Romancing the Rebound

11

୨𝙳𝚊𝚗𝚗𝚢୧

This isn't what I wanted when I decided I'd take the honeymoon before Veronica could.

I wanted to let it go without concerned family members hovering over my shoulder. I wanted to wallow for a while before pulling it all together and putting on a smile for said concerned family members.

I did not want to be stuck sitting on the carpeted hotel floor as I put a bit of an ache in my neck from looking up at the tv from the ground. I did not want to share my room with a girl who knows nothing of personal space and who immediately jumped onto my bed the moment I reluctantly invited her inside.

She didn't kick me off the bed, at least. I did that myself.

I startle at the sound the mattress makes when Skylar suddenly falls forward onto the very end of the bed right where my head is. She sprawls out on the mattress and lets her arms dangle over the bed in front of her.

"Your room is so boring."

I scoff at that. "Then leave."

"I can't." Skylar frowns. "You invited me in here for a reason."

"You were pouting about having to spend the rest of the day in your room alone."

This is it. The only reason I opened my mouth to invite her in. And she was through the door before the question even left my mouth completely.

"Your subconscious, Daniel." Skylar murmurs, tapping absently at my temple.

"My subconscious screamed 'don't do it, she's so fucking annoying' the entire time I debated on inviting you in."

It's not a lie. And she knows it, because she frowns. "Hurtful." She flicks my temple before beginning to sit up on her elbows. I recoil.

Annoyed with her already, I start getting up off the ground. Skylar's eyes follow me the entire time, probably aware I'm going to kick her out now. I pause when I look down at her. She still rests on her elbows on the mattress with her feet kicked up behind her, one ankle crossed over the other. She took her heels off before she got on my bed, at least.

My gaze drifts towards the bottom of her short skirt for just a handful of seconds. She's still looking up at me when they dart back to her eyes.

"Your skirt is riding up." I tell her as I turn my back on her so she can fix it. I hear her gasp and shuffle quickly.

Jesus Christ. I need to get out more.

I shake my head as I step away from the bed completely with my back still turned to her, deciding now is a good time to check my phone. Surprisingly, I haven't done it today. Five messages. Two from my mom, one from Logan, one from my dad, one from Delilah.

Delilah's name is at the top, so I choose her notification first. It's a simple phrase. 'All good.'

I smile a little to myself and automatically switch to Logan's to see what he has to say about it. It's a little long which isn't really like him. He tells me he made up with Delilah and to have fun on my trip. He'll see me when I get home. Call him if I want to go home earlier, he'll sort it out for me. He loves me.

I call him stupid for telling me he loves me—which is a thing we don't often do. He responds immediately with over-the-top emojis, all of which having stupid hearts in them. I roll my eyes with a smile. I exit his contact without responding a second time, opening up my dad's contact since it's the next notification.

He simply tells me to open my mom's message. As if that really does much. Actually, his message sort of blocks her. So, it's double unnecessary.

"You can look now." Skylar tells me. I wave her off over my shoulder, busy checking the last message. "What're you doing?"

"Checking my phone."

Shuffling comes from the bed. Maybe her getting up to come snoop over my shoulder. "Anything interesting?" Her head pops up right beside me, trying to look at my phone.

I don't bother pushing her away. All I do is stare down at my mom's text. 'Smile today, my beautiful son. Life moves too quickly to frown.' Her first message reads. Her second is simply reminding me everyone who loves me is at home and waiting.

Skylar giggles from beside me, having read the messages since I didn't push her away. "Smile," She repeats on an amused murmur. "Does she know you hate smiling?" She playfully asks, poking at my ribs.

I pay her no mind.

Delilah wouldn't have told my mom about what she thinks is going through my head right now. She would've been too worried of what that would've felt like as a mother to hear about her child. Logan sure as hell wouldn't have said anything. We both hate it when our parents worry. It sometimes does more harm than good.

When I was little, my mom once cryptically warned me that she'd know if I've done something bad. 'A mother knows,' She'd murmured in that strange, ghost type voice she loves doing.

Jesus, what if she was legitimately onto something?

"Daniel?"

I glance at Skylar while she watches me with this damn look on her face. Wide, curious eyes and this small frown. As if she's worried, confused maybe. "Take a picture with me." It sounds more like an order than a request.

Skylar blinks. "What?"

"Take a picture with me." I repeat. She read the message, she must know what it's for.

Skylar still looks caught off guard, but she nods. I nod back once and look down at my phone to get my camera up. Skylar takes my phone from me. I don't stop her, aware that it might come out better if she has it. I simply bend to be in frame with her.

With a deep sigh, I prepare myself before I look at the camera and give the stupidest smile I can possibly manage, just like I'd have done with any other photo any other time. My smile makes Skylar laugh. "Skylar," I huff, dropping the stupid smile to a smaller one as I glance at her.

She still laughs. "I didn't know your face could do that!"

I roll my eyes at her and drop my hand down to squeeze her hip before I let her go. She startles and jerks away from me, but still laughs. "Hurry up." I urge.

Skylar is still trying to get a hold of her laughter while I bring up a more normal smile for the picture she takes. I shake my head as I snatch my phone away from her as if I'm more annoyed than I actually am.

Skylar is too busy laughing to see the message I send along with the picture to my mom.

'Don't worry about it. I have a vacation buddy to help get rid of the frown.'