Losing Her Wings

Chapter 10

Niles couldn’t have been happier just lying on Skylar’s bed, talking with her about his plans to cheer her up. He had tried all sorts of ideas; paint balling, going to a movie just the two of them, going for dinner or hanging out with the girls but none of them appealed to her and he rather figured she just enjoyed lying there with him, quietly and being allowed to think. He guessed that it was probably not the best idea, considering that thinking would allow her to be even more confused about what Ryan had done and said and about her blackouts. He just wanted her to feel better and stop thinking about everything so seriously. There was no reason she couldn’t have some fun every now and then. And he fully intended on making sure she had that fun, whether or not she felt ready for it. “Seriously, I think we should have a party tonight. It’ll only take an hour to arrange it with Devin.” He tried coaxing her into some kind of positive response but Skylar just insisted that it was too much trouble and she didn’t want to make a fuss. But he didn’t see it as either of those things. “He knows everyone and you can meet Fraser. He’s a hoot.” Skylar realised that Fraser was a name she recognised from her list, hoping that it was the Fraser she was supposed to help, as it would only be another reason for her to cling to the few friends she had made.

“I guess it would be fun…” She admitted, fully committed to her mission and perfectly happy that everyone was so closely knitted together in one comfortable little group of friends. If one person didn’t know someone on her list, she was sure that someone else would. It just seemed that everyone knew everyone in the small world of campus life ad it was nothing but a bonus for her and what she had to do. But before she could say anything else Niles jumped on her admission and decided it was settled, he was going to call Devin and she wasn’t surprised to see him living up to his word right away, taking out his mobile and pressing just three buttons before putting it to his ear.

“Hey kid, Sky’s just agreed to a party tonight. Do you think you could take care of the details for me?” Niles asked, surprising Devin with the little nickname he had come up with for her but she quite liked it, it was sweet. He sounded positive until Devin told him that he couldn’t do anything that night because he was staying in with Pepper. He suggested waiting one more night or until the next weekend but he was trying to make Skylar feel better, waiting until the next weekend was useless. “Not until tomorrow? Why?” Skylar could hear him asking Devin, hoping she hadn’t caused trouble by letting him go ahead with his plan to call his friend. She didn’t see why it was so important but he seemed determined to go through with it, regardless of what anyone told him.

“Pepper’s worried about Skylar and their talk this morning brought up a few things she wants to talk through.” Devin wasn’t sure how best to explain how Pepper felt after Skylar had disappeared from their coffee break with her sister. She was obviously upset about zoning out of the conversation and felt unwell after it but it just reminded her of how she had felt for the six months after leaving her abusive relationship. “She’ll be alright. She’s just upset that Skylar couldn’t escape until after Zeke died. I guess she’s just realising how lucky she was and how smart she was to get away when she had the chance.” Devin had saved Pepper at the time, just as Niles wanted to save Skylar, convincing her to leave her boyfriend after she had confessed to how badly she was being treated. For the next few months she had been zoning out of conversations, classes and even just her studying all because of a sensory trigger sending her back to those bad days. She had memories bombarding her for so long that seeing the same signs in Skylar had really upset her. All the boys had gathered round him to help keep an eye on her and so he could well understand Niles wanting to do something to cheer up Skylar when he had feelings for her. If Pepper had been up to it then he could have given him the go ahead in order to make them all happy.

“Well, alright…I guess tomorrow should be fine. Make sure Pepper’s alright though.” Niles hung up, a little disheartened to hear that Pepper wasn’t feeling great because of seeing a part of herself in Skylar. He wasn’t sure what to tell her when he got off the phone because she was finally a little bit happier, lying with her head on his shoulder, close to sleep and so he just told her that Devin and Pepper were going to have a night in together so the party was postponed for just one night. He was just happy to know that lying around with him in her dorm room was enough for that.