The school bell rang and I dashed out of the building like it was on fire.
The last bell just rung and it was time to go home.
I walked to Dylan's school.
"Hey! Wait up!" Someone shouted to me. Turning around I saw it was Tyler.
I smiled politely at him.
"Hi," I greeted him.
"Umm, do you just want to go straight to my house?" He asked.
His house? Why did I need to go to his house?
Oh.
Realisation dawned on me as I remembered about this project.
I sighed. "Okay, I'll just need to get Dylan and then I can go. I can meet you there if you want. You've already given me the address."
He nodded then left.
Great, now I have to stay and do this project.
Maybe if I stay longer today, we'll get it done quicker.
I saw Dylan.
"Hi Dyl, how was today?"
"Great, school's so fun. Why are you always complaining about it?" He exclaimed.
I let out a breathy laugh.
"Wait till you get to my school. I assure you, you would have changed your mind."
"I'm sorry Dylan but I have to go to Tyler's for a project. It's about love," I made googly eyes and then gagging noises. Dylan laughed.
He stopped laughing and looked at me, "But you love me. Don't you mummy?" My heart melted at his words.
"Of course Dyl, I could never stop loving my baby boy." I spoke, my voice soft as I stared into his kind, green eyes.
I kissed him and he smiled up at me. My love for him over weighed any emotion I had ever felt.
To me, this was love. The love between a parent and their child, a brother and a sister, or a friend and a friend.
Not boyfriend and girlfriend.
I knew what I wanted to write about.
We walked back to the motorbike and I drove to the address Tyler gave me.
I picked Dylan up to ring the doorbell before placing him back on the ground.
I smiled at him. Who knew someone so little could mean so much to me?
The door opened and there stood Tyler. He smiled at us before bending down to Dylan's eye level.
"Hey buddy, sorry but Caleb isn't here right now. He's at the gym with my dad. You can stay with Sky and me though."
Dylan looked up at me asking if it was alright. With my head I gave him a slight nod before he grinned at Tyler and nodded.
Tyler chuckled and stepped to the side, letting us in.
"We'll work on this project in my room, that way if the boys come we won't get disturbed." Tyler spoke.
I nodded then held Dylan's hand as we walked up the stairs and followed him to his room.
We walked in to find a blue painted room. There were two other doors, most likely leading to a bathroom and closet.
In the centre of one wall was his bed with a chest at the end of it. He had a desk with papers covering it. A sofa was placed in front of a TV, controllers and a few pizza boxes around the coffee table.
It looked normal.
"Sorry it's a mess, I didn't have time to clean up after the boys came round yesterday.
I watched as his eyes scanned his room, seeming to look for something that shouldn't be in his room.
Dylan sat down on his sofa and I followed to do the same.
I sat down but my foot stepped on something. I looked down and noticed a gun. Examining it with my eyes closer I noticed it was a Colt 45.
Weird.
My eyes widened as I realised that's what he was searching the room for. It must have been this gun.
This town has way too many guns. First in a tree now Tyler has one.
But then again, I have a couple too.
Maybe he just has it for protection. I mentally shrugged.
Pretending not to see it, I looked over at Tyler who was getting his laptop. He came over and sat in the beanbag opposite me.
"So..." He trailed off.
"How do you want to do this?" I asked.
He shrugged, "How about we become better friends by watching a movie, you know also for inspiration and that way Dylan has something to do." His eyes lit up at his amazing idea.
Oh well. Anything to get my mind off this project.
...
...
...
We watched Frozen...
Every single song would be sung by Tyler's out of tune voice.
Yes, I got up and sang along with Dylan and Tyler for Let it go, but that was only one song. One song.
He even knew Reindeers are better than people.
I mean, come on.
I sighed and got up. Yawning, I stretched before sitting back down.
I looked over at Dylan to see him yawning. I checked the time, it was already 6:10. Tyler kept on pausing the movie to get popcorn.
Dylan's eyes held a hint of exhaustion but knowing him he wouldn't want to sleep just yet. He wouldn't feel tired enough to sleep, instead he would eat or watch TV.
"Tyler, can you please let Dylan watch some TV in here?" I asked.
He nodded then turned the TV onto SpongeBob Squarepants.
"Is this alright little man?"
All of a sudden, Dylan seemed wide awake without any traces of sleepiness or drowsiness. However, I knew that would only last for about an hour or so before he would hardly be able to keep his eyes open.
Dylan nodded his head.
Turning back to Dylan, I mouthed a 'thank you', smiling in gratitude.
"Right, now are we ready to start the project?" I questioned him.
He beamed at me, "It started when I pressed play on the remote."
"How did that help us with this project?" I looked at him incredulously.
He returned it with a bewildered look. "How did it not help? I just got my inspiration."
I sighed shaking my head.
"You believe in love right? Well, maybe we should show our differences on what we think love means and what it means to us." I said.
"Great idea, I was thinking the exact same thing." He flashed me a cheeky smile. That boy.
I heard giggling from my left, I turned my head to find Dylan watching us in amusement.
Still giggling, he turned his head back to the television.
I'm sure Tyler could tell from the look in my eyes that I loved Dylan as he stared at me.
Click!
In an instant I was staring at Tyler as he gave me a sheepish smile. He just took a picture of me.
"It was the perfect moment. And it could really help on our project." He added when he saw the look of disapproval on my face.
I rolled my eyes.
"Right, well I know part of what I'm doing for my project." Tyler said.
"We can start with what you think love means." I nodded at him.
We both wrote down what we thought it meant before reading it aloud.
"To me love is caring for someone deeply and unconditionally. In this case it's the romantic type of love. Love means that no matter what you have someone to count on. That you can trust them and feel comfortable around them-" My eyes instantly flashed to Zach "-It never hurts or makes you cry your eyes out. It's very gentle and warm. You never give up on the people you love."
He looked deeply into my eyes.
"True love does not mean indispensable, but only mean two hearts who are always honest and loyal even when they are separated. He who sincerely loves you will always want the best, but still loves and accepts you who the worst. It does exist Sky and I believe in it."
I looked away, the intensity of his eyes too much for me to handle.
I shook my head before looking up.
"No it doesn't," I whispered.
If true love really did exist then even if I got in the way, Dad would have stayed. I saw the look in Dad's eyes as he looked at mum, his love for her was more than I had seen in anyone else. If their love wasn't true love then it isn't possible for it to exist.
I shook my head before letting out a shaky breath and reading off my book.
"To me the only type of love that can exist is family love and friend love, the rest is fake. There's no such thing as true love and if there were it would be pointless. We all get hurt from love so what's the point in true love, it will just break your heart. I've seen what it can do and it's not pretty. They either cheat on you, die or leave you, not caring that they aren't the ones hurt. Because for them it's a lie. A big fat lie."
Tyler looked at me in concern.
"Are you okay? I'm sorry you had to watch whoever went through that. It must have been hard for you and the person. Listen, just because something happened between them doesn't mean all hope is lost. Maybe it happened for a reason."
I forced a smile looking up at him.
"I'm fine. I just think that it's useless to go looking for true love. If you're just going to suffer." I explained.
He nodded in understanding. "Although, I do agree on one thing with you, you shouldn't go looking for true love. I feel like we accept the love we think we deserve and for some people they don't realise that they deserve much more. Sky, you don't find love, it finds you. It's got a little bit to do with destiny, fate and what's written in the stars. Just remember that."
I stared in wonder at this boy. This boy that moments ago was just singing a children's song, has made me rethink what love could actually mean. That went into such detail about just one word.
Love.
Who knew one word could mean so much to this boy? Nowadays, people toss the word around more than it should be not knowing the meaning of love or what it means to them.
This boy convinced me that it means more than what I have seen. There's a reason for everything, whether it's a valid reason or not doesn't make a difference, there's a reason nonetheless.
My body took me by surprise and before I realised what I was doing my arms wrapped around his neck. His arms wrapped around my waist.
"Thank you for showing me what hasn't been shown to me in a long time. Thank you for making me remember." I whispered in his neck.
Love still didn't have much meaning to me, but it left me believing.
I pulled back, the hug didn't last too long which I was thankful for.
Looking over at Dylan I noticed my phone in his hand, either he recorded the whole thing on video or he took a picture without me noticing.
I groaned, how did this always happen? And to me?
I walked over to Dylan and took the phone from him, he took both.
A photo and a video. The photo was of us hugging.
"You can use it on your project." He defended himself.
I sighed and smiled down at him.
"Well thank you for helping us out on our project, you can carry on watching SpongeBob now." I told him.
He smiled and nodded at me before turning his attention back to the TV.
Tyler and I write down our thoughts on the word love, however I couldn't help but notice the playful glint in his eye paired with a cheeky smile.
I get the feeling that presenting this project is going to be a lot of fun.
We laughed every now and then but by the time we had finished on our meaning on love and what it is to us, it was 7:01.
I noticed Dylan's head drooping and his eyes halfway open. I put him in Tyler's bed, covering him with the duvet. A few minutes later, the soft sound of snores along with our pens scribbling on paper was all that could be heard in the room.
I knew he would fall asleep.
On the way back from putting Dylan to bed, I kicked the gun slightly. I tried to make it seem like I didn't notice it.
Kicking it caught Tyler's attention and I saw his eyes visibly widen before returning to their normal size.
"Hey, do you want to grab something to eat? I'm hungry and you must be too since we came straight from school." He didn't give me time to answer as he stood up. I knew that this was just to distract me from the gun.
Standing up I purposely kicked it and looked down making it seem like like I had only just seen it.
Tyler sighed, knowing I had seen it.
I gasped, "Why do you have a gun? And in your room?" I faked the surprise.
"Umm. Um, We-ell, I need it... I need it because," he trailed off.
"Because?" I prompted, smirking on the inside.
"Because I might need to protect myself from danger, happens a lot when you're in a gang." He mumbled the last part under his breath, probably not for me to hear.
"What did you say? I didn't quite get the last part." I asked.
"What, nothing. I didn't say anything else." He looked panicked.
I shrugged, "Oh sorry, to me it sounded a little like-"I cleared my voice ready to imitate his deep voice-"happens a lot when you're in a gang." I smirked as I watched his eyes widen.
He sighed as I rolled my eyes, "So you're in a gang, huh?" I questioned him.
He nodded.
"What's the gang called?" I asked curiously.
"The Grey Soul Snatchers."
My eyes widened as my body tensed. What?
It couldn't be, I remember seeing that on a paper at home, the first home I had ever lived in. When my Dad was still around.
When Dad was still around.
Dad.
It was on one of his papers in his office.
"What?"
I gulped, it couldn't be possible. Why did Dad have their name written on a piece of paper?
Could they have killed him? No, his own brother wouldn't kill him. Would he?
"The Grey Soul Snatchers, that's what our gang's called." He repeated himself.
My mind still swarming with possible ideas but doubt took over all of them. Nothing made sense.
"The Grey Soul Snatchers," I tried it out on my tongue. He talked about them on his phone but in hushed whispers.
I reached for the gun that was still on the floor and pointed it in the direction of Tyler.
His eyes widened before he smirked.
"I bet you don't even know how to use a gun."
My voice came out shaky. "Shut up, you killed him didn't you? Your gang killed my father." I accused him. My finger hesitated as I was about to turn safety off.
Tyler's smirk fell off his face in an instant once he realised I knew how to use a gun. His eyes focused on my finger that must have been to0 close to the safety switch for his liking.
He lifted one arm and as he did the sleeve of his short sleeved top rolled up a bit, just enough for me to see his tattoo.
The tattoo.
The same one my Dad had.
It doesn't make sense, why would they have the same tattoo?
Like a light switch, everything clicked into place, my Dad was part of this gang.
My own Dad, a killer.
Well, there's another thing we have in common.
But how? When did he join the gang?
Shit. I noticed the gun was still aimed at Tyler as he subtly tried to inch sideways, away from the direction the gun was pointed at.
Slowly, I lowered the gun, realising my mistake.
"Tyler, I'm sorry, I-I really am. I didn't realise. My own Dad, he kept this from me."
His head nodded in understanding but he seemed to still be a bit weary of me.
You've still got the gun in your hand, you're scaring him idiot, the voice inside my head said.
I dropped the gun to the floor and gently kicked it away from me.
"Are you her? Are you really her? I noticed the eyes but. Oh wow. Wait till I tell Uncle Hud that we've found you."
"What are you on about?" I asked him.
"Your father was called Ezra, wasn't he?"
I nodded, "The old man already knows I'm his niece." I said referring to Uncle Hud.
"He used to talk about you all the time, about how amazing you are, beautiful, intelligent. He wouldn't stop and about his wife too." He spoke.
"Oh well and sorry about that. I really didn't know." I said, looking down.
I tell you, this floor really is interesting.
Ooh. What type of stain is that? Beer? Coke? I suppose I'll never find out.
"Sky, it's alright-" His phone started ringing. "I'm so sorry I have to take this.
I nodded as he stepped out of his room. I walked over to Dylan and shook him slightly, I was feeling a little tired myself but knew I wouldn't sleep here. Dylan was small, it was understandable.
"Dylan, come on. We have to go." He stirred before sitting up and looking at me with tired eyes.
I smiled at him before placing him on my hip and carrying him downstairs.
A voice that I recognised to be Tyler's was just in the other room.
"I can't swap. We've already started." A pause. "No, I can't just feed you information, it's not my fault you had an argument with her."
Was he talking about me?
I heard footsteps and I sat Dylan on the step to put his shoes on pretending like I wasn't eavesdropping. I put mine on, slung my bag over my shoulders before carrying Dylan again.
"Sorry, I have to put Dylan to bed since it's getting late now. I'll see you on Monday?"
He nodded, "Okay, have a safe trip home. Hang on, is it safe to ride with him that tired. I can lend you my car while I drive your motorbike if you want." He offered.
I smile at him in appreciation. "Thank you so much."
He grabbed his keys before walking out.
He followed us all the way home.
"This is where you live?" He questioned worriedly.
"Yeah, you know. Mum can't send us a lot of money from where she is." I lied.
He nodded, but the look of concern still showed on his face.
I gave him the car keys back and thanked him once more then climbed the stairs with Dylan in my arms, to our flat.
As soon as I got there, I closed the door and changed Dylan in the bedroom. He was on the verge of sleeping.
Soon after, I was just in a bra and boxers -my pyjamas- and was getting in bed. By now it was 10:28 at night and I was tired.
_____
I was awoken to a noise in the living room. I ignored it, thinking it was just my imagination. I turned my body around to face the other way.
Once again I woke up, but this time, I noticed a man in my room undressing.
From under my pillow, I took my gun out, the silencer was already on it, and I aimed it at the man whilst sitting up.
The man held up his hands, "Sky, it's just me Shaun." I recognised the voice instantly and nodded.
A couple of minutes of me just hearing shuffling, I laid back down and felt the bed dip behind me.
"Hey, I've missed you Shaun. At least you're here now." I mumbled.
He chuckled slightly, wrapped an arm around my waist and kissed my cheek.
"I've missed you too. No one to annoy me at home. Lucky, I'll be staying." He mumbled against my neck. His hot breath hit my neck.
He's the only one I would allow to do something like this. He's a best friend and knows the most about me but not everything. I feel comfortable around him.
I 'mmm'ed, not having enough energy to talk.
"Goodnight Sky." He mumbled.
"Night Shaun." I said back.
"Oh yeah you too Sky, goodnight." I smiled at the inside joke.
Always making me smile.
And I fell asleep, snuggled up to him with his arm wrapped around my waist.
~~~~~
A/N:
Hello, so a lot has happened in this one.
Skylar finds out her Dad was in a gang and Shaun comes to live with them.
Is it just me or is everyone else sensing a lot of jealousy in the next few chapters?
So, who do you think she will end up with?
This book is for you, so tell me if you want anyone else's point of view and if so, who's?
Leave a comment and tell me if you're liking the book so far and what you think should happen next...
Well, I'll get to work on the next chapter.