Losing Her Wings

Chapter 9

Devin was a little surprised to hear Niles fuming madly about Ryan and how he had kissed Skylar. He knew nothing of the news but as he saw his little brother walking across to his lecture room ahead of them as they each met up in waiting for their own lecturer to arrive and unlock the door so they could get in, he noticed that he was a little too happy, whistling to himself and flirting with a girl in his class. He had just suffered utter heartbreak from his break up with Ruby, he didn’t expect him to be hitting on anyone when he had protested so much to Niles’s teasing words. So hearing that he had also kissed Skylar at some point was a little worrying because it seemed obvious that he was trying to push aside his anger at Ruby and prove, in any way possible, that he was very much a desirable boyfriend prospect. When he asked him to explain what he meant, he was unsure of what the anger in his voice said, as to whether he was furious with Ryan or Skylar for allowing him to kiss her.

“The little prat saw her leaving Pepper and Eliza, saying she wasn’t feeling well and was going to lie down. He said he thought he’d walk her back to her room but she went to the chapel instead. He kissed her when she was vulnerable and then told her she meant nothing to him and wasn’t good enough for him.” He protested against it profusely, angry that when everyone knew that he had intentions towards Skylar, Ryan, who was supposedly heartbroken and couldn’t bear to face another relationship or girl had gone ahead and used her weak moment against her. He hadn’t just kissed her, he had taken advantage of a sad and confusing time for her and then had the audacity to tell her, to her face, that she wasn’t good enough for him. Well as far as Niles was concerned, Ryan was a loser who wasn’t good enough for any woman, never mind one as wonderful and beautiful and smart as his Skylar.

“He said that? I thought he was devastated about Ruby, what’s he doing kissing Skylar?” Niles thought the words aloud, before realising that they would hardly make his friend feel any better about the entire situation. It was complicated to such an extent that he would have to do something about it soon before the two friends ended up talking through it with their fists.

“I don’t know but if that little bastard goes near her again, so help me god I’ll knock him into the next century…whether he’s your brother or not.” Niles didn’t care anymore that Ryan was supposed to be his best friend, he didn’t care that he was Devin’s little brother or that he’d recently gone through a horrible break up. All he cared about was that he had used and hurt Skylar to such an extent that she might not trust another man again. They all knew how possessive and domineering her last boyfriend Zeke had been before he died and set her free from the torment so he saw no way for Ryan to excuse his actions. His kissing her could make her shy away from men altogether, fearing that they were all just like Zeke and Ryan, or worse. But when Devin practically ordered him to calm down, his anger took off again at the thoughts he had just considered. “Don’t tell me to calm down. He used the fact that she was upset and confused to take advantage of her. That’s not something I can stand by and let him keep doing.” Devin had enough sense to recognise how angry Niles was and do something about it, promising that if he kept his cool, he’d take care of it before suggesting that he went ahead and made sure that Skylar was alright. He couldn’t help his last question, of how he had found out about the kiss anyway, if it had been from Skylar or Ryan himself. “Ryan did, he walked up to me and started gloating. You’re damned lucky that I didn’t knock his lights out.” The words snapped out of his mouth in the same sense of a crocodile snapping at someone who’d stepped a little too close, warning them to back off before they lost an appendage. Only what Ryan would lose would be a whole lot worse than anything he could imagine.

“Just go and see to Skylar and I’ll deal with Ryan. He won’t do it again, I assure you.”

Niles did as Devin suggested only because he wanted to make sure Skylar was okay for himself. As soon as his lecture was finished he headed over to her dorm room to find her alone and lying on her bed with the curtains closed. He had knocked twice only for no answer to make him worry that she was crying over what Ryan had done to her and whatever had made her sad and vulnerable enough to allow him to kiss her. He bit the bullet and walked in, finding the door unlocked and Skylar lying there peacefully, curled up on her bed and supposedly sleeping on top of her bed. He couldn’t help but smile to himself as he crossed over to her bed and lifted the cover that was folded over the end of her bed, to lay it over her and keep her warm. He was a little surprised when she opened her eyes and smiled up at him sweetly. “Are you looking for me?” She wondered with a sweet smile, turning onto her back and stretching out in a way that made him think about why he was there and sit himself on the edge of her bed in order to broach the subject with her without upsetting her.