Lost Heart √

Six

Caden's POV

A surprised reaction was expected.

A horrified one wasn't.

Perhaps that's why I was a bit taken aback when Skylar pulled open the front door of her house and stared at me with eyes so full of panic. Horror. Fear.

I suppose showing up here without announcing was a bit of a nasty move. But not nasty enough to make her look at me like that. I didn't even know why she looked so horrified. Before I could've asked her though, or said anything in particular, she pounced on me.

"Woah." I grabbed her waist, stumbling back a little. "Jesus, Sky--"

"Oh my God oh my God oh my God." She blurted out, sounding a whole lot relieved, pressing her face into my neck.

"Yes, I wasn't expecting such an enthusiastic reaction." I pulled her a little closer when I felt her trembling. Her heart was racing wildly. "What the hell is going on?"

"There was--Oh God, Caden." She pulled away just as hastily, grabbing my shoulders as if I wasn't already paying attention. The brown of her eyes looked just the same as the midnight sky above. "Someone was just here! They--he--was ringing the doorbell and banging on the door like crazy!"

I frowned a little. "I rang the doorbell, Sky."

"It wasn't you." She shook her head frantically, looking behind me and around the yard. "He had--He had a black hood on. You're not even wearing a hoodie. He was just here, right in front of the door, and God, I was terrified!"

I let her words sink in and all of a sudden, I wanted to punch something. Or someone. Instead, I just clenched my jaw and tried not to show it. This was getting out of hand, I thought. I hadn't expected--

"You didn't see anybody?" Her eyes darted behind my shoulder, and then to the left as if expecting someone to pop out of the bushes.

"No," I replied, steering her a little towards the door. Her grip on my shoulders didn't lessen a bit, but she let me pull her inside. "I just saw this on the grass. Must've fallen from the mailbox."

When I pulled out the small white envelope from my pocket, the one I'd seen lying just there on my way here, Skylar paled a little.

"What?" I asked.

She shook her head, her wide eyes still stuck to the envelope in my hand. "I'm not...I'm not opening that."

I frowned. "What's going on, Sky?"

It felt like ages until she finally pulled her gaze away from the envelope in my hand and looked back at me. Scared, she still looked scared.

I pulled her close when I couldn't help it. I couldn't ever help it when it came to her. Not when she'd been away for so long. I wrapped my arms around her and pressed a soft kiss on her hair.

"You're not telling me something."

Another beat of silence passed by before she vaguely nodded, making a tiny affirmative sound at the back of her throat.

I let a few silent seconds pass by before blowing out a sigh. Certainly not what I had expected from tonight.

"All right then." I closed the front door behind us. "Let's talk."

•••••

Skylar was the one who did most of the talking. I just listened. Or well, tried to.