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Twisted Fates

Chapter 8: A Few Good Men

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Bailey's smile should be illegal. 

It was far too beautiful for everyone's casual gaze. Yet Skye couldn't prevent herself from wanting to see it every minute of the day. Her notes only grew in volume as she got more comfortable hiding them where only Bailey would find. It started with just the other girl's locker but after a few days Skye grew a little bolder and had noticed that sometimes Bailey didn't zip her backpack all the way when going from class to class. The redhead found herself stealthily slipping notes into her bag when they passed in the hallway and Bailey hadn't seen her.

This changed Skye's entire routine. She got to school early to slip a morning note into Bailey's locker. Then she'd slip one into her open backpack after lunch. And if she was lucky she could slip another one into her folder or script at rehearsal or when the theatre kids hung out after school on non rehearsal days.

Her notes were always simple. A single phrase marked with a little sketch. “To You” and “From Me” doddled in the corners of each note became a signature. Skye tried hard to keep the notes as vague as possible to not tip Bailey off as to who was writing them. Simple phrases in a beautiful little script that Skye had been forced to learn in etiquette classes her mom insisted her and Brian take. Each simple note brought a little smile to Bailey’s face. They could be as simple as “ Have a good day” and Bailey would smile. 

It was an obsession, Skye was too aware that it was, but seeing Bailey smile to herself or blush or her eyes light up was like a drug and Skye was thoroughly addicted. Bailey walked around a little lighter now too, with a little more confidence that only made Skye want to be around her more. Torn between staying out of sight and right there with the other girl.

Rory had started acting differently too. They were around Bailey more, always trying to be closer, trying to make her smile. It was clear they were getting a little jealous, but they wouldn't admit it.

"Your admirer is persistent," Erin noted at lunch as she pulled a sticky note off Bailey's lunchbox where it had gotten stuck. Bailey quickly grabbed it, turning red as she glanced over the writing.

"It's kinda weird how they get close enough to slip notes in your backpack but never actually talk to you."

Rory's tone was possessive, their back straightened as if trying to make themselves look bigger. 

"Maybe they're shy," Clint offered, "maybe they want to but get too nervous and do the note instead."

"I'm surprised they're not put off by you and Rory together," Natalie added, "no one can compete with Rory, so maybe they don't see the point in trying."

“Why leave notes at all then?” Erin asked with a raised eyebrow, “I agree with Clint though, they’re probably just shy and these awkward little notes they leave you is their way of mustering up the courage to talk to you.”

"I think they're sweet," Bailey said firmly, "and it's not like Rory and I are dating so maybe they'll get the courage to talk to me someday."

"But you and Rory are so perfect together!"

Natalie's insistence caught Ajay's attention as he looked up from his notes to glare.

"Perfect co-stars I hope you mean."

Not with the way Rory was looking at Bailey. That dream-like look that only someone who liked Bailey would have. Ajay’s stern voice did force Natalie and Clint to change the subject, something Bailey seemed to be grateful for as she smiled at the little note before putting it into her notebook carefully. Rory schooled their features, it was clear the continued notes bothered them, but they typically didn’t bring it up again once the conversation was over. Ajay was quick to shut down any of the theatre clubs meddling, something Skye was grateful for. She worried if the theatre kids looked too long at the note, they might figure out that the sketches on the notes and the smeared writing would be a give away that the notes were coming from her.

The curse of being left-handed it seemed. Skye had tried very hard to prevent her notes from smearing. She failed once, and Erin was quick to pick up on the smear. Thankfully it was a note that Skye had slipped into her bag so it appeared more like the note smeared in Bailey’s bag more than it smeared when Skye wrote it. 

Lunch was coming to an end, Bailey zipped her bag closed this time as she bid the group farewell as she left to run across the school to her history class. Skye and the rest of the group followed in suit. Skye turned down the hallway to head to art, usually she turned this corner by herself. Today Erin turned that way with her. The taller girl didn’t say much, she flashed Skye a smile as she hurried down the hall towards the gym, probably for a volleyball thing. Skye didn’t think much about it as she turned to head to her own class.

***

Skye slipped into the library as school ended. She had to meet up with her coach later today and she’d have to have an idea of a song for her long program by then. The library was quiet and allowed for Skye to blast the music in her ears until it immersed her. It was the easiest way, at least in Skye’s mind, to think about what she’d want to skate to. 

Coach Laika had sent her the audio file for Agape earlier. It was a slower song, something that would appeal more towards delicate motions and spins. So for her main program, she wanted to do something more… her. Skye felt someone sit next to her on the library couch, she turned to see Bailey greeting her with her usual illegal warm smile. Skye removed her earbuds as Bailey subtle scooted closer.

“Hey.”

“Hey.”

“What are you doing?” Bailey asked quietly as she leaned back against the couch.

“Trying to pick out a song from my long program. For ice skating. Qualifiers are at the end of the month and my mom decided to get me a coach last minute, so it’s a but of a crunch.”

“I think Ajay mentioned something about that,” Bailey mused.

“Yeah, he volunteered to help with the choreography.”

Bailey nodded. Skye paused for a minute before handing the other girl one of the earbuds. 

“Wanna listen with me?”

“I don’t know much about ice skating, I don’t know how much help I’ll be.”

“That’s okay, you can just… listen with me?” 

Skye felt her confidence falter a bit, but Bailey only smiled and took the earbud. Skye scrolled through her playlist for a second before pulling up Agape, noting the bit of surprise on Bailey’s face when the softer cords queued in the earbud.

“This is what my coach picked for the short program,” Skye explained slowly, “My parents are usually pretty strict about what I skate to, but Coach was able to convince them to change my short program and let me pick my long program.”

“It’s really pretty,” Bailey hummed, “not something I could see you listening to though.”

“I’ve been listening to it a lot actually. The way Coach described it to me, this song and the choreography she is teaching me is supposed to express unconditional love. It’s a counter program to the one I did last year. She says I should try to connect with it, but I’m not sure how to.”

“How did you connect to your other programs?” 

“Well, honestly, I think my last program reminded me of my ex, so I drew a little from that. Last year was pretty rough though, so I can’t really say I connected to it that year either.”

“Unconditional love,” Bailey repeated, “I guess that can mean many things. Like unconditional love from a par-pet!”

“You were going to say parent and remembered who you were talking to,” Skye ran a hand through her hair, “I get it, normal people might have that connection. I’m… not that lucky.”

“Frosty loves you,” Bailey offered awkwardly, “pets all give unconditional love. Animals are just like that. And of course there’s… you know… me.”

Skye looked up at Bailey as she said those words. The blonde blushed for a second before quickly added.

“And the rest of the theatre group. All of our friends. I think that can be considered unconditional love.”

“I don’t think Clint or Natalie love anything other than Rory. Danielle too. Trevor isn’t exactly the warmest guy either.”

“But you have me. And Ajay and Rory.”

Skye hesitated, not because she didn’t like or appreciate what the three had already done for her, but because she wasn’t used to considering people friends or even entertaining the idea that people cared about her to the point that she’d call it love. Bailey seemed to pick up on the hesitation.

“Friendship is unconditional love. Because we love you no matter what. Even if you don’t believe us now, give us some time and we’ll prove to you how much you mean to all of us.”

The two sat in comfortable silence, Skye’s eyes staring into Bailey’s green until the sound of Bailey’s phone vibrating caused her to jump. Bailey looked at the screen and flashed Skye an apologetic look.

“I gotta go help my parents at the diner,” Bailey gave Skye back the earbud as the song came to an end, “sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Skye offered as the girl grabbed her bag, “I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Always.”

Skye watched Bailey leave, a bit of sadness setting in her chest at her time with the other girl being cut short. Skye leaned back on the couch and let the flood of music fill her ears. If Agape could represent the love her friends supposedly had for her, what should her long program song represent? Skye flipped through a few more songs until a particular melody flowed through the earbuds. Skye listened for a few moments before saving the song on her playlist and grabbing her bag. 

***

Skye didn’t make Ajay go to all her practices with Coach Laika, but somehow he always found out her schedule and came along anyway. Research was his reason, if he wanted to help Skye with her long program he needed to know what she was capable of. Today they had run through some basic jumps to try to show Ajay the difference between each one.

“Let’s start with a toe loop,” Coach Laika called to Skye as the redhead glided across the ice before turning to Ajay, “A toe loop is a jump that takes off from the back outside edge of the skate. It launches more from the toe portion of the boot. A loop is a similar jump, but without the toe assist.”

Skye flew into the jump effortlessly, handing an easy double as Coach Laika called out another jump.

“Salchow, this jump takes off from the back inside edge of the skate.”

Skye shifted her weight before leaping into another jump, taking off on the inside edge of the skate rather than outer edge.

“A Flip is similar to a toe loop except the skater takes off from the back inside edge. A Lutz uses the toepick of the skate, jumping from the back outside edge and landing on the back outside edge of the opposite foot.”

“And then you have the Axel, which is the only jump that takes off by skating forward first, and then landing going backward. It gives the jump an extra one-hundred in eighty degree turn then most other jumps.”

Skye landed the last jump with a slight wobble before skating closer to where Coach Laika and Ajay were seated. Ajay was taking rapid notes however the boy looked confused.

“They all look very similar.”

“They do,” Coach Laika nodded, “but their point values are a bit different and there are different difficulties for the skater. Let’s run through Agape, that might help you see the differences with the spins. Those can be a little easier to identify.” 

They ended up going through Agape a few times. The steps Skye was quickly mastering, a little more fueled about the performance with Bailey’s words still humming in her head. 

“You’re getting the hang of it,” Coach Laika commented as Skye finished another run of the slow paced program, “we can end on that for tonight. I looked over the song you sent for your long program. It’s awfully ambitious to do a song that close to the five minute mark. Even with the editing we did to cut the song down to under five minutes.”

“I know,” Skye nodded.

Coach Laika handed Skye a CD, the outside cover streaked with black ink.

Long Program - Skye

This Life Is Mine

It was just a CD with a song. But it felt like something a little bit bigger. It’s something Skye had control over. It was a part of Skye’s life that she got to take control of. It was like getting a superpower, the ability to choose on her own what she wanted to do.

If Agape was about the unconditional love from her friends, then this would be about how she longed to break away from her abusive family. A battle against her parents in taking back the life they held over her head. It was small… minor compared to actual freedom, but it was a much needed step in that direction.

Coach Laika handed a similar CD to Ajay, who looked over the title briefly before he flashed Skye a bit of a knowing smile.

“We need to move quickly, if you could get something for me to look at Monday we can get to work rehearsing it.”

Ajay and Skye nodded. Coach Laika took her leave as Skye went to change her skates. The new ones that she had bought with Ajay fit so much better. The black and pearlized boots had quickly become something Skye was proud to own. She carefully put them away as Ajay pulled a thermos out of his bag. As he opened it the smell of coffee filled the air.

“Decaf,” Ajay explained as he handed the steaming cup over, “I keep forgetting how cold it can be in here.”

“It’s not so bad,” Skye mused as she accepted the cup, “though maybe I just think that because I’m moving out on the ice.”

“It helps, I have some ideas for the program, but I’m thinking I should listen to the song a few times before I get some things drafted,” Ajay smiled as she gestured to the plastic case, “I’m kinda excited, I never got to choreograph anything on ice before.”

“I’m excited too. To even be able to pick my song felt like a big deal. To pick the entire program-”

“I can see that,” Ajay laughed, “You were smile-y all rehearsal. It’s weird.”

Skye snorted at Ajay throwing her words back at her as she pulled on her boots. The older boy shook his head and pulled out his phone, trying to school his features to prevent from smiling as he typed. 

“Grace?” Skye chanced as the boy turned red and shoved his phone back in his pocket.

“None of your business,” Ajay grumbled, “maybe it was.”

“She’s a good friend then?”

“Yeah,” Ajay softened a bit at the edges, “we met at the hospital actually. She was loud, and annoying, and really headstrong.”

Ajay sounded like he wanted to sound annoyed, but a little tone of fondness colored his voice.

“She was diagnosed with thyroid cancer, and it quickly spread to her lungs. I met her during a time when she was dealing with really aggressive chemotherapy to try to shrink the size of the tumours. She was almost like a skeleton when I met her, I admit, it scared me a bit. Because she was around my age and was dealing with cancer worse than my own. But, I was a bratty kid and I was angry at everything. We really got on each other’s nerves,” Ajay chuckled a bit, “she complained about my snoring, I’d complain about her coughing. We each had bad days where we’d just yell at each other through the wall. She saw some of the lowest points of my life. When it was decided that I would be losing my leg, I admit, I was losing my mind and she helped me. She was probably one of my greatest sources of support through rehab.”

“Where is she now?”

“Portland,” Ajay explained, “her parents wanted to try some experimental drug to help stop the tumors in her lungs. The doctors recommended a hospital in Portland that had a lot of success with that particular drug. It’s slow, but she’s been doing better, the doctors say her tumors are getting smaller and that maybe they could remove them in surgery if they get small enough.”

“Oh.”

The two sat in silence for a few seconds, Ajay’s expression dropped a bit at the mention of Grace’s condition. Despite him saying the drug was working, he still seemed nervous and worried about her. Skye wasn’t sure what to say to help. 

“You said she was headstrong right, I’m sure she’ll be able to get her surgery.”

Ajay smiled at Skye’s words, he took a breath and stood up.

“Yeah, I hope so. We should get going so we don’t miss the bus.”

Skye and Ajay walked to the bus stop together, Ajay’s stop was first so he bid Skye a good night before stepping off. Skye enjoyed the quiet ride as the bus pulled up to her stop a few blocks from her house. 

As Skye stated walking the rest of the way she noticed a few of the houses had swapped out their Halloween decorations for Christmas decorations already. Multi-colored lights and inflatable snowmen suddenly started popping up on lawns accompanied by reindeer and candy canes. The cooler November air felt heavy in her lungs as she walked, breath puffing like smoke from her mouth as she walked around to the front of the house and let herself in.

The first thing she noticed was the strone aroma of food and the music softly echoed throughout. As she walked she became more aware of the voices echoing through the bottom floor from the dining room.

“Must be your daughter,” A familiar voice offered as she heard the clicking of her mother’s heels. Her mother appeared around the corner in a fancy dark blue cocktail dress, her expression souring as she took in Skye’s appearance.

“Why do you look like that?” 

Her mother’s voice was a harsh whisper. Skye could only assume she meant Skye’s more casual clothing and messy hair from skate practice. Skye’s hair remained in it’s messy ponytail that she had thrown it in before practice, bangs sticking to her face where the sweat had dried or cooled against the outdoor chill. 

“I had ice skating practice today.”

Mrs. Crandall pursed her lips for a second before letting out a heavy sigh.

“Very well, come now. The Vidals surprised us with a visit, so you will act charming and darling or there will be consequences.”

Skye didn’t get to answer, her mother grabbed her harshly by the arm and dragged her into the bright dining room. She was quickly met with the usual stoic expressions on Mrs. and Mr. Vidal’s faces. Lilith didn’t appear to be with them. That seemed about right since they had a restraining order on Brian after the last time they had all been together. It was a little surprising, usually her parents told her when they were expecting guests, but judging by how unraveled her mother was, the trip had been a complete surprise. That didn’t seem to be in the Vidals’ usual playbook when dealing with her parents. So there must have been something up. Her mother pasted on a sickly sweet smile as her tight grip weakened and her hands came to rest on Skye’s shoulders.

“I apologize for my daughter’s appearance, she just got back from ice skating. Her new coach is a bit on the strict side I’m afraid.”

“Of course, Lilith’s coach is like that as well.” Mrs. Vidal offered as Skye felt her mother push her into her seat next across from Brian, who looked miserable while he poked at his steak, “it’s encouraging to see you try again. From what I remember last year was rather difficult for you.”

The question was directed at Skye, but her father didn’t give her a chance to answer.

“Yes well, I raise my children to never give up. I find that to be a very important mark of character.” Mr. Crandall said from his spot, a very familiar wolf-ish smile graced his lips, “I only hire the best to help them reach their goals.”

“As it should be,” Mr. Vidal offered, unimpressed, “I do wish that attitude didn’t leak into your son's flirting methods, however. I believe there is where your son needs to learn to give up. Especially if he doesn’t want to risk a sexual harassment lawsuit.”

“I do apologize again for his behavior,” Mr. Crandall flashed Brian a nasty look, “But he’s done well under the restraining order you’ve insisted on.”

“Well, I wouldn’t say that,” Mr. Vidal pressed as the cook put a plate in front of Skye before scurrying back into the kitchen, a salad that was sure to leave her hungry, “he did attempt to break it at a party a few weekends ago. You’re very lucky I have patience and that my daughter is so fond of yours otherwise your entire company would cease to exist.”

“I understand,” Mr. Crandall bit his tongue, shooting daggers at Brian before schooling his features, “I assure you I had no idea of that incident. I will make sure Brian understands the severity of his actions. After all I do want to be able to come to an agreement about our most recent business proposition.”

“You say you understand, I certainly hope you can start showing it,” Mr. Vidal scoffed, “we only came by as a courtesy. It’s the last one your family gets. There are plenty of other partners we can sign on to get our foot in the door at Cedar Cove. We don’t need your help expanding our empire.”

“While that may be true, Mr. Vidal, I do have to kindly disagree a bit. My company owns several finance and real estate firms. We could certainly make it very easy for you to obtain prime properties for you companies you want to station here. I’ve already shown you the location that you wanted to see for your new winery. It features some prime areas to grow and process wine.”

“While that is true, there are already many companies already set up in Cedar Cove that I could invest in,” Mr. Vidal took a sip of wine, “Cedar Cove is a hotspot for shopping, food, and entertainment. There’s hot spots for a range of income types from casual dining to michelin star restaurants. As well as high end shopping and entertainment. I’ve already invested in Catch 35 and they’ve agreed to carry Vidal Winery products. I’ve also made deals with Boba Bear and Smoothie Bonanza as investment opportunities. I also find a particular joy in investing in the smaller businesses that decorate Cedar Cove. Tourists find them charming and locals flock to them. I’ve grown increasingly interested in Spinner’s and Java House as well as investments.”

“Java House? Why on earth would that little hole in the wall cheap little cafe interest you?” 

Skye looked up at her father’s unusually loud exclamation. Mr. Vidal seemed unphased, simply sipping his wine.

“Java House’s owner, Mr. Brody Grieves has quite the successful business. Winning best coffee in Cedar Cove three years in a row, connections to the old Grieves Coffee Trading, that small business feel and attention to detail. I’ve already met Mr. Grieves on the idea of an investment. He was quite honest when we spoke, something I value in my business partners.”

“I assure you, we’ve dealt with Mr. Grieves before and we-”

“Are his sister and brother-in-law, he was quite upfront about that as well,” Mr. Vidal finished, “to be honest, I had only approached Mr. Grieves to learn about his family’s coffee trading business and learn more about his cafe, however that bit of information didn’t skate past me. It made me a bit more concerned about the nature of a professional relationship.”

“I assure you, whatever bad blood my brother-in-law and I have would not affect a business deal,” Mr. Crandall trained his voice, “In fact, I’ve been very inspired by your recent investments in small businesses. I’ve got a meeting with the owners of the… the diner my son frequents often.”

“What? You mean the Golden Griddle?” 

“Yes, yes, the Golden Griddle.”

Skye almost did a double take at that new information, though judging by the look on her father’s face, it wasn’t entirely true. Something about the owner of Java House made her father act like he does when he’s losing a good business deal, erratic and loud. Eager to say anything that could turn the tides and pull the deal in his favor.

“Interesting, I’ve heard they were a local favorite. I will be interested to see how that investment works out for you.”

“We’ve shown our hands at our soon to be investments,” Mrs. Vidal cut in, “While I see the merit of your real estate connections, I’m curious what you think you have to offer in terms of business to business investments.”

The conversation redirected as Skye’s brain caught up a bit. A little fear struck her as she realized her father would likely try to hold up his lie by trying to get Bailey and her family to strike a business deal with him. Something that could only end badly for Bailey and her family. But another piece rattled in her brain. The owner of Java House was clearly someone who got under her father’s skin, and he turned out to be her mother’s brother. It seemed strange to her, she’d seen her father around relatives before, and he always got along so well with his own brothers and the very few cousins on her mother’s side that they saw. But Skye had never heard of this uncle she supposedly had. Her mother had never talked about him

Before she knew it, dinner was over and her parents were rushing to see the Vidals’ off. Brian snorted the second they were out of earshot.

“Bullshit.”

“Hey, why do you think dad got so mad over the Java House owner?”

“Sorry, do I look like I give a shit?” Brian snorted, “That’s just some stupid little cafe ugly girls go to when they can’t get a date to take them somewhere better?”

“But the owner is our uncle? He’s mom’s brother according to Mr. Vidal.”

“Yeah, and? Dude’s weird, you’d probably like him.”

“You know him?”

“Yeah, he used to hang around but dad got pissed at him and now he doesn’t come around anymore. Like I said, he’s weird like you so that’s why no one wanted him around.”

Brian's snickering was immediately cut off by the sound of their father stomping back into the room.

"The nerve! That man only shows up to belittle us! Who does he think he is? Coming into my home like that just to antagonize me and threaten my company.  And now I have to make a deal with some burger pushers just to stay on that bastard’s good side. This is all your brother's fault. That arrogant son of a bitch just had to stick his nose where it doesn't belong."

Mrs. Crandall only nodded her head as her husband stomped around. His eyes finally landed on Skye and he snarked even more.

"Could you look more like a degenerate? The least you could do is not look like a stray cat dragged you in here. And you," He turned to Brian, "imbecile do you want to go to jail? Because Mr. Vidal will warm up with that before he ruins our entire company. After everything I've done for the lot of you, you could try to act like you want to keep a roof over your heads. What good are children like you? Do you two think you’re something special? I could buy and sell a dozen of you on the black market in no time. You two remember that next time you want to disgrace me. Not get the hell out of my sight."

Skye moved a little faster then Brian did. The two headed to their rooms as their father turned his rage to the cook and staff. Brian brushed past Skye on his way upstairs, knocking his shoulder into Skye's as he went.

"Oops."

Brain threw the half-hearted comment over his shoulder as he walked down the hall. Skye ignored the remark and kept on her own path to her own jail cell. The unwelcome hues of pink assaulted her eyes as she set her bag on the floor and walked over to her desk. She queued up her playlist and started on homework. 

Not even an hour in and she could hear her mother's steps and muffled voice as she checked in with Brian. Her voice was always so much kinder when she tried to pacify him, their interaction wasn't long and Skye could hear her mother wish Brian a good night before continuing down the hall.

She tried not to feel so disappointed when her mother's heels clicked past her door, not even slowing their pace.

***

To You.

Thinking about you

From Me.

The note is paired with a little sketch of a dog with a thought bubble surrounding the words. Skye had shoved it into Bailey’s locker a few moments ago before leaning against her own locker, waiting for the first warning bell to ring. A few students had already started appearing in the hallways, the dull roar of voices got louder as the busses started dropping off students in hordes.

She had been thinking about what her father said at dinner, about him wanting to invest in the Golden Griddle to try to get on Mr. Vidal’s good side and about her mysterious uncle who owned Java House. It was strange, Skye always assumed she wouldn’t like any of her relatives, but she was curious as to what was going on between her uncle and father to make him act like that. 

If it was just bad blood, why would her father bend over backwards to try to out-do this uncle whom she’s sure she hasn’t heard of before. Usually her father just snorted at the competition. Maybe it was just Mr. Vidal’s involvement that had him so unhinged last night. Either way, Skye found herself growing curious at whatever family secret lurked between her father and uncle.

“Hey Skye!”

Skye looked up to see the usual bright look on Bailey’s face. The blonde tilted her head.

“What’s on your mind?”

“It’s-” Skye paused, “It’s kind of complicated.”

“Do you want to tell me during lunch? We can eat together.”

“We always eat together.” Skye pointed out as she tilted her head. Bailey shook her head.

“I meant just you and me today. I bought a special lunch, to make up for the one I owe you.”

“The one you owe-oh right. You didn’t really have to pay me back.”

“Well I did anyway. I made something special and I thought we could eat together outside,” Bailey flashed a nervous smile, “and we can talk about what’s on your mind if you want.”

“Yeah,” Skye hummed as Bailey’s smile grew bigger, coaxing a smile from Skye’s lips as well, “I’ll meet you in the courtyard then?”

Bailey did a little jump of excitement as the warning bell sounded. She quickly yelled some remnants of a goodbye as she raced to her locker to get her books for her first class. Skye chuckled after her before heading to her own class.

***

Later that day Skye found herself waiting in the courtyard, it was cooler so there were very few other students eating outside. She did wait long before Bailey burst through the door, an unusually large lunch box in her hands.

“Sorry I’m late! I had to go back to my locker to get everything.”

The blonde’s arms were full, she also had with her a large buffalo check blanket and a thermos that balanced precariously on top of the pile. Skye raised her eyebrow and wordlessly took the thermos and blanket. Bailey smiled sheepishly before leading the way towards the statue of Ollie.

“I thought we could picnic with Ollie!” Bailey announced as Skye put down the blanket, unfolding it and spreading it out against the cold ground. Bailey sat down and started rummaging through the large lunchbox, patting the space next to her eagerly for Skye to sit. The red head did as instructed and was quickly greeted with the smell of warm food.

“I made these this morning. My dad fixed the panini press and I’ve been excited to get to use it again,” Bailey explained as she handed Skye a still warm foil wrapped sandwich, “I wasn’t sure if they’d still be warm. I borrowed this box from my dad. Him and my mom used to go on camping trips and he said this would keep them warm for a while.”

Bailey unpacked her own sandwich and rearranged their space on the blanket before leaning back against the base of the Ollie statue, chewing away at her food. The two sat in a comfortable silence as they ate, Bailey wordlessly offering Skye a plastic thermos cup full of what smelled like hot cocoa as the blonde busied herself with the various containers sprawled about the blanket.

"Thanks for coming to eat with me," Bailey offered quietly as she settled back against Ollie, closer to Skye then before, "I kind of… needed a break from Rory. It sounds really mean but since the notes started coming they want to hang out with me all the time. Sometimes I need a break."

"I'm your break?"

"You're my friend who I like spending time with," Bailey flashed her a smile, "and who I owed lunch too."

"Rory must really like you then." 

"They do, which is why I wanted space. The last thing I need is them confessing to me and then I have to turn them down and ruin our friendship. It’s so frustrating sometimes. I don’t like them like that, but everyone thinks I do. Clint and Natalie never leave me alone about that kiss we have to do together for the play and Danielle keeps glaring at me. On top of that half the school has asked if we’re dating just because Rory’s been trying to stay with me as much as possible to make sure you and Ajay didn’t hurt my feelings."

“When would we have hurt your feelings?” Skye asked honestly, almost fearful that she had done something to upset the other girl.

“You didn’t. Rory got weird when I decided to tell the support group about Casey. Honestly, I think I needed to say it. After watching you and Ajay open up, it encouraged me to do it as well. It felt better, finally getting everything off my chest. Honestly I think the only reason I never told anyone was because Rory always insisted that I didn’t have to. It gave me an out. It made me choose the easier path rather than just facing it. But you and Ajay charged into it head-first and I wanted to be like that. Instead of letting it control me.”

“Did you try explaining that to Rory?”

“Yes, so many times!” Bailey threw her hand up half-heartedly to prove her point, “Rory still thinks I was pressured or something because you and Ajay were being so open about it and they thought you were pressuring me because you always hung out and talked with me before group therapy. I told them no, that I vented to you about some things and then they get defensive. Why didn’t you come talk to me, I’m always there for you and all that.”

Bailey sighed, leaning over until her head hit Skye's shoulder. The redhead froze a second at the contact, her heart picked up pace and she worried the other girl could hear it.

"I love Rory as a friend, they’re one of my best friends. But I don’t like them like they like me, and I don’t like that I can’t talk to them about certain things because they want to protect me from everything.”

Skye hummed resting her head a bit on Bailey’s in thought.

"Sorry I have no idea how to help you here," Skye whispered into the air between them.

"It's okay, venting to you makes me feel better. Besides, this is a me problem that I have to sort out with Rory. So just tell me I did good even if I end up hurting their feelings, okay?"

“Deal.”

They fell into a comfortable silence, Bailey not moving from her spot half cuddled into Skye. It was a comforting warmth as Skye's mind wandered back to her father’s exclamation about the Golden Griddle and trying to outdo her uncle for Mr. Vidal's approval.

"You've got that look again," Bailey’s voice suddenly broke Skye from her thoughts, "what's on your mind?"

“It’s weird. My dad flipped out last night after a business dinner with a prospective partner. Apparently this partner’s new thing is investing in small businesses and my dad got really angry when he brought up this one business he was looking to invest in. Then he comes up with this idea to say he’s going to invest in The Golden Griddle.”

Bailey’s head shot up, the blonde looked over at Skye wide-eyed. 

“What do you mean?”

“I mean,” Skye sighed, “that my dad is probably going to be a pain in the ass to your parents trying to get a deal with them so he can look good for this other rich guy.”

“Should we be worried?” 

Skye looked over at Bailey’s concerned green eyes. Honestly, Skye didn’t know if her father would go through with the idea of pestering the Golden Griddle. With Mr. Vidal involved, anything was possible and that’s what worried Skye the most. The unpredictability of the situation made her feel like she was walking on eggshells until her father made a move to show which way he was going.

“I don’t know,” Skye answered honestly, “to be honest, I’ve never seen him get that mad at something like that. It wasn’t so much that Mr. Vidal was investing in small businesses as it was him getting mad at him investing in that particular business.”

“What business?”

“The Java House? Apparently my mom’s brother owns it and that seemed to set off my dad when Mr. Vidal brought it up.”

“So your uncle owns that coffee shop Ajay likes?”

“Seems so.”

“What if we went and talked to him then? Maybe we can figure out what’s going on before your dad starts to try to talk to my parents.”

“I’ve never,” Skye turned away, hesitating, “I don’t think I’ve ever met my uncle before, so I’m not sure what he’s like. He might be just as horrible as my father is.”

“You’ve never met him?”

“I don’t know, to be honest, my memory of before I was in the hospital is really blurry. And most of my time in the hospital is blurry, so even if I did meet him pre-surgery, I wouldn’t remember it.”

The silence stretched as Bailey seemed to think for a moment.

“Well, we don’t have to do anything right now, let’s wait it out and see if your dad makes a move first. Then we can try your uncle. We can even have Ajay come with us. That way it’s three against one.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Skye nodded as the bell rang. Skye stood up and offered a hand to Bailey. The blonde’s hand wrapped easily around Skye’s, the two seeming to fit together perfectly as Skye pulled her to her feet. She helped Bailey collect the scattered items from their picnic and pack everything up before they headed to the doors. As soon as they slipped into the warm school the sounds of students leaving the cafeteria filled the halls and Bailey bid Skye a quick farewell before running to her locker to get everything put away and get her stuff for her next class.

Skye watched her go for a few moments, hoping that this thing with her father would just pass without incident.

***

Skye should have known she would never be so lucky where her father was concerned. That night Skye had been laying in bed rewatching the first season of It Lives when she got a message from Bailey.

Bailey: Your dad sent us a letter about him investing. It looked pretty not optional.

Skye: Yeah, that’s kind of how my dad works. What did it say?

Bailey: That he’d hate to see something happen to the diner and us not being about to financially support it.

Bastard. There were a slew of names that came to Skye’s head at that moment. Of course her father would take something from Mr. Vidal seriously. Skye took a breath before sending the next message.

Skye: Should I text Ajay? We can head over to the Java House after school tomorrow and see what’s going on.

Bailey: Are you okay with that though? I don’t want to put you in an uncomfortable situation. And I don’t want things to get harder for you at home if your dad finds out you went there.

Skye: It’s okay. I’ll take care of it.

Truth be told, Skye was scared. If her father did find out, what would happen to her? Skye pushed those fears away as she looked over Bailey’s text messages. There was no way she was going to let her father harass Bailey or try to take the Golden Griddle away from her just because he wants to impress some other old rich guy. Skye put her phone away, making a metal note to text Ajay in the morning.

***

Ajay agreed pretty quickly to come with them when they told him what was going on. They took the bus to the stop nearest to the coffee shop, Ajay leading the way like a commander ready for battle. He stood up taller then normal with his chin up and metal leg ready for a fight. 

The Java House looked much like Skye remembered it from the last time she talked to Ajay. The warm dark wood tones were just as welcoming as they had been before. The smell of coffee and pastries hung in the air with the soft sound of chatter from the few occupied tables. Ajay walked over to his usual booth and tried to get the attention of a waiter while Skye and Bailey sat on the opposite side, far more timid then he was in this situation. 

After a few moments a young man walked over with a notepad ready to order. Ajay of course wasted little to no time.

“I was wondering if the owner was available right now?” Ajay asked as the waiter seemed more baffled at the question than anything, “is Mr. Grieves available?”

“Sorry, he’s out right now. His wife is still here though. She's the partial owner so if you want I can bring her over.”

Ajay nodded.

“Can I bring you any coffee or something while you wait?”

It’s a bit awkward ordering after that, but the waiter takes their orders anyway and says he will get them out to them as soon as possible. He disappeared for a few minutes before returning with the drinks, saying the owner would be with them shortly. Skye couldn’t help but feel nervous. They waited for a few more minutes before a woman walked over to the table. The woman looked to be in her early forties, black hair cascaded down her shoulders. Her eyes were a dark brown color and her skin held a natural olive tone. The woman wore darker makeup and black lipstick as she rounded the corner and stopped at their table. Her apron was covered in splashes of flour that also seemed to appear on the black dress she wore underneath. 

“Can I help you?” The woman asked kindly, her voice soft as she looked around at the faces on the table. Her eyes stopped at Skye for a moment before Ajay spoke.

“We’re looking for the owner, Mr. Grieves, the waiter said he was out and that we could talk to you.”

“Yes I'm afraid you just missed him. He's gone on a quick errand and should be back within an hour.. What were you looking to talk to Brody about?”

Her eyes looked over to Skye again and Skye felt herself shrink in on herself a little at the gaze. It wasn’t unkind, but it was a little overwhelming to be meeting someone that she was supposed to be related to and felt like she was meeting for the first time. 

“... your hair.”

The woman’s voice was soft, a bit of recognition in it. The words seemed to confuse Skye enough to have the redhead look back up at the woman.

“Sorry, that sounded horribly weird. It’s just… you have a very similar color to my husband, he has that coppery toned red as well. I haven’t really seen it on many other people. It’s a lovely color.”

The ramble exposed a bit of how nervous the woman had become after her blunt exclamation. 

“I apologize, you said you wanted to talk to Brody about something.”

“Yes, we wanted to talk to him about Mr. Vidal actually,” Ajay said bluntly, “it’s kind of important.”

“Mr. Vidal,” The woman repeated, “he is a customer of ours, though I'm not sure how helpful we'd be. Mr. Vidal only really stays for a coffee or two. He doesn't talk much.”

“I see.”

“Unusual that you would be asking about him. Mr. Vidal doesn't come around a lot. To my understanding he's a prominent businessman and Vineyard owner but that's really all he talks about,” Her eyes looked over to Skye again, this time Skye caught her look. It was a strange look, like she was afraid of something about Skye.

“We’re actually hoping to talk to him about Mr. Crandall as well,” Bailey added bluntly, “Mr. Crandall has been hanging around my parents’ diner and has made some… aggressive attempts to get us to let him invest in the diner. Since he seemed upset with something involving Mr. Grieves, we were hoping to get to the bottom of it.”

“Strange, I'm a bit familiar with Mr. Crandall but I can't really see how all three are connected. Honestly it wouldn't surprise me if there was some tomfoolery between the three.” the woman flashed a bit of a smile, “and I believe you heard of Mr. Crandall’s anger over whatever it is straight from the horse’s mouth?”

Skye met the woman’s eyes again and looked away, this caused the woman to break out in a warm laugh.

“I’m sorry, but you're just as quiet as you were as a child.” 

Skye’s eyes widened as the woman’s laughter died down, she looked over at Skye with a bit of a sad look. There was something familiar about her laugh, and about her smile, that caused the back of Skye’s brain to buzz in realization. A strange feeling of deja vu. Like part of her remembered something but wasn’t sharing it with the rest of her head. 

“You came out here because your friend was in trouble, correct?”

Skye nodded.

“Yeah, that sounds like the Skye I know,” The woman’s smile grew brighter, “I haven’t seen you in years, look at how tall you got.”

Ajay snorted and Skye had the urge to kick him under the table.

“I’m a bit surprised to see you, I didn’t think your parents talked much about us.”

“They don’t,” Skye finally spoke, “Mr. Vidal said it actually.”

“I see, and it made your father angry,” the woman looked down, “I’m sorry to hear that. Though I'm not sure why Mr. Vidal would bring us up.”

"It's a long story."

“So you remember Skye?” Bailey asked suddenly. The women’s eyes lit up instantly.

“Of course I do! I used to help her mother after Skye was born. She was such a little thing,”

“Still is,”

“Shut up.”

“And so quiet and well behaved. She was a great little kid. She was so smart too. The teachers used to say they wished they had a class full of Skyes. She was easy to babysit too when her parents were out on business. She'd sit quietly for hours with a piece of paper and a crayon. It was so cute.”

Skye felt her face grow warm at the flood of complements.

“Why the sudden stop then?” Ajay asked bluntly, “I mean, It doesn’t seem like you and her parents are close anymore.”

“No,” the woman looked away, “that was a nasty slew of incidents. I’m sure you don’t want to get into it all right now.”

“We might need to though,” Skye argued, “otherwise my dad will keep giving Bailey and her family trouble.”

“I understand, but that’s a lot to unpack dear, are you sure you want to dive into all of that?”

“If it gives us what we need to make my dad back off then yeah.”

“Brody would be the best to explain then. I was a bit in the dark myself. But if getting your dad to back off is all you need, there is a way to do that as well," the woman explained, "maybe you don't remember her though?"

"I don't remember a 'her.' But I don't remember you or Mr. Grieves either."

"I guess that's to be expected, a lot happened in that short time. You were overloaded with a lot of things," the woman nodded before her eyes lit up, "I'm so sorry,  I never introduced myself when I walked over did I? Nico Grieves, and it's very nice to meet some friends of Skye's."

"Bailey," Bailey sat up straighter as she realized she had also forgotten, "and Ajay and you know Skye so."

“It’s lovely to meet you, can I get you anything while you wait for Brody? Oh! I have a fresh batch of cookies in the oven, I’ll bring a few over once they're done.”

Nico smiled brightly, rushing back to the kitchen before anyone could object to the cookies. Skye’s left a little exhausted by the entire interaction. This woman was so nice… but was she being honestly nice or some kind of fake nice to get something from her? Was it even possible for anyone in her family to be genuinely nice? Skye felt a little lightheaded thinking about everything, the room dulled a bit to a numbing fog, noise drowning out a bit until she felt Bailey’s warm hand wrap itself around hers. The blonde looked at her with concerned eyes.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, this is just a lot.”

“Do you want to leave?” Ajay asked, “I can leave the money and we can go?”

“No, it’s okay,” Skye assured as she tried to focus more on the surrounding area, but everything beyond the table felt distorted and far away, “I think I just need some air, I’ll be right back.”

Bailey let her out of the booth and Skye ducked out the way they came, turning the corner so Bailey or Ajay couldn’t see her lean heavily against the brick of the building. The cool air rushed into her lungs, creating a very specific burning sensation that helped defog a bit of her head.

The entire interaction had left her dazed and confused. Her mind kept battling back and forth over whether or not the woman was truly kind or if it was a trick. Were her kind words a facade or the truth? Skye was used to a certain way her relatives acted. Outside of her parents, the only people she’s met in her extended family had been her father’s brothers and their families. They all acted cruel in their own ways. They spent most of the evening chatting and smoking horribly smelling cigars while the wives gossiped and drank too much wine. Then there were her cousins. The ones she’s met anyway were too similar to Brian for her to get along with. 

But was her mother’s side of the family really capable of being this nice?

“Hey kid, are you feeling alright?”

The voice held a gravel to it as Skye looked up. The man standing before her looked on with a concerned look in greying blue eyes. His hair was a dull copper-toned red which faded into the stubble of a beard on his face. He was tall and wore a black button up shirt with a gold name tag and dark pants. He’s not standing particularly close, but Skye could still make out the darker coffee smell coming off him.

It’s strange, because a small part of Skye’s brain remembered something about him. It was a very dull piece, like when something felt familiar but you couldn’t trace what it was. It was the same feeling that went off in her head when Nico laughed earlier. It was like trying to pull a very vague memory from her head that just wouldn’t clear up for her.

“...Skye?” The man asked more than anything, his look almost incredulous at the very idea. Skye only nodded, the man smiled gently, “I thought so, you still look a lot like your mother. It’s almost surreal seeing you almost all grown up now.”

There’s a bit of silence between them. After a second the man gestured back into the coffee shop.

“Nico’s been texting me like crazy that you wanted to talk about something.”

“Yeah,” Skye said quietly, The man nodded, quickly adjusting the bag in his hand to open the door. Skye moved inside and soon the two walked over to the table. Bailey was the first to stand, offering Skye her seat back as the man stood at the head of the table.

“Brody Grieves,” The man introduced himself, offering his hand to Bailey first, who met him in a quick handshake before he turned to Ajay and offered the same, “Nico said you wanted to talk to me.”

“Yes, sir,” Bailey started, “we were having an issue with Mr. Crandall that we thought you could help with.”

Bailey ran through the situation again, Brody listened intently, his hand raising to his chin in thought.

“Sounds like him. Honestly I’m not really on buddy terms with Mr. Vidal, he comes by often and he’s shown an interest in the Grieves Coffee Company, but we never made any deals. What did you say your parent’s place was?”

“The Golden Griddle.”

“No kidding? They have the best pancakes.”

The statement made Bailey sit up straighter in pride, her smile getting a little wider at the mention. It quickly faded however as her green eyes studied the still uneasy looking Skye next to her.

“Anyway, Mrs. Nico said you might be able to help keep Mr. Crandall from making good on his threats.”

Brody nodded, his eyes flashed genuine concern for the issue at hand, it was strange seeing him look so much like her mother, but having the kind of kindness in his eyes that Skye wished she could see in her mother’s eyes.

“Yeah, I know someone,” Brody smiled a little, “I’m not sure Skye remembers her, but there are a few off-colored Crandalls I can get in touch with to make Roger back off. Do you remember Audrey?”

Skye shook her head.

“Though not, anyway she’s a lawyer now and the head of the Crandall Law Office, she’s the best person to get in contact with if you need Roger or any Crandall to back off. I can give her a call for you, Roger won’t be bothering you again.”

There’s a bit of silence, Brody clasped his hands together glancing over the group as if seeing if there was anything else needed from him.

“It’s that easy?” Bailey finally asked, “You can make them stop just like that? How do we know you’re not lying.”

“You’re more than welcome to call her yourself,” Brody offered, “I can give you her card. Audrey’s a bit of an off-colored Crandall. She’s got a bit of a grudge against the rest of the Crandall family because of what her father did to her brother. She’s got a reputation as one of the most ruthless lawyers the Crandall family has ever had and she doesn’t play favorites. She’s not afraid of going toe to toe with any of them. That makes her a very powerful ally, she’s certainly been a great help back when Nico and I were under your father’s fire.”

“What happened?” Skye asked suddenly.

“It’s a long story kiddo, and I’m sure everything has been a little overwhelming enough today.”

“We have time.”

Skye’s voice doesn’t come out with half the confidence she wanted it too. Brody ran a hand through his hair, clearly conflicted with it.

“If you really want to know, I can tell you my side of the story.”

Skye nodded and Ajay immediately moved over on the both, offering it to Brody so he could join them. Brody only nodded before sitting down and taking a calculated breath.

“I guess I should start from the beginning…”

***14 YEARS AGO ***

Brody signed as he waited in the hospital waiting room. It had only been hours before that his sister texted him that she was having the baby and that he needed to get there quickly to watch Brian. Brian was a decent kid at two years old, but he was a little unruly. Brody supposed most boys were. 

It felt like a strange curse being in the maternity wing of the hospital. The last time they were there was a few weeks ago. Him and Nico had been trying to start a family and were recently told by the doctor that it wouldn’t be happening and that their unborn child had been lost only a few weeks after Nico took the test that confirmed she had been pregnant.

Nico took it so much harder, the woman was barely able to eat for weeks and was still seeing a therapist since the loss. It felt a bit cruel that they were currently left to look after his sister’s child while she had another. They were so lucky. Able to have such a nice little family. Brody tried not to be too jealous, after all, it wasn’t like his sister hadn’t married one of the biggest assholes on the planet. Sometimes Brody didn’t know what she saw in that stuck up suit. 

Nico sat on the floor passing a ball back and forth with Brian, trying to correct him when he threw it too hard. The boy only laughed, clapping his hands together as he played. He had this off color of red-orange hair that stuck out against his pale skin and freckles. He was a handful, Brody laughed a bit.

“Want to trade?” 

Nico shook her head. Brody didn’t blame her, this was closest she would come to being a mother right now. Their next steps would be looking into adoption, but with the miscariage so soon, the doctors had recommended getting psychological help before they decided on that to ensure that the child wouldn’t be placed in a damaged household.

Brody tried not to take too much offence to that, but he understood where they were coming from. 

After a few moments a young doctor walked in.

“Grieves?”

Brody looked up.

“You can come back now.”

Brody got up and picked up Brian, the toddler objecting to it a little.

“Come on kid, you’re going to meet your little sibling.”

They walked down the hallway through the path of rooms filled with new mothers and crying children. They soon stop by one of the largest rooms in the hospital. Brody rolled his eyes, of course they had gotten a luxury room.

When they stepped into the room, Roger looked pissed off to new ends. Loretta was still in bed, looking a bit annoyed at the young nurse helping her. 

“What’s going on?” Brody asked.

“It’s a girl,” Roger filled in, “the hospital must have made a mistake.”

Brody raised his eyebrow as he set Brian down on one of the chairs and walked over to the little crib the baby was in. The nurse started talking again.

“Ma'am, the doctor already confirmed it is your child.”

The baby was small, a tuft of bright red hair was a dead giveaway that the hospital hadn’t swapped babies.

“Unless there’s more then one ginger baby in this hospital, I’d say they’re pretty on the money.”

“Mrs. Crandall, you really don’t want to hold your daughter?”

“Crandall men don’t produce daughters.”

Brody rolled his eyes.

“Your brother had a girl, are you really having a temper tantrum about this?”

Roger only grumbled, he took Brian by the hand roughly and left the room. Loretta turned on Brody.

“Look at what you did.”

“Me? He’s bitching about having a girl. Tell him to grow the fuck up. And what the fuck does he mean 'Crandall men don't produce girls?' His brother has a daughter, unless he's not counting Audrey.”

“Your daughter has to eat. Are you going to breast-feed or are we going to have to prepare a bottle,” The nurse cut in more insistently. Brody felt bad for the woman, she looked tired.

“I’m exhausted, get the bottle.”

“Would you like to feed her?”

“I told you, I’d like to rest.”

“Are you… forget it, I can do it,” Brody sighed, the nurse nodded her head and went off down the hall. Brody shook his head at his brother-in-law and sister’s reaction to having a girl. He looked over to see Nico smiling down at the baby.

“Loretta, she’s so beautiful. She looks just like you.”

Loretta was a funny person, Brody had come to this conclusion about his sister. The second someone praised her, her attitude completely changed. She lived for the praise and attention and it drove her to be the kind of shrewd business woman she had become.

“I suppose at least she will have looks going for her.”

“Have you decided on a name?” Brody asked as he looked over at the whiteboard in the room. The name area was  blank.

“We only had boy names picked out. Roger was sure we were having another boy. Now I need to think up a girl name. We were really looking forward to another young man around the house. Roger picked out a few good ones. We were thinking of Malcolm, Jack, Skyler, or Logan.”

“You could still use one of them,” Nico insisted, “Jackie or Skye would be lovely. Logan would work for a girl too.”

“Brody, you choose,” Loretta said, “I really don’t want to think anymore about it. Besides, this could be your only chance to name a baby.”

Brody bit down a nasty comment as he watched Nico’s face fall. When the nurse came back with the bottle Loretta confirmed that Brody would be filling out the birth certificate. The nurse nodded before setting Nico up to feed the unnamed baby while Brody was free to fill out the paperwork. He looked over at Nico, smiling softly at the little infant. She was gentle as if the infant was made of glass.

He supposed that was a good way to handle babies. They were so fragile and small. The little girl cooed and made little noises as she ate. The nurse supervised, explaining that being a few days early they wanted to double check that she didn’t have issues eating. 

Brody looked back at the certificate before letting the pen flow.

Skye Elise Crandall

Elise was their mother’s name. A woman who’s funeral Loretta missed. A little hostile part of Brody’s mind wanted the little piece of payback. His sister could be so selfish. He only wished she’d grow to understand how lucky she was to have been able to have children like Brian and Skye.

If there was a God, this little girl would be karma. Something to make Loretta see how lucky she was rather then demand more.

***

As the weeks went on, Brody noticed something rather odd. Loretta was inviting them over more often. Nico was over at their house almost five days a week to watch Skye for them. The little girl was growing fast, her bright red locks the envy of most of the other Crandall women who found the little girl absolutely adorable. 

Nico had also stopped showing interest in adopting, her entire life now revolved around helping Loretta with Skye. Brody had admittedly started to get worried. So today he had decided to go over with Nico to watch Skye for his sister and brother in law as they went out to dinner with potential business partners.

Brian didn’t want to go, that was clear by the way the toddler refused to put on his vest. He seemed slightly more reluctant when he found out Brody was there to watch Skye with Nico.

“It’s okay little man, we’ll hang out later. I bet you’ll get some good food with your parents anyway,” Brody tried to placate the whining boy. Roger only snarled at him, grabbing Brian with more force then Brody found necessary to move a small boy as they left the house. 

“I’m worried about Loretta,” Nico commented from the kitchen as Brody held Skye. At a few weeks old the little girl’s bright blue eyes were open but she couldn’t really do much else, “she’s been really strange about Skye.”

“Strange how?”

“She never wants to do anything with her. If she had it her way I’d been here seven days a week looking after her,” Nico explained, “I don’t think that’s healthy for me, I really do want to help her if she’s having a hard time, but she’s choosing not to spend time with Skye.”

“Her husband just has a bug up his ass about having a girl instead of a boy,” Brody rolled his eyes. “Crybaby, I bet he’s bitched to her about it for the last few weeks.”

Nico hummed.

“I hope you’re right. She’s such a good baby, Loretta’s lucky.”

“Yeah,” Brody hummed as Nico prepared the infant’s bottle, “but that’s my sister, she’s never been the most affectionate person.”

“But this is her daughter! She has to feel something for her. Look at how beautiful she is. She's perfect, even the nurses commented about how calm and well behaved she is.”

“I'm not sure babies know how to mis-behave. Anyone I wouldn't worry about Loretta. She’s probably just in a slump because of Roger, I’m sure once he calms down she’ll be more involved.”

***

Weeks turn into months and months turn into years. It never gets better. Nico was almost a live-in nanny. At almost five years old now, Brody was pretty sure Skye knew Nico more then her own mother. But that had a strange effect. Skye was constantly trying to get her mother’s attention. Being so polite with the other adults her mother and father spoke with at dinners. Not causing any trouble. She was a perfectly behaved child. The little girl was in kindergarten now and took time to tell her mother about everything she learned and how well she did. Loretta only ever half listened and even that was a blessing.

It was Alex’s sixth birthday. Brody remembers Ben Crandall wanting to get into the coffee trading business, so he had invited Brody and Nico as well as Brody’s father to try to sweeten some deal. Alex was a good kid though, he was quiet and soft-spoken like Skye was. Audrey on the other hand. That girl was a powerhouse. At fifteen the girl could hold her own with the other lawyers at her father’s firm. Her mother was sure Audrey was going to grow up to be a successful lawyer like her father. Only her father thought it was foolish for Audrey to waste her time trying to compete with men.

It was Audrey who approached him when it happened. The dark auburn hair was easy to spot in the posh white crowd.

“Uncle Brody,” The girl called, “Have you seen Uncle Roger or Aunt Loretta? Skye isn’t feeling well.”

Brody looked over at the girl and immediately felt a spring of panic flow through him. The girl was pale, ungodly so, and was coughing harshly into her hand.

“Hey kiddo, what’s wrong?”

Brody kneeled down to be eye level with Skye, he reached out a hand only to be horrified with the sight of Skye moving her hands from her mouth, revealing a puddle of bright red blood flowing out of her mouth.

“Audrey, call nine-one-one.”

Brody handed his phone to the capable teen who quickly dialed the number and raised the phone to her ear. A few bystanders shrieked at the blood flowing down Skye’s jaw and continued to hack up. 

“Skye!” Nico was quick to his side, she knelt down to examine Skye, looking first for any injury the blood was coming from and quickly getting more panicked at the lack of open cut or injury. 

Brody watched in horror as the light seemed to leave the little girl’s eyes as she passed out, the following chaos blurred as EMT’s rushed to the scene a few seconds later.

***

Roger and Loretta are the last ones in the waiting room. Brody’s jacket was splattered with hacked up blood as he and Nico waited impatiently for the doctor to give them some kind of news.

“This better be good, you certainly caused a scene,” Roger scoffed as him and Loretta took seats across from Nico and Brody. They weren't there long before the doctor appears, looking grim.

Brody doesn’t remember any exact words, or anything other than those three words leaving the doctors lips as he explained the series of tests they ran.

Congestive Heart Failure

***

Nico took the news worse than anyone. Skye was in and out of hospitals for months. Now officially on the donor list waiting to receive a new heart, it was the only thing that would save her. Typically the wait was three years according to the doctor. But that proved difficult when Roger and Loretta resorted to parading Skye around from city to city with them on business trips now that bleeding hearts wanted to invest in a company who knew the burden of a sick child. Needless to say, the sexist comments from Roger had died down a bit, replaced with remarks about how easy people were to manipulate.

It made Brody sick. The constant movement made it hard for Skye to keep a spot on the waiting list. Did they not realize that? Did Loretta think things were just going to work out for her like they always had?

This trip to visit Skye in the hospital was different. Loretta and Roger are already there, unusual since they usually drop Skye off and go off to do whatever. Roger’s smiling, so brightly in fact that it pissed Brody off to a new level.

“Why the hell are you smiling?” Brody snapped as soon as they met face to face, “you’re daughter’s dying and you’re acting like it’s the next best thing in the world.”

“That little girl earned me more business deals this month than ever. I’d say that’s a reason to smile.”

“You're going to kill her, you know, you moving her around isn’t helping her get her heart transplant. You’re messing up her space on the list. Boston isn’t going to prioritize Skye if they get a heart and here they can’t help her if she’s too far away.”

“Your point would be?”

“Stop moving her around. Let Nico and I watch her here if you have to leave on business. So if a heart comes up she can get the transplant.”

“You're so sentimental,” Roger laughed, “it hardly matters. After all children die all the time from things like this. You're too soft. I don’t understand why your father is insisting on leaving the Coffee Company to you rather than Loretta. Loretta understands the sacrifice that needs to be made in order to succeed in this world. Successful people don’t have time to think about sentiment, it makes us weak. Makes us lose focus of what is important. Success doesn’t reward the blight of a starving man my boy.”

“She’s your daughter.”

“Yes, but I could father another child if needed,” Roger shook his head as if it was obvious, “at this point it seems more logical. Why should I waste time on an investment with such a low rate of payback.”

“...you're doing it on purpose.” Brody realized with newfound anger, “you're trying to kill her.”

“No, no, I’m not trying. I’m simply going about my business as usual and letting fate decide. If fate decided that it’s not in the cards for us, then we’d simply try again. That’s how Crandalls work, boy, we take life in strides. We adapt and we use every setback as an opportunity.”

“That’s negligence! You won’t get away with that.”

“I will. After all I have the backing of the entire Crandall Law Office. What do you have?” Roger stepped forward, “nothing.”

“Your daughter’s dying and you’re trying to have another kid to replace her, what kind of sick fuck does that?”

“Mind your tongue or there will be hell to pay.”

“Brody, that’s enough,” Nico spoke up, “Let’s just go see Skye.”

“About that,” Roger smiled again, “you don’t get that privilege anymore. I don’t want you around my wife while we’re trying to conceive another kid. You  might jinx us.”

“What did you say to my wife, you piece of shit?”

“I don’t want your wife’s bad luck to rub off on my wife. I don’t need to be delayed in having a child any more then we already are. I don’t see why you’re getting so upset, boy. Obviously a woman who can’t bear a child is useless. It’s her fault you’ll never have a child. What good is she? Other than pretending to play mom. Give it up. Skye isn’t yours. She’s my property and I will do whatever I like. That includes letting the nurses know that you two are no longer welcome.”

“Roger, please,”

“What’s that?” Roger gestured to the bag Nico held.

“It’s for Skye,” Nico pulled the stuffed animal from the bag. A patchwork voodoo bear that she had worked on especially for Skye. It seemed the young girl shared an interest in unusual and dark things like Nico had and the bear had been a special project, something Nico worked long hours on to create as a good luck charm, “I made it for her.”

“HA, what a pathetic looking thing. You really do think you can mom that girl. It’s probably your fault she’s dying anyway, after all there must be something wrong with you if you can’t have children of your own, so you’re trying to steal mine.”

Brody doesn’t know when his fist flew out and connected with Roger’s jaw. But that was the end of everything. They never got to see Skye again. Roger had a restraining order against Brody. And somehow, he had gotten every adoption agency in Cedar Cove to reject them.

***PRESENT DAY***

Skye felt sick to her stomach. It was light fighting back bail from rising above her throat. Bailey’s hand was still on her own, holding on tightly, the only little tether that prevented Skye from completely losing it. 

Everything that Brody had said, was it true?

Did you parents really care about her that little? There was a small part of her head that said yes and that small part was fighting with the other parts of her brain that wanted to deny it. It left Skye with a growing migraine forming behind her eyes.

“I’m sorry,” Brody said suddenly, “that was too much at once. That’s my fault. In true Scotsman fashion I have no idea when to shut my mouth.”

“Thank you for taking the time to talk to us,” Ajay offered politely, “but I think we should get going.”

Brody moved to allow Ajay out of the booth. 

“Yeah, I’m sorry you had to listen to me go on and on like a grumpy old man. I… You two make sure she’s okay yeah?”

Skye can hear him, even if her mind is battling like a war-zone. Bailey gave Skye a gentle tug as she two stood up to move. The air in the cafe suddenly suffocated.

“She’s safe with us,” Ajay assured in his usual confident and protective tone.

“Thank you.”

It was a strange thing to say, but Brody seemed relieved at Ajay’s words. The trio left the warm little cafe, dark had already fallen across Cedar Cove, the air much colder than before. 

After a few steps, Bailey stopped and turned, wrapping Skye in a hug. The entire motion was sudden and Skye’s mind stopped spinning for a second to focus on Bailey’s warmth.

“It’s getting late,” Bailey’s voice was soft, her warm breath hitting the side of Skye’s face as she spoke, “let’s get home. I think a good night’s sleep is needed.”

“Agreed,” Ajay nodded as Bailey pulled away from Skye, taking her hand once again and gently leading her through Cedar Cove.

***

Despite Bailey’s kind words, Skye was unable to sleep at all that night. She kept thinking about the series of events Brody had told her. About her parents, about her health, about how her parents were so willing to replace her. 

Skye tried to forget about it, at least for today.

Jordan was watching their run-through today, free of the cast and upgrading to a boot that allowed him to goof around without the crutches. Jordan being there meant Micheal was there with him, trying to look unamused at his boyfriend’s antics, but failing miserably every time a genuine smile graced his face. Jordan was a good person, someone who seemed to glow with charisma and a bright smile to boot. Skye remembered hearing about him from Brian. It was clear why their personalities clashed so much. Jordan was so upbeat and inclusive, he got along with everyone. It kind of reminded Skye of Rory in a way.

Bailey and Rory were going through a scene together. They’ve worked on this particular scene for a while now. It was one that was very important to the climax of the play and Ajay was a little more frantic in making sure it was right. It was looking really good today. Bailey and Rory really were good together. Their characters were perfectly in sync the entire performance, Ajay’s wide smile was proof of that. Up until the ending scene, it was a single piece of art. It was easier to see that through some of this, Rory wasn’t acting. They felt the same way about Bailey as Eve felt for Abigail. It showed how genuine some of their lines came out. It showed in the way they moved and focused on Bailey as if there wasn’t a crowd around them.

“You guys were so good!” Jordan stood up clapping at the end of the final scene.

“I guess they were pretty good, it was our best run through yet.”

“Bailey and Rory, your chemistry was off the charts, and Sydney’s costumes look so great! And… Skye right? All of the lights and sound effects are spot on! And the set is so real and lifelike, I felt like I was in the play the entire time. Everything was so perfect. Maybe it was a good thing I stood on that wheeled box,” Jordan joked with a laugh. Trevor however spoke up from his spot.

“What wheeled box?”

“The one that was used during rehearsal.” Bailey offered up.

“Why was the wheel box used? We had the one without wheels in the back.”

“I couldn’t find it, I found the other one in the prop room.”

Trevor shook his head.

“That’s not possible, I put the one without wheels out myself. You would have to be blind to miss it, it was with everything else.”

“What are you implying?” Mr. Olson spoke up from his seat near the front.

“That the only was the wheeled box would have been used, is if Bailey grabbed it intentionally .”