The Carson Effect

Chapter 7

Noah's POV

Noah was all smiles as he dropped off Skye at Violet's house. 'I should've kissed her,' he chastised himself. 'She was so close.' But Noah isn't the type of guy to kiss a girl on the first date; he would work his way up to the kiss and make it unforgettable. Noah made a promise to himself that he would protect Skye at all costs, but his becoming close to her had nothing to do with that promise- it was a desperate need that Noah felt from the very pit of his soul to be near her. He couldn't fight it anymore than he could stop breathing. He needed Skye. And he started to suspect that she had begun to need him too.

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Skye's POV

As soon as Skye watched Noah leave in his car she was bombarded with questions.

"How was it?"
"Where did he take you?"
"Did you hold hands?"
"Was it romantic?"
"You don't look dirty. What did you guys do?"

Skye threw up her hands in surrender. "Calm down. He took me to Painted Earth," she held up her arm holding the bag with her vase in it. "Then we smashed some plates and talked a lot. Yes, we held hands, and, yes, it was romantic. And no," she gave pointed looks to both of them in turn, "we did not kiss. So thank you for that."

Both of their faces fell and they looked uncomfortable. Audrey opened her mouth, but Skye cut her off with a burst of laughter. They both joined her after a few moments and quickly they were all laughing. Skye found that it was easiest to be herself with these girls: her two best friends in the entire world.

Half an hour later, the girls settled on the couch in their pjs', cuddled up in blankets with a big bowl of popcorn in the middle of them. They decided to go with a classic and watched "Clueless" as Skye relayed the details of her date with Noah. She didn't tell them everything though. For instance, she completely omitted how Noah had her write her problems on the plates before she smashed them. It meant a lot to her that he took time to try and help her relieve stress instead of unsuccessfully trying to solve her problems for her, like most people did. No. The smashing of her problems would be their thing.

As her friends planned her next date with Noah, Skye wondered if he was thinking about her as much as she was thinking about him. Although she doubted it, a tiny flicker of hope sparked in the embers of her heart, and she found herself imagining about how their children would look like. Woah girl, calm down, Skye mentally scolded herself. It was one date.

She shook her head and started rubbing her temples. What was happening to her? She couldn't let anyone penetrate the wall she's been building. How was it that this boy was breaking it? And why did she like the feeling of him slowly chipping away at her heart? Maybe, for once, she could trust someone not to hurt her? To climb the wall, but not siege the castle? No. No, she couldn't. She wouldn't! She couldn't afford to let down her boundaries, to let someone in. Love is weakness. She couldn't give anyone the key to hurting her. Not again. Not after last time.

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It happened three years ago; a year after Skye's mom married Gabe. After her husband's death, Susan Adams was still a gentle woman and a loving mother. She took care of her children, and did her best to make sure that they were safe and happy.

One afternoon, Susan took Luke out to go shopping for his birthday, leaving a 14-year-old Skye home alone with Gabe. She was sitting in the living room, reading on the couch, when the book was ripped out of her fingers. She found herself being yanked from the couch by her hair. She was thrown against the wall and a body was pressed against hers.