Chapter Eleven

The next 24 hours were the hardest for me. Shawn came to school the next day. I said nothing to him. It was too difficult to even sit next to him during Feeny's class. I just ignored all of his attempts to make me laugh, his attempts to kiss me, his attempts to touch me. It was like I didn't even want to know him anymore because it was true. I didn't want to know him anymore. I wished that I had never given him an opportunity to hurt me in the ways that he had. I felt naive and dirty for even coming in contact with him.

"Skylar...Sky!"

I snapped out of my thoughts and closed my locker shut.

"Were you even listening to me?" Shawn asked.

Just like I had done all day, I said nothing.

"Babe, what's wrong?" He asked, trying to place his hand on my shoulder.

"Don't touch me!" I hissed, wrestling out of his grip.

It was as if his touch burned me to my core. My stomach churned at the thought of him even being next to me.

"What's wrong? Please tell me."

Tears burned my eyes as they threatened to fall.

"What did you do with her? And don't lie to me!"

Shawn gave me a confused look and shook his head. Great, he's playing dumb.

"Who? What are you even talking about?"

"Cory saw a girl in your trailer...don't lie to me, Shawn. Who is she and what did you do with her?"

"She's just a friend and nothing happened. Wait, Cory told you?"

"Then why was she wearing your robe? And why shouldn't he? He's my best friend! He's just being honest, which is more than I can say for you!"

He attempted to pull me close to him but I struggled to get out of his grip.

"Sky, nothing happened. You just have to believe me and take my word for it when I say that I can't tell you."

I fought against the urge to punch him in the face.

"Excuse me? You cheated on me and you're asking me to believe you? Why can't you just be honest?"

He scoffed.

"I can't believe that you don't trust me and you're accusing me of... I thought you knew me better than that!"

I shook my head.

"I guess I don't. It's over, Shawn," I said before leaving for my next class.

"Thanks for letting me stay the night, Mrs. Matthews."

"You're family, Skylar! Family doesn't let family stay at home alone."

My uncle had a minor health scare in Texas and my dad left to visit him and make sure that he was taken care of. My uncle, Patrick, was a bachelor at the time and decided to live in a state where we had no relatives. Yet, he was strong, nothing was going to keep him down.

"I know that you're probably worried about your uncle, but no plans tonight?"

I looked down and shook my head.

"You're just like Cory. He's sitting all alone in his room sulking about something. I even resorted to letting Eric talk to him."

I snickered a bit. Eric might have been a bit dimwitted, but surely, he wasn't the worst person to talk to.

"Maybe I can drop some knowledge on you, too, young one," Eric said, coming into the room, eating a bowl of cereal.

Mrs. Matthews shrugged and smiled and went upstairs. I don't think she thought that Eric could help me.

"What's wrong, little sis?"

I smirked at his nickname for me, but that didn't stop the tears from welling up in my eyes.

"Oh, no.. no, no, no! Don't cry, please don't cry!"

I sniffed as Eric put down his bowl and sat next to me on the couch. He pulled me close to him and started to wipe my tears.

"Eric...Shawn...I think Shawn… I think Shawn had sex with another girl."

Eric's body stiffened.

"I'm so sorry, Sky…"

I buried my face in his shirt.

"Did I do something wrong, Eric? Was there something that I should have done? Should I have-"

"No. You shouldn't have done anything. You can't let pressure from someone else force you into doing something that you're not ready for. Especially sex. The right guy will come along one day, even if it's not Shawn."

I sniffed and nodded my head. That was one of the smartest things that I had ever heard Eric say. If given the right opportunity, Eric suddenly becomes a genius.

"You should still talk to Shawn. He's crazy for you. I don't think he'd be ready to throw that away."

"Thank you, Eric," I said, wiping the rest of my tears.

Eric gave me a light smile and kissed the top of my head before leaving the room. I sighed and decided to go up to check on Cory.

"Come in," I heard after knocking on the door.

"Hey, Cory. Feeling any better?"

He shrugged.

"A little. How about you?"

I gave him a similar shrug back. I was about to say something else when Shawn came in through the window.

"Cory!"

"Shawn, you don't always have to use the window."

But Shawn didn't say anything. His eyes glanced over to me, who was standing with my arms crossed.

"Sky, what are you doing here?"

"What am I doing here? What are you doing here?"

Shawn rolled his eyes.

"I'm visiting my best friend to ask him something very important! What about you?"

"My dad is out of town and he's my best friend too! What do you want Shawn?"

He ignored me and went back to talking to Cory.

"My parents are back in town. Can I bring Claire here?"

My heart shattered into another million pieces, but this time I was angry. Not only had he slept with another girl, but he wanted to bring her to Cory's house? How sick was he!

"Oh, just throw it on our faces!" Cory shouted.

"Cory, Sky...it's not like that."

I ignored him. I didn't even want to look in his direction.

"Then what is it, Shawn."

"Don't you think that if I could have told you something, I would have. And Skylar, you're my girlfriend. I need you to trust me. Nothing happened," Shawn said, taking my hands.

Remembering what Eric said, I didn't snatch them away, I decided to hear him out.

"You can always trust us with anything, Shawn," Cory said.

Shawn looked at me for reassurance and I nodded in response.

"Claire...her dad..he hits her."