Jackson pulls him back and shakes his head. “Don’t tell him stuff like that. He could go blab it to one of his jackass friends. Then the whole school will be against us because of some deranged version he tells them.”
I roll my eyes and pull up a desk to them. Once I slump into the seat, I sigh. “Look. I’m not going to go tell anyone anything. If you haven’t noticed, right now, I’m kind of the star in the gossip floating around here. All I need to know is which girls are not on the list to get you dates with. And try to be reasonable here, guys.”
After a lot of debate, they give me a list of potentials. Some are, again, out of their league, and some seem like they’d be easy to convince. But I might still need a girl’s help on this end, and right now, most of the chicks here have dagger stares for me.
***
Skylar comes into the house around nine. She got her shifts back at the coffee shop in Summit. Which I guess is great for her but sucks balls for me because it makes seeing her even around the house that much more difficult. She drops her overstuffed bag by the front door and clamors into the living room.
I smile, but she acknowledges me with nothing more than a glare. “Hey, um, can we talk?” I ask.
“No. Where’s my mom?”
“Out with my uncle. Some dinner party for work she had to go to. Someone was retiring, I don’t know.” I follow her into the kitchen. “Look, I know you hate me. I know you probably have thought of a thousand ways to kill me. But I don’t know what you want me to do, Sky. I’m sorry. You’ve got no idea how sorry I am.”
She turns her wild eyes on me and slams her hands on the counter. “What are you sorry for, Caleb? For not getting into my pants? For getting that girl pregnant because now you have to marry her? Or are you sorry for messing with my heart and head?” She sniffles and pulls away from the counter.
I hurry over to her, wrapping my arms around her waist, and pull her to me. “Baby, you know I’m sorry for hurting you and putting you through this. And the part about getting into your pants, come on, really? You know damn well I’d wait until you were ready, so don’t mark me off as a total asshole.” She sniffles. “Sky, you know I love you. And I don’t give a damn what my uncle says, I’m not going to marry her. She’ll never get me or my heart. That’s yours. You do know that, right?”
Sky pulls back slightly and looks up at me. “It doesn’t matter anymore.” She pushes away and runs out of the room. I rush after her, but it’s too late. She slams the door to her room in my face and locks it.
I kick her door out of frustration. “Damn it!”
Chapter 22
Skylar
School is eh. Home sucks. Work is okay. Swimming, though, that’s good. So far, everyone has been supportive of me returning to the team. At lunch, I have a place to sit. Well, more like four places because there’s a lot of us.
Biggest thing is, I need to keep myself really busy. It helps me forget. Or at least it helps me not think about Caleb. But that shatters as soon as I come home. I mean, his room is right there, so close to mine, it’s like I can hear him breathing. That’s ridiculous, I know.
If his room being so damn close to me wasn’t enough torture, finding his scent in places like my car or around the house breaks me. My insides are hollow, and the sight of him makes me want to die.
Love is the worst thing in the world. Because if someone rips it from you, you’re me. A zombie going through the motions, faking smiles, and pretending you’re so much stronger than you really are. And when the darkness comes and I’m inside my room, I hug a pillow and cry myself to sleep.
Danielle passes me in the hall, wearing a smug smile and giving me the “He’s all mine now” look. Caleb isn’t walking with her, but he is straight ahead, standing at his locker. She probably just left him, that gloating witch.
I watch his muscles tighten against his t-shirt as he grabs some books from the top shelf in his locker. I miss those arms. The way they held me and melted all my worries away. I shake my head. They aren’t my arms anymore. They’re Danielle’s and the baby’s, but not mine.
I go to my locker, which is eight down from Caleb’s, and make a mental note to not look at him. My body wants to. My heart slams against my ribcage, and my skin even tingles with desire to do everything I will not do.
I swing in the combination twice before I get the dumb thing open. I lean my head against the door, loving the cool metal against my skin. “Hi,” a deep voice says near my ear.
Jumping back, I look up at the person saying hi to me. A tall, broad-shouldered guy with dark hair, fake tan, and brown eyes smiles at me. “Hi,” he says again.
“Hey,” I reply.
“Amber said you had practice sheets she needed. I’m Zander, by the way. I’m on the diving team, but am also the copy bitch. Well, I work in the office in the morning so, everyone assumes that means I’m their go-to guy for things. Passes, copies, office supplies. You know.” He flashes another sexy smile.
I nod. “Sure.” I drop my book bag to the ground and pull out my folder labeled “Swimming” and hand it to him.
“Thanks.”
He starts to turn away and I stop him. “Wait. I, um … ” I snatch the folder back and pull out a couple of pages then give it back. “Sorry. These are mine.”
“That’s cool. So, you’ve been doing pretty good. Team’s gotten a lot better. You excited about our meet against Harris?”
“What?” I thought they already swam against my old school. The week I left they were supposed to have a meet against them. I thought I avoided this and for damn good reason. My mouth gapes open.
“I can see someone is a little shocked. We had to cancel the last meet. Our pool was screwed. I guess Harris couldn’t let us have the meet at their school. Conflict of something. So they waited until ours was fixed and scheduled a makeup meet.”
Why did no one tell me this? I bet Amber kept this quiet just to prove a point. I knew she didn’t fully trust me. She says she does, even does things that makes it seem possible, but her eyes say different.
“But this might be our last meet against Harris, ’cause the board is stepping in. Since our pranks have supposedly ‘escalated.’ Needing new grass for fields, painting buildings, draining then refilling pools. Guess shit is getting to be too much.”
I’m still in utter shock mode. Someone could punch me right now and I probably wouldn’t even notice. I grab my books, shut my locker, and walk with Zander. I’ve got no idea where he’s going, but I don’t care. My sponge mind needs more information about what is going on.
“So, what are they talking about doing?”
Zander shrugs. He nods to some people we pass. I don’t pay attention to who he’s acknowledging and I don’t care. I just want my information. Zander turns his attention back to me. “There’s been talk about them completely prohibiting either team from playing each other in all future events.”
My eyes pop. “You mean like no wrestling matches, or swim meets, or even football games against each other?”
“Not just the sports, the decathlons, the scholastic matches, tournament play. Everything. I mean, Superintendent Samson is really pissed. And I guess the board at your old school is ticked off, too.”
Wow. This is getting really bad. If either school gets tagged again this year, it’s bye-bye rival and hello awkwardness. I mean, we’ve been rivals for decades. Shit, probably a century or two.
I wave bye to Zander and dart down the hall only to slam face first into a stack of hardness that could be mistaken for a brick wall. I stumble back a little and mumble an apology. Hands grip my waist. “Hey, you okay?”
His scent mingled with his voice causes me to look up. I blink a few times and focus on his gorgeous eyes.
“Sky, are you okay?”
“Yeah. I think. I’m not sure.” I’m in a daze. I should be running away from Caleb, but my legs don’t seem to be working. His fingers feel so damn good gripping my waist. And his scent. Oh my God, he smells deli
cious. I love it and hate it at the same time.
“Babe, you’re sweating, like a lot.” One hand leaves my waist and touches my forehead. “You’re burning up. Are you sure you’re okay?”
I try to wave him off. “I’m fine.” But the more I think about it, the more reality sets in. I was really nauseous this morning. I rested my head on the door of my locker and the cool metal felt like heaven. Maybe I am coming down with something. That’s impossible, though, I haven’t been sick since I was eight. I’ve had the flu shot, and I wash my hands all the time. I cannot be sick!
Caleb lets me walk a little ways, but I sway toward a wall and he redirects me. “Okay, sunshine, looks like we’re going down to the office.”
I don’t make it two more steps before I launch myself into a trash can and vomit.
This is beyond humiliating.
***
Caleb drove me home, carried me up to my room, laid me on my bed, and tucked me in. Then he grabbed a bunch of movies from downstairs and asked which I wanted to watch first. The selection varied from romantic comedies to action flicks, so I picked out a few of each.
Now, as we sit in my room, he snatches one of the movies from my to-be-watched pile and sticks it into my Blu-ray player, then leaves the room. And for the first time in a week, I don’t want him to go.
He doesn’t stay gone for long, which relieves me. “I’ve got some soup, crackers, and some tea.”
I grumble as he plops a tray on my window seat. “I’m not hungry.”
“Humor me, Fletch.” He brings over the crackers and soup. I shake my head, but he’s persistent and shoves a spoonful of chicken noodle soup in my mouth.
“I can do this all day,” he says with a cocky grin.
Why does he have to be so sweet? Why can’t he turn back into the asshole I first met and stay that way? It would make this a whole lot easier for me. Because then I could really stay mad at him for all eternity and not feel bad about it. I could look into those gorgeous eyes of his and resist the urge to fall helplessly in love with him all over again.
Oh, who the hell am I kidding? I never really fell out of love with him. And that, in itself, is a big problem. This damn boy who I should hate forever has my heart.
He feeds me a few spoonfuls of soup before I stop him. “No more. Really. I think … ” I throw myself out of bed and dive into the bathroom. Launching my head into the toilet, I deposit the soup.
The phone rings while I’m cleaning myself up—brushing my teeth and cleaning my face, not caring who is calling. Once I finish and open the door, Caleb is standing before me with a phone pressed to his ear. He puts his hand over the mouthpiece and asks, “Need some help getting back to your room?”
I start to shake my head but press my hands against the doorjamb in order to keep myself from falling as a dizzy spell hits me hard. Conceding defeat, I nod. He continues to hold the phone in one hand while his other locks around my waist. He slowly leads me back to my bed while muttering, “Yeah. No. I got it. Yup.”
As he pulls the comforter over my legs, he mouths, “It’s your mom.” Then he hands me the phone and places the soup back on the tray near the window seat. It’s a good thing, too, because I think the sight of it might make me run back to the bathroom for a second date with the toilet.
“Mom?”
“Honey, how are things going over there? I asked Caleb if you were eating anything or drinking tea. He said you tried some soup, but that didn’t go so well. Want me to pick you up anything from the store as soon as my shift’s over?”
“Caleb is being nice and helping me. But I don’t need anything I don’t think. Just want to feel better.”
“Okay. Well, let me know. I’ll have my phone on me and will be checking whenever I can. Drink some tea and get some rest. Love you.”
“Love you too.” I hand the phone back to Caleb. He wipes it down with a disinfecting wipe from my stash on my desk. I didn’t even know he knew where I kept those things.
He tosses it into the trash and places the phone on my nightstand. “All right, sunshine. Stop being a bed hog and scoot over a little.”
I do and he plops down beside me. “Comfortable?” he asks.
“Mmm-hmm.”
“Good. Here’s some tea. Take two sips. And then we can watch your movie.”
I do as he says and then nestle down into my blankets again.
Chapter 23
Caleb
She’s snoring, not loud, but it’s noticeable. And when she isn’t snoring she’s thrashing about in her bed mumbling things in her sleep. Like, “Not her.” I want to wake her because it sounds like she’s having a bad dream, but I don’t want to wake her. Sky needs some rest, plus she might come to her senses and kick me out.
I ease out of her bed and explore her room. Not a lot has changed since I was in here last, but she did move some things. Like the picture of us, it’s no longer on her nightstand. I’m pretty sure it’s not even in her room at all. Her closet, which is usually organized by colors, patterns, and length, resembles mine—stuff just hung up wherever. But what really stands out is her guitars that used to sit in the corner by her bed. They’re in her closet.
Skylar moans, causing my attention to revert back to her. Her eyes flutter then she moans, “Why?”
I suck in a breath and walk over to her. “Sky? Hey, wake up.”
Her arm shoots upward, and with a closed fist she punches me right in my nose. “Mother!” I press my hands against my face, while a warm liquid drips into my palms and pain colors my vision.
“Oh, crap. Sorry. I just.”
“I thun …ye … bro … my ’ose.” I pull my hands back and Skylar immediately covers her mouth.
She kicks me aside and runs to the bathroom. Next thing I know, I hear her coughing and barfing. I have to wait until she’s finished up so I can see the results of what she did to my face.
It seems like forever goes by before the door to the bathroom opens. My hands are cupped over my nose so she won’t see any blood, which I can still feel leaking from my nostrils.
I clean myself up as best as I can, try to stop the bleeding by tilting my head forward, but I’m not sure if it’s slowed or not. Obviously Skylar can’t look at me like this without getting sick. I pull back the globs of toilet paper from my nose and cringe. “Sky? How are you feeling?”
“Not so awesome. Why?”
“You need to take me to your mom’s hospital. Pretty sure you broke my nose.” The door to the bathroom opens. “Wait. Close your eyes or look away for a sec.” I hide my bloody mess from her and mumble, “’Kay. ’Ou can ’ook now.”
“Caleb, I can’t see how bad it is if you’re covering your face.”
“There’s blood.”
“Oh. Right. Um. Okay, I guess I can drive.”
We use my car for the trip to the hospital. Skylar looks paler than ever but doesn’t complain. We arrive at Riverside Hospital in ten minutes flat. The only trouble we seem to have is finding a close parking spot. “There must be a full moon tonight. I think that’s the fifth pregnant woman I’ve seen … ” she says.
Glancing over at her, I notice her jaw tightens. She flicks her gaze over at me and then the dash.
“I’m sorry,” I mumble through my hands.
“Found a spot.”
I let her change the subject because I hate the sad look in her eyes. I hate the quiver in her voice when she brings up one of the reasons we aren’t together.
As soon as she pulls into the spot, I spring out of the car. She follows, but not at the same speed I’m going. I don’t know why I’m practically running to the door to the ER. I can’t tell you why I’m trying to put space between Sky and me now. I just need to not be able to see the pain I caused—or keep causing.
***
“Caleb, what’s wrong? Is it Liv? Why are you covering your face?” Erin asks as she rushes into the ER. Skylar went to get us some chips while I filled out some forms.
“It was an accid
ent. I’m pretty sure I broke my nose. I was covering it up in case Sky came back. She might toss some cookies if my face looks grotesque.”
She nods. “Okay, well I’ll go check to see when you’ll be seen. I’ll be back with an ice pack.”
I don’t get a chance to nod, she’s already heading for the front desk. The seat next to me squeaks and I look over and see Michael Claver. “Dude, what are you in here for, Morgan?”
“Broken nose.”
“That sucks. My grandma fell in her house or something, might have broken a hip.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry about your grandma; I hope she’s okay,” Skylar says as she takes a seat. Michael eyes her for a minute or two then nods.
“Thanks, Bulldog. So what are you in here for?”
“My mom works here,” Skylar says.
“No shit? Can she score you drugs?”
Skylar looks over at me and then says, “No.”
Michael is cool for parties, but he’s a total pill popper. Who knows what all he’s taken. I’ve heard rumors he did some Viagra just to see if it would cause him to bang some girl longer. And honestly, I usually don’t believe in the rumors floating around school but this one, I’ve gotta say, sounds true.
Erin comes over to us. “Caleb, you’re up next.”
“Caleb Morgan?” a nurse with blond hair and bags under her eyes calls out. I walk over to her.
“Good luck in there, Morgan!”
I kind of want Skylar to come back with me, but she remains in the waiting room. Erin walks with me. She helps the nurse set up the room and gets me as comfortable as possible.
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