Attention What If

Chapter 38

POV: Darleen

Am I mildly panicking that I haven't heard from Skylar once in the two days I've been gone? Yes. Am I going to go rushing in guns blazing demanding why she hasn't been answering my calls? No.

If anything, talking to Lexi these past couple of days has shown me that I may not have always been the most mature person in a relationship. I can get demanding, bratty, and territorial. Things I didn't want to admit to myself, but Lexi has opened my eyes. Sometimes I can be unfair, I understand that now. It is something I will mind and work on.

I unlock the door of the house and step inside. It's dark. Tomorrow the movers will be here with all my stuff. Hopefully, that brightens up the place. Right now the house is 90% empty. With only a few things here or there. Skylar's probably been sleeping on the couch on the second floor, in the game room.

"Skylar? Ace?" I call.

Silence.

I walk in, causing the motion-activated lights to flicker on as I go.

"Skylar?"

Still no answer.

Maybe she's not here? But then where would she be? At Vida's?

I can't keep a look of disgust off my face at the idea.

I walk upstairs to the only floor with some furniture and find Cloud sleeping by the bay windows. The sunset cast a warm glow on the cat. I smile and walk over to him, petting him. He stretches out and purrs at my touch.

Then I continue my hunt through the house. I find the Countess asleep on the floor in the empty guest room, sprawled out by the window. She perks up when she hears me but doesn't get up to walk over to me. I continue into the house and find the home gym, Ace is asleep on a towel on the floor. Skylar is sitting on the floor, in the dark, staring off into nothingness.

She's wearing tight spandex shorts, a sports bra, and has some MMA-style fighting gloves on the floor next to her. Her hair is slicked back with water or sweat, I'm not sure.

"Hey, I was looking for you." I walk in, causing the lights to turn on.

Only then do I see how purple her hands are. They are covered in yellow, black, and purple bruises. There is also dried-up blood on her shorts, and on a towel sitting next to her. The skin on her knuckles cracked... dried blood everywhere.

"Skylar," I quickly move to her side.

"I'm fine," she says. But her voice sounds horse like she's sick or something.

"Uh no, this is not fine." I kneel next to her.

I look up at the punching bag a few feet from her and see it's also covered in dried-up blood.

"Skylar, what the hell were you doing?" I ask.

"I don't know," she looks at me then.

I watch in horror as a smile stretches across her face, "I don't know." She says.

"Skylar."

"I have no fucking clue what I was doing, what I was thinking." She laughs. "It's like my whole life has been out of focus, a big blur, and suddenly... It's all so clear. What was I doing? What was I thinking!? I have no fucking idea." She laughs so hard she tears up.

"Skylar you're freaking me out," I say in concern.

She just laughs and laughs and laughs. Ace perks up then, getting up and stretching before walking over to me and licking my hand to say hello.