Hello! Here's another longer Skye chapter. I didn't have time to get this double checked for any mistakes, so I hope it's okay!


Making her way up to the large, pristine white front door, she knocked a few times while wondering if she should ask for a key at some point. She dismissed the thought, telling herself that they probably wanted to make sure she was trustworthy before giving her a key to their house, and that they'd been letting her in without issue so far.

After a few moments, Skye heard the lock of the door click seconds before the door creaked open, revealing Mr. Garrett.

"Hello, Skye," he said, clearly noting her outfit. "You look nice today." He provided a warm smile before opening the door fully, allowing Skye to walk inside.

"Oh, thanks." Thank God. You can do at least one thing right, she thought, though a still quiet voice insisted that this isn't who she is. Who cares? you're appreciated like this.

She took a quiet seat at the dining room table and began working on her homework. Occasionally Mr. Garrett would make light conversation about things that had happened at work, and Skye would share funny things her teachers had said or interesting things they were learning at school. She felt relaxed, almost, in this conversation. Maybe this is what a family feels like, her mind provided, before another part of her quickly bit back Don't even wonder that. Don't jinx this. You know you'll be gone soon.

They continued, back and forth, until Mrs. Garrett came in.

"Hello, dear! Afternoon, doll!" Mrs. Garrett chirped, setting her stuff down on the kitchen counter as she walked in. She kissed Mr. Garrett on the cheek before walking over to the dining room table.

"How was your day at school, Skye?" she asked, sitting down and pulling out her own laptop to presumably continue working.

"Oh, it was good. We've started our first lab in Chemistry, which is fun, even though all the writing that goes into it is kind of boring." She smiled at Mrs. Garrett, glad that they were in the mood to talk to her today. A quiet voice in the back of her head insisted to remain on guard, that this could never be her normal, but she was so desperate for some form of interaction that she pushed it down.

"That is quite interesting, pet. What sort of lab?" Mrs. Garrett glanced over her computer screen to give her a small smile, before resuming work.

Skye smiled back, feeling warm and wanted. "I think we're supposed to be testing the pH values of different every day objects."

"That sounds like something we did back in the day at my highschool," Mr. Garrett chimed in from across the room. "We had all these test tubes with different liquids and a color changing solution. We had to hold them against this color chart, but you really could never tell what color it actually was," he added, laughing fondly.

They continued to talk until it was time for dinner, which Skye helped Mrs. Garrett make. The conversation went a bit silent as the cooked, but whenever Skye felt comfortable to ask a question, Mrs. Garrett would answer it with a kind smile.

After about an hour and a Half of dicing up tomatoes, mushrooms, bell peppers, carrots, and any other vegetable one would assume goes well in a stew, dinner was finished.

Sitting at the dinner table, Skye felt her heart soar when Mr. Garrett started a conversation. They were just awkward in the beginning. This is fine now. We're doing okay.

They continued talking through dinner, reminding Skye a few times not to talk with her mouth full to her embarrassment, but Skye chalked it up to a success. They were talking to her, they liked her, she could get used to living like this.

As dinner concluded, Mrs. Garrett kindly asked Skye if she would be willing to do the dishes that night as she still had quite a bit of work to do, and Skye obliged happily.

She collected all the dishes from the table and set to work cleaning and scrubbing all of them. She was almost done, transferring one of the last few plates to the dishwasher, when the soap on her hands caused the plate to slip, falling and bursting into tiny ceramic shards on the hardwood kitchen floor.

Crap. Crap. Crap. This is bad. This is bad. she felt her breathing hitch as a sickening wave of anxiety overcame her.

"Mary?"

Crap. Crap. Crap. They're mad. They're mad. This is bad. Skye began desperately picking up the big pieces of the plate, hiding them behind herself just as Mr. Garrett came in.

"Mary, what happened?"

"Nothing- I mean, I just-" She stuttered out, keeping her gaze glued to the floor.

"Mary," the voice continued with a sternness that caused Skye to flinch, "Did you drop one of the ceramic plates?"

Mary gripped the pieces harder, hissing slightly as it cut into her skin. Before she knew it Mr. Garrett had a firm grip on her arm, which she tried her best not to flinch away from, and pulled her hand with the plate pieces into view.

"Mary," Mr. Garrett sighed, "These plates were expensive. I am not happy about this. It is vital that you take care with other people's property." His voice remained steady, but it sounded like his jaw was tense.

"I'm so sorry- I didn't mean to, the soap was just so slippery, and-" Skye jumbled out, barely noting the hot tears she could feel on her face.

"Do not talk back to me, Mary. I will not tolerate excuses in this house."

"I'm sorry-" Skye let out unable to stop herself, but was cut off by the sharp, stinging pain on the side of her face, made worse by the sickening sound of a slap.

She leaned back against the counter, bringing her hand without the glass up to gently meet her face. Idiot. You should've shut up. Talking never helps. you've ruined it. This is what you get.

Mr. Garrett sighed again, shaking his hand. "Look what you've made me do, Mary. We don't talk back in this house, okay?" He sounded sympathetic, and Skye could feel the pieces of ceramic being taken out of her hand before hearing them being put in the trash can.

"Why don't you go clean up your hand and your gloves. I'll finish cleaning up this mess you've made." He turned away, and Skye didn't need to be told twice to get out.

She practically sprinted upstairs, heart beating in her chest. Idiot. Worthless. Look at what you've done. You ruined their expensive dining set. This is what you get. she went into the bathroom, looking at her hands. Her left glove was ripped and blood soaked from the wreckage of the ceramic plate.

Crap. Now you can't wear these. Just another thing you've ruined, her mind added bitterly.

She gently washed the blood off her hand, still trying to get a handle on the events that transpired in the past few moments. She could feel blood rushing in her ears and noted the tear tracks on her face in the mirror.

After washing her hands she went to lay down on her bed, recounting the events over and over with shaky breathing before slowly drifting off into uneasy unconsciousness.


I am sorry that this is how we're leaving this today. But hey, another Skye chapter! yaaaaay right? You can tell me how much you hate me in the reviews, I won't mind :P