Astronomical (girlxgirl)

Chapter Forty-Five

Chapter Forty-Five (Rose's POV)

As I drove home from school that day, Annie had to remind me to loosen my hands so I didn't break the steering wheel, "I just cannot believe what a controlling, psychotic bitch her Aunt is!" I vented.

I held in my anger as best as I could all day, remembering the fear in Skye's natural scent in the car because she was afraid of me. How she had refused to meet my eyes and censored every word that came out of her mouth, worried that if she spoke honestly, I would explode.

So, I had fumed the entire day and found myself more frustrated the longer I bottled up what I really wanted to say. The more I replayed Skye's words and scent and heartbeat as she opened up a little about her home life, the harder it was to stop myself from finding where Lauren worked and choking the life out of her.

I turned a little too sharply onto our winding dirt driveway, causing Annie to crash into Nate's side. "I'm going to the gym to work off some of my frustration..." I informed them before striding inside.

I gritted my teeth when I heard Annie following me; probably to make sure I didn't break any of the equipment we kept at the packhouse.

I don't need a babysitter.

I conceded in the end that my sister was a lot smarter than I; after the third shattered punching bag, she cleared her throat from her position on a yoga mat, "I swear those bags are reinforced to accommodate the strength of wolves..."

"They are..." I muttered before turning my attention to the treadmill. Better give my bloody knuckles a few minutes to heal...

"Rose-Marie?..." Her voice was quiet, devoid of its usual cheer.

"Anastasia?..." I returned irritably.

"I know you worry about your Skye, but you don't yet have the full picture... Skye is quite timid and sensitive, she could just be taking her Aunt's words personally..." I slammed the stop button on the treadmill and rounded on my sister.

"Are you fucking kidding me, Annie?! I don't think she is exaggerating how much of a cunt her Aunt is!" I noticed in the wall-length mirror that my eyes had darkened to black – making the pupil and iris indistinguishable.

I heard Nate snarl from nearby, ready to defend his mate. Annie growled back at him, presumably mind-linking him to tell him to back off. "I didn't mean that Skye is exaggerating – that came out wrong. I just know that you cannot jump to conclusions – you do not yet know all of the details and I wouldn't want you ripping her Aunt to shreds on a mistaken assumption". Her voice was so like Father's that I gripped my hair, tugging.

"I'm not assuming shit; she is fucking terrified of her Aunt – her words, her heartbeat, her scent all tell me that! I don't know if it's abuse or crappy parenting or whatever – no one deserves that... and I still don't know what happened to her parents..." I couldn't keep the bite from my words.

Maybe that is the real reason Skye is so reserved; not only does she move around a lot, but her Aunt doesn't let her get close to anyone... I shook my head, wanting to punch something as my thoughts went around in circles. Self-doubt crept in as I considered Annie's words and thought of the only example I knew of personally; Mickey is just introverted – there is no underlying reason... No fucked-up childhood or traumatic event... it's just who he is... It could be the same with Skye... You don't know...

You don't know...

That was at the heart of my frustration – I didn't know...

I realised that I had been on dates with Skye, and spent hours talking to her but not about anything that mattered. I had shared some of my family dynamics with Skye – excluding the whole werewolf part – but I knew next to nothing about my mate's family.