Page 36 of Skylar

How was this her life?

It felt like everything had fallen apart, starting with her relationship with Emmett. From that moment on, things had just gone downhill.

She stayed on her back, trying not to focus on the unrelenting pain in her ankle. Finally, the tears stopped, and she lifted her hands to brush the moisture away.

Rolling over to her hands and knees, she used her good leg to balance herself as she straightened. Once she was up, she put her foot down and tried to take a step.

Immediately, the pain had her crying out and sinking down onto her butt. She stretched her leg out and glared at it. There was no way she was going to be able to make it home on her own.

She was going to have to call her parents.

When she reached for her phone in the arm strap she usually wore it in, she realized it wasn’t there. She’d been so distracted that she hadn’t realized it had fallen out.

Looking around, she saw it laying on the ground face down. Using her good foot, she scooted over to where it was and picked it up.

She stared down at the shattered screen. “Are youkiddingme?”

Her frustration climbed as she tried to figure out what to do. Hoping the phone still had service, even with a smashed screen, she looked at her smart watch.

Relief flooded her when she saw that her watch was still connected. She tapped on the small screen, bringing up her contacts. It was still early, not quite seven, but she hoped that her dad would be up.

“Skylar?” he said when he answered.

Tears sprang to her eyes again, and she had to swallow hard to clear her throat enough for her to talk. “Dad, I need help.”

“What’s wrong, honey?”

His voice sounded distant through the watch. “I was out running, and I twisted my ankle. I can’t walk on it.”

“Okay. I’m on my way,” he said. “Where are you?”

And just like that, her dad was on his way to rescue her. Just like he’d picked her up when she’d tripped and skinned her knee as a child. She’d always known he would be there for her if she needed him in a way no other man had ever been.

With rescue on the way, Skylar kept her injured leg stretched out but drew her other leg up. She wrapped her arms around it and bent to rest her forehead on her knee.

She tried to just blank out her mind, afraid that if she thought too much about everything, she would start to cry again. She didn’t want her dad to arrive and find her sobbing.

It didn’t take long for the rumble of a car engine to sound in the distance. As it neared, she looked up and watched as her dad’s car slowed to a stop not far from her.

He got out and came around the hood to where she sat. Lowering himself to one knee, her dad looked at her.

He gave her a gentle smile. “Let’s get you home, then we’ll check over your ankle. Everything’s going to be okay.”

She appreciated his optimism, but she didn’t share it. Right then, it felt like her life had been torn apart, and she wasn’t sure how she was going to put it back together and move forward.

With careful movements, her dad helped her up and then wrapped his arm around her waist and guided her as she hopped toward his car. She let out a long sigh as she settled back in the front seat.

Though she’d been running for a while before injuring her ankle, it didn’t take long to get back home. Once there, her dad helped her into the house and guided her to the kitchen.

“What happened?” her mom cried when she spotted her. She still wore her pajamas, which consisted of a pair of shorts and a T-shirt, and she was standing with the coffee carafe in her hand.

“I twisted my ankle,” Skylar said as she settled into a chair at the table.

Her dad bent down on one knee and carefully worked off her shoe and sock. She hissed out a breath of pain as he gently rotated it. “We’re going to have to get an x-ray of it. I’ll call Gareth to see if he can come in early to check it over, too.”

That was the benefit of having several medical professionals in the family. They always managed to fit her in when she needed their help.

“Here.” Her mom handed over an ice pack from the freezer. “Put this on it to help with the swelling.”

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