She's A Fighter

Chapter 18-Done Running

Jason's POV

We had already eaten dinner and now I was in Luke's room, playing Call of Duty with him. Earlier today was a little rocky with Skylar but I mean, she was avoiding me and I couldn't just let it keep on happening. The whole point of me helping her get through whatever she's got going on or had going on, i don't know. I just want to help her and I want her to know that I'm not going anywhere no matter what she says or does.

Tonight was a little more fun, playing with the guys and Skylar. I thought it was pretty funny that Logan and Luke were hitting her with the pillows. To hear her laughter is something completely different from seeing her smile. Her laugh was real, no hurt, no pain or sorrow behind it. Just pure happiness. I could see the joy in her eyes, the hope for a better future. And she can have one, if she would just open up. She can't keep things bottled in. I know from experience. The more that you keep bottled up, the more it'll eat away at you. I say that because that's what happened to me in middle school. Along with helping Mr.Dawson look for Skylar, I was going through my own problems at home. My mom and dad were always fighting and sometimes it would get physical. One night it would either be my mom or me. But my dad only ever hit me twice-just slap me around a little bit-but the impact of seeing the bruises he gave my mom were much more painful than me getting hit. I hated seeing my mom like that.

I would always be in my room, quiet as can be and just listen to music. Never told anyone, accept Luke and Jasmine-although she found out from him. If I couldn't handle being at home then I would come over here and put my time into trying to find Skylar, making use of myself. Other than that, I stayed quiet. I was kind of into drinking at the time and it lasted up to my sophomore year. Got into some trouble at one of Brady's parties because I had consumed too much alcohol and ended up trashing someones yard. I don't even know why I turned to alcohol then, I guess I was just looking for a way to wash away my pain, the hurt. And it helped. But what helped more was when my mom took me to a therapist-although I hated the thought beforehand. Dr.Chamberlin helped me open up, talk about my problems, about life, my hopes and dreams.And I found myself letting go of that craving for the bottle. Day by day it was getting better for me, helping me get on track and get my clear head so that I could focus on helping others, like the Dawson's.

Dr.Chamberlin also suggested that I bring my father and mother in too, she wanted to see for herself how their behavior was and with more meetings that they came to, my parents came to an understanding with one another. Things got better with them, the arguments stopped and so did the hitting, although apart of me still hates my dad for hitting my mom. He always taught me to never put your hands on a woman, but that was when I was younger. Dr.C said that we should all take family vacations to bond with one another and so we did. Like a couple of weeks ago, we went on our usual family vacations and it was cool then. They sometimes go on their own vacations by themselves to bond, like last week. They still weren't home as I expected. I just wasn't expecting the unknown surprise when I got home. Skylar.

Speaking of her, I needed to talk to her. Just to apologize about earlier. I won't really mean it but I know she needs to hear it. I set the controller down and got up. Luke doesn't look away from the TV.

"Going home?" He asks.

"Nah. I'll be back." I said.

I headed for the door and walked to Skylar's room. It was cracked open and I could feel a light beeze hit me as I stepped closer. I knocked lightly. No answer.

I knocked again.

"Skylar?" I whispered.

Nothing. Hmm.

I pushed the door open slowly and seen no one in her neat and tidy room. Texts books and papers were all over her bed. But she wasn't there. I looked towards her window and it was open, her curtains flowing with the cool breeze. Did she sneak out?