Change Of Heart

Chapter 11

Skylar

  "Better slow down on those pancakes before you turn into one," Dylan teased me, watching me tear through the stack of chocolate chips pancakes before me. I flicked him off before shoving  another bite of my 4th pancake in my mouth.

  Why he was still in our house? I have no idea.

  "This is great, my best friend and my boo getting along, us all eating breakfast, I couldn't have asked for a better morning." Emma beamed and her eyes lit up as she looked between Dylan and I. I returned her smile once her eyes fell back on me. Emma has always been easy to please and had always been there for me, so if it meant I had to be cordial with Dylan while she's around to make her happy, I'll do it.

   I swallowed down another bite, looking back and forth between Emma and Dylan while they talked about random topics. Admiration filled her eyes looking up at Dylan, her smile taking over her face, the tiny dimple at the corner of her lips showcasing itself . I couldn't help the slight smile on my face as I watched them. I had to give Dylan credit, he makes her happy and she deserve to be nothing but happy.

   I let my eyes linger on Dylan, watching the way he interacted with my best friend. His body leaned toward her as she talked, reaching out to her every once in a while to push the strands of her hair that often fell in front of her face, his eyes fixated on her. His eyes. A sense of familiarity consumed me as I took in his features. His eyes were the kind of green that brought life back to the prisoners of winter. They contrasted perfectly with his rich olive tone and dark hair. His full lips parted slightly revealing the top row of perfectly aligned white teeth.

"What do you think Sky?" Emma's voice snapped me out of my trance.

"What?" I could feel the heat rise in my cheeks, I knew he caught me staring, I could see his smirk from my peripheral.

"The end of year bonfire, what do you think about going?"

   "Oh yea, we should definitely go. I hope the fire gets as big as it did freshman year." I replied, send a smile Emma's way to let her know I'm okay with it. Emma and I went every year since 8th grade when we finally made some high school friends and they helped sneak us in. Before last year, it wouldn't have been a question whether we were going out not, but before last year a lot of things wouldn't have been a question.

   I thought back to January of last year when my mom did enough damage to put me in the hospital for the first time with a concussion and a broken hand. Before that when she would beat me, she made sure to stop before any major noticeable injuries happened, but when she found out I had gotten asked to be someone's date to the upcoming  Valentine's day dance, she lost it. She cornered me and her punches came like missiles, connecting with every blow. My arms did little to shield me from her rage, my head bounced off the wall every time her fist managed to break through my defense.

    She reminded me that I didn't deserve the male attention. I didn't deserve to have someone interested in me or being in love with me or happiness. I was nothing, but a home wrecker and a whore to her and she didn't want me to forget it. I tried to escape her verbal and physical assault,  but when I reached for the door she slammed it against my hand, the pain was unbearable at the time and still bothers me from time to time now. After she realized what she's done to my hand, she just left me laying there crying out. I ended up learning how to drive with my left hand that night.

   "It's going to be so much fun!" Emma bounce lightly on her toes, grinning ear to ear as she told Dylan stories about the previous years we went. 

  My mind drifted back to last year the day before the bonfire when Emma and I were on the phone and she exclaimed that very sentence. I didn't know my mother was outside my door while Emma and I talked about what we were going to wear and the boys we hope was going to be there. The minute I got off the phone my mother wasted no time ensuring I wasn't going to go sending me to the hospital for the 3rd time in five months. My body started to ache as I felt the ghost of her assault on me.