Forgotten Ties (Ties, Book 3.5) | ✓

Chapter 8

Skye had spent about an hour sleepily devouring everything in sight before heading straight to bed, where he hadn't stirred since.

Now, it was the next day and almost time for school. Nim reached up to the top bunk to shake Skye awake. "Skye, it's almost time for school."

"Mmk," Skye mumbled, his eyes still shut as he wriggled onto his stomach. "Have a good day at school."

"You go to school now, remember? You need to get up and get ready, or you'll miss the bus."

Skye turned his face towards Nim and just barely cracked open his eyes. "I'm not going again."

Nim sighed. "It wasn't a great first day, was it?"

Skye stretched out as he yawned. "Some good, some bad."

"I'm sorry I can't protect you. I want to, you know. To be the kind of person who does. If I do, though. If I hurt a human. If I even threaten one..."

Skye reached out and patted the top of Nim's head. "You're funny."

"I'm being serious."

"I know, but it's funny that you think it's your job to take care of me. I've been taking care of myself for a very long time."

"Right, and you want me to take you seriously, and I get that. I'm not trying to baby you, I just hate that those humans ruined school for you and there's nothing I can do about it."

"They didn't ruin school for me. School ruined school for me. It's boring, and they don't let you eat when you want to."

"I don't know if Joanne and Peter are going to let you just not go to school because you think it's boring."

"Nim, have you ever tried to make a cat do something that it doesn't want to do?" Skye asked. "What if that thing is making the cat go somewhere, but also, the cat is an immovable object? You see where I'm going with this."

"I guess if you really don't want to, no one can make you."

"Exactly. Tell Ethan he was a good friend, and if he has any crusts he doesn't want, he can give them to you to bring home for me."

"I might tell him the first part if I see him, but I am not bringing home sandwich crusts for you."

"Fine. I guess I have plenty of food here anyway," Skye said. "Now, give me a kiss goodbye and go get ready for school before you're late."

"You're weird," Nim said, shaking his head as he walked away.

#

Skye could never really untangle which parts of his personality were cat and which were just weird human. He'd had his quirks long before the fae had gotten involved.

Today, he felt quite bad. That was one of his quirks – feeling really bad sometimes. Whenever he'd mentioned that in the past, people would look at him strangely and say that everyone felt bad sometimes, but he was pretty sure his feeling bad was different from everyone else's.

Usually, while everyone else was at school, he would watch cartoons with the two youngest kids who were too young to attend school, and maybe play a game of tag or something in the backyard. Then, he'd raid the kitchen for snacks and perhaps take a nap.

Today, however, he didn't want anyone to even look at him. He didn't want them to touch him, and he didn't want to hear them existing. When no one was looking, he sneaked into the kitchen, grabbed a can of tuna, the can opener, and a fork, and headed for the front door. On his way out, he swiped Peter's sunglasses from where they'd been left on the shelf near the door to conceal his eyes.