The Oaths We Keep

Chapter 24

Barnes arrived at her apartment several minutes after six that evening. She was exhausted from a day that seemed to have no end to it and was glad to be home. She first kicked off her shoes and then removed the elastic hair tie. As her hair fell around her face, she pushed it back behind her shoulders and thought about cutting it shorter. She dismissed the idea but might try to revisit it later.

After visiting the bathroom, she went to the kitchen to decide what to cook for dinner. Laura chided herself for not meal prepping and planning out her meals better. She was not an unhealthy eater but didn't want to rely too heavily on fast food. She was going through the possibilities in her refrigerator when her phone rang. She answered it without looking at the call screen.

"Hey girl, what are you doing?" came Skylar's voice. Laura jerked the phone back from her ear as Skylar's voice came booming from the phone. Sky was her best friend, but Laura wished she had looked first because she was not in a talking mood tonight.

"Hey, Sky. I just got home and looking through my dinner options. How are you?"

"I'm good as gold, and I'm glad you haven't eaten because you're coming with me to dinner."

"Oh," Laura began, shutting the refrigerator door almost on instinct. "Yeah, Sky, look, you're..." a knock at the door interrupted her train of thought, and then the realization hit her. "You're at the door, aren't you?"

"Yep," she replied in her most cheerful voice, "so you might as well open up and put your shoes back on 'cause you know I won't take no for an answer."

Laura bowed her head and rubbed her eyes in frustration. "Fine, give me a second." She hung up the phone and opened the door. Skylar stood there with the all too cheerful expression that seemed to be a permanent part of her. She was an energy giver to those around her, and while there had been times Laura saw her angry, those times were the minority.

Sky's skin had a slight shimmer as she walked through the door. "Sky, did you put glitter on?"

"I know, don't you just love it? It smells good and makes me glisten. So come on, why don't you have your shoes on yet?"

"Well, I had to let you in the door. Just give me a minute to change and run a comb through my hair."

"Laura, you look fine as is. Just get your shoes on, and let's go. Chop, chop, girl."

Laura disappeared into her bedroom. "Really, Sky, who says chop, chop anymore?" She decided to keep the top she was wearing but threw on a pair of jeans and running shoes. She pulled a brush through her hair while staring into her bedroom mirror. She sat the brush back on her dresser and stared blankly into her mirror. Taking a deep breath, Laura tore herself from the mirror and returned to find Sky standing by the door.

"Let's get a move on slow poke; I'm hearing tacos calling my name," Sky said as Laura emerged from her bedroom.

"You talk to your food?" Laura said sarcastically.

Skylar looked back at her disapprovingly. "You know what I mean. Now let's go."

Laura did not argue anymore. She grabbed her purse and walked with Sky to her car. There was no question as to where they were going tonight. There was a new Mexican cantina called Cocina Cancun that Sky had fallen in love with. Tonight was also one of the nights they featured the in-house Mariachi band Buenos Tiempos, another reason Sky wanted to go. Laura was sure Sky had a crush on the guitar player in the band. Still, the food was good, and it wasn't like Laura had much to do tonight.

On the drive over, Sky dominated the conversation so much that she might as well have been talking to herself. Laura's mind drifted back to the picture she had taken from Harper's home. They seemed like such a perfect family that it was hard to believe Erin could hide such a dark secret. Maybe that was bothering her, or perhaps the thought that Erin would do anything to protect the ones she loved. To shield them from what she felt she had to do at the time to survive and become who she is today.