing this," he explains. "I know you've got million things running through your head, but know I'm not angry with you. I understand why you didn't say anything, and if anything, it makes me love you even more."

"I'll see you later tonight. Please don't do anything stupid, okay?" I tug on his hand.

"I make no promises." He winks.

"Don't be silly." I poke his stomach.

"Don't stay up late waiting either." Blake chuckles.

"I make no promises either," I tease.

Blake reaches beside me to grab the car door. I slip behind the wheel and grab my seatbelt strap. He shuts the door and then presses his hand against the window. Eventually, he steps back and taps the side of the car.

I start up the car and swing off onto the road. In the review mirror, I see Blake watching as we drive away.

I'm worried about what will happen because Blake can be unpredictable. Although, I'm happy that we've taken a step in the right direction. It's always the oddest occasions that really show you the power of your relationship. I just hope that Blake doesn't do anything stupid tonight.