A Tragic Hero

Chapter 14

"Rise and shine doll! Wendy will be here any minute now and I don't want you to head out with us on an empty stomach."
Sky cracked open her eyes from slumber and rolled over carefully to see Mrs. Clinton standing outside her open door, smiling at her.
"What time is it?"
Sky put a hand over her mouth to cover her yawn. The sun was just beginning to crack over the horizon through her window.
"It's time to get up silly! Let's go, lazy girl! We're gonna miss all the early sales!"
"Early sales?"
She climbed out of bed, still exhausted.
"Yes child, early sales. The most amazing thing they've allowed since woman's right. Now, let's go."
Mrs. Clinton hurried down the hallway towards the kitchen.
"When you're all tidy up, just meet me in the kitchen for breakfast."
"Um..Alright."
Sky rubbed her eyes, stretched, then made her way to the bathroom. After a quick shower, she tossed on a blue summer dress and white sandals that Mrs. Clinton had left out for her, combed her tangled wet hair, grabbed her purse, and headed to the kitchen where Mrs. Clinton waited with two plates pilled high with pancakes dripping with syrup.
"There you are," she set the plates down as Sky took her seat,"I was beginning to wonder."
She walked over to the fridge, pulled out a pitcher of sweet tea, and proceeded to pore the cool tea into two glasses.
"Mrs. Clinton-"
"Please," she took her seat, gave Sky her drink, and started to cut into her cakes.
"Call me Ella. Makes me feel just a bit younger."
"Ella," Sky started again,"I just wanna know...why are we going shopping this early?"
"For you, doll," Ella grinned.
"And also for the early sales, just like I said before. What, you got stuffing in your ears?"
Ella took a bite of her pancake, eying her with confusion.
Sky figured that she was waiting for her to eat, so she began to slice into her food.
"Anyways," Ella said, mouth half full,"I looked through the clothes you brought here to use, and darling, let me just try to put this nicely. It looks like you haven't bought a new outfit for yourself in years!"
Sky felt her face begin to burn. She dropped her gaze to her plate. Ella was right, she hadn't bought any new clothes for herself in a while. All her extra money always went into what Jake needed. She never kept any for herself, just cause she wasn't selfish like that.
"But you see doll,"Ella pointed her sticky fork at her,"that's why I'm here. To help you with some of your needs until you get back on your own two feet."
Sky was about to respond, to say that she was content with what she had, when the door bell chimed, cutting her off.
"Oh goody,"Ella clapped happily.
"Wendy's here!"
Ella hopped out of her seat and started towards the exit. Sky followed Ella silently through her house to the front door. Ella opened the door to reveal a short blonde wearing a loose tan long sleeve shirt and black skinnies. Her sandals clacked on the marble floor as she entered, her cheerful blue eyes staring at Sky.
"Wendy! It's so good to see you honey! How are you? Tell me, are the boy's needing anything?"
The two woman hugged each other tightly, then both turned to face Sky.
"It's good to see you too, mom. I'm feeling just fine, ready to shop like always. As for the boys, they don't need anything, since their father is always spoiling them."
Wendy took a step closer to Sky, studying her.
"So,"she glanced back over her shoulder at her mother.
"This is the woman Ryder's been telling us about? She's awfully pretty."
Ella's laughter filled the foyer.
"I always wanted curly hair like yours."
Wendy reached up and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear.
"You really are beautiful."
Wendy held her hand out and Sky slowly took it.
"I'm Wendy. We're gonna have such a great time today! We're gonna hit up the clearance sections and buy you something breathtaking, so that the next time my brother lays eyes on you, he'll be swept off his feet like a wild tornado hit him!"
Wendy chuckled, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. Sky had a sinking feeling that both these woman were exactly the same. She really didn't know if she could survive an entire day alone with these two. She was definitely gonna give Ryder an earful the next time she saw him. If she made it out of this trip alive.
"Okay ladies, let's hit the road!"
Together, with Ella holding one of Sky's hands and Wendy clasping the other, the three women stepped out of the house, packed into Ella's silver Lexis, and headed to the local shopping center.
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"So tell me Sky, what do you really think about my brother?" Wendy asked from the passengers seat at a red light, one eyebrow quirked up.
Sky scrambled to find a...simple answer, fearing that if she even indicated a hint of happiness towards Ryder, they would both start to secretly plot how to get her and Ryder together.
"He's,"she avoided meeting Wendy's prodding stare, afraid to reveal anything.
"He's a very kind man."
"Oh, come on!"
Wendy and Ella glanced at each other with some kind of knowing look. She was in trouble for sure.
"Is that really, really all you think about Ryder?" Wendy purred, giving her an unbelieving smirk.
"...Yes."
Oh no. She had hesitated. And they had caught her hesitation.
"So," Wendy's eyes glowed,"there is more to reveal. You just don't want to. Okay, that's fine. I can wait."
The car began to move, hopefully silencing Wendy of her uncomfortable questioning.
"Do you at least find him attractive?"
Guess not.
Sky sighed then answered.
"Why does it matter if I find him attractive?"
"So you do think he's cute!" Wendy spun in her seat, smiling like she had just won a million dollars on a big time TV game show.
"No. That's not what I meant."
Sky tried to hold her smile in, but was beginning to crack. Stupid emotions. She did like how Ryder looked, and she had never been good at hiding her feelings.
"Yes you do," Ella grinned back at her in the rear view mirror.
"I can see it in your eyes. It's okay darling. This is a safe place. You can tell us anything."
Yah right. These two would spread the word to anyone they met on the street. She laughed inside at the thought of Wendy walking up to someone and telling them the news: a beautiful woman liked her single and very attractive son.
"We're just friends," She tried, not even convincing herself with the weak comeback.
"Ha, I use to say that about Danny."
Wendy closed her eyes, picturing one of her sweet memories in her mind.
"Now," she smirked at Sky,"he's my husband."
Sky fidgeted in her seat, trying to relax her nerves. Why did she feel like a high school girl being asked about her secret crush?
"He really is a fine man," Ella spoke up from the driver's seat, allowing Sky to shift her attention from Wendy to her.
"He likes you. I can see it written all over his face. And we have tried, trust me, we have tried for a long time to get him to open up to someone, but he never did. You, Sky, are literally an answer to our prayers."
There it was, the confession of the century. Honestly, Sky did see the deep interest in Ryder's eyes when he looked at her, but she chose to ignore it ever since they'd met. She really didn't want to like him back, scared about what would happen after she took that leap into the unknown.
But it was there, never the less, and she couldn't do anything to change how her heart now accelerated some at the thought of Ryder's smiling face.
"I know, it's that crazy feeling your feeling right now when you realize the truth, right?" Wendy chirped, her blue eyes glittering with excitement.
"I-I...I don't know what you're talking about,"Sky stammered as she urged her heart to slow down some.
"Really, we're just friends."
   She finally chose to shove all her tripped up emotions into a corner of her mind, remembering now all the sorrow and regret that came from loving someone, really trusting them, then being left alone on this sorry planet.
That wouldn't happen to her ever again. If that meant letting someone down by breaking their heart, she would have to do just that.
"Alright, deny it,"Wendy huffed, unsatisfied.
"We know the truth."
Wendy faced forward in her seat, crossed her arms, and finally stopped talking. Ella gave Sky one last glance in her mirror, then focused on the road ahead, also becoming silent.
Sky frowned, feeling upset now.
Ryder would just have to find someone else to like, someone else to put his trust in. She couldn't be the one for him. She wouldn't. For the sake of her once shattered heart, she needed to lock him out. But, that was gonna be really hard to accomplish now.
He was already in.