Beautiful, p.20
Beautiful, page 20
“Oh, what a bummer.”
I simply nodded, hoping she would go away.
“So, are you going to the party tonight?”
“Nope. With my girlfriend, like I said before.”
“Right. Okay…well, talk to ya later.”
With a peek over to Skylar, I saw she had her head down, reading something. I focused back on finding the book. After asking the librarian where to find it, I headed back to the table.
When I walked back up, Skylar was gone along with all of her books. I glimpsed around.
Where in the hell did she go?
Looking back down at the table, I saw my phone was in front of where she had been sitting. Picking it up, I swiped across the screen to open it.
Ashley L.: Thanks again for Wednesday evening. It was for sure worth it, and I hope you think so, too. Will you be able to pull it off again next week?
When I read the text from Ashley, it felt as if someone had hit me with a hundred-pound weight. My heart jumped to my throat.
How in the hell could I have been so stupid? How in the hell did I forget to tell Skylar about the study group?
Closing my eyes, I yelled out, “Fuck!”
Half of the library looked my way. Grabbing my stuff, I pulled up Skylar’s number.
It rang and then went to voice mail.
I rushed out the door to see if I could find her.
Her car rapidly pulled out of a spot, and she raced out of the parking lot. I stood there, watching her drive off, as I attempted to call her again. She must have turned off her phone, as it went straight to voice mail.
Pushing my hand through my hair, I cursed under my breath, “Son of a bitch.”
My phone buzzed with a text.
It was Michelle.
Michelle: How could you? How could you cheat on her after everything she went through? She is devastated! You’re nothing but a prick asshole, and I hope the girl gave you VD!
Closing my eyes, I shook my head. My chest felt like there was a vise squeezing down on it.
“Oh God, what have I done? How could I have been so stupid and not told her about the group project?”
I replied to Michelle’s text.
Me: It’s not what she thinks. Michelle, please tell me where she is going. I need to talk to her. I would never hurt Sky. Please.
I waited for Michelle to text me back. When she didn’t, I ran as fast as I could to my truck. I needed to get to Skylar’s apartment to talk to her before she got the crazy idea to leave town.
***
After waiting for three hours, it was clear that Skylar was not coming back to her place. Each time I called her, her phone would go to voice mail.
I hit her number one more time.
“Sky, baby, please call me. I don’t want to do this over voice mail, but you’re leaving me no choice. I fucked up and didn’t even think of mentioning the physics group meeting last night. When the team meeting got canceled, I headed over to the study group. The girl heading it up is named Ashley. I swear to God, Sky, that’s all it was. They’re trying to do a group meeting each week, and I told her I doubted I could attend them all. Skylar…please call me. I’m fucking going out of my mind, worrying about where you are. I love you. Call me.”
Hitting End, I rested my head against the sofa in Skylar’s apartment. I pulled up Mitch’s number and hit it.
The first thing I heard was loud music and a lot of talking.
“Mitch?”
“Hey, Wyatt! What’s up, dude?”
Frowning, I asked, “Are you drunk?”
“Hell yeah. I’m out with Skip. We’ve been partying it up in Austin.”
My heart dropped. I knew how Skylar’s older brother was, and he had been itching to go out and party as well as pick up a few women.
“Where’s Michelle?” I asked.
“Yeah, I don’t think that’s working out so great. The whole moving in together and everything, I wasn’t ready. Skip’s showing me what I’ve been missing out on.”
I dragged my hand down my face. “Mitch, you haven’t done anything that will hurt Michelle, have you?”
“What are you? My mother, Wyatt?”
Letting out a long sigh, I took that as a yes. “Does she know?”
The silence on the other end was deafening.
“Motherfucker, Mitch. The least you could have done was break up with her before you decided to go out and live it up with your brother.”
“Yeah, well, I haven’t talked to her in a few days, so…”
Well, there went that idea of Mitch knowing where Skylar could be. “Have you heard from Skylar?”
All of a sudden, the noise from the crowd in the background grew quieter. I heard a door shut.
“What did you do, Smith?”
“I didn’t do anything. Skylar read a text I received from a girl in a group project. She took it the wrong way and now thinks I cheated on her. I have no clue where she is, and neither she nor Michelle is answering the phone.”
“Nothing happened between you and this girl?”
Anger raced through my body. “No, Mitch. Unlike you and your brother, I’m not that way. I love Skylar, and I’d never do anything to hurt her.”
“Fuck you, Wyatt. I love Michelle.”
I stood and shook my head. “Yeah? Do you really, Mitch? Then, why the fuck have you been avoiding her since your brother came into town?”
“It’s…it’s different with us. We’re not like you and Sky.”
Letting out a laugh, I closed my eyes. “I’ve got to go. I need to find Skylar. If you hear from her, will you please tell her to call me?”
“Yeah. I’ll give Michelle a call now and see if she knows where Sky’s at.”
“I think what you need to do is go home, Mitch.”
When he didn’t answer me, I hung up. I had my own problems to deal with. I didn’t have time to worry about Mitch and Michelle.
Pulling up Michelle’s number again, I called it. When her voice mail started, I hung up. Pacing back and forth, I tried to figure out what Skylar would do. Then, it hit me. Skylar had mentioned Michelle saying that she thought things were over between her and Mitch, that she had a strange feeling that Mitch had been cheating on her. If they both were feeling this way, then there was one place they would be.
Together.
I raced into the bedroom and grabbed a bag. After packing a few things I kept at Skylar’s place, I headed out of the apartment and to my truck.
There was no way in hell I was going to give up on Skylar. If that meant searching for her for days, then that was what I would do.
The alarm on my phone dinged as a reminder for football practice.
I stopped and stared at my phone.
Football or Skylar?
That was an easy pick.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
* * *
Skylar
“SERIOUSLY, MICHELLE, HOW did you lose your phone?”
With a shrug, she took another bite of her pizza. “I don’t know, Sky. I can’t find it anywhere.”
“Did you leave it at your dorm?”
“Maybe. We can swing by and see if it’s there.”
I shook my head. “No. I’m sure Mitch or Wyatt is probably stalking it, waiting for us to show up.”
Lifting her brow, Michelle swallowed her food and then took a drink. “If Wyatt reached out to Mitch, then that tells me he didn’t cheat.”
Jerking my head back, I stared at her. “How do you figure?”
Michelle wiped her hands on the napkin and then neatly folded it before setting it on her plate. “Because, if Wyatt truly cheated on you, do you honestly think he would call your brother? Mitch and Skip would kick his ass if he ever hurt you.”
My heart ached as I thought about what Mitch had been doing to Michelle. This was not like him at all. Michelle suspected he had been cheating, and ever since Skip had come into town and Mitch took off with him, I was beginning to think she was right.
“I’m sorry, Michelle. I’ve been so caught up in my own issue, we haven’t even talked about you and Mitch.”
With a snort, she shook her head. “I don’t think there is a me and Mitch anymore, Sky.”
“Don’t say that. Not too long ago, you were talking about how great your sex life was.”
She looked across the restaurant, fighting to keep her tears at bay. “Everything changed when we got to The University of Texas. He was great at first, and then he grew distant. I can’t even tell you the last time he touched me intimately. I only wish…I wish…” Stumbling over her words, she quickly wiped a tear away.
I reached for her hand. “What do you wish?”
Her blue eyes met my gray ones. “I wish he had been honest with me. If he fell out of love with me, he should have left. Ya know? Instead of doing all of this and hurting me even more. I think I let my own insecurities about my relationship with Mitch feed yours when you first thought Wyatt had cheated. For that, I’m sorry, Sky.”
Squeezing her hand, I nodded. “Men are assholes. That includes my brothers.”
She smiled, but I saw right through it.
Pulling her hand from mine, Michelle wiped her tear-soaked face. “You know what? We need to just forget about Mitch and concentrate on you and Wyatt. Is there any way you read it wrong?”
My face heated up. “Of course there is. It wouldn’t be the first time. I’m afraid of being right though. A part of me is telling me I rushed into judgment.”
“Have you checked your voice mail?”
Sighing, I shook my head. “My phone has been off.”
“What about your classes, Sky? You can’t hide in Austin forever.”
I picked up my margarita pizza, took a bite, and shrugged.
“Are you going to blow off the rest of the semester? It’s barely started.”
After taking a drink of Diet Coke, I nodded. “Maybe. It won’t look good on my transcript, but maybe that’s exactly what I need—some time off to focus on me. Plus, I’ve already thought about maybe transferring to UT next semester.”
“What? Skylar, you should talk to Wyatt first before you blow off this semester. And you really need to think about transferring. That’s huge.”
With a wide smile, I replied, “We could be roommates.”
She returned my smile. “That would be fun, wouldn’t it?”
We both laughed. It felt good to laugh. My heart was still heavy though, and I wasn’t sure where things really stood with me and Wyatt. The only thing I was certain of was that I was damn good at running away from things—a habit I really needed to break.
***
I sat on the balcony and looked at the Austin skyline. The early afternoon sun felt warm on my body. It had been three days since I walked out of the library, and my heart had grown heavier. The only contact I’d had was when I left my parents a message, telling them that both Michelle and I were okay, that I needed time to sort my feelings. To say my parents were going to be upset with me would be a total understatement. I’d be surprised if my mother didn’t drag me back to Marble Falls the second she saw me.
“The game is about to start, Sky.”
Closing my eyes, I drew in a deep breath and walked through the open balcony door. “Okay.”
“Um, there’s something you should know.”
The concerned look on Michelle’s face instantly filled me with fear. “What is it?”
“They said on the TV that Wyatt wouldn’t be playing today. That he took some sort of family medical leave from school.”
“What?” My heart never beat so hard in my chest.
The only thing Michelle could do was nod. “Yeah. They were talking about his uncertain future with the football program at Baylor.”
Covering my mouth with my hand, I shook my head. “No, no, no! I never meant for him to not play football. Shit!” Rushing past Michelle, I reached for my phone that was still turned off.
“What are you doing?”
“Checking on Wyatt. What if something happened to him? It was so stupid of me to keep my phone off like this.”
The moment my phone turned on, my notifications started going off.
I dropped to the edge of the bed and whispered, “Oh my goodness.”
“What?” Michelle asked, sitting next to me.
“I have a plethora of messages from Wyatt. Plus, more from my parents, Skip, Mitch, and your parents.”
We looked at each other as Michelle said, “I’m going to be in so much trouble with my parents.”
I nodded and replied, “We both are.”
Pulling up my voice messages, I sighed. “He left so many.”
“Go straight to the last one from Wyatt.”
Doing as Michelle had said, I held my breath and hit play.
“Skylar, I’m going out of my mind. Where are you and Michelle? Please don’t do this to me. Please.”
A tear rolled down my cheek. “He sounds so distraught.”
“Go backward and listen to them. Maybe he will tell you where he is.”
I did exactly that. Each message was Wyatt pleading for me to call him. Each one was short. Then, I played the one that changed everything.
“Sky, baby, please call me. I don’t want to do this over voice mail, but you’re leaving me no choice. I fucked up and didn’t even think of mentioning the physics group meeting last night. When the team meeting got canceled, I headed over to the study group. The girl heading it up is named Ashley. I swear to God, Sky, that’s all it was. They’re trying to do a group meeting each week, and I told her I doubted I could attend them all. Skylar…please call me. I’m fucking going out of my mind, worrying about where you are. I love you. Call me.”
I closed my eyes. “I did it again. I jumped to conclusions and look what I’ve caused.”
Michelle wrapped her arm around me. “Call him, Sky.”
I’m so stupid.
Quickly wiping my tears away, I dropped my head and stared at the ground. “Maybe he is better off without me. All I seem to do is rush to a decision that is fueled by my own insecurities. And, now, I might have cost Wyatt the one thing he loves more than anything.”
Squatting down in front of me, Michelle took my hands. “Sky, you’ve been through a lot. Did we both make a dumb choice by running away? Yes. I was right there with you, looking for a reason to hide from reality. But, now, we have to face the truth.”
“What if your truth is different from mine?” I asked.
Tears formed in her eyes. “Then, I’ll deal with it.”
I shook my head. “Not alone. You won’t deal with it alone.”
A weak smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. “I know.”
Taking the phone from my hand, Michelle pulled up Wyatt’s number, hit Call, and handed me the phone. She stood and walked out to the balcony.
It rang three times before Wyatt’s frantic voice answered, “Skylar!”
A sob slipped from between my lips. “Wyatt,” was all I could manage to say.
“Please tell me you’re okay. Tell me where you are.”
“Why are you not playing, Wyatt?”
Silence.
“What?” he asked.
“I didn’t mean for you to miss the game. I’m so sorry.”
A door opened and closed on the other end of the phone.
“I don’t care about the game, Sky. I care about you. I love you, and if you think I could have taken the field today, not knowing where you and Michelle were, you’re crazy. Everyone has been going insane, trying to find you. Your father’s been tracking your credit card, and Mitch and Skip have been searching every place they could think of. Skip got permission to extend his leave. Damn it, Skylar! Now, I’m pissed!”
I smiled as I wiped a tear away. None of this was funny. I was just so happy to hear his voice. “I’m sorry. I’ll call everyone and let them know we’re okay.”
“Angel, where are you?”
“The Marriott in downtown Austin.”
There was a long pause before he said, “You’re kidding me, right?”
I shook my head. “No. We’ve been here the whole time.”
“What room?”
“Um, we’re on the ninth floor. Room nine thirty-nine.”
Wyatt let out a chuckle and then a long sigh. “Skylar, I swear to you, nothing happened between me and that girl. I would never hurt you.”
My heart felt like it was physically breaking. “I know. Wyatt, I don’t know why I reacted the way I did, and I feel like a silly child for behaving like I have. I promised myself I wasn’t going to do this, and I did it anyway. Now, I might have cost you your scholarship at Baylor.”
“You didn’t. I explained what happened to Coach. He gave me this week off but said I had to be back by next week. He warned me, this was my only pass.”
“Seriously? Oh Lord, I’m so sorry. The team is going to hate me.”
Wyatt laughed. “No, they won’t, baby. No one knows why I left. Just Coach.”
The knock on the hotel room door caused me to jump.
“One second, Wyatt. Someone is at the door.”
When I opened the door and saw Wyatt standing there, I broke down in tears. I threw my body into his, and he wrapped his arms around me and held on for dear life.
Sobbing into his neck, the only thing I could manage to say was, “Wyatt.”
Lifting me, Wyatt walked us into the room, never once letting go of me.
I tightened my hold around his neck. I’d never felt so foolish in my entire life. I’d let my imagination run wild and caused everyone such pain. “I’m so sorry. Please forgive me for being so stupid. I’m so sorry.”
“Shh. I’ve got you, angel. I’ve got you.”
“How in the world did you get here so fast?” Michelle asked with a stunned look on her face.
The sound of her voice had us unlocking our hold on one another.
“Skip is staying at this hotel. I’ve been bunking with him. We’ve been trying to think of all the places the two of you might be.” Wyatt rubbed the back of his neck and let out a halfhearted chuckle. “I never imagined you’d be at the same hotel.”
Wyatt glanced back at me. Lifting his hand, he wiped my tears away. “Please don’t cry, angel. Everything is okay.”
