Conveniently Inspired

Chapter Twenty Six

It was the weekend, so Skylar slept in as late as she possibly could, which was about 10 AM until her mother hollered for her to get up and start on chores. "Ay" Ms. Lin added, pausing by the bedroom door. "Kaden stopped by earlier. What did you do to that boy? He looked upset."

The truth was, she still didn't know what exactly happened. She saw a side of Kaden that she'd never seen before. An ugly side. But despite how he treated her and brushed her aside, Skylar still deeply cared for him. She was in love with him. He had said the same too, but now she was beginning to doubt his words. If he really loved and cared for her, he would've at least made an effort to engage in a civilized conversation. Instead, he resorted to cutting her out cold turkey. Seven calls, twenty text messages, and yet nothing from his end. She succumbed to his wishes and just decided to leave everything alone until he approached her.

Skylar perked up with interest at her mother's words. "Kaden was here? For what?" She was sitting up now, sliding on her slippers.

"He came for his belongings and his car keys. He just thanked me for staying here and then said he found a new place to sleep."

"Did he say where?"

"No."

"Did he ask about me?"

"No." Ms. Lin then squinted. "Why do you care?"

Skylar, once again, couldn't give an answer. Her own mother had no idea that she and Kaden were dating, and now, she never would. "Nothing," she said.

All weekend, there were still no texts or calls from him. She knew it was useless to wait by her phone like a pathetic badger and instead vowed to make proper use of her time. Aside from watching the convenience store, she studied for her midterm exams and practiced reading aloud her short story for the upcoming contest. It was that same week. Approaching very soon. Too soon.

While Ms. Lin hadn't mentioned anything more about the contest, Skylar knew that her mother was more observant than lately when it came to her study habits. When Skylar watched the store, she liked to have her notebook out to jot down inspirational ideas for stories as they came to mind. But Ms. Lin would glare at the notebook like it was the devil itself. "Is this for school?" she'd ask suspiciously.

So, Skylar conditioned herself to only write when she was alone or in school. Somewhere her mother wasn't. She wasn't going to back out of the contest now, no way, but the idea of her mother approving the possibility of her going to school to practice writing still seemed so far out of reach. She still had a whole year ahead until university applications came around, so the whole what-to-major-in problem wasn't an issue just yet. She still had some time for her to figure something out. But she made Aaron a promise to consider an MFA program, and that was a promise she could actually keep.

At school, Skylar kept her eyes peeled for Kaden, but he wasn't around. Not in the halls, not by his locker, not in the cafeteria. For three days in a row, he didn't show up in English. Each time, Skylar picked up his homework. It sat in her backpack, waiting to be given to Kaden whenever he showed up. But at this point, Skylar was asking if he would even show up.

At lunch, she returned to her usual outdoor picnic table to eat solo. During her solitude, Skylar had lots of time to self-reflect. Deep, deep down, Skylar knew that she did the right thing. But if it cost her Kaden's trust and presence in her life, then was it really worth it?

She missed him. A lot. He went from being a part of her everyday life to a complete stranger, just like that. There was a deep ache in her chest. A void too large to fill. Was it possible they were done for good? Skylar shook her head hard enough to make her dizzy. She didn't want to imagine a world without Kaden in it. Because now that Skylar knew exactly what she was missing, she wasn't sure how she could function properly without him.