Chapter Twenty-Nine

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Since first becoming friends with Kyle, Skylar had always told him everything. She had always confided in him in hopes that he would give her some good advice. He always did. No matter how cocky or immature Kyle acted sometimes, he cared and he was good at making her feel better. They were best friends after all. After Ingrid, he had been the one there to hug her when she most needed it. He'd never cared what anyone else had to say about her. She would always be grateful for that.

However, since moving to California they'd been becoming distant. She didn't tell him everything anymore. She didn't go to him for comfort or advice. She'd taken up Jason for that. And boy did she feel like a b.itch for that. Kyle was her best friend. No matter how good a friend Jason had become he could never take Kyle's place. It just didn't work like that.

And right now, she needed her best friend. Even if they hundreds of miles apart, she still wanted to be close to him right now. That's where Skype came in. It was the closest she could get to him at the moment.

"What's wrong?" he asked as soon as they started the conversation.

She laughed bitterly. "Am I that easy to read?"

"You're my best friend," he said. "I know you. And right now I can see that there's something wrong. Talk to me."

How was she to start the story? Kyle was Ian's cousin for goodness sake! She didn't want him caught up in between of any drama. He didn't deserve that. But she still had to tell him. She needed her best friend to know. To give her advice. To just be there for her.

So she just let it out. "Ian and I broke up." She pursed her lips after that, waiting for him to say something.

It took him a few seconds but then he said, "And how do you feel right now?" He looked sincerely worried for her.

She exhaled deeply. "I feel like crap," she said. "Like, at the moment, I didn't feel as sad as I do now. I just thought that it was for the best. Like I had wanted it deep down. But I saw him today at the firm, and it turned out to be harder than I thought it would." A few tears escaped her eyes, her voice started to get strained. "So I told him that I couldn't work for him anymore. So I quit. I gave him the keys to the apartment he had gotten me. I gave him back the car. I just needed that closure, I guess...I'm just so sad. I love him, and of course it hurts like hell. And I just...I needed to talk to you. I know it's weird. He's your cousin. But I don't know what to do. I miss him already, you know. God, this sucks."

Kyle nodded as he listened. He couldn't take sides. He just couldn't. Ian was his cousin, and a great friend. Skylar was his best friend, a sister to him. There was no way that he could ever pick a side. And he knew that neither one would ask him to. "It's okay to feel sad," he said. "You love him. And yeah, it's gonna hurt for a while. It'll take a while before you move on, but you will. Skylar, you're strong. You've been through so much, you can get through this. It's just another bump in the road, but you'll be fine."

"I hate it." She wiped away the tears. "I hate feeling this way. I miss you, Kyle. I miss Chicago. We could be at Portillo's right now, eating my feelings."

He chuckled. "Well, at least we have this beauty called the Internet."

"Yeah." She giggled. "I can't wait until winter vacation. I was gonna stay, but I'm gonna go to Chicago and just think about life. I deserve a break."

"Do you miss it here?" he asked.

"Like hell," she admitted. "I miss you, the city, our friends. Don't get me wrong, California is great. Palo Alto and San Francisco are amazing, but they just don't compare to Chicago. And I like my friends here, I really do. But no one can compare to you. And the pizza and hot dogs here suck."

"Let me guess, no Cubs fans?" he asked light-heartedly.

"No!" She feigned annoyance. "No damn Cubs fans. And I've been really wanting to go to Wrigley to watch a game with you. Like the good ol' days."

"Why don't you just move back then?" he asked seriously.

"What?" she asked. She hadn't stressed over getting into Stanford Law just to leave.

"I'm serious," he said. "You miss it here, come back. You'll get even farther away from Ian, it'll be easier to stop thinking about him. There's so many good law schools here. University of Chicago is great. So is DePaul. Just transfer for your second semester and you'll be good. It'll be good for you to get away. Hell, lets move in together, Skylar!"

"Are you serious?" she asked. Not that was it was a bad idea, but still...

"Yes!" he enthused. "We can get an apartment downtown for the two of us. It'll be great. Just think about it. Late night walks by the shore or Millennium Park. A nice apartment with a balcony and great view of the city. We can go see as many Cubs games as you want. You won't have to endure crappy pizza and hot dogs anymore. And come on, you miss the snow."

She laughed as she took all of it in. "Yeah, I totally miss negative twenty degree weather and blizzards," she said sarcastically. "And I love slipping on ice. It's so attractive."

"Cool it with the sarcasm, Grant," he warned jokingly. "But I'm serious. What do you say?"

It was honestly a lot to think about, but she was the girl that had moved a little too fast with a man that had a little to much baggage. And now she was the girl who got a tattoo right after a break up. She'd known Kyle for a while, and what was so bad about moving in with your best friend? A friend that had always been there for her. There was nothing wrong with that. And honestly, moving back to Chicago seemed like the greatest idea at the moment.

"Okay," she said. "I'll do it."

Kyle grinned from ear to ear. "We're moving in together!"

Thinking about Skylar made Ian sad, but he couldn't dwell too much on it as he had to just deal with it. They were no longer together and that was okay. Or so he tried to convince himself. He had been the one to end it after all, but then again she had been hinting at it anyway. Maybe they both had wanted it. Or at least saw it coming.

Christina had moved in during the morning hours. She hadn't really had much to begin with, except her clothes, so it had been a quick process. She would be sleeping in the extra bedroom there was in the house, and everyone was okay with that. Just because he had ended things with Skylar didn't mean that he and Christina would automatically get back together.

Emily was ecstatic about the entire thing. She would finally have both of her parents under the same roof with her. Of course that would make any child happy. And it made Ian happy to see her so excited. That was all he wanted after all.

Still, he couldn't help but think about Skylar. Would he ever see her again? He didn't know if he wanted to. If he did, he knew that it would hurt both of them. But if they never saw each other again, well...what would that be like? He couldn't imagine getting by without seeing her at least once more.

But he had to make himself believe that it didn't matter. Not anymore. She should just go on by with her life and find someone else as much as the thought bothered him. He knew that he would probably always love Skylar.

He was in his home office trying to get some work done. His laptop was open but so far there was no progress. He knew that he had to get a move on. His clients weren't going to wait for him to get over Skylar.

Christina entered the room after a few minutes. She gave him a nervous glance not knowing if she was welcome or not. "Can I talk to you?"

"Sure," he said.

She sat down on a chair and tucked a strand of hair behind her hear. "Listen, I...know you feel sad about the whole Skylar thing. But I didn't ask you to break up with her. I never wanted this to happen, and I feel like this is because of me. I know I'm not the greatest person in the world but I don't want to feel like I ruined something good..." Her words were genuine. She really did feel guilty for their break up.

Ian shook his head as he took her words in. "Don't feel guilty, Christina. This was bound to happen. I have other responsibilities in my life that would always get in between us. She...deserves better, you know. Someone that can give her 100% of their attention. Someone that can always put her first. And, yes, you were part of the reason why I ended things with her, but don't blame yourself. Emily will always need her mother with her. A family. And I want to give her that."

"So you want to make...this - whatever this is - work?" she asked. "You want to give us a chance?" She sounded truly shocked.

Ian nodded. "Yes. For Emily. She deserves that much."

"Of course," she agreed. "I really want to make up for the time I was away."

"We don't have to get together right at this moment," he said. "We can take things slow. See how things work out. We'll give it a try."

"For Emily," Christina said.

"For Emily," Ian agreed.

As the days passed Skylar started to feel like things were really done. She had not spoken to Ian since that last day in his office. She confided in her friends and they showed their support. There were several occasions where she wanted to cry because she missed him, but now she knew that things were finalized. Ian was just a chapter in her life that was over. It was time for a new one.

She went to her classes and did her work. She'd already in the process of applying to the University of Chicago to see if they would take her. Her chances seemed pretty good at the moment.

Of course Micah has to say something to her during class. "So...you quit your internship, huh?"

She rolled her eyes and said, "Yes. Why do you care?"

"So you and Ian are done?" he asked. He didn't even sound mocking. Micah was as serious as ever.

She nodded and stared straight ahead.

The snarky remark she had been expecting didn't come her way. Instead he patter her back and said, "His loss. You're actually really cool, Skylar." And then he walked away.

"Okay, class," Professor Grenshaw began, his fingers adjusting his blue bow tie. "Just a quick announcement before I begin today's lesson. I'm sure you all remember Ian Rinaldi." Skylar stopped breathing. "Well, he's looking for a new intern. Like last time, he will be coming here to evaluate the ones interested in the position. Just for a day, though, as he has come before. It'll probably be on the last day before your winter break so prepare yourselves."

Maybe she didn't have to come to class on that day, Skylar thought to herself. She really didn't want to see Ian before she left. That would just make things really hard for her. And she was already having a hard enough time as it was.

It when the class ended that Micah approached her again. Maybe he regretted not being as.shole earlier.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Just wanted to let you know there's gonna be a party tonight," he said.

"You party?" she asked. He seemed too stuck up to party with a bunch of college students.

"Yes, I do," he said. "It's going to be at some frat house. I'm friends with one of the guys. You're going through a tough time, I thought you'd like the idea. It's a Friday after all. Sometimes we need to give ourselves a break from all the studying."

She frowned. "Yeah, frat parties really aren't my thing."

"Well, if you change your mind, here's the address," he said, handing her a Post-It. "I hope you come. You can bring your friends if you want."

"Are you gonna wear that?" Cindy asked, raising an eyebrow as Skylar adjusted her blouse.

"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" Skylar asked. She was wearing ripped blue jeans, a red sheer blouse, a green jacket, and purple Converse. It was comfortable, that was all that mattered.

"Did your breakup with Ian mean you lost all sense of color coordination?" Cindy said harshly. "You're a mess. Green, red, blue, purple...what are you? And it's not even frat party appropriate!"

Skylar rolled her eyes. Yes, maybe she had been caring less about what she wore lately. That didn't mean it had anything to do with Ian. She just didn't care what anyone thought. "I really couldn't care less about dressing to impress some silly frat boys."

"It's a party!" Cindy exclaimed. "We're supposed to have fun!"

Skylar was starting to regret telling Cindy about the party. She hadn't done it to invite her to it, it had just come up. Of course Cindy found a way to convince her into going. Evan Sarah was tagging along.

"Look at Sarah!" Cindy said, motioning towards the girl silently sitting on the other side of the room. She was wearing a casual red dress and flat flats, along with a leather jacket she had borrowed from Cindy. Even her makeup looked great. "Even she tried!" She quickly glanced at Sarah apologetically. "No offense."

"None taken," Sarah said.

Cindy quickly went into Skylar's closet and started rummaging for some clothes. She then came out with a few pieces and handed them to her. "Put this on!"

With a sigh, Skylar took the clothing from Cindy and changed into them. It was just a pair of tight black skinny jeans paired with a red lace baby doll crop top that accentuated her breasts. That went with black combat boots and a light, black denim jacket. After that Cindy did her makeup, applying red lipstick, smoky eye shadow, eyeliner, and mascara.

"Yeah, I don't feel comfortable in this crop top," Skylar said, scrutinizing her image in the mirror.

Cindy gave her an incredulous look. "Then why the f.uck do you own crop tops?"

"Because I hoped I could hit the gym more often," she explained. "That clearly hasn't happened yet!"

"Cry me a f.ucking river," Cindy spat. "You look great! Now lets go!"

The frat house wasn't far from their dorm. They'd gotten there at around 9:30, and there were already several people hanging outside the house. Music was audible even from outside. When they walked in Skylar could smell a lot of alcohol and weed. A lot of people were stumbling around.

"This doesn't seem... sanitary," Sarah said as they watched a girl run out the door to puke.

"You'll be fine," Cindy said as she took in the environment.

"Skylar!" an annoyingly familiar voice called out. "You made it! And you brought friends along." Micah gave them all a big smile. "Wow, you look amazing."

"Thanks," Skylar said, pursing her lips. "So this is your thing, huh? Alcohol and drunk girls."

Micah chuckled and shook his head. "Sometimes you need to let go. Want a beer?"

"Sure," Skylar said taking one from his hand.

"You know I'm actually hosting a party before we go on break," he explained. "At my parent's lake house. It'll be great."

"I'm actually leaving as soon as we go on break," she explained.

"Chicago?" he asked.

"Yup. But I'm staying there."

His eyes widened. "How bad did this break up f.uck you up?"

Cindy laughed. "I'm saying!"

"I just miss it," she said. "I feel like I'd be better off there."

"What school are you going to?" he asked.

"I'm working on attending the University of Chicago," she explained. "So far things look good."

"Well, good luck to you," he said sincerely. "Now, it's time for you to party."

And that she did. Alcohol was great and it made her more confident. She danced with Cindy in a way that had a lot of guys cheering them on, but she didn't care. She was there to have fun. And it didn't even matter that at one point she found herself dancing with Micah, grinding against him, his hands on her hips and waist. It was easy to forget that she had seriously disliked him once upon a time. Even Sarah was letting go in a way no one would have ever imagined she would.

It was when people started a spin the bottle circle that she should have realized she wasn't acting like herself. She didn't. Instead she joined the circle with Micah and a lot of equally drunk people.

A cute redhead went first and it landed on a blonde guy across from her. They didn't hesitate, they just went at it. Everyone cheered in their drunken state.

And then it was her turn and by some miracle the bottle landed on Micah. Something inside her told her it was a bad idea, but then again, it was just a party game and it was nothing serious. So she scooted closer to Micah and soon enough their lips were on each other. And everyone laughed and cheered.

His lips felt unfamiliar but inviting at the same time. And they kissed for a long time, longer than the people that had gone before them. And as his tongue explored her mouth, her body started to get heated and she wanted more and more.

And then Ian invaded her thoughts...

And then she pulled away abruptly. Micah was not Ian. And she felt disgusted with herself.

"Are you okay?" Micah asked.

"I think I'm gonna throw up," she said.

And then she got up and ran towards the nearest bathroom and puked her guts out. "F.uck!" she groaned.

And soon enough tears started spilling from her eyes.