A Cliche Love Story

Chapter 18

Alex beamed at Skylar, giving her hand a a gentle squeeze. "Great."

"Where are we going on this date?" Skylar asked curiously, returning his smile.

"I was thinking dinner, and then a movie." He told him. "A classic first date."

Skylar nodded and thought for a moment. "When?"

"How about tonight? I can pick you up at 7:30, and we can catch a movie at 9:00." He suggested and she nodded in agreement.

Her thoughts flutter back to the conversation she had last night with Kaitlyn. She knew she need to ask, but she didn't want to ruin the moment.

"Sounds great." She added, about his suggestion to go on their date in the evening. "Hey, um, can I ask you something?"

"Ask away." The two words made her smile. She was glad he was willing to be open with her. She just hoped that he would answer her question.

"My friend, Lucas, really doesn't seem to like you. Do you know why?" She asked softly, looking at their hands. She somewhat expected him to deflect the question, and try and change the topic.

After a couple moments of silence, Skylar looked up to see that Alex had ducked his head.

"Hey, look at me." He slowly raised his gaze to her, and she continued. "What's wrong?"

"When I was 11, I lived in a nice apartment with my parents, and my baby sister, Grace, who was about 2. Lucas's cousin, Ava, was babysitting us while my parents were away on a business trip. She had sent us to bed that night, and went down the hall to do laundry. I woke up to the sound of Grace crying and the fire alarms in the building going off. I grabbed Grace and we got out into the hallway. The fire had been progressing down the hallway, and was already past the laundry room....I screamed for her, but no one answered...." He paused and ran a hand through his hair, letting out a sigh. "I knew I had to get Grace out. So I ran back into our apartment, and to the window. I picked her up and ran down the fire escape. I told the firemen that there was someone else in there, but by the time they got to that laundry room, she was already dead."

Skylar slowly got up and sat beside him, turning his head towards her, finding tears on his cheeks. "It's not your fault," she whispered soothingly, gently wiping away his tears with her fingers.

"Lucas showed up later that day, and I had to explain what happened to his cousin. I found out later that Ava was like a sister to him. So, that's why he hates me. I killed Ava." He whispered, and she wrapped her arms around him in a hug.

She still didn't understand why Lucas would be so mad still. Alex had just been a little kid. Maybe Kaitlyn would have more to add to the story once she got Lucas's side of things.

"You didn't kill her Alex. There was nothing you could have done." She told him, giving his hand a gentle squeeze.

He nodded softly and finished his drink. "Do you want to go to the park for a bit?" He asked her, trying to lighten the grim mood.

"Sure. Just let me text Kaitlyn and let her know where I am." She said, quickly doing that before they got up and headed out of the cafe. There was a cool breeze outside now, which made the weather a lot more enjoyable. Skylar and Alex held each other's hands until the reached the park, and Skylar ran for the swings. Alex smiled and chuckled, shaking his head and walking over. Skylar sat down on the swing and grinned at him.

He walked behind her, placing his hands on her hips, and leaning close. "You are so adorable." He whispered in her ear, placing a soft kiss just below it before he pulled her back and up as far as he could, and then let her go. She squealed from the height and tried to ignore the feelings that ran through her body at what he said and did.