Beautiful Sky (2 page)

It was going to take a very long time for me to trust new people and I was okay with that.  I would go off to college, probably meet a few nice girls, stay away from the guys, and focus on studying.  After what I had been through with Seth, I had no desire to let anyone near my heart, not for a very long time.  It was a perfect plan, or so I thought.  My first week of college I would quickly learn that there are some things you just can’t control.

I was so excited to go away to college that I almost forgot my silver ring the day I was leaving and I would have been devastated if I had left that behind.  It was nothing expensive or fancy, just a thin, simple, sterling silver band with tiny sunflowers etched all around it.  My dad gave it to me for my 8
^th
birthday, it was the first piece of real jewelry that I had ever gotten and I wore it on my pinkie finger almost every day.  Some days I wore it on a necklace if my fingers were too swollen.  It used to fit on my index finger, but as I got older I found that I had to move it down a finger until the pinkie was the last stop. It was one of the things that helped me get through the whole Bethany/Seth thing. 

I remember the day he gave it to me, it was after my birthday party and he came to my room to say good night.  My mom had already kissed me goodnight so he and I were alone.  He sat on my bed and placed a tiny pink box in my hand.

“Daddy, you already gave me a birthday present!”  I couldn’t stop beaming at him because I was so excited to get another present.

“I know sweetheart, but this one is extra special and you are my little princess.  Go ahead, open it.”  He had a grin on his face that was as big as mine as he sat waiting for me to open my gift.

I carefully opened the box and gleaming up at me was the prettiest ring I had ever seen.  I flung my arms around him and I think I must have kissed his cheek 20 times.  We didn’t have a lot of money but my parents always managed to make my birthdays special.

“Thank you daddy!  It’s so pretty!”

He hugged me back and kissed the top of my head.  “You’re welcome sweetheart.  When you wear that ring I want you to remember that even though I might not be in the same room with you, I will always be in your heart.”

My dad and I had a really special relationship.  I know it was different than the one he had with my older brother and sister, I could talk to him about anything and loved being around him.  I spent a ton of time with him and I think my mom felt a little left out sometimes, but I loved them both the same.  The only time I took my ring off was when I took a bath or shower. 

My dad died in a car accident the next year and I didn’t think I would ever be able to get out of bed again.  I cried for days.  The only thing that helped me get through each day, aside from my mom, brother and sister, was the ring that I clutched tight every time I thought about him. 

My mom remarried a really nice man named Jay three years later, and while I had a good relationship with him, I still missed my dad every day.  My step-dad told us that he would never try to replace our father but he wanted all of us to know that he loved us and he would be there for us whenever we needed him.  He was a grade school science teacher and he didn’t have any kids of his own, but he treated us like we were his own kids.

My mom and step-dad were driving us to the airport that day, the car was all packed and we had just started to drive away when I rubbed my pinkie finger, feeling for my ring, which was something I did mindlessly all the time.  I didn’t feel it there and I started to panic.  I definitely had to have my dad with me for my first day of college and there was no way I was going to leave without my ring.

“Mom!  I forgot my ring, I have to go in and get it!”

My step-dad stopped the car and pulled back into the driveway.

“Okay honey, but hurry, we don’t want to miss our flight.”

I ran to my room and grabbed my ring off of my dresser.  As I slipped it on I smiled to myself because I could feel my dad watching me.  I hopped down the stairs and locked the door behind me taking a long look at our house.  We lived in a small bungalow on the north side of Chicago and while it wasn’t big or fancy, it was perfect to me.  I had a lot of good memories in that house of Christmases, birthdays, and my first date.  I would miss it but I was excited for what was ahead of me, and so happy that I could feel my dad watching over me.  I spun on my heel and trotted off to the car feeling that I now had everything I needed to start this new phase in my life.  It was time to close this chapter of my life, leaving thoughts of Seth and Bethany behind, and start fresh and new, and I couldn’t wait.

I had gotten a full ride to a top university in Massachusetts, and although I was excited to be away from home, I was also a little bit nervous.  I had never been that far from home before and I was kind of worried about not having my parents right there if I needed them, but it was time for me to grow up.  I was going to make this an incredible time in my life that I would never forget.

  When we arrived at my dorm, my adrenaline was flowing as the excitement coursed through my veins.  There were tons of people arriving on campus and there was this awesome buzz of energy in the air.  My mom and step-dad stayed for a couple of hours and helped me get settled in my room and then it was time for them to head back to the hotel.  They were going to fly back home the next day and my mom looked a wreck as she hugged me goodbye.  I kept reassuring her that I would call home all the time.  She finally let go of me after a couple of minutes and my step-dad kissed me goodbye and put his arm around my mom to comfort her.  I was the last one of my siblings leaving for college, my brother and sister had graduated a couple of years before, and the days leading up to it were really difficult for my mom.  Even though my dad wasn’t there, I was really happy that my mom wasn’t alone after she dropped me off at college because I don’t think she would have been able to handle it without some sort of support.

When my parents left I sat on my bed for a bit and let it sink in that I was really at college.  After a few minutes I started unpacking my stuff, wondering what my roommate was going to be like and hoping that we would get along.  My dorm was really busy with students unpacking and goofing off.  I was putting some of my clothes in my dresser when I heard someone coming in.

“Hello?”  A friendly voice called out and I turned to see a gorgeous bubbly blonde with a huge grin plastered on her face holding a big box.  She was about my height, had shoulder length hair and had a really pretty face.  Her parents were smiling at me as they helped her carry some of her stuff in.

I smiled back at all of them and quickly helped her carry the box.

“Hi!  Oh, let me help you with that.”

“Oh gosh thanks, this thing is so heavy!  I’m Katie by the way and these are my parents Kathleen and Tom.”

“Hi, I’m Skylar, but my friends call me Sky.  It’s nice to meet all of you.”

“Skylar, where are you from?”  Katie’s mom had a sweet smile on her face as she waited for my answer.

“I’m from Chicago.  Where are you guys from?”

“We are from a small town in Ohio called Maumee.  Wow, Chicago, huh?  Do you live in a tall building?”  Katie’s eyes sparkled with interest.

I couldn’t help but smile at her.  “No, we live in a house in the city.”

“Wow, that must be really cool.”  I almost wanted to chuckle because she seemed star struck.

“Sorry to interrupt girls but Katie honey, daddy and I are going to go get the rest of your things from the car.”

“Oh!  Let me help you guys.”  Before they could protest I walked out of the room first and we all went to the car and grabbed the last of her stuff.  “Did you guys drive here?  You have so much stuff!”

“No, believe it or not, this is what we were able to bring with us on the plane.  Thank goodness for rental cars!”

After we dropped off all of her stuff in our room, Katie’s parents said their goodbyes and her mom had the same look of sorrow on her face that my mom had when she said goodbye to me.  We were finally alone and we sat down and started chatting and chatting.

Katie rolled her eyes and smiled after her mom left.

“She’s been like that for the last week.”

I couldn’t help but laugh out loud.  “My mom has been the same way.”

We told each other about our lives back home and how excited we were to finally be away from home on our own.  I told her about what Seth and Bethany did to me and it felt really good to tell someone who didn’t really know any of us. 

“You are
kidding
!  God, that’s the oldest story in the book!”  She rolled her eyes in disgust.  “The best friend and boyfriend hooking up?  That’s so lame Sky, you’re better off without them.  I would have totally cut them off too, how could you ever trust either one again?  On to bigger and better friendships, right?”

“Right!”  I smiled at her grateful for her encouraging words, and for some reason her words made me feel really good.  I liked her already.  Katie told me that she had recently broken up with her boyfriend and was on the prowl for someone new.  She also told me that her family owned a bunch of luxury car dealerships all over Ohio so I knew they had to be loaded.  I’d better get used to that.  I was going to be in a financial league all by myself at a university like this.

“I am so psyched for the parties, they’re going to be so much fun!  Hopefully we will meet some cute guys.  Hey, there’s a band playing at the student union tonight, we should go!”

“There’s a band on the first night we get here?  Some people aren’t even here yet!”

“I know, I guess it’s something they do every year as a little something extra for the people who show up the first day, and they’re supposed to be awesome!  I think they’re all seniors.  It’ll be fun, say yes,
please
!” 

There was no way I could turn down her pleading eyes, she was too nice and seemed like a lot of fun.  I was looking forward to hanging with her and getting to know her better.

“Okay, I’ll go, it sounds fun!”

“Oh, sweet!  One thing you’ll learn about me is that I like to study hard and also have fun.  I know when to focus on the books and when it is okay to let loose, and tonight we’re letting loose!” I was really happy to hear that she wasn’t just a party girl because if she was, we probably would not have a whole lot in common.

Katie had a gleam in her eye when she talked about boys and I knew she would be a lot of fun to scope out guys with.  She had a perfect body which made me green with envy, and she was stunning on top of it. 
Some people have all the luck.
  I may have been a little bit envious but I couldn’t be jealous of her because she was so sweet.

Don’t get me wrong; I was no slouch, not at all.  I was a very pretty girl, I had medium length, nearly jet black hair, green eyes, and I had no problem turning heads when I walked down the street.  But I could stand to lose a couple of pounds.  They were stubborn and no matter what I did, they stuck with me.

Katie and I were unpacking and chatting when two girls came to our room.

“Hey you guys, I’m Amy and this is Jenn.  A bunch of us girls were thinking of going to grab something to eat in the cafeteria if you want to come along.”

Katie and I both agreed we were starving so we went grabbed our IDs and joined the group that was waiting in the hall.  We lived in a co-ed dorm so we had a chance to see some of the guys as we were leaving.  Katie linked her arm through mine and we whispered to each other that we were excited there were a lot of cute guys in our dorm.  Just as we were leaving the dorm, my eyes landed on the most gorgeous guy I had ever seen in my life, and my breath caught in my throat for just a few seconds.  He was playing Frisbee with a bunch of guys and when he jumped in the air to catch the Frisbee, I wished more than anything that was me he was grabbing on to. 
Wait a second Sky, what are you doing?  Guys are off limits!
  I scolded myself as we all walked to the cafeteria building together, and I pushed the gorgeous guy out of my mind.

We invited a few of the girls to go with us to see the band, and after dinner Katie and I went back to our room to get ready. We were meeting everyone in the lobby at 8:00 and then heading over to the student union, and I was getting excited to go check out this band.  I loved live music and I had probably seen over 20 different bands in high school.  Everyone seemed super excited about this band and a bunch of people seemed to know who they were so I was psyched about seeing them.

A couple of the girls took forever to get ready so by the time we made it over to the student union it was packed and the band was just about to hit the stage.  The lights were dimmed and I heard the bass of a guy’s dramatic voice flood the room through the mic.

“Boston!”  Everyone cheered and whistled as the lights went off near the stage.

“Boston!  Give it up for Sonic Blaze!”

The drummer started a slow beat as the lights started moving around the room and thunderous claps along with screams and whistles echoed throughout the room.  I turned and grinned at Katie as we craned our necks to find an open spot closer to the stage.  I saw an empty area right by the stage and quickly grabbed her hand and pulled her with me so that we could have a better spot.

The lead singer was looking down at the ground and I couldn’t get a good look at his face, but his body was sick.  He must have been at least 6’1” and his strong thighs filled his jeans perfectly as the cuffs of his t-shirt strained against his ripped arms.  He wore a single long chain with a cross, a leather cuff bracelet and a thick silver ring on his middle finger.  His guitar was slung over his shoulder and I couldn’t see what he looked like but I wanted to climb up on that stage and rip his clothes off.  I had never been so strongly physically attracted to anyone in my life.  When I heard his deep, rich voice penetrate the air it made me shudder as I imagined him singing directly to me.

The lights came on around the stage and I sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly as my eyes climbed all over his gorgeous face.  He was breathtakingly beautiful.  Dark hair that was just long enough that I wanted to run my fingers through, a strong chiseled jaw and full lips.  I couldn’t see the color of his eyes but every other bit of him that I could see was gorgeous.  His voice was so mesmerizing that everyone else in the room disappeared as I zeroed in on just him.  His eyes cut to the left of the room and he seemed to be smiling at someone and then his eyes moved to the right and he smiled at someone else.  Both hands covered the mic as he closed his eyes and belted out the chorus of the song and I could not take my eyes off of him.  When he opened his eyes he glanced down at Katie and then me, and his eyes did a double take.  Those gorgeous eyes caught and held mine and I felt heat flush my cheeks as he continued singing to me.  I was thankful that it was too dark for anyone to notice I was blushing at the gorgeous guy on stage whose gaze was set on me.

After what seemed like an eternity he tore his eyes from mine, and Katie grabbed my arm jumping up and down and grinning at me.