The Sweet Escape

Chapter Thirty-Two

 Chapter Thirty-Two

When Ian landed in Chicago he immediately took a taxi. The bad thing was that Kyle and Skylar lived in the downtown area, all the way on the other side of Chicago. He wouldn't get there as quickly as he wanted to. So he used that time to reminisce.

It was dark already and it was really cold, the strong wind didn't help at all. He wasn't in the mood to tell the taxi driver to turn on the heat. Instead he just rested his head back and closed his eyes.

"You have to be there for her," Christina had said before he left. "Say sorry. Make her realize that you love her so much."

He'd looked at her with kind eyes. "You're really saying that to me?"

"You and I both know that this just isn't working out," she replied. "You're in love with someone else. We made something beautiful, Ian. I love Emily to death, but she needs to grow up. We can't force things to happen. She's a smart little girl that learns from mistakes. And you need to learn from yours as well."

"I don't know-"

"Your biggest flaw is that you will always put others' happiness in front of yours. You love Emily, you're a good father. You tried your best to give her the family she wanted. It didn't work out. Now you have to do what makes you happy."

"I don't think I deserve her," he said with a solemn look. "She could do so much better. Be with someone that can dedicate his all to her. I'm always going to have other responsibilities-"

"But you will always love her, you always do your best to see that she is happy too," Christina explained. "Now go to Chicago and get her back.  Happy birthday, by the way."

And so he did. Not that going to see her needed much convincing. God only knew how much he had missed her. His beautiful, broken woman. His heart broke at the mere thought of how much she was suffering at the moment. If only he could be there to show her that he loved her so much and what had happened to her was just another bump in the road.

They had created another life together. Just the thought was overwhelming. But it was devastating to find out that that had been ripped away from them. When he had found out that Christina was pregnant, even though she'd just been a hook up, he'd been happy. Shocked and stressed, but happy nonetheless. He knew that having a child with Skylar would be equally as amazing. But that wasn't happening.

According to Kyle, she really blamed herself. He knew that she wasn't at fault. Things happened it and sucked, but she really wasn't the one to blame. She was already dealing with so many emotions to add that to the mix.

All Skylar wanted to do was curl up in her bed and just sleep. But because of what Kyle had said earlier, that was not happening anymore. She could not stay in the apartment if Ian was coming over. Nope. Not happening. How could she face him when she had killed their child? She didn't want to see his disappointment. Or maybe he just wouldn't care. Maybe he was just coming out of pity to tell her that what had happened was a good thing. No ties between them now.

So she made her decision, one that she should have made way earlier in the day.

She got up from bed and went to her closet to look for something to change into. She put on the first things that popped out to her: a pair of her gray leggings that she used to workout, a navy blue windbreaker, and snow boots. She grabbed her phone and headed out.

Kyle, Grace, and Heather were in the living room watching some reality show about bachelors. They all looked up at her when they heard her come in.

"Oh, you're up," Kyle said.

"Yup."

His eyes traveled to the change in clothing. "Where are you going?" he asked, standing up.