Chapter 7
Stretching out the stiffness in my joints and muscles, I awaken to an unfamiliar ceiling.
High-domed rafters reach upward at the center and scattered between are whitish silhouettes of circular LED light panels.
My bed at home doesn't cocoon me this well and the weighted blanket keeps the air-conditioned cool at bay.
I've never been a sleepwalker. Never got up in the middle of the night and wandered into someone else's house, gotten into their bed, and slept the night away.
While things are crazy enough for it to be a possibility, my parents would've mentioned it.
It takes a minute, but I find my way back, recalling the storm, the power outage. The migraine and the massage. I remember Sky and falling asleep on the couch in the upstairs gallery of his house.
I was nowhere near his bedroom.
The thought crossing my mind is absurd. The likelihood of it, though not impossible, leaves me feeling odd, but it's the only plausible explanation.
Sky must've brought me in here. I'm not a small person so, if he did bring me here, he would be stronger than he lets on. Not that I haven't considered the possibility.
He was wearing a tank top this morning when we made pancakes. It showed off his arms leaving little to the imagination poking at the little green monster within. I work out as regularly as I can, but some people are luckier than others. Some hit the genetic jackpot.
At a single glance, he probably bench-presses two hundred and fifty. It's the only explanation if he is the one who brought me here while I was unconscious.
With the migraine long gone and my head pain-free, I get out of bed feeling rejuvenated. Outside, the wind continues to howl. Lightning strikes, thunder rumbles in the distance. It's cold and nearly pitch-black in the upstairs wing if not for the glow coming from the floor below.
Voices – loud, cheery, and familiar – guide me down the steps into the living room.
"Give me my money, you two-faced son of a bitch!
" Asher Stone threatens, the golden highlights in dyed-black hair standing out in the candlelight.
He's part of a group huddled around the coffee table and at the center is a boardgame – Monopoly.
The living room is luminated by candlelight and storm lanterns positioned at various points to maximize efficient lighting.
"I don't have it!" Carter yells back.
They seem thoroughly invested in the game and I wonder just how long I've been asleep. I didn't check my phone but by the color of the sky when I peeked out the window in the room, I'm going to assume it's late afternoon.
"You said that four hundred dollars ago," Asher retorts.
Carter is the culprit who owes Asher money.
There are three others in play. Dale McKenzie, I recognize. I have a few classes with him, but we've never spoken, nor have I initiated conversation because he's bigger than Sky with a face like stone that could shrivel Medusa to cement dust.
There's a girl among them who I don't recognize right away. She clings to Sky's side like he's a life raft. After a second, I'm able to recall her first name.
Lianna. She's in the year group above us and on the cheerleading squad. However, she's no friend of Sasha's.
There's also the fact that I know her because she's better known for being one of Sky's flings. I'm not sure the exact nature of their relationship but Lianna swears up and down to anyone who hears her that they're a couple.
There are two more people inside the living room.
Laken James sits on the sofa that Dale is leaning against, his thigh pressed to Dale's shoulder.
They're a couple, or at least, it's the latest speculation people came to when they noticed how McKenzie seems to follow Laken everywhere.
Laken spots me first and his welcoming smile hits with a massive wave of guilt nauseating my stomach. He bears no ill will after what I did.
Peer pressure is a bitch of a thing and the reputation I have to uphold continues to dangle in the balance intensifying the hatred I harbor for high school.
Laken is the game's banker. He looks on with laughing eyes as the pair argues back and forth. The other person is Sky's father who sits like a contented, amused king, slouched in the single seater nursing a beer bottle.
"I don't care!" Asher snaps. "Take a damn loan from the banker if you have to. I want my money."
"Maybe you should yield," Sky reasons, wisely advising his friend but by Carter's offended glare, he's not yielding shit. "At this point, you're headed for bankruptcy."
"Never!" Carter retorts defiantly, sticking his nose in the air with a dramatic flair, cradling a pitiful wad of Monopoly dollars to his chest.
Awkwardly, I inch closer unsure if to say something or quietly take a seat and watch the game unfold. I'm probably the only one feeling tension, but I'm not close to anyone here other than Carter. They are his friends, and I feel like an outsider looking in. I don't want to intrude.
There's also the fact that Dale's finally noticed me. He isn't too happy about it.
Or maybe that's just his face. I can't remember seeing him smile or laugh or crack a grin.
Mr. Daniels is first to verbally acknowledge me.
"Jace," he greets, and I return an awkward wave out of respect when he tilts the bottle in greeting. The others look my way. "How are you feeling?"
"Better."
The man nods. Carter waves me over with a wide grin, patting the spot on the couch behind him. He's sitting on the floor with the others.
Silently, I go over, hunkering on the armrest of the long couch where I have a perfect view of the board game.
Sky sits at the other end of the circle with Lianna practically glued to his side, yet I don't miss the way Sky's gaze follow my every move.
And when Lianna clings to his arm, he moves away.
We don't have to be friends for me to know that she makes him uncomfortable. She's oblivious to her invasiveness, though.
"How did you sleep?" Sky asks. He fixates on me like we are the only people in the room.
"Good," I say, nearly stumbling over it because even with the dim lighting, I've noticed it again. I wasn't imagining things the night before, wasn't imagining that unnatural intensity of his gaze as if he doesn't want to miss a single word.
"And the migraine?"
"Gone. Thanks for the Ibuprofen, by the way."
The game continues but it spirals when more players approach the brink of bankruptcy. Asher is killing them all. He's bought the lowest and highest priced properties, setting up hotels on each plot. He's also the proud owner of the water and electricity companies.
I get carried away in the game though I'm only a spectator drawn in by the arguments and negotiations, playing instigator or peacemaker depending on who is arguing.
It's Carter's turn now and he rolls the die, moving his piece – the dog – a few spaces. He lands on a 'Chance' and hesitantly picks up a card.
"Oh, shit! I quit!" he blurts, tossing the card, along with his money and deed titles onto the board. Asher breaks out into a fit of laughter. He laughs harder when he grabs the card, reading the instructions to pay out dividends to all the players.
Carter is hanging by a thread from falling into complete and utter bankruptcy. It's his ultimate fate if he accepts this 'Chance'.
"And you want to major in finance," Asher laughs. "Good one!"
I chuckle too. "I hope your real-life budgeting skills are better than it is in Monopoly." Carter glares, 'Hmphs', and plops down next to me. The game mellows for a bit before it spirals again.
Lianna cops out due to the large sums she owes Asher and Sky. With three remaining players, they return her money to the banker and split up her title deeds.
She still hasn't moved from her spot, sticking close to Sky. I haven't paid much attention to her, preoccupied with the good-natured bickering, getting a kick out of the game. But it hasn't escaped my notice how she looks at me. It's the malicious kind and every time Sky moves an inch, she follows.
The girl is a broken traffic light and it's annoying because one second, she's smirking at me like she's won something and the next, she's glaring at me like she's wishing I'll spontaneously drop dead.
Right now, she's shooting me another smirk of malicious intent, slipping a hand around Sky's bicep. He promptly moves away. She's annoyed.
Ignoring her, I tune back to the negotiation between Dale and Sky.
Asher adds a comment or two. He can't do much since he's behind the couch in jail. And because he's stubborn, refusing to 'lower' his riches by paying the fifty-dollar fine, he's opted to miss a turn.
"You're on the verge of bankruptcy, Sky. Best sell up," Dale advises cockily.
"I'd rather sell it to Ash," Sky counters.
"It won't matter!" Asher pipes up from his prison. "I'll buy all you bitches out and make you my servants!"
"Hush up, criminal. Fraud! Tax evader!" Dale fires good-naturedly. Asher gasps ever so dramatically but goes quiet.
"Let's settle this, then. An opinion from a non-player," Sky suggests. He turns to me with silent question.
"Sell up."
Sky's face scrunches in utter disbelief. "Whose side are you on?"
"I didn't realize there were sides." I totally did.
"You're in my house. That means you choose me," he counters, gesturing to himself.
"No," I drawl quietly with a shake of my head, giving into the playful taunts. "Even if there are, hypothetically speaking, why would I choose you?"
His friends burst out laughing. Dale wears a small smile – the first I have seen from him despite knowing him my entire life. Lianna remains glued to Sky's side and now she's glaring again.
The game continues until Sky goes bankrupt, and Dale gets hungry. Asher, still in jail, walks away with half the bank in his name and three quarters of the board in his possession. Mr. Daniels disappears to another part of the house.
Dale is in the kitchen with Laken, the two of them rummaging through cabinets and the fridge finding ingredients to throw a snack together, taking full advantage now that electricity has returned but only lights for the living room and kitchen are turned on.
Asher saunters in after them, immediately gravitating toward Laken.
"Don't bother him, Ash," Dale grumbles when Asher swipes a few potato chips from the open bag in Laken's hands.
Asher rolls his eyes, looping an arm around Laken's shoulder, pulling him closer. "You hog him like ninety-five percent of the time. Do not interrupt our bonding time."
Carter strolls off around the corner from the living room, murmuring something about the home theatre room and finding a movie to watch. As he disappears into the adjacent hallway, Asher goes after him, stealing a handful of chips again.
"I'll come too. I don't trust your taste in movies," he says, pulling Laken along, telling him he can choose a movie because Carter can't choose a good one to save his life.
The sound of his bickering with Carter follows them out until the door to the home theatre room further down the hallway opens and closes, shutting out their good-natured teasing.
Outside, the rain hasn't eased. It continues to pound the roof as I peer out from behind a curtain.
A considerable amount of water is beginning to gather on the front lawn, the grass overly saturated and water-logged.
Shallow puddles of water form wherever there's a slight impression in the driveway.
A low fog has drifted in casting the front yard in a ghostly kind of light.
The nearby houses are phantom silhouettes in the pouring sheets of white rain, white glows from the streetlights weaving through the mist.
I can only imagine the damage that's been done because with torrential rainfall like this, property has surely been damaged.
Even if the rain stops, I'm still stranded because of the landslide close to where I live. The main road in and out of that side of town is blocked, so until that mess is cleared, I can't get home. I just hope Mom and Dad are safe.
"Is the storm bothering you?" a deep rumbling voice from behind nearly startles the shit out of me, both from its suddenness and that Sky is only inches away, the heat from his body pressing into my back like a warm, living manifestation.
I'm suddenly slammed back to a few hours ago when he volunteered to give me a massage and I, on the brink of tears from all the pain, allowed him.
Heat rises to my face, and I quickly turn back to peer outside, allowing the rapid torrent to distract me.
"A little." I lean against the window frame, crossing my arms over my chest. "It's been years since we had rainfall like this."
"Worried about having to spend another night here?" he asks, stepping closer. He leans on the other side of the window frame, shifting the curtain so he can look outside as well.
"I don't want to overstay my welcome."
I've been here long enough. Nearly an entire day and a whole night. I didn't walk with a change of clothing or money not expecting the weather to turn out so badly. The longer I'm here, I'll be using whatever clothes they can lend me and eating their food.
Soon enough, they'll grow weary of me. I would prefer not to inconvenience them when I know that Sky can barely tolerate my ass. It's a shock in and of itself that he's being hospitable.
Sky tilts his head, his stare boring into me as if I've said something interesting.
"You're not," he says. "You're welcomed to stay as long you'd like."
The sincerity in his words catches me off guard.
I scoff, roll my eyes, shoving down the unexpected chill that sweeps over me that has nothing to do with the storm outside or the drop in temperature.
It's the kind of feeling that comes from relief so strong that the hardest part of the confrontation has passed and you're onto a better path.
Still, "Sure," I drawl. "Because we're such good friends."
"Maybe not, but you've surprised me." My gaze drifts from the pelting rain outside to the barely visible upward curl at the corners of his mouth. "Carter was right about you. You're an alright guy."
I'm not sure what to say to that. It's unexpected to say the least. Plus, I didn't think Sky Daniels was bothered by such things. I've always been under the impression that he's a relatively one-track-minded sort of person who once he makes up his mind about a person, very little could change it.
It's impression he gives off. And from the interactions between him and people outside of his intimate circle, he doesn't like too many of them.
"That's it?" he suddenly barks, low and offended. He blinks. I blink, taken back, unaware that my silence is so affronting. "I get no compliments."
"I don't know why you fishing for compliments is so shocking. It's right up your alley."
He scoffs, rolling his eyes but by the teasing tilt of his mouth in a half-smile, he's not at all offended. In fact, I think he's enjoying our banter. If I do say so myself, it's relieving instead of the constant tension and reminder that he hates my guts.
"Don't be a jerk, Connor. It's not that hard."
"What would you prefer me to say, then?" I egg on despite myself.
He holds out a finger. "Say, 'Hey, you're not too bad yourself.'" He grins boyishly. "See, it's not that hard."
"I'm not saying that."
He crosses his arms over his chest. "Why not? Come on, compliment me."
"Your ego's inflated enough."
"Smartass."
The banter lapses into a moment of silence as I turn to watch the rain again.
As bad as the storm is, this is one of my favorite things to do.
I did it all the time between hospital stays, when Mom and Dad were at work and the weather was rainy.
I'd sit near the window for hours, watching the skies grow dark, the rain falling, the people and cars below in the parking lot and the highway not far from the hospital.
When the condensation on the windows got thick enough, I'd draw little doodles and figures, watching the water drops race to the window's edge.
Sky's voice, soft and concerned, breaks the quiet. "Are you sure you're alright?"
"Of course –"
"Sky?"
My reply is cut off by Lianna's cloying voice, sweet and sugary, albeit highly annoying because it's obvious that isn't her normal voice and she's doing it strictly to get Sky's attention.
We pause, and Sky turns his head. Slow, the look in his eyes something I don't see often. He tends to stay out of trouble but the few people who cross him are met with a certain type of murderous glare as if they've insulted his entire bloodline.
He doesn't speak, waiting for her to elaborate on why she interrupted the conversation. The air is suddenly filled with the type of tension he reserves for people he really can't stand. I'm familiar with it having been the recipient on countless occasions.
Lianna picks up on that change, tucking her chin in manner that might be cute if her motives weren't clear.
"Can you come help me? There're some snacks for the movie and I can't carry them all." Again, with the cloying, overly sweet voice.
When Sky finally responds, his tone is gruff to match the annoyance on his face. "Go ask one of the guys. We're having a private conversation."
"But the movie's about to start," she pushes, shooting me a not-so-subtle glare before sweetening her features, doe eyes of innocence staring back at Sky. "You'll miss the beginning." She glares at me again.
Wait! Don't tell me she's jealous because Sky's talking to me and not her.
Oh my – I never thought I'd meet one!
"Lianna," Sky warns, his voice dropping lower than humanly possible in what I can only describe as a literal growl. "I don't fucking care."
"I got this." Asher suddenly pops in, the earlier tension eviscerating as he waltzes in, marching right up to us. He grins mischievously, flicking his taunting gaze to Sky before turning to me.
And then he's behind me, hands gripping my shoulders steering me out of the living room, through the doorless archway into the adjoining hallway.
"Ash!" comes Sky's annoyed bellow, quickly followed by his hurried footfalls.
Asher cackles like a madman behind me. "You two can continue your riveting conversation inside. I'm not starting over the movie because you missed the beginning and now, you're lost."
Inside the home theatre room, foldable beach chairs are positioned near the single long couch where Dale and Laken are already seated, taking up half the space.
One side of the room has the entire theatre set-up with a seventy-inch flat screen mounted to the wall.
Beneath it is a unit with games in plastic casings and RBG speakers.
Adjacent to the wall with the television, there are more shelves stacked with books, hardcovers and paperbacks.
I spot mostly classical novels, a few cookbooks, books on gardening, others on carpentry.
A low table is jammed against the wall beneath a window where short black-out curtains are draped.
The floor of the entire room, up the two-step rise that leads to the two pool tables is covered in a rich red carpet.
To one side of that part of the room stands a semi-circular counter with cabinets mounted to the wall behind it stocked with various brands of liquor.
Asher ushers me inside, depositing me on one of the foldable chairs. Sky saunters in after us, and behind him comes Carter balancing three bowls of popcorn and a few bags of unopened chips. He sets it all down, handing over one bowl of popcorn to Dale, another to Asher.
He takes the chair next to Asher.
Lianna strolls in, surveys the room. Her gaze lands squarely on where Sky is hunkering down on the carpeted floor. She smiles, already making her way over when she stops because I'm suddenly yanked off the chair and to the floor.
"Sit with me," says Sky, shoving the third bowl of popcorn into my hands.
"You're rude. You could have asked nicely."
He looks at me from the corner of his eyes, mouth curled up in a smug grin. "Would you have sat with me?"
Probably not.
I shake my head. "It's the thought that counts."
His arm snakes around my shoulder and he uses me to scoot closer as Lianna comes to sit on the floor beside him, a not-so-subtle move on his part to maintain as much distance as he can from her.
She's been making him uncomfortable all evening and she hasn't caught on.
I'm curious though. If he doesn't want her here, why is she?
"I'll keep that in mind for next time," he replies.
"So confident that this will happen again," I comment, chowing down on a handful of popcorn.
Sky dips his hand into the bowl as the movie begins, stealing a handful before I pass the bowl to Lianna.
She accepts it with a glare directed my way as she tries to scoot closer to Sky.
He turns his head at that moment and she stops moving.
She's persistent, I'll give her that.
I just don't understand why it feels like Sky is using me as a shield to keep her bay. His body is halfway angled toward me, and he has yet to move his arm from where it lies half on the couch and around my shoulders.
He remains that way for much of the time as the movie goes on about humanity controlling giant battle robots in a war against an alien monster species that rose up from the depths of the ocean, through a breach in the ocean floor.
A little more than an hour into the movie, I excuse myself, getting up to use the bathroom and find a glass of water.
There's a slight pounding in my head, nothing to be alert about but I decide to step away.
With the darkness of the room, the brightness of the television is beginning to be a bit much.
Sky's hand slaps neatly around my wrist.
"Everything alright?" He peers at me closely, the illumination from the television dancing across his face, sharpening his already unfairly sculpted features. "Is it another migraine?"
"Not really," I say, shaking my head. "Just need a break."
Before I leave, he lets me go and says, "There's some Ibuprofen in the cabinet above the microwave. Use it."
Despite myself I can't help but smile. Here I thought I'd be in a lot of trouble if another day passes and I'm stuck here.
Seems I'll be fine with Sky looking out for me the way he is.
Closing the door with a soft click, I head to the bathroom.
I splash some water on my face when I'm done, pausing briefly to give my temples a little massage.
It helps a lot to relief the pain that's become more noticeable since leaving the game room.
Drying my hands and face on a few blocks of paper towels, I head out, walking down the hallway past the game room and into the kitchen.
I pause, standing confused because the first thing I notice isn't the cabinet where Sky said the medication is. It's the open sliding doors leading out to the patio, the billowing drenched curtains slapping the door and wall, wild rain beating inside, the tiled floor slick with water.
No way would Mr. Daniels leave those doors open. Why would anyone be out there in weather like this?
I glance at the sliding doors in uncertainty, taking careful steps forward just in case someone is out there.
Clutching my hands to my shoulders, the biting chill of rain and wind stings my cheeks and whips at the sweater. I cross the threshold looking left and right, rainwater spraying my bare feet and clothes, beating across my face forcing me to shield my eyes.
Nobody is out here.
Suddenly, I'm stumbling forward. I'm shoved from behind and the doors slam shut.
Panic ensues as I turn and it's immediately replaced with anger – fast and unforgiving when I see the culprit on the other side, safe and dry from the torrent soaking me to the bone in seconds.
My bare feet are beginning to sting with numbness.
Lianna smirks through the glass door, malice sparkling in that devilish face when lightning flashes overhead. Thunder booms close, a bolt of lightning striking a tree beyond the fence.
My heart races, pounding loudly against the storm's mayhem.
"Open the door!" I shout. My back is soaked through with ice cold water. Lianna laughs, glaring as if I'm the most disgusting thing she's had the displeasure of setting sight on.
I don't know what problem she has with me because we've never spoken. I only know about her because of Sasha, and I don't give a rat's ass about this girl.
Lianna's hand dances over the locking mechanism. The taunt – the threat is clear. Her intentions are malicious and then she mouths something that makes her reasons clear.
Jealousy is so ugly.
"You don't deserve him."
I was right. She's jealous of me. Jealous of my being stranded at Sky's house though I don't know what she thinks is possibly going on between us.
"Don't fucking do it!" I shout, thrusting my hands out and gripping the door's molding, trying to pull it open since there's not much in the way of a proper handle. Lianna holds it firm, her strength confusing the shit out of me.
I'm not that fucking weak!
"Open it, Lianna!" I shout again, slamming my palm against the glass. The infuriating girl laughs. She flips the lock leaving me outside on the wet deck, in rain that shows no mercy or signs of stopping.
"Open the fucking door!" I bang my fist against the door but nothing. Her glare is full of satisfaction. Lightning scorches the sky, its brightness blinding. Thunder booms and crackles, rattling the rafters, sending a bolt of vibrations through the patio.
Inside, Lianna walks away with a ridiculous sway to her hips.