Page 50 of Skylar

He and Cole had met in kindergarten, and it hadn’t been long after their meeting that he’d met Cole’s little sister. She’d had long, wavy brown hair and big brown eyes, just like Shiloh had, and she’d become a fixture in his life as well.

As he neared the area where Skylar had said she’d parked, he pressed the fob and listened for the chirp. Soon, he found the vehicle and slid behind the wheel.

It didn’t take long to circle around and pull up to where he’d left Skylar. There were other cars there also picking up people, so he quickly hopped out and waited by the door for Skylar to circle around the car.

“Thank you,” she said, leaning in to put her crutches on the passenger side, then she hopped around to angle herself to slide into the driver’s seat.

“Talk to you later,” Aiden said, then closed her door and moved out of the way of the vehicles.

Once she’d pulled away, he headed for his own car to make the short drive home to his mom and Willow.

Over the next few days, Aiden found himself revisiting the exchange he and Skylar had had. And along with the exchange, memories of their time together growing up and dating.

There had been a time in his life when he’d believed that he’d do anything to protect Skylar. First as his best friend’s sister, then as his girlfriend.

They’d grown up together, sharing many moments of laughter and joy. Even when he and Cole had found her to be a pain sometimes, especially when they were newly turned thirteen years old. Skylar had just been eleven, but they’d still tolerated her and let her tag along.

The two years’ difference in their ages hadn’t meant as much when he was seventeen and noticing that Cole’s little sister was actually a beautiful young woman. When he’d asked her out on a date, her parents had made it clear the only reason they were allowing her to date him at fifteen was because they knew him and trusted him to treat her well.

He’d promised that he would take care of Skylar and be a good boyfriend to her.

Only he hadn’t been.

He’d been terrible to her.

During the years since he’d last seen her, thoughts of that time had come to mind more than he would have wanted. There had been times he’d wanted to ask Cole how Skylar was doing, but he’d bitten his tongue.

Cole had stuck to Aiden’s request that they not talk about Skylar, and Aiden hadn’t been sure how to change that. Or if he wanted to open that door for Cole to ask for more details about the breakup.

Initially, when guilt had tried to edge its way into his emotions, he’d managed to tell himself that the breakup had been for the best. But as he’d matured, and then experienced the trauma of losing his dad and sister, the guilt had surfaced more and more.

However, he hadn’t known what to do with it.

Would he have ever contacted Skylar if she hadn’t appeared in his office?

Maybe when their paths had crossed, which he’d assumed would happen at some point. Though he hadn’t known exactly when or where that would be, it had seemed inevitable because of their connections to Cole.

But that’s not what happened. And now she’d had to accept him back into her life when it seemed to be the last thing she wanted. Which wasn’t a surprise at all. And he also couldn’t blame her for how she might feel.

Now that he’d spent some time with her, Aiden really wanted to find a way to make things up to her. Unfortunately, absolutely nothing came to mind.

That evening, after he’d spent time with Willow before she went to bed, he decided to call Cole again. He was hoping thathis friend had talked to Skylar and could give Aiden some idea of where her mind was at.

“How’s it going, bro?” Cole asked when he answered Aiden’s call. “Guess Skylar hasn’t offed you yet, huh?”

“I don’t think she’s even tried,” Aiden told him.

“Well, I have a feeling she’s thought about it.”

“Have you talked to her?” he asked.

“I have,” Cole said. “And she is not your biggest fan.”

“Tell me something I don’t know.”

“You don’t blame her for not liking you, do you?”

“Of course not,” Aiden said. “I deserve how she feels about me.”

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