Teach Me How to Love Again (Sequel to Dirty Little Secret)

Ending #1 (Part 2)

Years passed and, little by little, Skylar healed. She was more mature now, and she was no longer the whiny, dramatic, fragile person she had been as a teenager. She stopped blaming herself for silly things. She could trust again. Most importantly, though, she had finally began to love herself.

For a while, the aftermath of the breakup was miserable. Skylar had become so dependent on her and Gerard's relationship, she found herself completely lost without it. Her own identity had become so wound up in Gerard, she didn't know who she was without him. She had grown her identity as a girlfriend before she had fully grown her identity as a person and, because of this, she felt that, when she cut ties with Gerard, she had cut away a part of herself. She couldn't sleep, she couldn't eat. Even watching her favorite shows didn't bring her pleasure anymore. It felt as if nothing but Gerard could ever make her feel better. She longed for him in the same way an addict may long for meth. She craved the thing that was causing her pain.

Even though it seemed that things would never get better, Skylar eventually felt better than she ever had before. With the help of many, many therapy sessions and the unwavering support of her loved ones, here Skylar was. No longer the skinny, sickly emo girl she had been when she was with Gerard. Her hair was back to its natural color again, and she gained back the weight she had lost when she stopped eating. She was well-rested and the picture of health and happiness. Skylar had never looked better, and she was loving it.

Skylar had branched out in more than just her looks. Even her list of hobbies had grown as she did. She played guitar, she sang, and she had tried nearly every other hobby you can think of, but, most importantly, she wrote and made art. In fact, Skylar had her very first art gallery opening coming up in just a few weeks. After just a few more finishing touches were put on a few paintings, she would be ready for taking this big step into the art world. After that, her first book would be coming out. She hoped that this would finally give her enough money to allow her to quit her job as a retail manager and continue pursuing these passions instead.

At the moment, Skylar was moving boxes for yet another move. With Frank and Jamia now being ready to take the next step in their relationship by moving in together, Skylar was moving boxes into her new house. She still found it surreal that she could afford her own house. My, how things change in a few years.

"You know, I haven't seen you look this healthy in years. And happy too. I'm so proud of ya, Sky," Frank marveled as he set a box of dishes down on the kitchen counter. "Don't know why I never said that when we were living together. Guess the move just made all the progress you've made sink in."

"Aw, Frankie," she muttered, then she pulled him in for a hug. As she pulled away, she messed up his hair. "Love ya."

"I'm really gonna miss having you at the apartment. Jamia doesn't do as much stupid shit with me as you do," Frank joked.

"Gonna miss you too, Frankie. It's gonna be weird to not have a partner to do stupid shit with. But, hey, I'm still gonna visit all the time. You're not getting rid of me that easily."

Frank laughed softly. "Of course. Jamia would kill me if I ever didn't let you visit. I'm pretty sure she likes you better than she likes me."

Skylar let out one last chuckle and then they knew it was time to say goodbye. "Goodbye, Frankie. Thank you for putting up with my shit in that apartment for so many years. Have fun, but not too much fun. Use protection."

Frank scoffed. "Very heartfelt, Sky," he commented. "Bye, kid. I love you."

"I love you too."

And, just like that, Frank was gone and Skylar was on her own. In that moment, she finally felt alone again, but she didn't really have time to linger on it. She had paintings to finish.