Chapter Forty-Two

Skylar's POV:

As much as I hated the thought of going to school the next day, I did go. Mainly because mom came over, dad too. And I didn't want to make things more awkward between us.

So I took the bus again.

"Hey." I spoke up softly as I sat down beside Hanna. Mrs. Jackson hadn't arrived yet and the classroom wasn't yet brimming with the usual morning chatters. During this time, I usually talked with Alex. But Alex wasn't here now; he didn't come to school today—at least that's what I wanted to believe.

"Hi." She replied, facing me with a small smile. It was the concerned look on her face that made me unable to speak, or do anything else. I just stuck with placing my textbook in front of me, avoiding her gaze, and waiting for her to speak up the obvious question.

"Did you see Alex anywhere?" She asked after a while.

I blinked twice and felt my throat closing up anxiously. My eyelids felt heavy, mainly because of the way I had bawled my eyes out yesterday, and maybe even because of my lack of sleep.

"No." I whispered, before glancing at her. "Did you?"

Had Alex told her about him being in a gang? Had he been lying about his feelings for her?

"No. I thought you might know." She looked confused now. "I didn't hear from him since..."

I couldn't help but feel guilty at that. Hanna mustn't been looking forward to this date. I knew she wasn't really a social person, she wasn't like those girls who went on dates each day. And now that all was ruined for her.

Maybe I shouldn't have told Alex about the gun that I came across in his car. That way yesterday couldn't gone in a much better way. But then again, looking back at that moment, I didn't think I had it in me to act as if everything was fine when it wasn't.

"We sort of had a fight." I told her. I didn't want to tell her everything, but at the same time I knew she deserved some explanation. I would've wanted some explanation too if I were in her place. "I was gonna come with him to that double date."

"But?" Her voice sounded so small.

I wished I could’ve reassured her on this. But I, myself, didn't know anything anymore.

"This fight happened and I left him." I glanced down at my lap, refusing to meet her gaze. "I haven't seen or talked to him since."

The only guy I had last seen was Caden. And dad, of course.

"Oh." Was her reply. She looked down at her lap as well. "I thought he was looking forward to that date."

I felt bad, more than I would've. "I'm sorry, Hanna." My brows furrowed as I looked at her. "I would've known he'd do this. I thought—I'm really sorry."

I didn't know why I was apologizing. I just couldn't have not apologized when I saw that look on her face. I felt really bad.

She looked back at me and gave me another small smile. I didn't return it, I couldn't have. "It's all right. I think I shouldn't have—" She didn't get to complete the sentence when Mrs. Jackson came inside. After that, we pretty much dropped that topic. I think none of us was eager to talk about it.

After classes finished, I went back home to find my parents already there. A big part of me was beyond relieved when I saw them, mainly because I didn't want to be alone today.

"Hey, Dad." I walked over towards him with a wide grin on my face, giving him a hug. I was more than happy to see him out of that hospital.

"How was your day?" He asked, ruffling my hair which honestly was no fun to fix, but that was something he did when I was a kid, and I secretly always loved that.

Before I could slump down on the couch and let the obvious grief of everything overwhelm me, I saw mom coming out of her room in her work suit.

"Just like every other day." I replied before sprawling down on the couch beside him. From somewhere around the house, I heard Chicken mewl.

"Are you guys staying?" I asked him. Deep down, I hoped that they were. Dad nodded to my relief and stood up, going towards the fridge. I couldn't help but look over at the familiar cameras then. This time however, there was no black tape. Even the alarm system was full enabled.

I wanted to ask mom and dad about it.

"Your friend Alex stopped by." Mom told me before she walked towards me and extended a hand. I noticed the small, folded note in it.

I didn't take it, though.

"What was he doing here?" My voice sounded a bit angrier than it would've, and mom mustn't noticed it since she passed me a confused look, still holding out the paper towards me.

"I don't know. I guess, he mustn't skipped school." She shrugged. "Which he shouldn't have." She added just as quick. I would've rolled my eyes if I wasn't still stuck on the part where he stopped by my house. "You aren't doing things like that, are you?"

I took the note from her and opened it.

I really am sorry, Sky. I can explain everything to you. It wouldn't be that bad when you hear it. I promise. Please just hear me out.

I scrunched it up in a ball and threw it over my shoulder. Both mom and dad eyed my sudden action. I just slumped back against the couch once again, a small frown forming on my face.

"I thought you and Alex were friends?" Dad asked in a much calmer way than mom would've.

I started untying my shoelaces, willing myself not to think too much about Alex. I was already so tired from yesterday. There were so many questions rummaging through my head. I wanted answers from him, but I didn't even want to see him—not when I knew now whatever that he had been hiding from me.

"We were. He's just a dickhead." I grumbled.

I'm sure I would've seen a glare if I had been looking at my mother. "Skylar, you are not using that word again." She stated calmly.

As if. Alexander was the only dickhead.

"Is this a good time to ask you guys about that locker?" I changed the topic to a more useful one. I didn't want to jump on them again like that day. I didn't want to see dad or mom in a hospital again.

There was silence for the next few seconds. I was about to probably take back my words when dad spoke up, "I guess so." And when he sat down beside me, mom too on a chair, I was left surprised for a bit. This was actually the first time they both were giving me their whole attention. They weren't shutting me out.

I felt special.

"Well," I started, glancing at both of them. From the corner of my eye, I saw Chicken running inside the kitchen, seeming a bit too excited for some reason. "Caden and I opened that locker, and I found a wooden box inside." I told them, which they probably already knew.

"Caden?" Mom asked with a raise of her brow.

I nodded very slowly.

"And you trusted him with this locker?" Dad asked, looking as doubtful as mom.

I sighed then, because I really didn't know what to say to that. Was I even in the right mind to know who to trust and who not to trust? I trusted Alex, and look how that ended up.

"I think so." I replied. "He saved my life many times." I felt a bit uncomfortable talking about him to my parents. It was just strange that I was having this talk with my parents, who barely ever talked with me more than few minutes.

Mom's expression fell into a frown. "And are you two dating?"

Oh, how I wish we were.

"What if we are?" I asked her, trying to sound just as casual. "That shouldn't matter."

I'm sure she was wondering how the hell her daughter ended up with a guy. Or more likely, a guy like Caden. But well, she didn't know who Caden was anyway.

"The point is, why is that wooden box locked?" I asked them with obvious curiosity.

A look passed in between them. Something told me that they weren't sure if it was better to tell me or not.

"Someone gave it to us." Dad spoke up first, and my ears perked up at that.

"To keep it safe." Mom added.

"What is inside it?"

Mom shook her head. "We don't know. Other than it being precious."

"How much precious?" I asked them. I couldn't make myself to think about anything in that small wooden box that could be so precious.

"Lives have been sworn over it, Skylar. And some people..." Dad stopped surely, and my eyes widened at him, hoping that he'd keep on speaking. "Some people are still looking for dishwater's inside it."

I wanted to ask him what he meant by some people, but I think all three of us knew who he was talking about. The same people who broke in my house. The only question was whether they knew about Blake or not. Judging by the way they had a great connection with the Matthews, they probably didn't know about him being in a gang.

And that was a bit messed up.

Why did Blake need that box?

I remembered how Blake had mentioned the word death on that rooftop we once had a conversation on. I felt a little queasy all of a sudden. "Who gave it to you?"

Mom glanced at dad and I saw the small, sad smile she passed me. It was a bit strange to see her like that, like she wished she could’ve done something.

"Some dear friends."

I didn't press onto it more. I hadn't wanted to. "What if I get it opened? Would you guys let me open it?"

She gave out a sigh and stood up. "Keep it safe, Sky. That's what I only want from you. Just don't dwell into it more and stay away."

Stay away?

"How am I supposed to stay away when I'm involved in this mess now?" I asked her in disbelief. "Do you know how there are real gangs looking for that thing?"

She narrowed her eyes at me, and I realized that I probably would've kept that last part to myself.

"And how do you know about any of that?" It was dad who asked me that. I suddenly felt like a deer caught in the headlights.

I just kept silent.

"Does Caden has anything to do with this?" He asked.

Oh fuck.

I found myself dodging their stares and standing up, before picking up my bag and almost running towards the stairs.

"I...need to take a shower." Was all I said before disappearing upstairs.

••••••

Back at school, things remained the same. I didn't see Alex, neither did I come across Caden even once. It irritated me slightly, but I pushed that part away from me just as quick.

On the other hand, the breakfast with my parents went in a very uncomfortable and tense silence. The topic of those gangs had still been lurking in the air around us. There was more to it than my parents were letting on.

Maybe they both knew about those gangs too.

"Ms. Anderson, you won't mind showing Brody around the school, would you?" Mr. Nicholas asked, breaking me out from my thoughts.

I looked up from my almost empty notebook –except for the random doodles– and saw the new guy, Brody, smiling at me politely. I knew perfectly well that this was Mr. Nichole's way of giving me a punishment, since I wasn't really paying attention to his lecture.

Showing a new student around the school was the least favorite chore of any person studying here. Our school had so many hallways and places that the whole journey always turned out to be a slow walking marathon. A very tiring one.

"Sure." I murmured slowly, a bit aware of the stares I was getting.

I didn't have anything else to do anyway, and this seemed like a great way for a distraction. Once I heard the bell ringing, I got up and collected my books, passing Brody a small smile. And when he smiled back, I'm sure I heard few girls swooning behind me. With those auburn curls and green eyes, I'm pretty sure nobody could’ve resisted him. With me, however, it was different.

Because once you have eyes for a certain someone, you just couldn't see the attractiveness in somebody else.

"So," I started, facing him and watching as everybody left the classroom. "Where to first, Brody?"

Thankfully, this was a valid reason to ditch my PE class. Coach wouldn't really be able to give me a lecture over it.

Both Brody and I left the classroom and started walking across the hallways. As we walked side by side, I realized that he wasn't much taller than me, few inches but not that much.

"The cafeteria?" He jerked his head towards one opened doorway.

I nodded then, "That is the cafeteria."

Time flew by just as quick as we walked from one spot to another. It was a really long walk, I wasn't even joking. Somewhere in between our tour, the bell rang and the hallways were swarming with people once again as they all rushed towards the cafeteria.

Both Brody and I decided to finish up the tour quick and stopped near the library after a while.

"Wow, that was long." I breathed out. "I'm actually breathless."

He chuckled lightly but looked nowhere as exhausted as me. I really was out of shape, thanks to all of those days in my dear bed.

"I thought your professor was being nice to you when he told you to give me a tour." He spoke up with the same smile. I realized then why all those girls were swooning over him; he was cute.

"Yeah, that was his way of being nice." I said. "But no worries."

"Lunch break's about to end in a while." I told him. "You can sit with my friend and I if you want."

"Yeah, sure."

I knew how lonely it could get when you were new in a high school. For me, Alex had been there; everything had been easy. The smile fell from my face when I thought back to Alex, and I could feel the hollowness inside me.

Things felt so different now.

As I straightened up from my leaning position, I somehow managed to lose my footing, and slipped. Thankfully, Brody took hold of my arm the exact instant before I could’ve fallen down on my face.

"Careful."

I tried regaining my composure but he was still holding onto my arm.

"Um...you can go to the cafeteria now." I spoke up, slightly cringing at the way those words sounded. "I—I'll come and join you in a bit. Gotta use the restroom."

He nodded and passed me another smile, before walking off towards the cafeteria. I exhaled out the breath I had been holding and started walking towards the restroom, making sure that I didn't slip again—the floor was freshly mopped right now, not my fault.

I just hoped I hadn't given him any wrong idea. Of course, he was extremely charming, but I had enough problems regarding charming boys.

Out of nowhere, before I could reach the restroom, I felt a hand circling around my wrist—a grip that took me by surprise, before pulling me inside the janitor's room.

I only heard the door shut behind my back even before I had the time to react.

I braced myself to scream.