“Nothing’s complicated.” I lied.
“Does she know about the other girl?”
“What other girl?” I feigned ignorance.
“The one you dated in Palm Bonita?”
“We broke up, Zane.”
“But there’s still unresolved stuff there. I can tell.”
“I don’t want to talk about this right now.” I shook my head. “I’ve got it handled.”
“Sure you do.” He sighed. “You may have the Beaumont sex appeal, but you also have the Beaumont knack of messing it up with girls.”
“You got Lucky.”
“Only because the gods were with me.” He laughed. “I swear I must have done something right in my life.”
“You’re a good guy, bro.” I said seriously. “She’s lucky to have you as well.”
“Sometimes I don’t know if I’m good enough for her.” All of a sudden he looked unsure of himself. “I love her so much, Noah. I never knew love could be like this. I still get overwhelmed sometimes. She’s everything to me. She’s my life. I’m so happy. You can thank her for me not killing you yesterday or today by the way. She’s grounded me and made me feel whole in a way I never knew was possible.”
“I don’t know what to say.” I stared at him. “I’m so happy for you. You’ve found a happiness that eludes many of us.”
“You’ll find it as well.” Zane paused and was about to talk again when my phone started ringing.
“One moment.” I reached for my phone and my heart stopped when I saw Skylar’s number on the caller id. “Hello.” I spoke into the phone softly. There was silence on the other side. “Hello. Skylar are you there?” I held my breath as I waited for her to reply.
“Hello,” a voice whispered and I felt sweat break out in my face.
“Skylar?”
“Yes,” she mumbled.
“Oh, my God, Skylar, are you okay?” I spoke into the phone quickly worried she was going to hang up on me again. I saw a movement from the corner of my eye and I realized that I was still in the kitchen with Zane. He was staring at me with a worried expression in his eyes and I turned around. I couldn’t deal with him right now. I needed to concentrate on Skylar.
“Noah?”
“Yes, angel. It’s me.” I let out a deep breath. “Are you okay?”
There was silence on the other side of the phone and that I heard what sounded like sobs and I froze as my hand gripped the phone tightly.
“What’s wrong?” My voice rose slightly. “Tell me what’s wrong, Skylar.”
“You left me.” She sobbed, this time not hiding her tears.
“I didn’t …”
“You didn’t say goodbye,” she sobbed into the phone. “I miss you, Noah.”
“I didn’t want to make it harder.” I said slowly, not sure what to say. I had taken the coward’s way out. Everything had gotten so bad and I had no recourse, and I knew that I just had to walk away.
“I love you.” She cried harder. “You told me when people love each other, they are always there for each other.”
“I am always here for you.” I whispered into the phone. “I am always here for you, Skylar.”
“My arm hurts.” She stopped sobbing and her voice grew softer. “I have to go lie down because my arm hurts.”
“What’s wrong with it?”
“It got broke.” She sighed. “It got broke when I bumped into the chair.”
“Oh, my God,” I closed my eyes. “You didn’t bump into the chair, did you?”
“I bumped into the chair hard and it broke because I am clumsy.” She said the words that she had been commanded to say.
“Skylar, tell me the truth, please. What happened to your arm?”
“You don’t care,” she whispered. “You left me.”
“Skylar, please.” My heart ached for her.
“I have to go and lie down now.” She yawned. “I’m tired.”
“Didn’t you sleep last night? It’s morning, Sky.”
“I had to stay up last night and keep guard.” She yawned again. “I’m sleepy and my arm hurts.”
“Skylar, put Monica on the phone.” I spoke quickly.
“No.” she sounded scared.
“Please put Monica on the phone.” I begged, praying she would do as I asked. But then I heard a click and realized that she had hung up. I stood there with the phone next to my ear for at least a minute before trying to call it back again. This time the phone went straight to voicemail and I knew she had turned it off. I stood there for a moment in a complete panic, not sure what to do, when Zane spoke.
“What’s going on, Noah?” Zane looked at me with a concerned expression. “What was that call about?”
“Nothing.” I shook my head, not knowing how to explain the situation to him. An idea was starting to form in my mind and the less he knew the better. If he didn’t know anything, then the police couldn’t accuse him of being an accessory to my plan.
“Noah, I’m not going to ask you again. What was that about?” Zane looked at me with a furious expression. “It sure didn’t sound like nothing. It sounded like it was a lot more than nothing. Who is this Skylar and what does she have over you?”
“She doesn’t have anything over me.” I glared at him, my heart still pounding. All I could think about was how tiny her voice had sounded. And her arm. What had happened to her arm? I was pretty sure that whatever had happened hadn’t been an accident. I needed to get her out of Palm Bonita even if it meant we had to be on the run.
“Noah.” Zane grabbed a hold of my shoulders and looked into my eyes. “Are you in any trouble?”
“No. I’m not.” I shook my head and attempted a smile. I needed to diffuse the situation or he was going to keep at it. And I didn’t want to tell him anything. Part of my heart was splitting open as I realized that once again I would have to leave him without telling him what was going on. I couldn’t risk him knowing the truth.
“Okay.” He sighed. “Don’t tell me now. But I sure hope you know what you’re doing. You’ve got one girl upstairs in your shower and another one calling you on the phone and I’ve got a feeling that it’s not a good idea to be playing both of them.” He shook his head and walked out of the kitchen and I stood there frozen. I had almost forgotten about Robin. If I carried out my plan, that would mean the end for me and her and any possible relationship. I couldn’t expect her to understand my tie to Skylar. I wasn’t even going to try to explain it to her. I clenched my feelings as I realized that I was going to lose the chance to see what we could have been. I couldn’t dwell on a relationship that hadn’t even happened yet. I couldn’t regret the future that wasn’t to be. Not if I wanted to save Skylar. I pulled out my phone to call Sidney, to see if his son had found any loopholes in the law to allow me to carry out my plan without becoming a fugitive. The phone went to voicemail and I hung up without leaving a message.