Forgotten Ties (Ties, Book 3.5) | ✓

Chapter 10

Nim went to school for two more days and then stopped. What was the point? There was no way things would hold together long enough for him to graduate from high school, and even if they did, he doubted having a high school diploma would matter one bit in whatever future he had in store for him.

Besides, he had more important things to worry about. Every day, he jogged up to where suburbia blended into nature, shifted, and explored the woods. He was trying to find a path through them that was previously untrodden but which wouldn't be too treacherous to lead a group of little kids through.

He still hadn't figured out the 'what then' of it all. He was the oldest, except for Skye, so he felt like he should be the one to figure these things out, but it was no simple task. They had fuck all money or resources and they had to somehow figure out how they were going to live in the woods, potentially forever.

They didn't talk about any of this with Joanne and Peter, but Joanne and Peter also hadn't asked about the packing or Nim going on long walks instead of going to school. They'd heard the same things the rest of them had, the same plans government officials kept bringing up that never included quite enough details to know what exactly they intended to do or when.

Marigold was still going to school because she wanted the kids to keep going to school so that they could hold onto some sense of normalcy, but she stayed up late into the night going over what they had packed and reading books on survival.

Skye wouldn't say much about the situation, and even less of substance, but Nim started to notice him spending more time playing with the kids in the evenings and intercepting any tantrums. He was keeping them busy to take pressure off of Marigold.

Nim had expected something to have changed between him and Skye after the cheek kissing incident, but it really hadn't. They hadn't talked about it. They hadn't touched one another since. To be fair, everyone was a little distracted, but Nim didn't like the ambiguity of it. The last thing he wanted in his life just then was more unknowns.

So, one night, he made a move. Skye was in the bathroom, brushing his teeth after the kids had all gone to bed. Nim watched in the reflection from the mirror as Skye awkwardly navigated the brush around the unconventional shape of his teeth. As Skye spat and rinsed his mouth out, Nim stepped up close behind him and placed a hand on his hip.

Nim hadn't left Skye much room to move, but the direction he did lean in was decidedly away. Nim immediately dropped his hand and stepped back. He braced himself for either a confrontation or for Skye to tell him that it was okay and he'd just been surprised. Neither came. Skye put his toothbrush back in the cup and walked away.

Nim didn't know how to interpret that other than as a resounding and brutal rejection. He'd thought he'd been starting to understand Skye, had been so proud of himself for realising that Skye was helping out with the kids rather than making less charitable assumptions, and now... this.

He lingered in the bathroom brushing his own teeth and getting ready for bed, and by the time he returned to their room, Skye was curled up under his blankets, ready for sleep. Nim hesitated in the doorway for a moment before flicking the light off and heading to bed. He didn't sleep well that night.

#

While Marigold and the kids were at school and Nim was out, Skye slept. That was all he wanted to do these days. Sleep and eat. He'd been trying to be responsible and helpful by keeping the kids entertained, but he wasn't mentally designed for such things. Nobody understood how hard it was for him to spend that much time interacting with other people.

It made everything else harder, too. Sometimes when he tried to talk, his words came out all mixed up, but mostly he just couldn't be bothered to try. Talking was always a bit of an effort for him in a way he was pretty sure it wasn't for other people, and it was the first thing he gave up on during times of stress.