Bitter Heart √

Forty Four

Skylar's POV

I got an A on my Physics test.

All thanks to Blake, which I wasn't going to say out loud anytime soon. That guy was the reason why Alex did what he did. The reason why Alex had betrayed my trust. The only reason why Alex wasn't here right now, celebrating this big fucking victory with me.

If there was no Alex to celebrate with, what kind of victory was it even?

On the other hand, I was kind of jumping up at the idea of shoving the graded paper in my mother's face. Not in such a literal sense, but still. Mom needed to be proud of me too sometimes, amidst her oh so busy life.

When I got back home though, the atmosphere felt a whole lot different than usual.

"There's a wedding happening." Mom told me. She seemed extra busy with paperwork sprawled over the kitchen counter. Dad was nowhere in sight.

"Um, what?" I asked, tossing my bag on the couch and going over towards her. "What wedding?"

"With a very nice boy who has a decent job." She turned and looked at me. "And is very polite."

My lips parted in horror. "I am not marrying anyone, Mom!"

She blinked in surprise.

"I've been busy, stressing my head off, applying to every medical college out there, and this is how you repay me?" My eyes widened. "You're marrying me off to some random weirdo?"

Mom sighed before focusing back on her work.

"Mom!"

"I don't understand why you were born this dramatic, Skylar."

"Well then, why are you suddenly telling me about this boy who's getting married?" I demanded.

"I'm just mentioning him because he's a nice boy. Unlike that friend of yours--Alexander." She pointed out, still not over the fact that Alex had skipped school. "Or that boy, Caden."

I ignored the sudden giddy feeling in my chest when I heard his name. Wasn't I so pathetic?

"You don't even know Caden." I rolled my eyes, leaning back against the counter and picking up an apple. I was about to take a bite when Chicken came trotting towards me, nuzzling the side of her head against my legs. I placed back the apple and picked her up.

"Oh, really?" Mom directed a raised brow at me. "And what do you think is so nice about him?"

A really good kisser, I almost said. But I didn't. Because Mom might've actually married me off to some random weirdo right then.

"A...lot of things." I raised my brows. "You don't know him like I do." Okay, maybe I was saying a little too much.

She narrowed her eyes ever so slightly. A look that had always made me pee in my pyjamas when I was a little kid.

"He's not involved with those gangs that you mentioned earlier?"

"'Course, not." I gave her a funny look. "Why in the world would you think that?"

"Because your father and I know a lot more about this town than you do." She answered. "We know where the dangers lurk and where trouble goes around."

I let Chicken paw the black top I was wearing. "You're saying that you know him."

"I'm saying that you should focus more on your studies."

Now that, was my moment to shine. I held out my graded test paper and placed it between her sprawled papers. "See that, Mom? A big fucking A in Physics."