Fate

Chapter 8

Skye

I was broken. I was lost. I was a shell of myself if I'm being honest.

Jason got me home that day and I haven't left since. He called my mom, who came over and witnessed the state I was in. She called my boss herself to tell him what happened and that I needed some time. He understood. He would never have faulted me for taking time. Jason told his family. At first there were messages coming to my phone. Enough that I turned it off all together. My friends have been over, trying to comfort me. Trying to get me to come out of the shell. I barely registered them being there.

My baby was a boy. I managed to get Connor to tell me the day after. I needed to know. I decided his name would be Oliver. I could picture him. I could feel that loss of a future in my heart.

I stationed myself mainly in my library. Holding a book but not bringing myself to ever open. I wasn't sleeping. Every time I tried I dreamed of a little boy with curly brown hair and green eyes. I can only assume what my mind imagined he would look like. If I wasn't in my library, I willed myself to sit in the shower. I could freely cry in there. Jason had checked out. From us. He still went to work every day, most days opting to grab a beer with a friend or his brother before coming home. Lashing out when he came home and nothing was made for dinner. We didn't sleep in the same room. He didn't try to comfort me. Didn't try to bring me back from this.

Two weeks after we lost him, I had to pull myself together. I had to go back to work. Had to move on, remember yes, but move on. So I tried to do just that. I threw myself into work. I decided to work from home until after Christmas and go into the office once a week. Thankfully, I had that leeway. I put myself into more social situations. Carter and Connor were so good about just letting me process. They could see through my false laughter, but knew this is what I had to do to not lose myself completely.

I tried to bring Jason back into orbit. He saw the attempt and knew I was hurting, so he was putting forth effort as well. We had date nights once a week, opting for take out and movies at home. We started sleeping in the same bed again. After another week, I felt that it was time to start having s*x. I knew that he wanted to, just didn't want to push it. I really threw myself into our marriage. I could just tell that he wasn't himself.

I was walking down to Carter and Sari's apartment and decided to check the mail. I entered the mail room and noticed someone at the mailbox. A man with an enormous body mass. Hood up. A tanned tattooed hand shuffling through a pile of mail in his hand. Demon Eyes. I gave my throat a small clear, to let him know there was someone in the room. He glanced toward me quickly, giving me a side smile. "Nice to see you again," he said, looking down at the mail, his voice gravely. "You too." I replied politely. He stepped out of my way, letting me get to my mailbox. I assumed he had left but when I turned around, mail in hand, he was leaning against the threshold staring at me. A grimace on his face. I locked eyes with those eyes. The ones that haunted my dreams every so often. "Are you OK?" he asks, his voice quieter. I hesitated. "Your eyes, while I still think they are beautiful, they look empty," he said, not shifting his tone of voice. This stranger, who has only seen me one other time, could see right through my act. Obviously, it wasn't good enough. I just nodded. Not sure how to respond. He raised an eyebrow at me. "My name is Angelus, I go by Ace or Angel." He extended his hand toward me. "Skye." I replied quietly, carefully taking his hand. A shock was sent straight up my arm, tickling my heart, my throat. The hairs on my arm stood up, and the tiny bumps flew to the surface. Just before he dropped my hand, his thumb stroked the back of my hand. "Nice to meet you. I will see you around," he said coolly, turning and walking away before I could respond. I walked out after him, glancing in the direction he was walking. His arms by his side, his free hand curled in a fist. I almost called after him. Instead, I shook my head, trying to wipe off the interaction, and headed for my friend's place.