Page 137 of Wild Eyes
When she turns into the kitchen, she draws up short. Her eyes go wide, and then, “Ollie.” She pushes past me where I’m leaning against the stove, rounding the island to get to him. She reaches for him and her gentle fingers trail over the blue swelling on his cheek and the cut on his lip. “What happened?”
My son looks over at me and back at Skylar. “Nothing. Got in a bit of a scuffle.”
The silence in the room is awkward. Even Emmy doesn’t add to his explanation. They both want to protect her, and I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t killing me.
“Over what? I’ll kill them.” She tilts his head to inspect his cheekbone more carefully. Nothing is broken, I already know. But I don’t tell her that. There’s something about seeing her dote on him that feels profoundly special.
I’ve watched her and my kids form a bond. Organic from the start. Like they chose each other.
“It’s fine, Skylar.”
Her hands fall away, and her flat voice takes on a hint of anger. “This is not fine. What happened, West? You need to get down to the school. There needs to be consequences.”
I nod. “There will be. Trust me.”
“I do. But this… Why won’t you tell me what?—”
It’s like a lightbulb flickers to life in her head without me even telling her. It’s painful to watch.
“Is this about me?”
Ollie stares at her, unflinching.
“Don’t worry, Skylar,” Emmy says. “Ollie taught him a lesson. You should see the other guy. He looks even worse. Dad taught us both how to make fists with thumbs on the outside.” Emmy winks at her like keeping your thumb on the outside is a special secret trick.
From the side, I watch Skylar’s face fall. “Oh, buddy.” Her voice breaks as she leans over and wraps her arms around him. He hugs her back. Hard. And without hesitation. “Oh, buddy. Oh, buddy. I’m so sorry.”
My eyes sting and my throat aches. I blink furiously as I turn my head away.
“I’m not. He got what he deserved.” Ollie sounds older than he is, and he also sounds furious.
“What did he say? You shouldn’t…you can’t start fighting my battles.” She pulls away, holding him by the shoulders as though waiting for an answer.
“It doesn’t matter.”
I watch her jaw flex as her eyes search his face. I thought she’d crumble, but instead, I watch as an eerie sort of armor clicks into place. “I love you, Ollie. I hope you know that. And, Emmy? I love you too. Never change. Either of you. You have both made my time here better than I could ever have imagined. I’m the luckiest girl in the world to have gotten to know you.”
Then she wraps an arm around each of them and pulls them into a desperate hug. She keeps her head dropped, and they both cling to her. I’m pretty sure I hear murmurs ofI love you too. Which is my undoing. I walk away to the bathroom to catch my breath and give them a moment of privacy.
The moment is too sensitive even for me to endure.
But what really has me choked up is that Skylar’s words sounded an awful lot like goodbye.
“I’m going to kill that little prick,” Mia whispers to me as the kids charge into her house to get settled for the week.
“Maybe we can kill him together?”
“And the administration.” She got the same call I did yesterday, but I went to the school to get Ollie and updated her after we got home. Knowing Mia, they haven’t heard the last of this from us. They’re about to be really tired of us, that’s for sure. “And his parents. What kind of clown are the Matthews raising?”
“He still won’t tell me what the kid said, so I imagine it was pretty bad.”
Mia nods, and I can hear Brandon talking to the kids from inside the house. “I’m kind of proud of him, you know? Quiet little Ollie throwing fists to defend a woman’s honor. Maybe he’s got some of you in him after all.” She punches my shoulder, and I laugh. “How is Skylar?”
I scrunch my nose and look away. “Surviving.”
Seems about as close to the truth as I can get without telling my ex too much. I’ve never told her outright about us, but she knows all the same. She’s a smart cookie that way.
“She makes you happy, huh? I can tell. And I know the kids love her.”
