However Long the Night

Chapter Nine

After supper, Will's mother left to gather the pieces they'd forgotten at the cottage. Five days had melted by, filled with hospital visits, preparation for his dad's return home, and the triviality of daily life. Will had offered to come along for the ride, but his mom gently turned him down, so he watched from the window as her taillights disappeared down the street.

Around seven o'clock, someone knocked on the front door. Toby scrambled to rush past Will, nearly tripping him as he raced down the hall. Turning the knob, Will found a sunlit Skye standing on the other side. Ponytailed and smiling with an orange popsicle in her hand, she reached out to offer him the frozen treat.

"Thought you could use a break."

Reaching out to snap the popsicle in two, he handed her the other half and waved her inside.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey," she said back.

The air seemed to carry a different current with her in the room.

Toby barked, wiggling his butt like crazy and falling into a panting ball of happiness at her feet.

"Damn it, dude. Play hard to get for once, will ya?" Will shook his head. Toby only had eyes for Skye, so he gave Will the furry cold shoulder. Bending to scratch his fuzzy belly, Skye giggled, long hair falling over her shoulder.

"Josh told me your dad's surgery went well. He and Shel are hanging out, so I came to check up on you." She looked over at Will, jade eyes warm, her 1 golden-hued in her left pupil. "Are you okay?"

Standing up, she stepped a little closer.

Will's heartbeat drummed a notch faster than it had before. There were a million words to explain the layers of how he was doing, but he couldn't seem to grasp any of them.

"You know, I've been better ... but I'm alright. Thanks for checking." It was bare bones, but sincere. Toby woofed again and tugged on Will's pant leg. "Yeah, boy. I hear you. Look, I should probably take this guy outside. You wanna come?" He hoped she'd say yes.

Skye's cheeks flushed a light shade of pink. "Actually, that would be great. I'm pretty sure Shelby wants her room to herself for a while, plus it's a nice night for a walk." Suddenly, Toby hopped up and started nosing her toward the door.

"In case you couldn't tell, 'walk' is his trigger word." Will winked. Clipping on Toby's leash, he held the door open for Skye, locked up, and off they went.

The warm breeze breathed on their backs, and the sun shone buttery and mellow, catching amber highlights in Skye's dark hair. They laughed at Toby's antics and slurped orange popsicles as they walked down the street. Four blocks in, Skye turned to Will with a twinkle in her eye.

"Hey, Will. Wanna play a game with me?" Her dimples flashed for a second, coaxing him to respond.

"Uh... sure?" His eyebrows shot up, caught off by the playful lilt in her voice. 

"Awesome." She did a happy little skip on the sidewalk. "So, the game's called Start Over. Prepare to be dazzled, Mr. Brody." Her toothy grin made him feel about ten pounds lighter.

"This isn't something New York hipsters play over skinny lattes, is it?"

"Ha, ha, smart ass. Fun-ny." She stuck out her tongue. "Do you want to play or not?"

"That depends. What's Start Over about?"

Her fingers brushed against his skin as she took Toby's leash from his hand. "Well, I was thinking. We've shared some heavy stuff in a short amount of time --  not that I'm going to go there right now - but there's a ton we don't know about each other when we're not all drama-in-a-storm, you know?" The 1 in her left pupil danced.