However Long the Night

Chapter Seventeen

7:30 came and went with no sign of Skye. Will's parents were engrossed in an epic Scrabble battle on the back patio and Toby was asleep on the living room floor, so Will played with his phone to pass the time while he waited, and waited. Finally, at 8:45, he heard a soft knock and opened the door to find Skye standing on his front porch.

"Hey, Will, I'm really sorry I'm late. Here are your dad's books." A sheet of hair hid half her face, and she didn't meet his eyes. Grabbing the books, he felt a slight tremor in her hand.

"Skye – hey, are you okay?" He'd seen a full range of her emotions since they'd met, but this was new. Something wasn't right.

"Uh... yeah. I'm ...um, I'm sorry, Will. I should probably go."

He reached out to stop her and she recoiled when his fingers grazed her arm. Under the porchlight, her face was pink and wet with tears.

Worry's cold finger poked at Will's chest, and he automatically scanned Skye's pupil to make sure she was okay. Her 1 was still aglow, with no hint of a flicker in sight. Relief pooled in the pit of his stomach, and he sucked in a quick breath. "Can you please tell me what's wrong?"

Her face started to collapse. Skye raked a shaking hand through her hair, shifting from one foot to the other. "I'm sorry, Will. I don't want to do this on your front porch. I'll tell you, but not here, okay?" She looked nervously past his shoulder to see if anyone inside was watching. He'd never seen her so rattled, not even the night she'd confessed about Tom during the storm.

"Yeah, of course. Look, my parents are in the backyard, so you could come in for a while, or we could go for a walk?" His words came out calm and slow, but his pulse was starting to pick up; it jumped lightly in his neck, wrists and temples.

"Uh, I'd feel uncomfortable if they walked in on me like this. Could we please walk?" Her voice was thick with tears as she turned down the stairs.

"Absolutely. Wait a minute. I'm coming." Disappearing inside, he ran to the back patio door, yelled to his parents that he was going out and dropped his dad's books on the study desk.  Grabbing a pair of shoes, he scooted out the front door again.  Stepping into the dusk, his mind turned somersaults trying to figure out what the next few minutes had in store.

Skye was already halfway down the block by the time he caught up. Walking quickly, her arms were wrapped tightly around her body and her head was tucked down like she had to focus just to keep moving forward.

It was strange to watch her like this. She normally moved with confidence: head held high, shoulders back, a ready smile. That was the Skye he knew, not the girl beside him who walked hunched and quivering down the sidewalk. Matching her steps in silence, Will was careful not to startle or force her into conversation. A small park was around the corner, so he gently took her arm and led her to a bench at the back of the property.

"Okay, we've got some privacy now. Can you please tell me what's wrong? I want to help." Taking her small hand in his, he gave it an encouraging squeeze. 

Skye's eyes were wide and filled with tears. Finally, she opened her mouth, and words started tumbling out. "Will, I ... I checked Messenger today." Her breath was in rags.

"Um... Okay?" He wasn't sure what he'd been expecting to hear, but that definitely wasn't it. Skye's right leg began a nervous bounce, and she turned her face away from him to look out across the dark park, dimly lit by long-necked streetlamps.

"Mom and I agreed before we left New York that I wouldn't post anything or check my social channels for a long time. We didn't want to give anything away, in case Tom looked me up and found out where we were, you know? I kept my promise. I haven't logged on at all since school ended." Her breath hitched for a second, and he felt her hand tremble. "But I was bored today and missed my friends so, oh God, I checked my messages and... shit. I'm so stupid!" Covering her mouth with her hand, she bent at the waist as a sob leaked from her lungs.