Page 16 of Pucking Snowed In With My Ex

“I need some air,” I said, walking out of the room and jogging down the stairs to the door that led to the walk-out patio. Grabbing a random jacket and boots, I wanted to throw open the door and run. It was irrational, and I wouldn’t get a kilometer down the road, but everything inside me screamed to do it.

Stepping outside, I closed the door and leaned against the wall. I didn’t care how cold it was and sucked in a deep breath, the exhale lifting into the air like a cloud of smoke. My whole body shook, but it had nothing to do with the temperature. I rubbed at my arms and wanted to run back inside and scrub myself off in a hot shower. It wouldn’t help, it never did. I covered my mouth and closed my eyes as I tried to push down all the shit that I’d buried deep and had prayed I would never have to deal with again.

“You can do this. It’s for Sammie,” I whispered as my little sister’s face floated in my mind. My job as her older sister was to protect her, and I couldn’t let her whole life and future blow up. I just couldn’t. Not after all she’d done to get herself healthy.

I jumped when the door opened, but Cal stuck his head out. “You okay?” His eyes darted to my hand. I had a bad habit of chewing my nails off when I was upset.

I quickly put it down. “Yup, much better, too much testosterone in there,” I said, waiting for him to move to let me in.

“Are you sure? You can tell me if something is wrong.”

Alex’s warning was loud in my ears. “Can I, though? We should leave the past in the past where it belongs, Cal.” Stepping inside, I kicked off the boots and hung up the jacket, my face composed once more. “It’s better that way.”

CHAPTER EIGHT

CALLUM

I didn’t know what to think anymore. I caught Alex giving Skye looks, and Skye did the same, but what I assumed were longing glances a day ago now gave me a fucked up vibe. Was it strained between them because I was here and they wanted to be together? Or was it guilt and shame? My gut told me it was something else. Skye had worked hard at not biting her nails when stressed, and I’d caught her doing it three times now.

Skye laughed as she yelled rummy, and Tyler, Conner, and Cale tossed down their cards. But it wasn’t the card game that had me watching her. It was her demeanor whenever Alex made a vulgar joke or walked past where she was sitting. Her back stiffened, and her eyes darted to the side like she was keeping an eye on him while chewing her nails. I could tell Skye didn’t realize she was doing it, which told me she was a hell of a lot more stressed than she acted.

What I didn’t understand was why she wouldn’t set me straight and tell me her side. Three years ago, I was so hurt and angry that I wouldn’t have listened and didn’t. But now…now I wanted to know. We were so happy then. I’d known the moment I first started liking girls and wanting to date that she was the girl I wanted. It took me six months to build up the nerve to ask her out. She was my sister’s best friend and lived right next door, which was the only thing that gave me pause.

“Cal, man, if you’re not gonna play, can you at least stop holding us up?” I glanced at the television and realized that I’d stopped, and my character was standing in a corner, staring at the wall. Well wasn’t that appropriate.

“Anyone want my spot?” I held up the remote, and just like that, the house went dark.

“Cal, what did you do,” Tyler yelled.

“Shut up, it wasn’t me. Ow, fuck,” I swore as I hit my shin on the coffee table. “Can someone turn on their phone flashlight?”

“But then my battery will die, and I can’t charge it,” Noah complained beside me.

“Just turn….”

A light flicked on, and Skye held up her phone.

“Thank you. Can you follow me? I left my phone upstairs,” I said, maneuvering around the furniture.

“Ohh, they’re gonna sneak off again,” J.T. grumbled.

“Shut the fuck up man,” I shot at him as he laughed.

I felt Alex looking at us as Skye reached me, but when I looked over, he looked away. I would swear he was a jealous boyfriend, and the thought of anyone touching her made my blood boil. Wayward had been torturous when I got there and realized that I couldn’t just step outside and see Skye or be wandering the halls and have her flash a smile my way. But it was also a godsend that I didn’t know and couldn’t see who she was dating.

We stepped into the laundry room and then over to the electrical panel. I flicked the switches a few times, but nothing turned on.

“There has to be a wire down somewhere.” I glanced at Skye, but her eyes were unfocused and staring into space. “Hey.” I touched her shoulder, and she yelped and looked at me, her face relaxing as she focused on my face.

“Sorry, I was in my head.” She smiled, and my heart sputtered, but all I could focus on was how tense she was.

“How many guys did you date?”

“What?” Her face twisted in confusion.

“After I left, how many guys did you date?” I leaned a hip against the washing machine.

She crossed her arms, making the light of her phone shine across the room, but I could still clearly see her expression.