Page 122 of Cruel Abandon (Fallen Royals 5)
“Did you agree with her mom asking me to stay away?”
She sighs, then goes and drags the computer chair over to us. She sits, contemplating Sky, then me. “I can’t pretend I did. I hated that decision. I hated the look on your face every time Skylar’s name was mentioned, or when you came downstairs and she was in our kitchen before school.”
“Why didn’t you—”
“Do something?” She smiles sadly. “Say something? Her daughter had just faced unimaginable suffering. I wasn’t going to get in the way of that healing, even if they went about it the wrong way.”
In high school, it wasn’t just shame that kept me away from Sky. Her mother put the fear of God into me that I would be the reason for Sky’s relapse into pain. Memories. Trauma. I stayed as far away from her as I could… until I couldn’t.
We traded barbs at the parties we both went to, I lost myself in as many girls as I could to forget about her, I thought if I hated her, it would be easier. It didn’t work. I found myself scaring away any guy who thought he might have a chance with her. The girls I had sex with ultimately didn’t mean anything. I was deemed a player, but it still didn’t stop me.
No one but my friends recognized my path to destruction.
I was going to run myself into the ground—but they stopped me. They helped me.
“I’m sorry.” I don’t know who I’m apologizing to: Sky or my mother. Maybe both. “I’m sorry.”
Mom takes my hand and kisses my knuckles. “Focus on the present. You and her are together now.”
I tilt my head. “I can’t focus on the present, Mom. Not when Sky’s still battling the past.”
She stares at me, then nods. But she must be out of advice, because she leaves us. Climbs the stairs like it’s a mountain, wearier than I’ve ever seen her.
What sort of demons must Mom be carrying?
“Liam,” Sky whimpers. She reaches out blindly, her eyes squeezed tightly shut.
I take her hand in both of mine. Like Mom just did to me, I put my lips on her knuckles and wait. If I was the sort to pray, I might consider that now.
There are a lot of things I would do for her.
She jackknifes upright, mouth wide open. Silent screams.
Pain splits through my chest, cracking me wide open. I pull her into me, wrapping my arms around her.
“Wake up, wake up,” I chant. I cup the back of her head.
I know the moment she comes back. Her body stiffens, then relaxes. She sags against me, her fingers digging into my shirt.
“I’m here,” I say.
She shivers. “I’m not.”
I lean back and touch her cheek. She’s right: she’s not here. Her eyes are glassy, her expression… wrong. Maybe she’s not awake—maybe she’s stuck somewhere between.
“Where are you, Sky?”
Tears fill her eyes. “In the woods. Will you come find me?”
My heart lurches. “Yes. Always.”
A small smile flits across her lips, and then her eyes flutter closed again. I lower her down, unwilling to release her just yet. I can’t, I won’t.
Even when my phone chimes. Even when Dad comes downstairs and locks eyes with me.
“You know a Detective Masters?” he asks.
“I do.”