Before I Forget

Wuthering Heights

Sky was sitting cross-legged on her bed in her leggings and an oversized, pink T-shirt, loud music blaring on her earphones. She kept staring at the screen of her laptop - at another anonymous message on her Insta. A photo of the SLUT! that had been painted on the door of her locker and a short, angry text that said: you'll get what's coming for you, bitch.

She stared at those words, a tight band of anxiety squeezing the air out of her lungs. It wasn't that she regretted going to the dojo and standing up for Cody - she didn't - but she didn't particularly want to get a beating either.

I wonder if Hawk is in this too?

That thought was painful, it was a knife embedded in the muscle of her heart. She didn't want to believe he would do something like this to her, but—

After everything he's done? I bet he painted that on my locker himself.

Sky slammed the lid of her laptop and buried her face in her hands that were trembling slightly, drew in a shaky breath, then another. She wished she had someone she could talk to about this, she wished she wasn't this alone, she wished Kat was still alive, she wished she had more pills.

If only she had more pills—

At that moment the door opened and Dad walked into her room, followed by Cody, making Sky jump. Swiftly she pulled off her earphones.

"You have a visitor," Dad said with a neutral tone. "I let him in since you kept ignoring the doorbell."

"Sorry," Sky said and ran a hand through her hair hoping Dad didn't notice the slight tremor in her voice. "Didn't hear it, had my earphones on."

Cody had stopped in the doorway, his observant glance no doubt noticing not only her state of mind but also the details of the room - the piles of dirty clothes on the floor and on the chairs, the books and the papers scattered on her desk, empty soda cans on the floor. The room was a mess, and suddenly Sky felt embarrassed - Dad had said something about her needing to clean it before her friend arrived, but it had slipped her mind.

Many things seemed to slip her mind lately.

She glanced from Cody to Dad who was eyeing the mess with a frown on his face. "I know. I was meaning to clean it, but—"

"—apparently, you have turned into a little piggy," noted Dad dryly. "This room is disgusting."

"I don't mind," spoke Cody softly. "You should see my little brother's room. This is nothing."

Sky gave him a grateful smile for that lie. She had seen David's room and it was just as neat and clean as everything in Cody's house.

"I brought ice cream, I hope it's fine." he continued showing her the Ben & Jerry's tub and the two spoons he was holding in his hands, and Sky couldn't help a small laugh.

"Cherry Garcia? How did you know it's my favorite?"

"I didn't, it was a lucky guess." His smile was so wide it revealed all his sharp, white teeth.

"Right," said Dad, glancing from Cody to Sky. "Don't stuff yourself with that. I'm making dinner."

"Don't worry," Sky replied. "I always have room for your lasagna."

It was a lie, of course. She had no appetite these days, she couldn't even remember when was the last time she had been hungry, but she would force herself to eat anyway so that Dad wouldn't worry. The last thing she needed was for Dad to find out she was using. The state of her room was bad enough of a slip already, she couldn't afford more mistakes like that one.

That thought made her turn her eyes to Cody. Had he brought her the pills? She couldn't wait to get Dad out of the room to find out. The effect of the drug she had taken in school had worn off and the anxiety had hit her full force about an hour ago, making her hands tremble, her heartbeat fast and uneven. It was a struggle to keep a smile on her face so that Dad wouldn't suspect anything.