Page 9 of The Sky Between Us

“Yeah, she is murdering mine, dude,” I agreed.

“So, how do you guys know each other?” Elliot’s eyebrows shot up so high they almost disappeared. Shit, I forgot to mention it to him. We also worked together.

Hazel didn’t seem particularly interested in sharing our Starbucks secret because her reply was short. “My dad is your coach.”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t explain why I don’t know you,” my roommate pressed the issue.

“Are you the captain?” I realized Hazel and I spoke in unison.

Our gaze locked; surprise written across both of our faces. Elliot’s and Sarah’s eyes kept jumping between us. I could feel their eyes burning my skin, but all I wanted was to look at Hazel. Her mask fell and for a - moment I could see her for who she really was. Until she recovered and snorted.

“That’s been dealt with.”

“Stay with us,” Sarah begged her with huge puppy eyes. “For me. We can find you a cute guy.”

Hazel rolled her eyes, and I started to think that was the only motion she was capable of. “You make me sound like a bitch because I always have to tell you no.”

“But you are a bitch,” I muttered under my breath, only for her ears. Her dark eyes bolted at me and she shook her head.

“Nice” she muttered back, and I saw her lips curling upwards.

Wow, was I making her cold heart melt a little?

“Are you staying?” Sarah asked again, as she sunk deeper into Elliot’s arms.

“Shots,” my friend called. “After that you may leave the party, Hazel.”

“I don’t need your approval to leave,” she mumbled superbly. “And I don’t like to drink.”

“Why not?” I asked, while Elliot was pouring tequila into the tiny cups. Sarah pressed up against his back and giggled in his ear. I was all about hookups, but her behavior was making me uncomfortable. Hazel turned her gaze away as well and stared at the wall. Her face still had a mask on, and I couldn’t read her. Not her emotions, not her thoughts, not even her body language. She was completely shielded. It only made me want to figure her out more.

“Bad memories,” she replied when I already gave up on her. “Once I got drunk and did a stupid thing.”

“We all did that,” I took a tentative step closer to her. “We all get drunk and make a fool out of ourselves. That’s what college is about. You make mistakes and you move on. You don’t beat yourself up forever for one stupid mistake.”

“Some mistakes can’t be forgiven or left behind. Some mistakes leave a mark on us and we have to carry their consequences forever.”

I opened my mouth to reply, but I couldn’t find the words. It felt like the entire room had been suddenly turned into a freezer. I stared at her in complete shock, my mind racing, thinking what could have happened with her. And then she lifted her eyes and looked at me. Our eyes locked and for the first time I saw her for who she really was. A scared and hurt girl. Not a self-absorbed ice queen she tried to portray. Chills kept creeping up my back and my mouth ran dry. I wanted to say something, anything to comfort her, but I was clueless.

“Shots,” Elliot appeared with the cups and handed us both one. Hazel dropped her gaze to hers and I could see her shift uncomfortably. “Cheers, everybody. To the start of a great night.”

I didn’t even think. Before I could register what my body was doing, I moved to take her cup and poured the liquid into my own.

“You don’t need to drink it, if you don’t want to,” I said, lifting the cup and emptying the double tequila into my mouth.

As I bit onto the lime to ease the burning in my throat, I could see her mouth a silent ‘thank you’.

Chapter 3

Sky ran towards me with the ball between his legs. He was quick. A huge grin spread across his face and his dark hair was messy from the wind. I reached up to ruffle his hair even more, which made him laugh. His laughter was the cutest thing ever.

“What are you reading?” he asked, dropping onto the grass next to me. “Why are you not hanging out with your friends?”

“I hung out enough with them yesterday,” I replied dryly.

Sarah slept with Elliot, but still ended up in her own bed with a terrible hangover. I didn’t need to listen to her moan about how good her night was, yet how disappointed she was that Elliot treated her like every other girl. She was insufferable. I told her my favorite ‘I told you so’ sentence and left. I really wasn’t in the mood to play the good and understanding friend. I mean, it’s not like I had anything against hooking up on parties and drunken one-night stands. Some people liked it. But I wasn’t one of them. People simply needed to deal with the consequences of their decisions and stop moaning about it. Life was unfair. There was nothing we could do about it, just accept it.

“When can I play soccer with Aiden again?” he asked, kicking the ball up in the air and catching it with his hands. “He is amazing.”

---