I throw myself into my bed and pull the blankets up high just in time to hear a knock at my bedroom door. It creaks open and I close my eyes, turning away so Shay doesn’t see the tears my fall brought to my eyes.
Shay’s voice comes through my quiet room. “Happy Friday, Sky. It’s time to get up.”
I grumble out an ‘okay’ and make a show of rolling over to face my bedroom wall. I expect Shay to walk away and leave me to it but instead, she strolls right into my room with a deep sigh. “Why’s your window open?”
Shit.
I hear her fiddling around with it before the familiar sound of the glass sliding back into place. “Did you sleep with it like this? It was freezing last night. Are you trying to make yourself sick?”
“Oh…um, there was a nice breeze last night,” I grumble through my fake morning voice. “I must have fallen asleep and forgot to close it.”
“Sky,” she groans. “I’d feel awful if you were to get sick. You need to remember to be more careful.”
“Sorry, Shay,” I murmur, sitting up in bed but making sure to keep my blanket up to hide the fact that I’m wearing a jacket. As I watch her making her way around my room, picking up things and grabbing hold of the glass on my nightstand, I realize that I haven’t been fair to her.
Shay has been everything to me over the past couple of months. She’s been a friend when I needed it, a voice of reason, and a concerned parent, and in return, I’ve given her nothing. Maybe it’s time to open up and let her in. I’ve talked to her about Slade and to her, that’s probably enough, but I want her to know me, the real me. And in order to do that, shit needs to get heavy.
Shay goes to walk out of my room and I find myself calling out. “Wait,” I say, making her pause in the doorway, juggling everything. She patiently raises her brows, wordlessly asking what’s up. “I, um…I’m ready to talk if the offer still stands.”
Shaylee’s eyes bug out of her head and she launches herself out of my room. My brows dip low. What the hell was that? She’s spent the last few weeks desperate to get to know this part of me and when the opportunity comes knocking, she takes off at the speed of light.
I hear her outside of my bedroom, throwing things around the house and before I can think too much of it, she’s back with a glass of juice and some tissues. She strides over to me, grabs the side of my blanket and raises it before squishing in beside me, ignoring the fact that I’m fully dressed.
“Okay,” she tells me, swallowing hard. “I can’t promise that I’m not going to turn into a blubbering mess, but I’m here for you. Anything you want to talk about, I’m here. This is a safe zone, Sky.”
Her arm falls around my back and I lean into her shoulder, staring off out the window to where I can see Blake shooting hoops and dodging around Shay and Ben’s cars as though they’re the opposition.
“I think the more I talk about it,” I whisper, unsure I can trust my voice not to break. “The easier it’s going to get.”
“I know it will. I had the same issue when your mom passed. For a really long time, I couldn’t talk about it. I missed her so much and whenever I went to open my mouth, the pain would cripple me so I learned to keep it to myself, but once I started to let it out, I found that I couldn’t stop. I was telling everyone about my big sister and what an incredible woman she was.”
“I’m starting to realize that,” I tell her, thinking about how I’ve now spoken to a few different people, telling them bits and pieces about my past and each time has really sucked, but it’s gotten easier. I let out a deep sigh, giving myself a moment before telling myself that I’m strong enough to get through this. “I remember she used to wear this certain perfume…I can remember the smell and it’s always annoyed me that I don’t know what it was.”
Shay smiles, pulling me in tighter. “She had two favorites. Burberry and Tiffany. Whatever you’re remembering, I’m sure it’s either one of those. I think your dad had a favorite cologne too, but I couldn’t tell you what it was.”
Wow. A question that has plagued me for years has been answered so simply. I guess I’ll be going shopping today and sniffing every single Burberry and Tiffany perfume until I can pinpoint the exact one.
I sit in silence for a few moments, wanting to talk about all the things my mother loved and learn everything that I can about my parents from Shay, yet the next words out of my mouth have the good times coming to an end. “I was so scared,” I tell her. “I’ve never felt anything like that before. I thought Blake and I would have been safe under his bed but he couldn’t stop crying. Whenever we played hide and seek, I’d go under there and despite my giggles, mom and dad would never be able to find me, but that man…he found us so quickly.”