SKYLINE HEARTS

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

"Sky's missing?"

"Not missing," I corrected. "She's at her parents' house. She isn't receiving my calls or responding to any of my texts. Plus, we found ice cream in the fridge. She must've left for her parents' right after returning from the café. Did Wolf mention something?"

Chris shrugged. "Not really. He did say Skylar was acting a little off. Like she was nervous about something. He said that she never told him what she wanted to talk about, and that she left quite abruptly."

I furrowed my eyebrows. If that was the case, then Wolf hadn't outright rejected Skylar. Maybe, he said something that seemed like a subtle rejection. I wouldn't know anything for sure until I asked Sky or Wolf.

I couldn't decide how to feel about this whole situation. Part of me was feeling guilty for not trying harder to stop Sky, despite her stubbornness. It was guilty for pushing her to confess her feelings, for trying to be a good friend first. The other part was strangely relieved it had gone down in flames. Was I a bad friend for hoping for that deep down?

"What did he say exactly?" I asked Chris as we walked deeper into the animal shelter. After last night's conversation, Chris had decided to bring me to the animal shelter from where he adopted his cats.

Chris rubbed his chin, recalling his conversation with Wolf three weeks ago. "He said your name came up somehow, although, he didn't remember exactly how it did. That ticked Skylar off and she abruptly left."

My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "My name? Sky left after he said my name. But why...."

"Who k—" Chris cut himself off as a familiar red-brown-haired, blue-eyed individual presented himself. Chris's expression went from surprise to slight agitation.

"Ace, hi. Fancy meeting you here," I smiled, ignoring Chris's annoyance radiating through his plain white shirt. Ace smiled and nodded.

"Likewise, Aurora." He flashed his signature, picturesque smile before looking at Chris with a knowing smirk.

"I thought you said you were busy preparing for a family dinner."

Chris rolled his eyes.

"I was until my brother took over. So, now it's just him and my birth humans."

Ace chuckled. "They're called parents, Chris."

"Wolf has a better word for them," Chris sarcastically mentioned. "I never see you correcting him."

"He's never mentioned about his family while I'm around. So, I can say he never gives me the opportunity to correct him."

I looked up at them, glancing back and forth between them as they conversed. This was the first time I watched them talk where I could hear exactly what they were saying. Usually, they would be chatting in some secluded corner, away from earshot. But now, they were here, and I could observe their mannerisms from up close. Ace seemed more amused than mad about Chris's lies. Chris subtly stepped before me, creating a partial barrier between me and Ace.

"Aurora." Ace's smooth and refined voice snapped me out of my thoughts. "You never mentioned you liked animals."

Chris's annoyance rose slightly, which he tried to disguise with his sweet smile. Chris knew where the conversation was headed and he didn't like it. One bit.

"Oh, uh..." I nervously chuckled after being suddenly placed under the spotlight. "I guess it never came up."

"That's alright," Ace smiled and I let out a sigh of relief. "If I knew you loved animals, I would've offered to show you my ranch."