29
“Fuck…” Sky muttered under his breath when Kevin’s name flashed across his phone screen.
“The hell are you calling for?” Sky snapped as soon as he answered, frustration dripping from his voice.
“What the—did you seriously forget about the meeting?” Kevin shot back, doing his best to keep his irritation in check. “We’re all at the warehouse waiting for you, bro. Everyone’s here except you.”
The reminder instantly brought Sky back to the instructions he had given Kevin earlier, and realizing it only made his mood sour further.
“Damn it…” Sky rubbed his forehead in exasperation. “I can’t make it.” he continued.
Sky cursed mentally multiple times.
“There’s something important I need to deal with right now. Just tell everyone the meeting’s postponed. I’ll call for another one soon. Handle the rest.”
Without giving Kevin a chance to respond, Sky ended the call. There was no point explaining further anyway. Kevin already knew what to do in times like these. Sky tossed his phone onto the passenger seat and dragged both hands through his hair.
Where the goddamn hell was Jude Finn?
What Sky could not understand was why he was even looking for that damn faggot in the first place.
Jude was not supposed to be worth this much of his time.
With a groan, Sky rested his forehead against the steering wheel and clasped his hands over his head.
He had been searching for nearly three hours, driving through the entire neighborhood and every place he could think of where Jude might have gone, yet there was still no sign of him.
The once-busy streets had long since emptied.
The night had grown quiet. The cold wind was weaving through the darkness.
Sky could not bring himself to stop searching.
His concern only worsened when the dark clouds broke, scattering raindrops across the windshield before turning into a steady downpour.
Sky lifted his head and turned the key in the ignition.
The engine roared to life for a brief second before sputtering and dying.
“Fuck.”
Sky started it again, but it still did not function.
He tried again, but it still did not work.
The more he tried, the more helpless he became.
Then it hit him. His vehicle tools were back at the house.
Cursing under his breath, Sky shoved the door open and stepped out of the truck, preparing to face what looked like the beginning of a hurricane.
The moment Sky stepped out of the truck, a rush of adrenaline surged through his veins.
His instincts had rarely failed him. The rapid pounding of his heart only reinforced the feeling growing inside him.
He could feel his heart beating fast. These things were indications that he was nearby.
His heart had always been like that towards him.
Thunder cracked five times in a minute, putting Sky in much more worry.
The temperature had dropped below twenty degrees, yet the cold barely affected him, even as he felt goosebumps rising across his skin.
Shielding his face with one arm, Sky narrowed his eyes to see through the rain.
The wind howled fiercely, piercing through the darkness and disrupting the night’s eerie silence.
As he pushed forward, his foot caught on a small rock, nearly throwing him off balance.
You’d better prepare yourself when I find you. Sky grumbled the threat inwardly, though it was born more from worry than anger.
The raging thunder beyond the clouds, the relentless rain pounding against the earth’s surface, the invisible wind whistling through the night, the empty, flooded growing streets, and the rustling leaves of the trees all blended into a chaotic symphony—
Then something else reached his ears.
Sky’s brows knitted together when he heard a sharp cracking sound above his head.
The moment he looked up at the towering Ipil-Ipil tree above him, it was already too late.
A heavy branch snapped free and slammed into the back of his shoulder before he could dodge out of the way.
Sky winced as a jolt of pain shot through him.
Warm blood immediately seeped from the torn flesh beneath his shirt.
Though he managed to throw his arms over his head to shield himself, several smaller twigs still scraped across the side of his face, leaving shallow cuts behind.
Sky had endured far worse throughout his life. Compared to everything else, this was nothing more than an ant’s bite. Grinding his teeth, he grabbed the fallen branch and hurled it aside in irritation despite its size and weight. Then he pressed forward through the unyielding storm.
“Fuck,” he muttered under his breath.
Rain lashed against his face, and water rushed into his eyes, forcing him to blink repeatedly.
For a moment, he stopped in his tracks, struggling to clear his vision before continuing his search.
When Sky finally opened his eyes again, a blinding flash from the lightning pierced through the rain and struck his vision.
Instinctively, he raised an arm to shield his face from both the unrelenting downpour and the blinding light.
Sky narrowed his eyes through the storm, his breath catching in his throat.
And then, for a moment, the world seemed to slow.
Tug. Dug. Tug. Dug. Tug. Dug
This is fucking ridiculous. Why does everything seem to move in slow motion? Is this another side effect of the synthetic drugs I’ve been taking? Sky thought.
The rain appeared to fall in sluggish streaks. The howl of the wind faded into the background. The thunder felt distant. All he could hear was the abnormal sound under his chest.
Heart was pounding.
Legs felt weak.
Breathing hitched.
Mind went blank.
Chest ached.
Sky stood frozen, unable to find the words.
The moment his eyes landed on Jude’s unconscious figure sprawled on the ground, time seemed to stop.
Rain drenched Jude from head to toe, his body half-buried in the mud, motionless beneath the torrent.
Sky clenched his fists until his tendons bruised, his jaw locked tight.
No words could capture the fury raging inside him.
It went far beyond anger. But more than anyone else, he hated himself.
Jude would never have been bullied if it were not for him. He would never have been a loner if it were not for him. He would never have been thrown out of his home if it were not for him. He would never have endured so much pain if it were not for him.
Every scar, every bully, every hardship, every moment of suffering—Sky could not help but believe that he was somehow responsible for all of it.
Jude did not deserve any of this. He did not deserve the cruelty the world had handed him. Most of all, he did not deserve people like Sky, people who had done nothing but bring pain and misery into his life.
Jude deserved better.
He deserved so much more in this life.
Sky wished they had never ended up in the same school.
Sky wished he could turn back time and transfer somewhere else the moment he first laid eyes on Jude.
He wished his heart had not skipped that strange beat when he saw him for the first time, walking down the hallway on the first day of class back in seventh grade, looking so small, so innocent, and utterly unaware of the life around him.
Maybe then, Jude would not have suffered.
Maybe then, he would not have become tangled in Sky’s dark world.
Maybe then, he could have lived the life he truly deserved and wanted.
FLASHBACK
“Did you bring it, dude?” Calvin asked the moment Sky began stuffing his belongings into his locker—mostly spare shirts, P.E. uniforms, and basketball gear.
As usual, there was not a single school supply in sight.
Calvin was a year older than Sky and already in eighth grade.
They had attended the same school since their primary years, but his constant impatience and eagerness to get his hands on the drugs were starting to get on Sky’s nerves.
Calvin was already in eighth grade, yet he still acted like he could not control himself.
“Would you relax for once?” Sky snapped, irritation creeping into his voice. “How could I possibly forget it?” he added, reassuring him while fighting the urge to roll his eyes.
“You have no idea how badly I need them right now,” Calvin said, his voice edged with desperation. “How about we skip school and go straight to your house?”
Sky stared at him as if he had just said something ridiculous.
“Have you fucking lost your mind? It’s the fucking first day of school.” he shut his locker with a soft clang and turned to face him. “Can you at least pull yourself together? Just look at yourself.”
“Don’t start lecturing me, Granger,” Calvin shot back. “Just make sure you give me five packs later. I’ll be waiting outside the gate.”
Without another word, Calvin turned and walked away.
Sky watched him leave, slowly shaking his head. Calvin’s addiction was becoming harder and harder to ignore. The signs were written all over him: his sweat-soaked skin, fidgety motions, restless movements, and constant agitation.
Pushing his worries about Calvin to the back of his mind, Sky turned away and slipped his hands into his pockets as he headed toward his first class. He had promised Jasper that he would actually show up to school today, and for once, he intended to keep that promise.
That did not mean he came prepared, though.
Aside from a single pack of methamphetamine he planned to sell to his seatmate, Sky had not bothered bringing anything with him.
No notebooks. No pens. No intention of taking notes.
No intention of learning acquisition. As far as he was concerned, listening to teachers ramble on for hours was a complete waste of time.
Just as he started down the hallway, Sky nearly stumbled when he noticed the number of eyes fixed on him.
“He’s so hot.”
“Look at his tattoos. They look good.”
“Oh my God, look at those muscles. I could hold onto his biceps for hours.”