Chapter 2 #3
“For a second, I thought I was leaving you.” Skye said quietly. “And in the next second I knew I couldn’t.”
I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her soft breasts against my chest as she rested her arms around my neck.
“No more leaving me behind,” I said gently, though the command was clear. “It’s you and me forever, now. Skye and Aiden, remember?”
Skye nodded, her eyes on my mouth as I spoke. “Skye and Aiden,” she mumbled. “I can’t believe you’re okay. That was so fucking scary.”
Her face pressed into my chest, and I shifted so that the spray of water went down my other shoulder.
“It was really fucking scary,” I whispered in agreement.
So many things had happened in such a short amount of time. My brain still hadn’t caught up on everything that’d happened, everything that I’d witnessed.
“Is it so horrible of me…” Skye started quietly. “The worst part was watching you fade away. Not the people I killed. Not…Landon,” her voice cracked on his name. “It was just you slipping away.”
“Whatever you’re feeling is valid, Skye.” I promised, kissing her temple. “I watched you kill a bunch of people and I didn’t bat an eye. All I cared about was whether or not you’d be okay. But killing people is hard on the soul.”
“Even bad people,” she said.
“Even bad people.” I repeated. “But something tells me you already know that.”
We were quiet for a few minutes, the water rushing over us while the statement hung in the air.
“I’ve killed before,” Skye whispered.
“I figured.” I replied easily, running a hand up and down her back.
It was obvious after watching how she didn’t hesitate to kill the men who’d attacked us. That hadn’t been her affinity acting on its own. I saw her hand twitch. Skye knew just how to curl her fist to squeeze those men.
And after hearing about the massacre from Willow, a lot of things started to connect in my mind. Skye wasn’t just having nightmares over her parents deaths, she was having nightmares over the deaths she caused, too.
“One guy was really young,” Skye whispered. “That one haunts me. He…looked at me like…in awe. Like he couldn’t believe he was seeing me. He called me phantom. They all did.”
I nodded slowly, recalling the radio call we’d heard right before Skye panicked.
“The men at the massacre…” Skye spoke so softly I almost couldn’t hear her over the water. “They called me phantom. They wanted me to go with them.”
“And you killed them?”
“They were hurting–” Skye stopped, abruptly, and my heart sank slightly. She was quiet for several moments, then spoke again, “I had to.”
I nodded, choosing to ignore her slip up. I didn’t think she was referring to herself or Zephyr. She was keeping something from me again, but now wasn’t the time to worry about it.
We were safe. Everything was fine.
And yet…
I breathed out harshly, my chest tightening almost painfully.
Everything was not fine.
I killed some people.
Skye killed some people. Fuck, she’d killed Landon.
And my mother had tried to kill me.
“Aiden?”
Skye’s voice was muffled, like I was listening to her from underwater.
I realized my hands had slipped off of her, and I backed up against the shower wall while trying to breath.
“Aiden,” Skye tried again.
The tightness in my chest wouldn’t go away. I sunk down the shower wall until I was sitting, my knees bent so I could hide my face. My shoulders shook even though tears hadn’t come yet.
“Angel,” Skye whispered. She pressed against my side, her voice a soothing balm to the fire raging through me. “What can I do?”
I shrugged. I didn’t even have words.
My mother tried to kill me.
Remembering those last moments had my chest heaving as I tried to hold back a sob. My breath came in pants, never giving me the relieving oxygen I needed. This meltdown had happened way too quickly for my liking, and if anyone other than Skye had been here to witness it, I’d have been humiliated.
“I’m here, Aiden. I’m never going anywhere.” Skye said. Her arms hugged my shoulders, and I leaned my head into her breasts, her nakedness not even enough to draw my attention. My whole body shook as I tried to breathe through my anguish, but nothing seemed to help.
“S-slow it,” I rasped shakily. “Skye. Slow m-my heart.”
My heart slowed immediately, Skye following my request without question.
“I’m…f-fucking cold.” I said, then choked on a laugh.
“It’s actually pretty hot in here,” Skye murmured. I glanced at her, feeling guilty for her flushed cheeks. “It’s you, Aiden. You’re turning this into a steam spa.”
“I can’t stop,” I whispered.
“You don’t have to,” Skye said, squeezing my shoulders. “Whatever you need. Tell me. I’ll get it for you. I’ll do it.”
“Just you,” I said, my teeth chattering like I was cold. “Just d-don’t leave me.”
Skye didn’t leave. Would never leave, I realized. Something told me that even if I’d ordered her away, she wouldn’t really go.
I rested my head on her chest while she ran her fingers through my hair, gently removing the tangles while relaxing me even further.
After so many minutes of silence, and the water finally turning cold, I felt like I was falling asleep. Skye was awake, her breathing a familiar tempo in my ear, encouraging my own breaths to keep going.
“I’ll kill her for this,” Skye whispered against my hair. “I promise, Aiden.”