Guardian: Skye ran out
Salvatore: Wht u men??!!
Guardian: What do YOU mean with that spelling?
Salvatore: Im rshng k
Guardian: Not an excuse
Salvatore: Fine, grammar nazi
Guardian: uh huh
Hot Lesbian: Guys, more important issue
Salvatore: Right, babe, what do you mean by "Skye ran out?"
Salvatore: Wait
Salvatore: I'm making one of those calls with more than one person hold on
Bee: Conference calls I think
When my phone vibrates with a call from Damon, I hesitate then accept the call, not saying anything. I'm not going to let them here my tears voice. God, why did I run like that? It was such an overreaction, and now I have my friends worried.
"Skye?" Bianca's voice asks worriedly. "What happened?"
I don't answer, letting the silence go on.
"I... it's my fault," Aaron says guiltily. "Skye, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to yell. And I didn't mean what I said... I just..." He sighs, trailing off. "I tell you later, in person."
"What did you do, Mitchell?!" Damon shouts, making me take my phone a few inches away from my ear. "I swear to Satan, I will end you if you hurt him!"
"It's alright, Damon, I'm fine," I say softly.
"Bullshit," Harper replies instantly. "Now where are you?"
I don't say anything, I just continue walking, snow crunching under foot.
"Skye," Damon says sternly, worriedly. "I can and will come after you, I swear. Where are you? Are you at least warm?"
As he starts rambling, I hear Aaron sigh and whisper, "I'm sorry."
"I know," I breathe softly the words coming out before my mind can process them.
"Cute," Harper comments. "Now really, where are you Skye? And you, Aaron, you can't just go missing either. Please, just tell us, Damon won't shut up."
I smile softly, listening to Damon's rambles.
"—mean it Skye, I really do, I will call Dad and Jer and tell them and then we can start a manhunt searching for you. You can't get into trouble without me, I won't allow it."
"Damon," I say, cutting him off. "I'm fine, really, I just... want some time alone."
I hang up before he can reply, putting my phone in my pocket and coming to a stop, looking out at the river.
I shouldn't have run, but... the memories. I just... got scared and panicked.
I wince as my mind looks back, replaying what happened.
"Aaron, can I talk to you?"
He turned to look at me, expression curious but suspicious. "Sure."
I pulled him away to the bathroom, which was thankfully empty.
"I'm still worried about you," I said. "You're not acting like the you I know. Well, know so far. You been cold towards Harper, and a little distant with me. What's wrong?"
Aaron scowled, avoiding my eyes. "Can you just drop it? It's no big deal, it's fine."
"I don't think it is," I replied. "Aaron, if we want to make this work, we need to trust each other."
"So you're gonna pull that card on me?" he spat, surprisingly angry. "Drop it, Skye. I don't need to tell you shit."
My eyebrows furrowed in confusion and hurt. "Aaron—"
"I've had enough of this," he cut me off. "Just stop pestering me."
"If you would just let me know why you're distant—"
"I don't need to tell you anything, Skye. God, why did I ever think this would work between us. Not everyone can be a pathetic, emotional little cock-sucker like you."
The look he gave me was so scarily familiar. That cold, angry look he always gave me when he had me cornered, when the bullying was still going on. For one fear-filled moment, I expected a punch or slap, I even squeezed my eyes closed in anticipation.
When I felt nothing, I peeked my eyes open and met Aaron's horrified expression that plainly said 'what did I just do.'
"Skye..." he whispered.
I was already running out. I managed to grab my coat from my locker before anyone could confront me, then ran out of the school and down the familiar path towards what was once home, the place that had so many happy and painful memories.
I was caught in a flurry of those painful memories. Images of my bullies and once-mom flashed in my mind, refusing to go back into their dark corner of my mind.
Once I realized where my feet were taking me, I stopped. Where to go? Back to school to be overwhelmed with guilt? No thanks. To the bridge in the park? Aaron would expect me to go there, and I didn't really want to see him right then. I didn't really want to see Damon of Nicholai either. Dad and Lucas were both at work, I didn't want to interrupt their jobs for my breakdown and I just felt like being alone.
So to my second favourite place it is. The river near the edge of town that flows near another, smaller, park.
I watch the water flow by slowly. It's cold, but apparently not cold enough to freeze the river.
God, I really need to stop this running away habit, I'm becoming a nuisance because of it. But I just don't want to be around anyone right now. I want silence, peace.
As I watch the river, I find myself quietly humming Don't Say You Love Me by Maddie Storvold.
My phone vibrates, once, twice, thrice. Already guessing who it is, I glance at my phone and see that Damon has created a group chat with Dad, Lucas and me.
Salvatore: Alright men listen up
Salvatore: Here's the plan
Salvatore: Oh wait
I smile slightly. He probably realized Dad and Lucas likely won't have their phones on them at the moment.
A while later, I get a call from Dad, which makes me feel even worse. I pulled him from his work and no doubt he's worried about me. This wouldn't have happened if I'd just stayed at school and didn't overreact like I did.
I hesitantly answer the call with a quiet, "sorry Dad."
"Sorry?" he repeats, confused. "What are you sorry for?"
"Pulling you from your work," I reply guiltily.
"Skye, I will almost always drop everything for you," Dad says. "I say almost always 'cause I can't exactly leave in the middle of a surgery. I'm on lunch break right now anyway, but that's beside the point. Damon called and told me what happened, or at least what he knows happened. Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," I say softly.
"Skye," Dad says sternly. "Are you really alright?"
"...Sort of?" I say after a moment.
"Where are you, I'm going to come pick you up. I have nothing scheduled for the rest of the day so don't say no, Skye."
"I— At the river," I say softly.
From his side of the call, I hear the close of a car door and the start of an engine. As he drives, Dad talks to me about random things, things that make me smile and laugh softly.
I don't turn when I hear a car driving closer and parking. I hear a car door close and Dad hangs up. He comes up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist and resting his head on my shoulder.
"At least you brought your coat this time," he says softly.
I smile softly. "Yeah."
"But you're still freezing, Skye," he whispers, a fact I didn't notice. "Come on, you'll catch your death out here."
Wordlessly, with a soft smile, I let him lead me to the car, slipping into the passenger seat. I don't notice how cold I am until I feel the warm air from the car's heater. Dad walks around the hood and gets in, turning the radio down.
"Now, what happened?" Dad asks, grasping my hand gently. "I know from Damon that it's something with your boyfriend—Aaron wasn't it?—and that he must've said something stupid."
Looking at my lap, I mumble through the story of what happened. Dad doesn't say anything right away once I finish. We sit in silence for a minute before he sighs.
"You say he started acting like this when Harper appeared, right?" he asks. I nod and Dad sighs again. "Honestly, I think he's jealous."
"Jealous?" I ask, surprised.
Dad nods. "Maybe he thinks you'll give her more attention than him, or he's jealous of how much you two know each other."
I tilt my head, thinking. "I guess that makes sense."
Dad smiles. "And from what I remember of high school, it's not always easy to admit jealousy. It can be embarrassing, make you think you're being a too controlling or too possessive, and I don't think Aaron wants to do that to you. Maybe he's scared you won't like that he's jealous."
I find myself smiling. "Yeah, I think that sounds like him."
Dad chuckles softly. "Me too. From what I saw of him at the hospital, he cares about you a lot."
He puts the car in reverse and pulls out of the park, driving towards home.
"Dad?" I get a hum in response. "Why are you driving home? School's not over yet and neither is your work."
"I was thinking we could take the rest of the day off together," he replies. "I've already told my coworkers and called the school. I just have to let Lucas and Damon know you're alright. Remember the movie days we would have when Rose was off on business trips?"
My expression brightens, all thoughts of the previous hour or so forgotten. "With the popcorn and blanket forts?"
Dad grins at my reaction and nods. "And long hours of crying over character deaths?"
I nod eagerly. "Drive faster, I want movies."
Dad chuckles but jokingly speeds up a little before slowing down again.
The rest of the drive is me rambling on about what movie to watch—"what about Harry Potter? The Hunger Games? No, maybe Lord of the Rings. Argh, I can't decide!"—while Dad smiles in amusement listening to me.
I practically race to the door when we get home, bouncing happily as Dad follows me and unlocks the door. I kick off my boots and hang up my coat before racing to the living room and picking out a movie before starting to make a pile/fort/nest of blankets and decorative pillows in the middle of the large sectional couch.
As he makes popcorn, I hear Dad calling Lucas and Damon, and from his replies, I can only imagine what kind of storm they're talking up.
"I— yes, Damon, he's fine... Lucas, he doesn't have hypothermia, I just said he's fine. Slow down, I can't keep up with both of you... At home, we're both taking the rest of the day off, so Damon, can you bring home Skye's things? ...Yes, I let my coworkers know, I'm not that irresponsible, Lucas. I gotta go, alright. See you both later. Damon, don't get into trouble."
I hear him pouring the popcorn into a bowl before his footsteps come towards the living room. I peer out from under my blanket pile, making Dad smile and chuckle.
"Cozy," he says, sitting next to me and joining me under the blanket, setting the popcorn between us. "What're we watching?"
"Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them," I reply happily, starting the movie.
As the movie plays, Dad and I make the occasional comment to each other, ones that make us smile and laugh. It feels so much like the times it did two years earlier, the only noticeable difference is the different house. Dad's arm is wrapped around my shoulders, my head it resting against his shoulder. It's so familiar and I love it.
Once this movie is over, we start The Hobbit. Around halfway through the movie, I hear the front door open then close, along with the soft thuds of two things being set down. A few seconds later, Damon comes running into the room.
"Skye!" He says happily, joining Dad and I in the fort, sitting next to me and giving me a quick look over before settling down. "Hey, not fair! You can't just have a movie day without me!"
"Uh... Too late?" I sat with a sheepish smile.
Damon pouts playfully then smiles. "Aw, it's OK! I'll forgive you this once. Now, pass the popcorn."
That's how Lucas finds us an an hour or so later. The three of us cuddled up in the blanket fort, lights dimmed, a few stray pieces of popcorn littering the couch. Lucas smiles, takes a picture of us then walks out of the room. He returns a short while later in his pyjamas with fresh popcorn split into two bowls, one for him and Dad and the other for Damon and I. He sits next to Dad and we simply continue the movie.
I find myself smiling for most of the movie. It doesn't feel any different with Damon and Lucas joining in. I still have that warm fuzzy feeling in my chest and I still feel completely comfortable. It's that feeling that makes me notice that even though I don't know them very well, Damon and Lucas are part of who I view as family, and I know they see me as family too.
That makes me feel better. The idea that I belong somewhere, with people who want me. I love it.