Torn (Torn Heart) (18 page)

I climb off the bed and head downstairs
. When I open the door, I see the empty bowl and the empty neighborhood. They sure did raid the shit out of our candy. I bring it in and wash it before putting it away. I clean up the living room and put the popcorn and glasses up. We never did actually finish our scary movie tradition. But I guess we made up a new one.

I startle when
the sound of feet padding along the floor gets my attention. “Hey, why did you leave?” A sleepy robed Skylar asks, yawning.

I smile, pulling her to me. “I was letting you sleep.” I grip
her bathrobe, undoing the tie so it falls open, giving me a peak of her curves underneath. I slip my hand inside and caress her bare skin while my other hand grips the back of her neck. “Ready for round 2?” I ask into her hair, only partially joking.

Her hands
caress my scalp, spurring me on. “I’m still a little sore, but, it was amazing.” Her voice a whisper. “Thank you, for making my first time special and unforgettable.”

I kiss her once more and let go. “Do we have anymore candy?”

She clamps her mouth shut and nods her head, walking to the kitchen. I watch in wonder, as she comes back into the living room with a bag full of skittles. “I bought these for you, and hid them so we didn’t use them.”

I take the skittles
from her, “You remember my favorite Halloween candy.” I kiss her forehead. “Thank you.”

“Don’t say I never gave you anything.” Her shoulder bumps mine. “I
wanna show you something.” She grabs my hand and leads me upstairs.

When she opens the door
to the room across from hers, I’m blasted with Skylar, the artist. I always knew how incredible she was. But holy shit, this room is filled with so many colors, light and dark, sad and happy. I take it all in, but it becomes overwhelming. It’s like walking into an art supply store or art gallery and she’s giving me a tour.

“Fuck,” I breathe. “This is amazing.” She looks at me with a mix of uncertainty and gratitude. I return her gaze and smile. “These, they’re so beautiful.” They’re paintings of Jared, her dad, her and her mom, the ocean, skylines and one of me….

I pick up one of me holding a football as I look away, smiling. “I remember when it used to be fun,” I say almost to myself. I look up to find Skylar quietly studying me, and I give her slow smile. “Did you secretly watch me?”

She hesitates and then nods.
“All the time. You loved the game the way I love painting. It kind of separated us.”

My eyes start to mist over. What the hell. I put it back down and walk around, glancing at her life in this room.
Her personal emotions, conveyed in each piece. I turn back to her, “Why’d you bring me in here?”

“I wanted to share my passion, and show you that even when we didn’t talk, I still thought about you.
About us, all the time. The boy in you and the girl in me, I’ve always loved you, Jackson.”

My gaze shifts all over the room, seeing the sad bu
t talented girl I knew she’d be. I reach for her and pull her to me, kissing her hair. “Thank you. I love it.”

“Wait.” She pulls away and walks to her desk, searching for something. When she finds it, she closes the drawer and comes back to my side. “I want you to have this.”

She hands me a picture of two kids, holding hands and watching the sunset. Their backs to me, her long dark hair flowing down her back, curled slightly at the end. His hair in disarray; looks like me alright. It brings me back to then, fishing with her and watching the water.

“Oh my God.”
I blink back a tear trying to surface. I’m not sure words would be enough for what my heart feels. I grab her and kiss her, instead, pouring every detailed emotion into her, into our kiss until we’re left breathless. “I fucking love you.”

Chapter 21

Skylar

Mr. Shaw calls me to his desk when the bell rings. I set my art supplies down and stand in front of him, a little nervous. What could he have to say to me right now? He leans back in his chair, bouncing back and forth, study
ing me.

‘“I sense you’re worried,” h
e says, with an amused grin. “I only called you here to discuss something with you.”

“Okay.” I wipe my sweaty palm on my pants.

He folds his hands on top of his desk and peers at me over his glasses. “I’ve recently spoke to a friend of mine in New York, whom works in an art studio. I’ve sent pictures of some of your paintings to him. He’s interested in having you meet with him. He’d love for you to paint for him and maybe do some photography.” I’m too stunned to speak, so I stand stock-still and try to soak up every bit of this information. “Now, I remember you saying something about moving there after the summer. If you’re still interested, I think you should talk to him. There’s a good art school in Manhattan too. I can get you all the information you need.”

I gape at him, grateful and totally disbelieving that this is happening. Art school? Art studio?
Photography? What the hell is happening here? The school year isn’t over yet and I’m already having opportunities knocking on my door. “Wow, I’m speechless. I don’t know what to say.”

“Say you’ll take this information and think it over. New York is a great place for exploring, in many industries.” I watch the top of his head, in concentration. “You’re really talented, Skylar. You should really put it to good use. I know your father would be so proud of you.”

I couldn’t agree with him more. But still, it was only an idea. I still need to get through the summer in Europe with my mom, before I decide on actually moving. And then there’s…

Jackson.

What would he think of all this? Would he be excited? Would he discourage me? We haven’t talked about our futures, not really. I get the feeling he’s on the verge of ending his football career, but would he support me and my dreams?

My heart starts to race with anxiety and uncertainty. I know when I think of a future, I see Jackson. He is my future. Maybe we should start talking about that. These months are flying by and before we know it, school will be over.

I take a deep breath, “Thank you for even considering such a generous offer. I’ve heard of the art school in Manhattan and I was thinking of checking it out. I’m still undecided at this point. But I’ll let you know when I decide something for sure.”

He gets up from his desk and leans against it, crossing his arms. “Good, I’m glad to hear it. I love your passion, your emotions that are conveyed in each piece you put out in class. They’re so raw and vivid.”

A small breath escapes my throat. “Thank you.”

He excuses me from the class but when I reach the door, he calls my name. I grab the frame of the door and glance back at him. “You should be proud of yourself. You work hard, you deserve great things.” I nod in thanks and leave.

Lost in my deep thoughts while putting my stuff in my locker, I jump a little when a pair of familiar arms wrap around my stomach from behind.

Jackson chuckles in my ear. “I didn’t scare you, did I?”

“No, not at all. I’m always this skittish.”

He kisses my ear and then blows air, sending a shiver through me. I’ll never get used to his touches or his constant flirting. I guess I don’t want too, either.

When I close my locker, I turn around lean back against it. That’s when he leans closer, trapping me with his body. A sense of thrill grips me from the inside. I wrap my arms around his neck and say, “This isn’t the place for makeout sessions.”

The corner of his mouth lifts, just slightly. “Who says anything about making out?
There’s a bathroom right over there,” he says, lowering his voice teasingly as he points to the right of us. Students are milling about but we don’t pay attention to them. He kisses me once before his body is gone, next to mine instead of covering mine. I twist a little so I’m mirroring his sideways position. “So I was thinking.”

“Uh oh.
You’re a dangerous thinker.” I interrupt with a playful smirk.

He wiggles his brows and then takes my hand, leading me down the hall through the double doors to the parking lot. “Actually, you’re right. However,” He’s using hand gestures for effect. “This time it was with Jake, so you can imagine how much worse the
thought was.” He steals a quick kiss as my appalling expression shows through. I can only imagine. “No seriously though, you don’t have plans tonight, do you?”

I think it over on when I was supposed to go to Jared’s for dinner with him and his girlfriend, Hannah. But remembering
it’s next weekend, I shake my head. “Nope, all yours tonight.”

“Good.
Because we’re going right over to Jake’s. Us guys are gonna make you ladies dinner.”

I send him a look of appreciation at their thoughtfulness. It shouldn’t really surprise me. Both of them are extremely thoughtful on a daily basis. “Taking on the role of housewife, are
ya?” I wrap an arm around his waist as we stroll to his car. This’ll be interesting.

He opens the door for me and I slip inside, desperate to ignore this tight knot that continuously grips my stomach. I’ll tell him about New York later, I decide.

I stare out the window on the drive over. It’s not lost on Jackson. “You’re quiet. Are you okay?”

I lay my head sideways against the headrest and smile at him when he looks at me. “Yeah, I’m just thinking of how lucky I am to have you.”

His eyes darken with passion and love and his voice grows soft when he says, “I’m luckier.” He kisses the back of my hand before letting go. “I wanna go away with you. Just the two of us.”

I lift my head, cheerful and intrigued at the idea.
“Where to?”

He thinks abou
t it for a minute before he suggests, “How ‘bout Dallas? We can go to Six Flags and stay in a fancy hotel.”

“Talk about spontaneity, baby. I’m there.” I agree, with as much fervor as I can find within me. I love road trips, and a road trip with Jackson is definitely
gonna be the highlight of my weekend. I just hope my mom will agree to it.

I lift my feet up on the dash and stick my hands between my thighs.

He raises a brow, “I love spontaneity, remember?” We pull up in front of Jake’s house. “We’ll talk about it later, okay?” I nod. After a brief kiss, he gets out and meets me at my side.

“You don’t have to open my every time we go somewhere.” I tell him, but with a kind smile. “Though I do appreciate the chivalrous side, I can do things for myself, too.”

Naturally our hands come together as we walk to the door. “You’re right; it’s a new habit of mine. Being with you brings that side out of me. But if it gets to be too much, kick me. I’ll stop.” His hand grasps mine in front of us, comparing sizes. “No, I’ll just bring it down a notch. I don’t mean to insinuate that you need a guy to do everything. You’re not like that.” His hand pushes against mine a little too hard, I wince. “Which I appreciate, by the way.”

When the door opens, I stifle a giggle because Jake’s wearing an apron. “Hey
, guys!” He smirks.

“Dude, you got another one for me?” Jackson asks him seriously.

I stifle a grin. “Wow, this is going to be interesting.” I glance at Jackson, “Damn, I didn’t even think of it. My mom’s got several. I could’ve borrowed one from her.”

Both of them are conversing and I can’t keep up. But I know once they’re both in their roles, I’m taking a picture to send to
Randa. She’ll probably blast it on Facebook, too. Better wait to show her. “I’m going to look for Monica.” I tell them, as they chat away about I don’t even know anymore, so I leave them to it.

“She’s in the game-room.” Jake shouts over his shoulder at the same time Jackson says, “I love you, Sky.”

I shake my head at the two great guys in my life.

“Monica?” I open the door to find her in a comfy looking rocking chair, reading. “Hey, what’s up?”

“Hey, Sky.” She shows me the cover of the book she’s reading;
Find You in the Dark.
“Have you read this? I’ve already cried like a thousand tears. Oh my God.” She wipes her face. I examine the cover, and it’s quite intriguing.  I’ll have to borrow it. “Maybe it’s my emotions, too.”

I tilt m
y head and study her, wondering--

“I’m pregnant.” She deadpans. Well, I’m not wondering anymore. I gape at her. “But honestly, this book is heartbreaking.
God, poor Clay.” She starts off again.

“Does Jake know?” I have no clue how to broach this subject.
But seriously, pregnant? Wow, I mean, it happens. I just can’t imagine what she’s feeling.

“It’s one of the reasons we invited you guys over for dinner. Of course we were
gonna tell you both together.”