Page 5

four

Skylar

Every little noise is freaking me out.

There is a car backfiring out on the street.

At least that’s what I’m hoping it was. There’s someone in the hallway, laughing, and I’m hoping that they’re not plotting anything like breaking into apartments.

And then, I swear, there is scratching along the walls.

I can’t tell whether it’s inside or outside the apartment, in the hallway, or at my front door.

Maybe my mind is playing tricks on me, and I’m hearing things.

A rapping on the front door makes my heart beat nervously. I stop all movements, listening for some sort of menacing voice to taunt me and to play games on me.

Wait, was that someone laughing on the other side of the door?

Would someone who wants to murder me knock on the door?

Yes. They would. It would be a moment where they give you false security, as if they’re leading you on to think they’re nice and not the other way around.

“Sky? Hey, Sky? It’s me, Chase.” I hear another rap on the door.

I release a shaky breath and rush to the door.

I unlock the doorknob, turn the deadbolt, and unhinge the chain before opening the door, reaching through, and pulling Chase by the arm inside in a hurry. I close the door, secure all the locks, and lean against it.

I feel at ease with him being here.

“You okay?” he asks, his brows pushed together.

“I feel like it’s my first time home alone,” I admit, “it must be the new city nerves.”

“How long has the power been out?” he asks, looking around, moving to the windows, and peering down at the crowded street below.

“Honestly, I’m not sure. I got home about an hour ago, and it was already off. None of my neighbors said anything while I was walking in. Everyone here seems odd, and I don’t know my neighbors well.”

He continues to look around my place. I like what I’ve done with it. While the building and the surrounding area are rough-looking, the interior of my apartment is drastically different. It has a clean-modern look with a touch of girly.

A few candles illuminate my living room; otherwise, it’s dark. Which doesn’t ease my discomfort.

I look at the outline of Chase, with the flashlight from his phone on, standing in my kitchen. My skin warms at his presence. He’s taller than I remember him being. His presence was powerful during our younger years, but not so much that all the attention was on him.

I knew moving here would mean that I would be around my brother more, and in turn, that meant Chase.

I thought I was prepared. I thought I wouldn’t be fazed by him.

After all, we grew up together; we were practically family.

And boy, was I wrong. Every time I am around him, my heart beats faster, but my body remains calm.

My throat dries up, but I salivate over him.

Everything is confusing now. This is the kid that used to skip around the block singing R.E.M.

, not the strikingly handsome third baseman with an ass that you can bounce quarters off of.

Ew, gross is what I should be saying. Instead, I’m thinking about what that ass looks like without those tight pants he’s wearing.

“Okay, we need some more lights, at least in the spaces that we need to be in. I would hate to take a leak and piss all over the place.”

“There’s a night light in the bathroom,” I reply.

“Battery operated?” he quirks an eyebrow, and I realize what I just said.

“I think I have more candles in my bedroom, but I need a light.”

“I have my phone. Go ahead.” He holds up his phone and smiles at me.

Moments later, I’m back with an arm full of candles. “Okay, so my place will smell of a mixture of vanilla and lavender. I hope you’re not allergic.”

“I can handle it. My housekeeper likes to overuse flowery scents.” He holds out his large hands, and I place a candle in each. We place and light the candles in each space of my tiny apartment. A few minutes later, we’ve finished and are sitting side-by-side on my couch in silence.

I’m unsure what we’re supposed to do now. I have nothing to entertain him, and God knows I don’t know what he’s into these days, probably fast women and even faster cars.

“Do you have any board games?” Chase asks, leaning back against the couch and placing his hand across the top. “I figure we might as well entertain ourselves. There’s no knowing how long we’ll be in the dark.”

“You don’t have to stay. I don’t know why Ethan told you that you needed to come over. I don’t need a babysitter. I’m grown.”

“Hey, it’s what we do, right? When someone needs something, we’re there for them? So, I’m here. Either way, I would be just chilling at home, doing nothing, so I prefer company rather than talking to myself.”

“I get it, but it’s not like you need to babysit me. Ethan shouldn’t have called you.”

“I’m not babysitting you. I’m keeping you company,”he clarifies.

“You can go home.”

“Ethan would kill me.”

“Ethan hated the fact that you and I were locked in a freaking garage last night,” I point out.

“Ethan would kill me if I left you all alone in the dark.”

“I have candles.”

“Sky, there’s no chance in hell that I am going to leave. So, just get used to me. Now, what kind of board games do you have?”

“I have a deck of cards, but no board games. I don’t think that I’ve played a board game since we were kids.”

I walk over to my junk drawer in the kitchen and pull out the deck of cards tucked into the back of the drawer.

He asks, “Update me on your activities since we last saw one another.”

“You mean since last night?” I tease.

“Hilarious. Since when did you get a sense of humor?” he teases back.

“Okay, so what do you want to know? You know pretty much everything about me.”

“I think you forgot I haven’t seen you since after you graduated from high school,” I tell him.

“What else are we going to do?” he smiles.

Oh, I can think of a few things.

I tell him about life after he and Ethan went away to their respective colleges.

I tell him about what I did after high school, a little about college, and how my job opened up a location here that I jumped at the chance to take.

I fill him in on aspects of my life that would be considered highlights, and I have his undivided attention with every word I speak.

I ask him about his life and how he navigates it through being a huge athlete.

Suddenly, there’s a scream from somewhere outside, and my body crashes against his. His hands move to my arms, and he pulls me against him.

“Is that normal?” he asks.

I shake my head against his muscular chest.

Chase releases me and stands, moving over to the window, looking out onto the street. “It’s nothing. Looks like it’s a couple of kids fucking around out there,” he looks back at me, then comes to sit back beside me. “So, you’re a wuss.”

“Nah, I watch too many scary movies and get too many ideas going through my head from them.”

“I’ve gotta use the john, you okay?” he asks.

“Chase, I’m twenty-five. I’m not ten. I am a big girl.”

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

He’s gone maybe a minute or two. And the entire time, I’m eager to have him sit down next to me again, and when his large body takes the space next to me, he grins.

“So, about last night?” he begins.

And my heart flutters.