your city gave me asthma // Wilbur Soot

sixteen

Wilbur

"Skylar, what's wrong? What's going on?" I whisper, holding her against my chest as we gain the attention of the tables around us. She's shaking violently in my arms, sobbing and trying to pull her hair out and scratch her skin off. I grab her hands, trying to restrain them, but she's somehow gained super strength.

"Is she okay?"

I look up as Lacy approaches us. I instinctively pull Skylar closer to me. "She's fine. Leave us alone."

The guy I guess she's on a date with stands next to Lacy, looking over us. "Skylar? My Skylar?"

I feel Skylar cling to me as he speaks. I give him a. strange look, not recognizing him and wondering why the hell he's calling her his. "Who are you?"

"I'm Eli. Her boyfriend. I haven't seen her in months."

I stare at him with shock. Eli. That's him. That pathetic 22 year old who hurt my girl. The man who put horrible ideas in her head that I've been working on reversing. "You're Eli?"

"Yeah," He says. "Why are you holding her? She's fine, she does that all the time. You just gotta leave her alone until she falls asleep."

I hate to leave her for even a second, but I can't help it. I set Skylar, curled into a ball, on her chair before standing up. I'm already a good bit taller than Eli, even though I'm sure he has more muscle than me. But I can't give up this chance. Without a word, I pull my arm then swing it at the asshole's face, my fist connecting with his jaw. As the drama queen she is, Lacy screams, gathering the entire restaurant's attention. Before we can get kicked out and before Eli can gain his stance to retaliate, I leave a wad of cash on the table and scoop Skylar up, rushing us out to Matt's car. I crawl into the back seat with her, planning to calm her down as much as I can before driving off.

"You're safe, Skylar." I whisper in her ear as I hold her tight to me. "He's gone. It's just Wilbur now. You're okay."

For around fifteen minutes, I stay in the back, trying to comfort her. But she doesn't change at all, still sobbing and basically choking and scratching her skin. I figure Claire may handle this better and drive back to campus, thankful it's not too far. I get her out of the car and carry her to her room, having to use my head to knock. Claire quickly opens it, gasping as she sees Skylar.

"What the fuck happened?!" She asks, pulling me in and shutting the door. Claire sits on the floor and stretches out her arms, letting me set Skylar on her lap as I sit next to her. "She only ever acts like this if Eli freaks her out."

"Well," I sigh, running a hand through my hair. I watch as Claire holds Skylar, rocking her back and forth as if she's a baby. Her touch seems to work, though, as Skylar is already quieting down. "Lacy and him were at the table next to us."

Claire's jaw drops and she looks at me. "Wait, what? What the fuck? That cunt! What's her issue? She knows what he did to her, and she fucking brings him here as a surprise?"

I pull out my phone. "I'm going to find out. Oh, I punched him, too. He deserves a lot worse, but it's a start."

"Good." Claire mutters, kissing the top of Skylar's head.

Me: Hi Lacy, what the fuck is your problem? Why was he there? With you?

Per usual, she immediately responds to my text.

Lacy: Okay so I didn't know you guys were gonna be at the same place tonight, I was just getting to know him! I think he heard that I was asking people at their old school about her and he reached out to me since he hasn't been able to contact her in awhile. I brought him since I figured you should be aware that this girl you're so obsessed with has a guy back home.

Me: Jesus christ you belong in a fucking institute. You don't know a bit of the story. You can bother me, but don't try to hurt Skylar. I will never, ever love you or be close to it. And with how you act, no one will ever love you. Get a fucking grip and leave my girlfriend alone.

Claire rolls her eyes as she reads Lacy's text. "I'm going to jump that bitch. Skylar came here to escape everything that went down, to escape him, and now he knows where she is. He's going to try and find her again and hurt her for leaving with no warning." She looks over at me with a serious look. "Wilbur, you have to make sure all of you protect her from him. You know what he looks like now. Don't let him anywhere near her, or I'll gut both of you."

I just nod and reach out to Skylar, who's stopped crying, and is just breathing heavily. I take her hand and stroke it with my thumb.

"Thank you for being good to her." Claire says quietly. "And your whole friend group. Of course, I'm a bit jealous. But I'm really glad. She's needed it."

I nod again. "She means the world to me. To all of us. We all love her."

"If I can ask, what are you going to do when she has to leave?"

I scoff and lean my head back against the bed. The worst thought that's been swirling in my head for weeks. "Cry, a lot. But we'll be fine. It won't be too long. I told her I'll try my best to go to NYU for her."

Claire nods. "I hope it can work out for you guys."

She annoyed me a bit earlier, but I need to understand she was just missing her friend. Claire is kind and just wants the best for us. For Skylar. We have the same ideas in mind.

Skylar's head pops up out of hiding. Her hair and makeup is an absolute mess, yet she's still the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. She sighs as she sees me and turns her head away, making me frown.

"You alright?" Claire asks.

"I don't want him seeing me like this." Skylar whispers, loud enough that I can hear. "It's embarrassing,"

I reach out and place my hand on her knee. "Darling, you will never look bad in my eyes. But I can leave if you want me to."

She nods, still not looking at me, which isn't what I expected.

"Oh," I say. "Well, I love you. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Don't be offended," Claire whispers. "She doesn't like to be around any men after her panic attacks."

You would think it would be different since I'm her boyfriend, but I guess not. I just say goodbye to Claire and walk back to my room. I was looking forward to talking to Matt, explaining my crazy night, but he's not here. I forgot he spends almost every second with Olivia now that she's pregnant.

I sigh and take off the suit, laying it over my chair to give it back to Joey tomorrow. I pull on one of Skylar's shirts, which is baggy on her but fits fine on me. I lift the fabric to my nose and breathe in her vanilla perfume, desperately wishing I was cuddling with her right now.

Tonight was supposed to be perfect. I didn't even get to kiss her once. We only got 30 minutes together. God, I miss her. What am I supposed to do when she leaves?

I crawl under my covers and pull out my phone. Like I do every night, I go to text Skylar before scrolling on my phone for hours and hours and eventually falling asleep.

Me: Goodnight, I love you 🩷