Losing Her Wings

Chapter 10

Devin was especially disappointed in his little brother’s actions because when Pepper had found out that he’d gone ahead and kissed Skylar the way he had, suspecting that she had been in an abusive relationship, only to tell her she meant nothing to him as he had later found out on confronting him, she hated that it could set her recovery back by weeks or months. She knew how hard it was to get over such a physical and frightening experience, Ryan could have put Skylar in a position where she began terrified that every man was going to use her or hurt her. It just wasn’t fair and she knew that someone was going to have to deal with him in order to make it clear just what an astounding effect that one kiss could have on the poor girl. “Are you feeling any better now?” Devin asked softly as he handed his girlfriend a glass of water as she sat in her bed, tucked under the covers and looking a little sleepy to him. The minute she had stopped crying, once he found out what was so wrong with her he put her to bed to sleep it off but she flatly refused to keep quiet after Niles’s phone call.

“Not really. Even Eliza was acting like a heartless bitch this afternoon. She said Skylar was a freak who had mental problems.” The tears were there again in Pepper’s eyes, appearing at the words of her sisters which she obviously didn’t appreciate as if they could be applied to Skylar, then they could just as easily be applied to her as well. But neither of them were freaks or had any mental problems, he just didn’t get the chance to tell her that because she wouldn’t keep quiet long enough. “She still has no idea what we went through. And the only way Skylar got out of it was when her boyfriend died. She didn’t get the chance to breakaway and find out how strong she really was.” Niles could see that she was upset at the very fact that her sister didn’t know how tough it had been for both her own sister and their new friend Skylar. All he could do was encourage her to think in a positive manner so that she didn’t just upset herself even more, which was inevitable if she kept talking.

“But she still got away from it. Just remember that you know how strong you are and how strong she is…maybe she just needs you to show her that. You and Niles, you’ll get her through this.” He knew that it was hard knowing that she had escaped the torture but that Skylar only got away from it because Zeke died but all he could do was remind her how strong she was to have got up the courage to leave at all. She could just have convinced herself to stick around and see it through but she hadn’t, she spoke up and she hadn’t just sat back and allowed it to happen. “He’s head over heels about her and you know exactly what she’s gone through. The only way she’s going to know that she was capable of leaving him, if she’d had the chance, is if you show her how strong she really is.” He wasn’t asking her to start her fighting with everyone and fight all the guys who wanted to be with her because eventually she would want to move on and have a real relationship with someone she could trust. All he wanted to do was suggest that she showed her she was strong enough not to be afraid of anything or anyone anymore and Pepper couldn’t help but smile gently at the faith he had in her.

“I know…I guess you’re right. I just hate that everyone’s moving in on her and she’s only just got here. It’s her first day…literally…If it’s not Ryan, it’s Niles.” Pepper had a really good point that Devin hadn’t even noticed, there really were a few guys who didn’t care about what had happened to her and were only interested in dating her. No-one except possibly Niles, had taken the time to care and notice what was wrong with her or what her issues were so he felt it was time to broaden everyone’s horizons and teach them the truth. “Even Jones is talking about dating her at some point, or at least asking her out. Why can’t they just leave her alone and let her settle in. It’s not as if they didn’t have prior warning about how terrified she was around men.” Skylar’s actions on that first night, just the night before should have been enough to tell them that she was in no capable state to deal with their constant flirtations.