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One day I was in Deca with my after-school group working on a project when I got a call. I stepped out of the classroom since I didn’t know the number.
“Hello,” I said warily.
“Skylar? It’s Debbie,” the woman said. It took me a moment to remember it was Debbie from the shelter. Adrenaline shot through me.
“Hi, Debbie, this is Skylar.”
“He’s here. The kid in the picture. You said his name is David. He’s here,” she said.
“Oh my gosh.” I gasped. “Okay is there any way you can keep him there?”
“You know I can’t, Skylar, but he’s having a meal. Try to get here as soon as you can. I don’t want to scare him off. He ran away for a reason.”
“Thanks, Debbie. We’ll get there as fast as we can,” I said.
I called Liam right away. He was in hockey practice, and he called his parents.
Liam went with his parents downtown and found David on a corner since he had left the shelter. I wanted to be there to support him but not with his parents around. I knew his mom would never accept our relationship, and after everything they had been through recently with David, I didn’t want to be in their way.
That night when Liam called me he sounded relieved. His parents were able to admit David to a psychiatric hospital, and Liam sounded so hopeful.
“I’m so glad things worked out,” I say to him on the phone.
“It’s because of you, Sky. We would have never found him if it weren’t for you. I owe you so much.”
“You owe me nothing,” I assure him.
“I love you so damn much,” he suddenly says. “Sometimes it scares me how much you mean to me.” His words cause an eerie feeling inside me, but I’m too scared to ask him what he means.
Instead, I confide, “You know you’re my person.”
He really is my person. The only one I can depend on. The only one who holds my heart because I know he would never hurt me.
“Yeah.” He sighs.
But when our senior year came, his promises turned to dust.
CHAPTEREIGHT
Skylar
Patty places two gold boxes with red ribbons on my bed and waits.
“I thought we said no presents over fifty dollars,” I remind. That box looks too fancy to have something cheaper inside.
“It’s not your Christmas present. We are doing new Christmas sweaters this year, and Mom and Dad sent this for you and Crew,” she explains. Her parents, aunt, uncle, and cousins all have this tradition of wearing the same Christmas sweater to their Christmas Eve dinner. It’s weird and endearing.
I open the boxes. “This is so sweet,” I say, holding up Crew’s tiny red and green sweater.
“We’re going to look like the Brady Bunch, but hey, it makes my parents happy.” She sighs.
Crew comes up to me with his chubby little hands reaching up. “I want my sweater.”
“Here you go. But don’t wear it now. We have to keep it clean for Christmas,” I say.
“I can’t wait for Christmas,” he beams. “Are you going to sign me up for hockey lessons for Christmas?” His blue eyes shine, and it makes my stomach sink. I was going to get him a new Lego set since he loves building things so much.
“Not this year, buddy,” I reply, feeling like I’m failing my son. I want to give him everything he wishes for, but how can I? I’m doing my best.
