Winning Skylinn

63

||Jonny's POV||

After work, I went home, took a shower, and ate some Mac n cheese. Being around chicken tenders, burgers, and frozen custard all day-without being able to eat any on the job, mind you-is just as hard as it sounds.

Ollie meowed and slinked his tail across my leg. His fur tickled my skin. "What do you want, Ollie?" I asked, bending to his level.

He stared at me, then walked over to his food bowl. It was empty.

"Sorry, I guess I forgot to feed you, buddy. Here." I poured some cat food in his bowl and before I'd even moved my hand out of the way, he started eating it.

While he ate, I sat at the table and pulled out my phone to text Skylinn. I think it's about time our cats met, don't you? I typed.

She replied quickly. Yes. Yes it is. Should I come over, or should you?

I can come over.

Okay. See ya soon.

"Hey Ollie, wanna go on a little trip?" I asked.

The cat's ears perked up at the sound of my voice and he padded across the floor towards me.

"It's time to meet your little sister," I told him as I scooped him up off the floor. "I just have one rule: behave yourself. I know she's pretty, but she is your sister. Making kittens with her would be incest. And you don't want that, now do you?"

Ollie stared at me, confused.

I sighed. Why was I talking to a cat like he was my sixteen-year-old son?

"Nevermind. Let's just go." I walked outside, holding the cat in my arms, and knocked on Skylinn's door.

I heard her footsteps as she went to answer it. "Ollie, hi!" she gushed, petting his fur and taking him from my hands. Then she looked at me. "Oh. And you're there too, I guess."

"Ugh, rude." I followed her inside and took my cat back. "Where's Mistletoe?"

"Upstairs. I'll go get her."

"No need. I'll bring Ollie up there."

"Um, okay." She led me upstairs to her bedroom, where Mistletoe was sleeping peacefully on the bed.

Skylinn went over to the cat and brushed her fur with her hand until she woke up. "Rise and shine, sleepyhead," I heard her whisper.

I closed the door and set Ollie on the ground. He wandered about curiously, until Mistletoe finally noticed him. She pounced on him from her spot on the bed, and he hissed in surprise and shock. They wrestled around on the floor for a minute or two, until breaking apart to chase each other around the room. It was quite entertaining, actually.

Skylinn laughed at their behavior. "I'm guessing they like each other?"

"Seems like it. They're fighting like a brother and sister would," I commented.

"I've never had siblings to know what that's like."

"Me neither."

We shared a wistful look before breaking eye contact and focusing back on the cats. They were now licking each other clean.

"Ollie, remember what I said," I warned him.

"Uh, what?" Skylinn asked.

"Um-nothing."

"I'll be right back. I'm gonna get them some toys to play with." She disappeared from the room, and I sat on the bed to wait.

I saw a piece of paper sticking out from under her bed, and bent to pick it up. The first two words on the page were 'Dear Skylinn.' I skimmed the page until the end, where the closing read, 'Forever yours, Denver.'

I peeked at the door, checking to see if Skylinn was on her way back. She wasn't.

I knew I shouldn't be reading the letter, but I couldn't help it. I read the whole thing. Then I searched under the bed for more letters. There were about five or six. My mind told me to stop, that this was Skylinn's personal stuff, but instead, I gave in to my growing curiosity.

Before Skylinn could realize what I'd done, I stuffed the letters in the back pocket of my shorts and sat down on the bed. She returned a moment later, carrying various cat toys.

"Look, I'm sorry to cut this short, but I actually need to go. I have, um, chores to do." It was a lame excuse, but I hoped Skylinn would buy it.

"Oh. Well, I guess you can go, but I was hoping the cats could play some more. Can Ollie stay here awhile?" she asked.

"Yeah, of course. I'll come by later to pick him up."

"No need. I'll bring him over."

"Okay. Well, see ya later." I hurried out of the room and back to my house. Even though no one was home, I closed my bedroom door and got under the covers to finish reading Denver's letters.

I felt bad for doing it, like it was an invasion of their privacy. I really had no right to know what they said to each other through paper and pen. But something kept me going until the very last letter.

They didn't exchange many words, but they did say 'I love you' and stuff that made me feel guilty for even looking. It was so frustrating, seeing these and knowing it had gone on for six months without my knowing.

But why did I need to know? Why would she even have told me? I don't know, I guess because she tells me everything! My mind seemed to be screaming, and I tossed the papers down in a pile on my floor.

This wasn't worth getting upset about. Skylinn and Denver were dating. They were in love. It was pretty obvious, too.

But you know what? Denver Rowley wasn't the only boy who was in love with Skylinn Porter.

- - -
A/N: Sorry for all the drama 😁 I'm really looking forward to the next couple chapters. They're all gonna be pretty exciting.

Also, sorry I haven't updated in awhile. I've been writing some new stuff and working on a brand-new collab with @iwritetoinspire. Just wanted to give it a quick shout-out, because I know a lot of people read this book and will see this. So, to whoever is reading this: please follow @inspirethereader, and read Star Crossed. Thank you!