SKYLAR

The sound of birds chirping overhead calms me in a way the city never could. I sit on the porch with my feet resting on Keith’s thighs, both of us nursing cans of beer under the open sun. He looks absurdly happy to have me here. He hasn’t stopped grinning since I arrived.

"It feels good to have you back, Sky."

I glance past him and nod. "At least you think so."

He follows my gaze to the kitchen window, where his parents hover badly out of sight. His mouth quirks. "They know I can see them peeking, right?"

"I don’t think they do." He turns back to me and starts massaging my feet, thumbs pressing into the arches like he’s done it a hundred times before. "They’re just glad you’re okay. They’ve always talked about you with so much worry. Seeing you now probably answers a lot of questions for them."

"I’m sorry I made them worry." I tilt my head back, staring at the cloudless sky. "They were... decent foster parents. When they weren’t snooping through my room or digging up my past."

I finish my beer and crack open another, but Keith plucks it from my hand before I can take a sip.

"That’s enough," he says gently. "Even for a depressive spiral. We’ve got things to talk about before you get drunk."

He’s right. I didn’t come here just to numb myself and sleep through the day. I missed this place. I missed him. My life here used to be quiet and simple. It’s ironic how much I crave that now, after being thrown headfirst into wealth, power, and constant scrutiny.

"There’s something I never asked you," Keith says, his tone shifting in a way that puts me on edge. "How did you end up in foster care if your biological father was alive, rich, and supposedly willing to take care of you?"

A hollow laugh slips out of me. It always amuses me how easily people confuse money with care, especially where my father is concerned.

"I don’t know about the last part," I say. "But I get why you’d think that."

I take a breath. "There’s a lot to unpack. You sure you’ve got time?"

"For you?" He smiles. "Always."

I do need to get some things off my chest so I take him up on his offer. "My father wasn’t always rich. In fact, the story goes that he was penniless when he left Danvarr for the first time. There’s a whole tragic story leading up to that but that’s for another day. My mother died shortly after having me. My dad couldn’t handle the grief. He had just lost my brothers, and then my mother. Plus, he was broke. Given that he was in no frame of mind to raise a kid nor could he afford it, he thought it best to send me to an orphanage."

"Yikes."

"That’s not the sad part." I reach for a new can of beer and shoot him a sizzling look when he attempts to take it from me. "I need alcohol if I am going to tell this story in full." Keith throws his hands up in surrender and lets me continue. I take a sip of the fizzy wine and smack my lips.

"Yeah, so, I bounced from foster home to foster home thinking I had no one in this world, right? Come to find out on my twelfth birthday that the kind stranger who sends me gift every other birthday was in fact my dad. I was elated, obviously. I waited for him to come pick me up and take me back home with him where I belonged. That was why I never unpacked my suitcase in my foster homes. I anticipated my father coming for me and I didn’t want to have to pack up my stuff in a hurry." I take another long sip.

"I made excuses for him. Maybe he didn’t have enough money to put me in school. Maybe he didn’t have a house yet. Then I found out he had a house and enough money to raise over ten kids. Yet, he still didn’t want me, or at least it felt that way. He’d visit and try to bond with me but that was never enough for me. When I ran away from here, he found me living in a frat house and finally took me home. Even there, he remained aloof and distant. It was like living with a stranger all over again"

Keith pats my legs. "That must have sucked."

"Yeah" I chuckle. "It did, still does actually. The worst part was when I realized how obsessed he was with the Danvarr quads. It didn’t take me long to put it all together. They were my brothers, the ones he had lost years back. He spent every waking moment following every news thread about them, going to events they showed up at and watching them from a distance. He hurt when they were attacked by the media. He sometimes made fake accounts to troll people who trolled them. It was...weird."

Keith heaves a breath. "I always thought Brett was the biggest threat to your happiness."

"He might be after my life (if I can trust my dad’s fears) but the biggest threat to my happiness will always be my brothers. I could never have our father’s love because he was too focused on loving them. How could he be so blind to my yearnings right in front of him and prefer to beg the quads for a slice of attention? Why is my love not enough for him?" I chug the remaining beer. "Good thing I am starting to care less about blood ties now. Trust me, true family doesn’t always mean blood relations." I close my hand over his and squeeze it. "You’re my one true brother, Keith."

He pulls me close and presses a kiss to my forehead. "Always and forever, Sky."

Paul and Collete finally step out to speak with us.

"Zoe...I mean, Skylar," My foster mom awkwardly says. "I baked you some cookies. I hope you enjoy them." Her eyes flick to the empty cans of beer on the floor, then back at me. The judgment in them is thinly-veiled. Keith relieves her of the tray of cookies and thanks her graciously.

"Thanks mum. They smell great."

"Yeah." I quip, dropping my legs to sit up straight. "Thank you...Mrs. Collete."

I have never called her mom, just like I have never called the woman my father married my mom either. That title will always be reserved for the woman who gave me life even though I don’t remember her.

Both parents nod at us before heading back inside.

"That was very uncomfortable."

Keith bites a cookie. "You should try these. Delicious."

I taste them and agree with him. After eating, we head to the stable. I spend the afternoon riding a horse while Keith regales me of Ashton’s visits and how he bought into the lie that Adriana had been me.

"You know one time, Adriana bruised her knee after falling off of Poo-bear. You should have seen the look on Ashton’s face. It was pure horror, and that too for a fake sister." Keith laughs hard.

I try to but I can’t share his humor. Ashton hadn’t known Adriana was fake so if he was horrified at the sight of her getting hurt, then he had been horrified of me getting hurt.

I slide off the horse and stroke it. "It’s getting late. I should hit the road."

"What? It’s not even sundown."

"The city is an hour away. If I’m to make it in time, you better fire up that truck and get me home." While he grumbles on his way to start the car, I take off my gloves and whip my phone out of my bag. I had deliberately turned it off to keep the noise of the outside world out. Messages and notifications filter in the moment it comes alive.

Shit. Just as I suspected. I’ve got multiple missed calls and texts from Kat and Maddox, then a couple from Ashton and my dad. For someone who claims not to have any family, my phone belies that fact.

It feels weird to have so many people frantic about my whereabout. Then again, they wouldn’t be if I had done the right thing and told them where I was headed, or at least kept my phone switched on to answer calls.

I go through my texts to decide what message demands the most urgent attention. When I see my dad’s message, my jaw drops. I call him immediately.

"What did you mean by that message? I’m not having dinner with the Rollins’ family."

"Don’t speak about your brothers in that tone, Skylar. Be respectful!"

I stomp my feet as I pace the grassy field. "Whose idea was this anyway? How in the world are you suddenly cool with sharing a meal with the couple you claimed to have ruined our family?"

He pauses a bit. "This isn’t easy for me but your brothers deserve to know the truth. They demand it and this is the only way they’ll listen."

I suck my teeth. "Well, I hope you all have fun rehashing the past. I see no reason why I should be there for the shit-show anyway."

"Skylar, you’re family and this is a family affair!" His voice rises an octave.

"Oh, now you realize that because your precious sons are involved? Do they also demand my presence? Is that why you’re pretending to want me there?"

"Don’t be childish. I know you want some answers too."

"Maybe I do but you’ve had years to tell me. Why do you suddenly want to divulge everything now because your sons asked? I thought you were tight-lipped about the past, about my MOM."

My voice wavers. I can’t believe how selfish he is. "Let’s not kid ourselves, dad. You don’t want me there, trust me. Handle your business with your sons and keep me out of it. When you’re ready to talk about my mom, you can find me in Katherine Regan’s house. In the meantime, let’s stick to speaking to each other only when I need money." I hang up before he can say anything else and exhale.

***

The minute I enter the house, Kat dashes down the stairs.

"Where have you been all day?" She asks with hands crossed over her chest like an angry black mom. I stifle the urge to roll my eyes at her.

"Where else? With one of my many brothers."

"That’s not true. Ashton wouldn’t have called as much as he did if he knew you were with any of your other brothers..." She catches the look in my eyes and frowns. "You went that far out of town and you didn’t bother to stay close to your phone?"

I try to head for the stairs but she won’t stop yapping.

"My phone died, Kat. Give it a rest."

"Really, Sky? You don’t get what this is about?" When I turn, she has her hands on her waist, and a little flame in her eyes. "When are you going to start taking responsibility? You knew perfectly well how worried we all would be if we couldn’t contact you. Still, you chose to shut us out to hang out with Keith. What message were you trying to pass by doing that? That you don’t need our love or care? That you don’t care how that makes us feel?"

"Kat, you’re overreacting..."

"And I shouldn’t? My mom stayed up late worried sick that you might be in danger. If anything had happened to you while you lived under our roof, have you stopped to think how guilty that would make us feel? When is it going to get through your head that you aren’t a kid anymore and its high time you stop acting like one just to get back at your family?"

I glare at her. "Is that how you really feel? Then I’ll make things easy for you, Kat. I’ll get out of your hair." When I turn sharply to go get my things, his voice stops me cold.

"Hold it, Skylar."

Turning, my wild eyes soften at the sight of Lucien stepping out of the living room. How long has he been here? How much did he hear?

"L-Lucien, what are you doing here..."

He walks up to me till we’re standing almost nose to nose. "I did my investigation and it turns out that Colt’s lackeys are very much in town. They haven’t made any moves yet but they happen to know he was arrested on your account." He inhales sharply. "I’m going to keep an eye out for them but only as a favor to your brother."

The smile creeping into my face dissolves when his expression tightens.

"If I am going to lookout for you, you’re going to have to ditch the attitude. I don’t have time to babysit kids or put up with their tantrums."

"I’m not a kid..."

"DON’T TALK BACK!" He snaps at me. Somehow, I bite my lip and dip my eyes to my feet instead of clapping back. "Now, you’re going to apologize to this entire household for your immature behavior, starting with Kat here. Then, you’ll return the calls of your family members to let them know you’re safe. If I get a whiff of this behavior again, I walk. Is that clear?"

I nod my head.

"Use your words."

I glance up at him. "Crystal."

He literally watches me apologize to Kat and her family. Then he gets on a call with Ashton and both discuss in hush tones. After that, he comes up to me.

"Keep your phone close and always tell me about your movements. If I can’t reach you..."

"I got it. The deal’s off." I hate that I like him too much to risk upsetting him. I hate it even more that this is purely professional for him. "Thank you, for reconsidering."

"Don’t thank me. Thank Demi."

"What? Why? Is she leaving town?"

Wordlessly, he heads for the door and walks away, leaving me speechless in the living room.