Sunbound

☀ Stranger Skies

C H A P T E R  22: Stranger Skies

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Santa Fe, New Mexico was a lot more than Scout had bargained for.

It had the same feel as Arizona, but with a Vegas twist (not that she had ever actually been to Las Vegas). It was just the right amount of homey deserts and everything the same hue as sand, but with all the beautiful night lights and restaurants and a stranger sky than she knew from all the days she spent in Santan Valley.

Scout's eyes were bright, wide saucers that reflected all the shiny things they drove by. Her eyes reminded Skylar of the Mirror Ball in Chicago. He never thought he'd see two of them in his passenger seat, especially not on the face of Scout-Juliet Compton, the most unimpressed individual he had possibly ever met. But there those mirror balls were, and there Scout was, pressed so tightly against the passenger door to see everything as closely as she could, like getting out of the car and seeing everything up close wasn't an option. It was then that she reminded Skylar of a little kid hanging halfway out of an African Safari truck. Skylar shook his head with an almost-laugh.

It was getting close to 10 PM. Skylar wasn't entirely sure what there was to do around Santa Fe, especially at night. He considered finding a cheap motel and calling it a night after nearly nine hours on the road, but since Scout spent the majority of that time napping, Skylar figured that that would be the last thing she would want to do.

Scout hadn't meant to spend almost the entire car ride sleeping, save for two rest stop breaks and the five minutes it took her to scarf down nearly half of a greasy gas station pizza. Though, a part of her was very glad she did. She hated small talk about as much as she hated the heat and vienna sausages and mittens, and she hated awkward silences just as much. It didn't help that she was still bothered by Skylar's leaving and wanted to avoid a conversation about it at all costs. Instead of choosing the lesser of two evils, she supposed napping was for the best. Skylar didn't mind it either. Although he hated the silence and the ghosts it resurrected, driving was a solace in which he preferred the quiet.

"What do you wanna do?" Skylar asked, slowing down for a blaring, ruby light over the middle of the intersection.

Scout was awe-inspired by the entire city. There were twinkling, yellow lights dangling on tree branches, and lit candles along the walkways and bike paths. The buildings were all dressed up in lights, and she recognized them as being the adobe bricks she learned about in an art class she took before she graduated. Everything was brighter than Santan Valley, and she wanted to experience all of it.

"Everything," Scout said lowly.

Skylar's face formed into that almost-smile of his again. "That sounds time consuming."

Scout looked over at him with a straight face. "You owe me one anyway."

Skylar cocked a brow. "How so?"

Scout rolled her eyes at him and looked back out of the window ahead of her. He had a lot of nerve to ask her that. He knew damn well what he did. She shouldn't have had to reenact the last time she saw him; the argument and the tears and his tail lights getting further and further away from the people who genuinely cared for him.

"Green light," Scout muttered.

Skylar stared at her for a moment longer before pressing down on the gas. He owed her nothing, he thought. Yeah, he left, but he came back. He apologized and he came back for her. That's what counts. Like all the times Jackie left. It never mattered how long she was gone. She always came back... Until she couldn't. Jackie was no role model to look up too, but she was consistent in that she always returned. That was one of the very few things Skylar learned to appreciate over the years.