Joe sat there, his thoughts tangled with the brief, intense moment he had just shared with Skylar. The touch, the closeness, it lingered in his mind, but he couldn’t allow himself to focus on it. Not now. Not with everything else going on.
As he adjusted his tie, he couldn’t shake the strange feeling in his chest. Watching Skylar head upstairs, he felt a knot tighten. It wasn’t just about Christopher, or the call, but the way she seemed so pulled in different directions. She had declined the call earlier, but now, with Charles on the line, she seemed to be caught in a web of unresolved emotions.
He was used to seeing people handle their relationships in different ways, but this was different. Skylar had always seemed independent, strong, but now, in this moment, there was something vulnerable about her. Maybe it was the lingering feelings for Christopher or the uncertainty she was trying to conceal. He wasn’t sure.
Joe leaned back on the couch, his gaze focused on the dimly lit hallway where Skylar had disappeared. He didn’t like feeling like this. The protective instinct he usually kept in check was rising to the surface. He wasn’t sure if it was because he cared for her, or because he didn’t want to see her hurt again.
Skylar had always been more composed, never letting her emotions completely show, but the tension between her and Christopher, the constant pull, it had to be weighing on her. He wondered how long she would continue to carry that burden before it completely consumed her.
He shook his head, trying to dismiss the thoughts. The situation with Christopher was complicated, and whatever he felt for Skylar didn’t make it any easier. He wasn’t sure what she saw in him anymore, or if she would even give him the chance to prove himself as someone different from the men she had known.
For now, all he could do was wait. Wait for her to deal with her past and figure out what she truly wanted. The last thing he wanted to do was make things more complicated for her, but he couldn’t ignore the way he felt.
Upstairs, Skylar was still on the phone with Charles, trying to piece together what was true and what was fabricated. She hadn’t expected to be pulled back into this mess. Christopher’s betrayal, the lies, it all felt like a weight she couldn’t shake off, no matter how many times she tried to move forward.
“Skye, talk to me,” Charles urged from the other end of the line. “This isn’t just about what happened with Christopher. It’s about you. About what you’re willing to accept.”
Skylar sighed, rubbing her temples as she reached the top of the stairs. She didn’t want to talk about it, didn’t want to explain how she felt so torn, so lost. The call from Christopher had rattled her more than she cared to admit, but Charles had a point. It was about her, about what she was willing to accept from someone who had already hurt her once.
“I’ll figure it out,” she said softly, her voice distant. “I just need time.”
Charles didn’t push further, sensing her resistance. “Alright. But don’t take too long, Skye. You deserve more than this.”
Skylar ended the call, staring out the window. The darkness outside matched the thoughts swirling in her mind. Joe had been right there earlier, his steady presence a brief distraction from the storm inside her. But now, with the quiet around her, she could feel the weight of it all again. The uncertainty, the doubts, the longing for something different.
She glanced at her phone again, seeing Christopher’s name flashing on the screen. She almost wanted to block him, to sever the last tie that connected them, but something kept her from doing it.
Downstairs, Joe could still hear the faint sound of Skylar’s steps as she paced upstairs. It seemed like she was trying to process everything, but the distance between them, the silence in the house, only seemed to push them further apart.
Was he just another complication in her life? Would he always be on the sidelines, watching as she tried to sort through the mess of her past? He wasn’t sure, but he wasn’t about to make things worse.
Joe leaned back, eyes closing for a moment, letting the silence settle around him. He had to be patient. For her.
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