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Skye's POV

My vision was blurred when I opened my eyes and my face still hurt. How hard had Caden hit me, anyways?

I glanced over to my left when I heard a few voices murmuring softly, but they were just out of my sight; I managed to catch a glimpse of the bandages that were wrapped around my arm and I remembered seeing a shard of glass that stuck out of it from somewhere in my mind. Huh. Not so funny now.

I tried to lift myself up but a searing pain shot through my head and I groaned, putting a hand to it and whimpering.

Almost immediately a pair of eyes entered my vision. "Skye, you wakin' up?" asked Ember as she flopped onto my bed.

"Obviously," I muttered. "How long have I been out?"

"A day and a half," said Lola, entering the room and examining me with worried blue eyes. "You had to get some stitches in your arm and on your forehead, not to mention that you had a concussion. As long as you take it easy, though, Doc said you could stay here."

"Doctor?"

"My mom," said Ember matter-of-factly. "She works at the clinic that you were taken to after you got all beat up. I looked up that guy's address by the way—his brand new car has now been blown to smithereens," she finished with a wicked smile.

"A doctor gave birth to that crazy psychopath? Who knew?" Alister commented, entering my bedroom next.

"I feel popular," I said flatly. "Who's going to walk through the door ne—OH GOD VALON OW GET OFF!" I yelled when Valon leapt at me and enveloped me in a hug.

"Sorry, Skye, but you're awake now 'n' tha' makes everythin' better!" he said in a rush, grinning at me madly.

"I know you're happy, but could you be less enthused?" I grumbled as I began stretching my arms and legs.

"That guy was an ass," Alister said, leaning against the doorframe. "And you actually dated him? Talk about psycho exes."

I shrugged, though a flash of discomfort went through me when Caden's face resurfaced in my mind. "It was a mistake. He tricked me and I was younger than I was now."

Lola watched me for a little longer and then sighed in relief. "Well, anyways chica. I stayed here long enough to make sure you were okay and I would stay longer. I got a call from my mom and dad, though, and they insist that I come home for my grandparents visit."

"Okay, Lola. Thanks for the shopping trip and the clubbing."

"No prob. Only wish I hadn't gotten beaten up," I joked, watching Lola leave as I swung out from under the covers.

Alister raised an eyebrow. "Why are you getting out of bed?" he asked.

"Lola said I could take it easy. It doesn't mean I have to stay in bed," I replied as I padded past him and went downstairs; I remembered that my book was down by the sofa and I wanted to at least grab it before I went back to my room.

As it turned out Raphael was downstairs as well, cleaning up the family room. When he saw me come in I saw relief enter his eyes and he straightened up. "You're awake," he said, setting down a pile of miscellaneous magazines on the coffee table. He kept his distance, though he looked like he wanted to get closer to me.

"Yeah. I'm feeling better too. Came down for my book—Alister's about to drag me back into bed, but I need to get my book first."

"I see. I'm cleaning up; I've got a co-worker coming over for lunch and the place looks like a mess," replied Raphael with a small laugh.

"Fun, fun," I said, pushing past him with my book in hand. "I'll keep out of your way while your worker friend is here. I'll also lock Valon in the closet for you so that he doesn't blow something up."

As I headed up the stairs I heard Raphael let out a soft chuckle and I felt a smile come onto my face. I had not felt any sort of awkwardness at all when I had been in the room with him, even though we'd still kept our distance. It was a good omen.

"Hello?"

"Hey Declan."

"Hey Skye! What's up?"

"The ceiling" I said.

"Obviously. What's up?"

I sighed. "I want some advice."

"It's about a guy, isn't it?" Declan said, in a questioning voice.

"…Maybe."

A brief pause. "Raphael, huh?" he said knowingly at last.

"How did you—?"

"DUH. It's obvious that he likes you, Skye."

"He does? How do you know that?"

"Well, let's start with his body language. Does he lean in closer whenever you're talking? Does he sit or stand so close that his arm or leg is brushing you?"

I mulled this over. "He does, actually, now that you mention it," I said slowly.

"Okay. Now, what about his eyes? The eyes are the windows to your soul, and it should be no different for Raphael. Whenever you're having a conversation with him, does he make eye contact with you? Have you caught him staring at you randomly?"

"Yeah. Several times, actually."

"Onto his behavior. Does he open the door for you, does he hold out your chair for dinner or such?"

"Yeah. He was just being polite, though—he was raised to always treat ladies appropriately."

A dry scoff. "Not likely, Skye. He likes you. I watched him last time I was over there; he went out of his way to make you laugh, smile, or cheer you up if you were down. He was comfortable with you, he hasn't showered you with false praises as far as I could tell, and he's genuinely happy being around you."

I sat back against my pillow, stunned. I could name at least one instance where Raphael had done all the things Declan had described, and now I knew for certain why he had trusted me with his mother's locket.

"So what do you need advice on?"

I took a shaky breath. "Well…I don't want this to turn into another Caden incident. And I really, really, really value him as a friend. I don't want to start dating him and then have this awful breakup and then make it so that one of us has to go and—"

"—And you're babbling. Look, you've known him for a long time. It's up to you, but personally I don't think he's the type to turn into a bitter ex if things don't work out. I do know this: you can't leave things the way they are, Skye. Either you're dating him or you're just friends, but keep in mind it's not just you who's feeling conflicted right now. I'm pretty sure Raphael wants to know for certain what your feelings are; he may be patient, but he's not going to wait around for you forever."

2 Hours Later

After the phone call I didn't feel like reading very much, instead pondering over the conversation that I'd had with Declan. It was not until my stomach growled that I realized that I was actually kind of hungry; I decided to go to the kitchen and grab myself something to eat.

When I walked into the kitchen, though, I was not expecting the tall brunette woman sitting at the table and chatting with Raphael. Her hand was on top of his and she was leaning very close to him; when I came in, though, it was as if she'd gotten jolted and sat back with some surprise.

Raphael turned to look at me and cleared his throat, looking oddly embarrassed. "Hey, Skye," he began. "This is my coworker Michelle. Michelle, this is one of my roommates, Skye."

"Pleasure," Michelle said, smiling at me and offering her hand.

"Likewise," I muttered, not entirely echoing the sentiment.

Declan's words suddenly echoed in my mind: He's not going to wait for you forever, Skye. He was right, I realized ruefully. Raphael was moving forward.

"Is everything alright?" Raphael asked, looking slightly concerned.

"Yeah" I said, coming out of my thoughts. "Yeah, no worries. I, uh, came down to get myself some water," I continued, heading to the fridge and mechanically pulling out a bottle of water. "I'm going to go upstairs again. It was nice meeting you, Michelle," I said, leaving the kitchen and heading back upstairs.

Once I was back in my room, though, the tears began to fall as I climbed out the window; once my feet hit the ground I ran into the woods and did not look back.

5 Hours Later (Normal POV)

"Where the hell is she?" Alister said, walking back downstairs and into the living room. "She isn't in her room."

"Bad news, fellas," Valon announced, entering the room as well. "I jus' talked to Lola and Skye isn' with 'er. Skye's just vanished."

"I'm sure she's fine and ducked out somewhere when none of us were looking," said Raphael, though he looked unconvinced.

"By the way, who was the lady friend you had over earlier?" asked Alister.

"Who, Michelle? She's a co-worker."

"Just a co-worker?" repeated Alister skeptically.

Valon blinked. "Do you 'ave a crush on 'er, Raph? But I thought you liked Skye."

Both of the older men looked at Valon in surprise. "You actually noticed?"

"Well yeah. Wha', you blokes think 'm blind or anythin' like tha'? I notice things!" said Valon indignantly.

Raphael never got the chance to reply, since the doorbell rang at that bounded out of the room and literally skidded to a halt in front of the door to answer it.

"'Skye, you're back! Where were…aaand you're not Skye," said the Australian, slumping in disappointment.

Declan raised an eyebrow. "You mean that my sister isn't here? Do you know where she is? I can't get a hold of her."

"We haven't seen her all afternoon," said Alister with a frown. "You talked to her lately?"

"Well yeah. I did talk to her couple hours back. How can you guys not know where my sister is?"

"I saw her about five hours ago; she came down for a drink of water," offered Raphael.

Declan frowned, noticing an empty water glass sitting on a nearby coffee table. "That's not my sister's lipstick on that glass. It's a bit too dark. Whose is it?"

"I had a co-worker over today," explained Raphael.

Declan's eyes narrowed. "This co-worker…you have any romantic interest in her?"

"Don't ya mean your girlfriend, Raph?" Valon said with a teasing laugh.

In response, Raphael threw a pillow at him. "Not quite yet, but there's a fair chance of it happening."

Declan stared at Raphael, completely flabbergasted, and then he strode to the fallen pillow and then threw it right back at Raphael. "What is it with you and Skye both being romantically challenged?" he roared.

All three biker stared back at Declan, who began pacing the room.

"You're insane, you know that? You saw her ex, you understand why she's being so hesitant! And you aren't waiting for her?"

Raphael's eyes narrowed. "That's not the case. Skye made it clear that she's not comfortable with being romantically involved with me; I'm giving her space. If she doesn't want it I'm not forcing her. I'd rather stay friends."

Declan fumed for a few more seconds, and then he took a deep breath. His entire demeanor visibly calmed. "I respect that," he said. "You're aware of that detail. Good. That's good. What's not good is that she's assuming you want to be with your…co-worker," he said, wrinkling his nose in distaste. "For my sister's sake, you better fix that assumption. Either that or just tell her flat out you don't want to date her, but quit avoiding the issue."

Declan's eyes traveled around the room. "If she gets hurt again, I'm going to kill you all while you sleep; Alister and Valon, neither of you noticed she left. Raphael, you need to establish what your intentions are with her. I mean it: hurt my sister and I promise I'll get the sawed off shotgun out—and you will not like what I do with it."

With that parting threat Declan stomped out of the house and slammed the front door behind him. A long silence followed after this announcement and then Raphael growled.

"I can't win lately, can I?" he groaned. "Ask her, get rejected. Try to move on, hurt her. Lovely situation that I'm in, really."

Alister and Valon exchanged glances with one another. "Well, at least 'm not in your shoes," offered Valon at last, earning him a dirty look from Alister.

"We better find her, unless we want to end up with a shotgun in our faces," said Alister with a sigh. "Who wants to check the woods out back?"

"I'll go," said Raphael, rising to his feet. In a couple of quick steps he had gotten his coat and was out the front door; when Alister went to the window it was to find that Raphael had already vanished from view.

"So…wha' exactly are we gonna do now?" Valon asked.

Alister rolled his eyes before flopping onto the sofa and reaching for the remote. "In case she comes back we're going to stay here, so I'm going to watch TV while I wait for her."

Please review? Valon will take off his shirt, along with Alister-

Alister: Like hell I am!

JM: Please? For me?

Alister: NO!

Raphael: Please review