Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-One

For the next few days that followed Ian seemed to be feeling more at ease. Christina was back but he had to deal with it, that was that. Emily was happier than she'd ever been and that, in turn, made him happy. Maybe she'd come four years too late, but she was here now. He was starting to accept the fact that Christina really was a part of Emily's life now.

The only thing was though that she wasn't too happy about Skylar still being in the picture. She had made it pretty obvious in the last few days that she didn't like Skylar anymore. It surprised Ian to say the least, she had seemed so taken with Skylar. But then again, she was just a little girl that barely met her mother. Her behavior didn't seem too odd considering that.

Heather's wedding was in two days and they had to leave soon. Ian had let Emily stay with Christina instead of his parents, much to the delight of both of them. Skylar has been happy about the idea, it was good to see that Ian was okay with that. At first Emily had been overly excited to be staying with her mother for four days, but then she realized why that was happening. She wasn't happy.

"Why, Dad?" she asked, her face full of anger.

Ian had to make her see that Skylar was not a bad person, but it was turning out to be easier said than done. "Because I'm going to Chicago."

"Yeah, with Skylar!" She started shaking her head. "I don't want you to go with Skylar. I don't like her! I hate her!"

Ian took the angry little girl into his arms and kissed her forehead. "Emily, you shouldn't say those things. Especially not about Skylar. You need to understand that she's my girlfriend. Couples do things together, and sometimes that means traveling far away together."

"Mommy could be your girlfriend," she protested.

"Your mommy and I are friends, Emily," he explained.

That was when she started to cry, her body shaking in his arms. "Why can't you and Mommy be like normal mommies and daddies?" She hiccupped. "I just want a normal family, Daddy."

Skylar and Ian were now aboard a plane to Chicago. It was a packed plane, and the flight attendants were going through safety procedures in case of an emergency. Skylar wasn't paying much attention to any of it, her head resting Ian's shoulder, their hands intertwined. Ian had not said much, she knew there was something bothering him. She was pretty sure it had to do with Emily.

"Did Emily give you any trouble?" she asked.

"Yes," he said. "She's still stuck on the idea that she doesn't like you."

Of course. It made her feel pretty sad to think that the little girl she adored so much despised her so much. But it was understandable. She was a threat in Emily's mind, and there was no way to change her mind about that.

"I'm sorry that you have to deal with that," she said. "I really don't like being the cause of Emily's disappointment."

Ian squeezed her hand and said, "None of this is your fault. She'll have to get over it soon. She can't hate you forever." Then he leaned in to kiss her forehead. "I want to be with you forever, Skylar."

She was happy to hear those words coming from him. Her heart clenched and she started to feel giddy with emotions, the good kind. "Please don't start saying cheesy things like that here," she pleaded. "I don't think anyone would appreciate me getting naked right now."

Ian chuckled. "You don't know that, there's a lot of people that would surely enjoy the show."

There probably were, but Skylar wasn't in the mood to put on a show for anyone. Some things were better left alone in the privacy of a bedroom. Just her and Ian. No one else.

It would take them four hours to reach Chicago from San Francisco, not that long of a flight, but long enough. So while Ian worked on his laptop, Skylar decided to take a nap.

Ian would sneak occasional glances Skylar's way while he worked. He enjoyed watching her sleep, it was adorable. Her lips would be slightly parted and her nose would scrunch up from time to time. He wanted nothing more than to kiss her senseless.

The one and only Kyle was waiting for them at O'Hare International Airport. He was lounging back on a bench waiting patiently. It was the first time Skylar would be seeing him since he dropped her off in California. It was also the first time Kyle would be seeing his cousin and Skylar as a couple. It was surely...different.

Kyle stood up to receive Skylar into his arms, the two best friends hugging tightly. It had been too long. "I missed you," she said, still not letting go of him. Kyle was such an important person in her life!

"I missed you, too," he said sincerely. "Maybe a little too much."

Ian clearing his throat made them separate. Skylar smiled, she knew Ian didn't mind.

"Ah, Ian, my dearest cousin!" Kyle enthused. "I missed you, too."

Ian chuckled. "Apparently not as much as you missed Skylar."

Kyle shrugged. "Hey, she's my best friend."

Skylar moved closer to Ian and grabbed his hand. "Well, I'm here now. Time to make up for lost time." Sure, her new friends were great, but no one could ever compare to Kyle. He was one of a kind. Kyle made a disgusted face as he took in the sight of them holding hands.

"Ugh, you two really are dating," he said rolling his eyes. "It's weird."

Skylar giggled at her friend's reaction. "Yes, Kyle, we are." Then she got on her tip toes to give Ian a quick kiss on the cheek.

Kyle made a gagging noise. "Please no PDA in front of me."

Ian wrapped an arm around Skylar's shoulders and said, "I'm sorry but get used to it, buddy."

"Lets just go," Kyle said, obviously annoyed.

Kyle drove them to the hotel they would be staying at wicked fast. He didn't bother to go up with them, promising Skylar he'd pick her up later to take her to Margie's; their favorite ice cream shop in the city. He also made it quite obvious that Ian was not invited. That just made her laugh.

They both would be sharing a suite, not that either one of them was complaining. The suite offered a great view of downtown Chicago and, in the distance, the lake. It was gloomy, but it was a beautiful sight. Skylar fell on the bed and stared up at the ceiling. She was back in Chicago. Her home. The place where she grew up, the place that held a lot of memories (good and bad ones). She'd missed it. This was her city.

Ian laid down next to her and said, "Are you going to go see your family later?"

She sighed. Her family. "Not tonight."

"And why is that?" he asked.

"I'm seeing Heather tonight to try on my bridesmaid dress," she explained. "And I'm obviously gonna see my family at the wedding."

Ian didn't understand. After being away from her family for months, he would have thought she'd be excited to see them. Apparently not. It was still pretty confusing. "You don't want to see your parents?" he asked. What if she just didn't want to tell them about her relationship with him?

Skylar let out an exasperated huff. "It's not that I don't want to see them," he explained. "I just...I just don't think it'd be a good idea to see them tonight. And anyway, I'm hanging out with Kyle."

Ian raised an eyebrow. "Why wouldn't it be a good idea?" He wasn't about to let it go.

Now she was frustrated. "I don't know, Ian!" she snapped. "Maybe I don't feel as close to my parents as I should. Maybe seeing them isn't my top priority right now. It's not like they ever bothered to contact me. I'm sorry for feeling like they don't give a s.hit about me."

And there it was; another broken piece of her. Another glimpse into her mind that explained why she felt so sad sometimes. Why she felt so broken sometimes. And he instantly regretted pushing her for answers. Every little negative thought always pushed her a little deeper into her darkness, and it usually took a lot of emotional distress, and his stubbornness to not let her succumb, to bring her back up.

"I'm sorry for asking," he said slowly. She shook her head.

"It's whatever. I'm gonna go take a shower." Then, because she didn't want to make things awkward, she said, "And don't feel sorry, I don't want to ruin this because of my mommy and daddy issues. We'll go see them, me and you, and they'll see that I found someone good."

Ian offered her a smile. "Okay, cara mia."

Kyle picked her up as promised and took her to Margie's. It had been a long time since she had some amazing ice cream. And what better way to spend some quality time with her best friend than to stuff themselves with thousands of calories and increase their risk of diabetes?

Margie's Candies was an ice cream and candy shop that had been around since the 20s. It had a whole retro vibe going for it. It was small, and there were only a few booths. On the weekends there was usually a line outside. There was even a glass case full of Beatles paraphernalia; pictures, plates with them on it, a picture of them dining at Margie's, and even a pair of drum sticks signed by Ringo. It was awesome.

"How's it going at Northwestern?" Skylar asked. All she wanted to do was catch up on her friend's life. It was odd not to be around Kyle everyday, both of them going over the day's events.

"It's going good," Kyle replied. "The work is kind of stressing me out, but there's so many hot girls to get, so it's worth it."

No matter what he said, pretending not to really care about school and just worrying about girls, Skylar knew better. Kyle cared about school. He cared about his future career as a psychologist. She also knew that he probably didn't have enough time on his hands to sleep around with as many girls as he liked to claim he did.

"Of course." She rolled her eyes and popped some more coffee ice cream into her mouth.

"What about you?" He raised an eyebrow.

Skylar blushed, knowing where this was going. "It's going well for me."

"Yeah, I'm sure it is." The sarcasm was ever so present. "You know, with you and Ian being together."

Kyle liked to act as if their relationship disgusted him, but she knew that somewhere in that vast heart of his, he was actually happy for the two. And he was, really, he was. Ian was a good guy and would make her happy. And Skylar was a great person that would, in turn, make Ian happy. They were perfect for each other.

"Well, Ian is great," she said. "It's really easy to fall in love with him."

"Oh, God, no!" Kyle complained. "Stop it right there, Sky!"

She laughed and went back to eating her sundae.

"I heard that Christina is back," Kyle added.  She nodded. "And how does that make you feel?" His tone was serious.

She gave him a look. "Really? You're gonna play therapist now?"

Kyle flashed her a grin. "Hey, practice makes perfect."

"Well, I don't mind at all," she said. "She seems like a good person, like she genuinely changed. It makes Emily happy to have her mom back in the picture. Maybe she doesn't like me now, but at least she's happy."

He chuckled. "Emily doesn't like you? I thought she adored you."

Skylar shrugged. "Well, not anymore. But I see why, I'm just a threat to the perfect life she wants." "So she wants Ian and Christina to get back together?"

He scoffed. "Right. Like that's gonna happen."

After Margie's, Kyle dropped her off at Heather's house. It had been a while since she had last seen her sister, and they weren't even that close, but she still felt happy to be seeing her. They were family after all. When Heather opened the door she pulled Skylar in for a tight hug and dragged her inside.

The living room was full of stuff, probably for the wedding. There were also some girls she had never met before sitting there.

"I'm so glad you're here," Heather mused. She turned to her friends. "Girls, this is my sister Skylar."

They all murmured hellos and offered her small smiles. Skylar tried to be friendly and said, "Hi, nice to meet all of you." To Heather, "Where's Grace."

"Oh, she'll be here soon." Heather winked. "Now lets go get you in your dress!" She grabbed Skylar's hand and pulled her along up the stairs.

Heather took her to a bedroom and then went into her closet to bring out a box. She opened it and pulled out a pale pink chiffon dress. When Skylar tried it on, she had to admit that she loved it. The dress stopped an inch or two above her knee. The top part of the dress was made out of lace. It was girly and cute, and her teenage self would have hated it, but now...she loved it!

"What do you think?" Heather asked, clapping her hands together.

"It's gorgeous," Skylar confessed.

"I know!" Heather exclaimed. "I'm so excited."

"Well, you are getting married."

Heather nodded enthusiastically. "I know!" Then she calmed down and asked, "So who did you bring as your plus one."

Skylar smiled. "My boyfriend."

Heather's mouth fell open. "Your boyfriend? Oh my gosh! I have to meet him."

"You will." Technically, she'd already met him five years ago.

"Does he go to school with you?" she asked.

"No. He's the lawyer I intern for."

"Ooh. A lawyer, that sounds hot." She fanned herself. "What's his name?"

"Ian."

That's when realization started to sink in. "Wait. Ian. As in Ian Rinaldi? As in the guy who's uncle tried to get to marry one of us? That guy?"

Skylar nodded.

"Well, he is pretty hot. No wonder he didn't like me or Grace. He liked you!" She laughed. "That's so cute!"

Wow. Heather was in a really happy mood. Skylar didn't remember her being that much of an excited person. Had Heather's personality just changed drastically and turned her into a livelier person? Or was it just that she was getting married? Of course that would make any bride feel extra happy.

After a few more exchanged words Skylar took off the dress and put on her original clothing. Heather made her join her friends downstairs for a chat. But everyone was acting suspicious and Skylar didn't like it.

"What's going?" she asked.

Heather giggled and poured herself some wine. "Well, sister, I am getting married. So, you know, we're trying to follow all traditions."

Oh. "What type of traditions?"

All the girls in the room were acting as if they were naughty, blushing and smiling secretively. "Grace is out getting everything ready," Heather explained. "Because I'm going to have the best bachelorette party ever!"

That's when everyone let out excited shrieks and talked excitedly amongst themselves.

Oh no. Not at all what Skylar had been expecting. A bachelorette party was not something that she was looking forward to. Not at all. She knew these girls were all for several margaritas and ripped male strippers, but she wasn't. At least not for male strippers, margaritas she could handle. Plus, what would Ian say?

"Aren't you excited?" Heather asked oblivious to Skylar's distaste. "And Grace promised strippers!" Of course.

"That's great!" She feigned amusement. "But I really don't want to leave Ian alone more than I have to. But you girls have fun!" She really hoped Heather would understand and let her off the hook.

"What?" Heather shook her head violently. "You cannot ditch me, sister! You and I are getting drunk as f.uck tonight! You just turned twenty-one, honey! Live a little!"

Skylar didn't know what to do. She didn't want to go see male strippers or get drunk with a bunch of crazy girls. Who knew what type of games they would play. All she wanted was to go back to the hotel and be with Ian. But...she also didn't want to be a buzz kill at her sister's bachelorette party.

With a defeated sigh she said, "Okay. Lets go make bad choices."