The Summer of No Return

by sashar360

Skye, now fifteen, had settled into life. She has a new boyfriend, and she's happier than ever. But when Jeffrey makes a surprise visit, and Iantha and her father start to drift apart, and Jane gets awful writers block, will Skye's life be turned upside down? Rating has changed to T for a wee bit of violence.

1. Boyfriends and Surprise Entrances

Skye

So there I was, sitting on the front porch of our house on Gardam Street, immersed in happy thoughts. I was holding hands with my boyfriend, Danny, laughing as we talked about our annoying siblings, when a sleek black car pulled up to the curb. I frowned as I extricated my pale fingers from his dark ones. "Is that your brother's new car?"

"No." Danny's heavy, dark brows were wrinkled in confusion. His coffee skin made him look kind of regal. "Who is that?"

Suddenly, a familiar face appeared in the window. "Skye!" Jeffery burst out of the black car and careened up the path. I was completely caught off guard.

"Jeffrey!" I exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

When he quit hugging me, I could see his curly chestnut hair sticking up every which way. Freckles graced his cheekbones. "Didn't your dad tell you? I'm staying for the summer!"

"No way!" I beamed.

Suddenly, Danny, with an annoyed look on his face, demanded, "Who is this?"

I blushed. "Oh, sorry, Danny. This is Jeffrey. He's a friend of the family. Jeffrey, this is my boyfriend, Danny." All of a sudden I felt really, really self-conscious.

"Nice to meet you." Jeffrey, oblivious to the ambient awkwardness, held out his hand politely.

After a pause, Danny shook his hand. "The same for you." A blue car pulled up and honked the horn. "Oh, that's Johnny." He grabbed me and smashed his mouth against mine. "Call you later."

"Okay."

Danny walked down the sidewalk. Jeffrey raised an eyebrow. "Boyfriend?"

I glared at him. "Just because he's black doesn't mean-"

"I meant," He held out a hand. "That this is the first I've heard about a boyfriend."

"Sorry. We've been dating for about a week." I scowled a bit.

He raised his eyebrows. "I think he was trying to send me a message."

"Huh?" I asked as we walked inside.

"He was marking his territory." Rosalind stepped into the front hall to greet us. "Kind of like a dog peeing on a fire hydrant."

Jeffrey laughed. "Tell him that I'm not competition, would you, Skye?"

I rolled my eyes. "He's going to get an earful from me already."

And so began the traumatizing events of the Summer of No Return.