Page 5 of Chasing Ink (House of Ink #3)
How Did This Go So Very Fucking Wrong
A listair
I walk out of her bungalow with my heart in my shoes. My head hurts and I want to lose my damn mind. Did she really have a date? When the fuck did someone ask her out? But most importantly, is she really leaving Franklinton?
I can’t imagine not seeing her every day. The two years she was in New York almost drove me insane and now she wants to leave forever. To build a life and a future somewhere else with someone else. I want to put my fucking fist through a wall.
“Fucking coward!” I hear her yell, right before something smashes against the door.
I walk away without turning back. She is pissed off like a copperhead that had its tail stepped on, and I am not going to try to wrangle that crazy. I will give her some space but tomorrow she will have to deal with me.
Hailey is sitting on my porch in a rattan chair with a beer when I walk up. “Did you fix that?”
“What?” I ask with a frown.
“I may not have been around you guys since you were kids, but I’m not dumb or blind.”
“Meaning?” I watch her carefully, trying to assess where her head is at.
“That girl’s in love with you, big man. And you’re in love with her.” She states it as matter of fact.
“I’m not...”
“I know the difference between shit and mud, my friend. Even if they’re both brown,” she cuts in.
“I know you’re afraid of what the fall out will look like with Luke, and he isn’t the easiest person to deal with, but he wants her to be happy and safe.
And from my point of view, she couldn’t be happier or safer than she is with you.
” She gets up from her spot and kisses my cheek before giving me her half-finished beer. “Time to man the fuck up.”
And then she walks away. Leaving me with her wise words to spin through my head on repeat. I sit on the porch and sip the remains of her beer. I have no idea what the fuck to do next, but I do know I don’t want to let Skye walk out of my life.
I stare at the star filled sky and listen to the waves crash against the shoreline as I try to work through the options I don’t have. There is only one way to make sure that she stays. I need to talk to Luke.
The moment I think of him, he appears from between the bungalows, frowning as he steps onto my porch. He falls into the seat beside me with a sigh and we sit in silence.
“What the fuck am I going to do?” he asks after long minutes of silence.
“Luke...”
“She’s my sister, man. I know I’m overprotective but I’m just looking out for her. How the hell am I supposed to do that when she moves out of town?”
“Have you thought of backing off?” I ask when he stops talking.
He looks at me with disbelief. “You’re just as bad as I am. And so is Lain, Adam, even fucking Damien.”
“Yeah,” I say with a sigh. “We all just want to protect her.”
“And now it’s driving her away.”
I sit there, gathering my courage to tell him the truth when I spot Skye walking out of her bungalow and to the beach. “I’ll talk to her.”
“Thanks, man,” he slaps my shoulder before standing up and walking away.
****
I wait a full five minutes after Luke leaves before I walk down to the beach. I know that Skye is down here somewhere, I just need to find her. And it isn’t hard to do.
She is sitting on the sand in her a different sundress with her toes in the sand, staring at the waves. The moonlight casts enough illumination that I can see the tears coating her cheeks. My heart stutters in my chest and all I want to do is make it better for her.
I know I am the only person who can.
I sit beside her in silence while she cries. I don’t pull her closer or lift her onto my lap. I let her have this moment and wait for her to speak first.
“I hate this,” she whispers.
“I know, baby doll.”
“Why does everything have to be so damn hard?”
I chuckle at the words. Nothing worth having will ever come easily. I read the quote somewhere a long time ago and it resonates with me in the moment. I know what I want, and I know how to get it, I just need to be careful about how I do it.
“I don’t want you to leave Franklinton,” I say after a long silence.
She turns to stare at me, but I keep my gaze fixed on the water.
“So, you want me to stay where I am and never find happiness?” Her voice is so small and sad that my resolve snaps and I gather her into my arms.
“No. I want you to stay in Franklinton with me.” I wipe the tears off her cheeks and hold her face steady.
“What about Luke?”
“They’re here for a few more days and then they head off to Paris for another week. I don’t want to say something while they’re on Honeymoon, but the moment he gets back home...”
“Are you serious?” Hope shines in her gaze as she whispers the question.
“Dead serious. But you need to be sure this is what you want,” I say seriously. “Once I ring this bell it can’t be unrung. You need to be sure we are worth it because I know Luke is going to lose his damn mind when he finds out.”
She laughs freely before throwing her arms around my neck and kissing me passionately. For long moments, that is all we do before I lift her off my lap. I stand and offer her the crook of my arm. We walk side by side to the door of her bungalow.
“Are you coming in?” she asks.
I wink at her with a grin. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
She sticks out her tongue but goes inside all the same and I head over to my own accommodation. I don’t want to leave her alone. There is still a lot we need to discuss but we both need to breathe. This is a big step, and she needs the time to make sure that this is really what she wants.
That I am really what she wants.