Summer Sunsets by Maria Rachel Hooley

Author:Maria Rachel Hooley
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: love, friendship, suicide, rape, abortion, maria rachel hooley, october breezes
Publisher: Maria Rachel Hooley

Chapter Thirteen

Time seems to drift around us, and it seems as though everything is unchanging as Skye begins to slowly let her guard down and allow me back inside the fortress she’s worked so hard to build. Above us, the sky is open and blue, aching with summer’s promise, almost like it believes summer won’t end, and this beauty will live forever, just as the calm waters Skye and I swim in will never suddenly roil with the waves from passing boats.

But change, when it comes, is swift. It lacks discretion and charges in with brute force, and it announces itself in the form of Skye’s biological father. His visit is unexpected, leaving everyone in Skye’s family to scramble with his coming. I know because earlier that day, I’d spoken with Skye. We’d planned to go to a movie that evening, and I’m just as surprised as everyone else to find a strange vehicle in front of the house. It’s a new sports car—a Mustang convertible that looks about as in place in the driveway as a plastic pink flamingo would be dangling from the roof above the porch.

As I ring the bell, I have no idea what I’m walking into, and it’s only when Skye’s mother answers the door that I get the sense that something is way off. Her eyes are tired and her shoulders slump, as though she feels invisible weights pressing them down hard.

“Hey, Helen,” I say and reach out to give her a hug.

For a moment, we linger like that—another clue something just isn’t right here. Call me slow, but I’m deliberate at least. When she pulls back she frowns. “Devin, what are you doing here? Did Skye call you?”

I shrug. “We spoke earlier and set up plans to go to a movie.” I glance at my watch. “It starts in about twenty minutes.”

She nods and vacant stares at the convertible. “Well, you might want to reconsider your plans. I don’t think Skye’s going to feel up to it.”

I point at the convertible. “Nice ride. Who does it belong to?”

Helen swallows hard. “Skye’s father.”

“He’s here?” I manage, feeling my back and shoulders stiffen.

“Yeah—not because I want him to be, mind you.” She nods toward the foyer. “Why don’t you come in? You’re so close to Skye you might as well be family.”

Yeah, something I’m still working on, I think, and edge inside. “Did Skye call him?”

“Gracious, no!” she says, shaking her head. “He just showed up, wanting to talk to Skye. I tried to talk her out of it, but you know how Skye is when she makes up her mind about something.”

“Yeah, I do.”

We walk over to the couch and sit. Immediately, Helen leans back against the cushions and rubs her temples. “It’s been a long day.”

“Where’s Warren?” I look around the room, half-expecting he’s going to pop out, but he doesn’t.

“Away on business.” She flinches and closes her eyes.

“You all right?”

She nods and forces a smile as she opens her eyes again. “I’m fine, Devin.

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