When the Sky Comes Down

Chapter 14

[Keith’s P.O.V.]

There is a tension in the group I can’t quite place. ‘Hey,’ Nicole whispers to me. ‘How about you take your sister out shopping? You haven’t been spending a lot of time with her this week. She probably feels a little left out.’ I nod. I hadn’t even thought of that. Usually I spend my weekends solemnly with her. This is her first weekend at campus. I had thought she would be fine, but I do suppose I have been spending all my time with either Nicole, or with Lexi within a group. Perhaps Nicole is right, maybe Lexi wants some alone time with her brother.

During breakfast, we find Lexi and Harlen outside. They both look like they are in their own world. ‘Lexi.’ I place a kiss on her head as I walk by. She looks up and gives me a little smile. ‘How about we go to the shopping centre today?’ I suggest. I still have plenty money left to spoil her, without ruining our future. That is, if we still decide to buy a place. ‘Just the two of us.’

‘Sounds like fun,’ she tells me. She doesn’t look like she thinks it’s fun. I look at Nicole, who simply shrugs.

‘There’s a darling little clothing shop, next to Merlin’s,’ Nicole tells us. ‘It’s called Cratloe, it has beautiful dresses. You don’t have a lot of dresses and skirts, so it would be a good place to get some extra clothes for parties.’ She turns to me. ‘Do not get her a dress yet for the Midterm ball. I want to go shopping with her by then.’ I can’t help but chuckle. I imagine Nicole is looking forward to the Midterm ball already. Normally I just go with a group of friends. Coden sometimes brings a date, or simply picks one up at the ball itself. I usually dance a little, but spend most my time talking to people and getting to know them better.

‘I won’t buy her a ball gown,’ I promise Nicole. She seems satisfied.

A couple of hours later, I walk with Lexi through Cratloe. She is looking around a little. ‘Don’t worry about the prices,’ I say, when I see her looking at a price tag. ‘Let’s first just see what you like and then look at the prices.’

‘Are you sure?’ she asks. ‘I don’t think we should get things that are too expensive.’ Even I have had moments where I could buy new clothes, this is the first time for her.

I grab her shoulders and force her to look at me. ‘We might not have much, but we do have enough for you to go all out once.’

‘But-‘

‘No buts, just enjoy yourself for once.’ I know she doesn’t mind second hand clothes, but they are never really her size and the chances of finding something really good looking are slim to none existing. ‘How about this?’ I show her a dark green dress with lace sleeves.

‘I like the colour,’ she admits. She feels the fabric. ‘I guess I can try it on.’

I smile. ‘Good. I will carry it for you.’ She gives me a small smile, the first one I have seen of her today. ‘Maybe also look for some shirts and jeans?’ I suggest. ‘I know you have some of those, but if you see something you like, feel free to try it on.’

‘Okay,’ she nods. She starts checking the racks and pulls something out every now and then. I do the same. If I see something I think she’ll like, I add it onto the pile I have on my arm. She adds things onto it too. After a while, she at least doesn’t look that sad anymore.

[Nicole’s P.O.V.]

While Keith and Lexi are out, I get the chance to question Harlen. I finally get the story. ‘You pushed her away?’ How could he push her away.

‘I panicked. One moment I was sniffing her and some of the flowers. We were having fun, laughing, the next thing I know, she suddenly wraps her arms around my neck and kisses me. No warning.’

‘No warning?’

‘No warning! None! And at first I pulled her close and kissed back, but then these thoughts popped up and- well- I felt aroused. You have no idea how hard it was to fight my instinct and push her away.’ I do have some idea, but I want to hear his story. ‘Only I pushed her a little too hard.’ He looks so defeated.

‘Hence the sprained ankle.’

‘Yes, hence the sprained ankle,’ he confirms. ‘I did not know how to solve things, what to say to make it all go away. Saying I am mated to her, it would have only made things worse.’

We are in his room. Just like me, he has his own, seeing how he is the son of our pack’s beta. He is laying on bed, staring at the ceiling. I took place on his couch. He should really make this place more his own.

‘Have you tried talking to her?’ I ask.

‘I spend the night outside her door.’ I look at him. ‘I talked about it, but I am not sure she heard.’ He sighs. ‘Can you talk to her for me?’

‘I tried to yesterday, to find out what was going on,’ I admit.

‘I figured,’ he mumbled.

‘She isn’t ready to talk yet.’ I wish she was. I wish I could help Harlen to make this all better. ‘I will try to talk to her when she gets back.’ I sigh. There goes my afternoon with Keith. But I have to help a friend in need, especially seeing how Harlen has always done his best to support me. ‘I will send Keith to you, maybe with the idea that you can tell him more about the pack. Meanwhile, I will go to Lexi to see her new clothes. In the meantime, I will see if I can get her to forgive you. I can’t promise you that she will want to kiss you again.’ He lets out a sigh. ‘But I can at least try to get her to talk to you again.’ I look at him, but he doesn’t give any response, he just stairs at the ceiling. ‘I will do my best, I promise.’

Once Lexi and Keith return, I jump in. ‘Keith, I asked Harlen to talk to you about the pack, give you a guy’s point of view,’ I tell him. ‘In the meantime, I want to see what you and Lexi bought.’ I clap my hands to show that I am enthusiastic. I am more stressed than enthusiastic, but I don’t want them to know.

‘O-okay,’ Keith says.

‘You can meet him in his room, I’ll bring Lexi to her own.’ I give Keith a kiss and then take the bags he is holding. ‘I will see you later, okay?’ I hook my arm in that of Lexi and pull her along. ‘Did you have a good time?’ I ask Lexi.

‘I bought more clothes than I ever have.’

‘Good. You didn’t solemnly rely on Keith’s opinion, right? I am sure he would want to put you into something covering.’ I love Keith, but he can definitely be too protective.

‘He hasn’t seen any of the clothes.’ I look at her in shock. ‘None?’

‘Well a couple, but I saw he got tired of sitting around, so I told him to go and find something to do. Look for some clothes for himself.’ She is too sweet. Had I been shopping with her brother, he would need to give me his opinion on each and every piece. On how my ass looks like in that pair of jeans, or if that dress isn’t showing too much cleavage. We would probably ended up having s*x in one of the stalls. I chuckle a little at my own thoughts.

‘Well, in that case, I can’t wait to see your style.’

She gives me a little smile. Good. That’s already a lot better than this morning. We walk up the stairs and make our way to her room. She has to put the bags down to open her door, allowing me to get a glimpse into the bags. ‘You bought red?’ I frown.

‘Yes, why?’ she gets the bags again to walk in. I follow.

‘Red is dangerous to wear around vampires. Red on skin makes them think about blood. Some people still wear it, but it is risky.’ We put the bags on her bed and she gets out a maroon red dress.

‘Is this too much then?’

‘It would probably look good on you,’ I say honest. She has a skin tone and hair colour that would fit with any colour clothing. ‘But like I said, it is risky.’ I sit down at her bed end. ‘Could I see it on?’ I have to admit, I am curious. I haven’t seen anyone in a red dress unless they were coupled with a vampire. She nods and starts to change.

‘Oh wauw,’ I whisper. I get up and touch the fabric. The dress hugs her perfectly in the right places. It makes it look like she has more cleavage than she actually has. It has a relatively low back, showing a few freckles on her skin. The dress goes flowing out, just over her knees, making it not too revealing after all. ‘I get why you wanted it.’ I have to admit, seeing it on her makes me a little jealous. This would not just make vampires go crazy, wolves would love it too.

She bites her lower lip. ‘It isn’t too much?’

‘It is perfect. But definitely too much for parties here at school. Maybe a party outside school, or for private use.’

‘Private use?’ Oh, she is so naïve. It is endearing.

‘When you, eh-‘ I let out a little giggle. ‘When you meet up with someone to go to bed with them. This would definitely be a dress to wear.’ She has turned red. ‘Lexi, have you ever considered sleeping with someone?’ She turns even more red, so red, her chest colours a little. ‘You are definitely at that age where you get to explore.’

‘E-E-E-‘ she just mutters.

‘Explore. You should really enjoy yourself.’ I repress a chuckle. ‘Have you ever thought about it?’

‘Even if I had…’ She pulls her fingers and I make her stop. I know Harlen hates it when she does this. ‘…I wouldn’t- I- the risk of getting- I wouldn’t want to get pregnant.’

I laugh. ‘Is that why? Well don’t worry about that.’ She looks at me questioning. ‘Why do you think they allow boys and girls on the same floor, on the same wing even?’ I play a little with her hair. ‘Because they put up spells. Nobody can get pregnant on school property. It’s why nobody really cares about who sleeps with who.’ I look up at her. ‘Tough it would still be wise to wear protection. Diseases and all,’ I quickly add.

‘Even then, I don’t know if I should just…’ She gestures.

‘Experiment?’ I say.

‘Experiment,’ she confirms. ‘I- I can’t just-‘ She clears her throat. ‘Not yet. I just got here.’

‘No pressure, all I am saying is, if you feel like it- and maybe if you are sure it is a good person, you should give it a try.’ I know this goes against everything Keith wants for her, but then as a friend, this is the advice I want to give.

‘Why give me this advice if you and the rest want to keep me away from bad influence?’ She has figured it out too.

‘Well, I want to keep you safe, but I also think you should have fun,’ I admit. ‘But don’t tell your brother. He will hate me over it.’ She chuckles a little. Finally, she is laughing. ‘Now, let me see you in another one.’ She nods and starts changing again.

‘This one Keith advised,’ she says. It’s a dark green dress with lace sleeves. While she puts it on, I can already see it will look amazing on her. She looks at me. ‘I never really been around other people,’ she says. ‘Let alone be intimate.’ She smiles, but it looks sad. ‘The first kiss I had was with Gregory, the second-‘ She pulls the sleeves a little. ‘The second kiss I got pushed away.’

‘By Harlen?’ I can pretend that I don’t know, but that wouldn’t be fair to her. She looks at me, hurt. ‘I’m sorry. I asked him what your fight was about.’

‘It’s okay,’ she whispers. ‘I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.’

‘Sorry,’ I mumble. I hug her. I just want her to feel better already. She puts her arms around me and just holds me.

After a few minutes, we slowly let go. ‘If you want to change subject, that’s okay,’ I tell her.

She shakes her head. ‘It’s okay. You already know anyway.’ I zip up her dress, so we can see her dress in full glory. I am kind of happy she doesn’t want to change subject.

‘I am sure Harlen had a good reason,’ I tell her. ‘It- it isn’t mine to tell. But I can tell you that, he would never have pushed you away had he known how much it would hurt you.’ I look at her. ‘I think you know that as well.’

She looks at the floor. ‘I do,’ she whispers.

‘It pains him to see you hurt,’ I tell her. ‘It pains him to see you mad.’ I gently rub away a tear she has rolling down her cheek. ‘You have the right to feel hurt,’ I tell her. ‘But I do hope you will be able to forgive him.’ She looks at me. ‘You don’t even have to do it right away. I don’t even know if he will tell you his reasons straight away, but give him some time. He has a good one, I promise you.’

‘Okay,’ she whispers. I give her a hug again.

I let out a relieved sigh. ‘Good, now, let’s focus on your clothes. I want to see everything.’

She gives me another little smile, then grabs another piece of clothing.

‘You guys really went all out, didn’t you?’ I unzip her and then sit back down on the bed.

‘We did, I feel a little guilty over spending as much as we did.’

I chuckle. ‘Believe me, at some point, you will get used to spending money.’

I feel relieved knowing that I can give Harlen some good news.