The third day, when Jemma walked into computer programming, the notebook she left at Skye's house was sitting on her desk, perfectly aligned with the edge of the table.
"Skye?!" Jemma called out. She looked around the classroom, but didn't see her anywhere. Fitz glanced up and she acknowledged his existence for the first time since their fight, but she didn't tell him what was going on or ask him to follow her when she ran out of the room and into the hallway. Jemma saw Skye's wavy, chocolate colored hair round a corner from afar and she pushed through a wave of students to chase her.
She finally caught up just before Skye got to the school's exit.
"Skye!" Skye froze at the sound of Jemma's voice, but she didn't turn around. When Jemma tried to get in front of her, Skye turned away. She only let Jemma see the right side of her face, and only when her hair was curtained over it. Jemma noticed the way Skye was shifting her weight back and forth between her feet and she was fidgeting with a loose thread on her jacket. She never used to be this anxious.
"Skye?" Jemma said her name again, this time gently. Tears were freely flowing down Jemma's cheeks when she enveloped Skye in a hug. It severely bothered her that Skye didn't hug her back, she only left her arms to hang limp at her sides. Skye was still looking over her own shoulder to hide her face from Jemma.
"Skye, look at me." Jemma choked. She put two fingers under Skye's chin and turned her face. Jemma gasped and covered her mouth with her free hand. Skye tried to turn away in shame, but Jemma's grip on her chin tightened slightly. Skye's left eye was black and swollen, and her bottom lip was cut and looked as if it had been bleeding.
When Skye finally pulled out of Jemma's grasp, she headed for the door. Jemma rushed to her car to follow her, not caring that she was skipping class yet again and that her parents would probably be getting a call from the school about unexcused absences.
"Skye, get in the car." Jemma demanded when she caught up with her on the street. Skye took an unexpected turn and Jemma had to swerve to make it on time.
"I'm walking home." Skye grumbled.
"Your house is the other way." Jemma argued. Skye shook her head and kept walking.
"That's not my house." Skye cried.
"I want to help you, but I can't unless you tell me what's going on!" Jemma shouted out the window.
"Stop following me, Jem." Skye complained. Jemma finally decided to pull over to the shoulder of the road and she jumped out of her car, stepping right in front of Skye and blocking her path.
"Get in the car." She said, much more sternly. She didn't want Skye wandering off to who-knows-where in this state. Jemma reached for Skye's wrist, but she jerked away violently.
"What is happening to you?! Just tell me!" Jemma finally started yelling angrily, and it definitely didn't help. Skye took a few steps back and took off running in the opposite direction. Jemma knew she had a zero percent chance of catching her on foot, so she returned to her car and tried to follow her again. She wasn't letting her get away, not without an explanation. Jemma ran into a red light and smacked the steering wheel with her palm in frustration. Skye disappeared into the park at the corner.
Not knowing what else to do, Jemma parked in the lot and wandered around the park for hours, not finding any sign of Skye. She was beginning to wish she'd been more civil and mature with Fitz so that another person would be out looking.
When Jemma was too tired to go on, she collapsed into a swing and rocked herself back and forth silently, fighting tears and trying to ignore the children too young for school running and screaming on the playground.
Just before Jemma was about to retire to her car and drive home, a familiar person plopped into the swing next to her.
"I can't talk to you anymore." Skye said simply. Somehow, Jemma had been expecting this, but she didn't know what to think about it. Jemma's fingers trembled and it felt like someone had tied her intestines in knots.
"It wasn't wrong, what we did." Jemma said quietly.
"It was." Skye said.
"It wasn't." Jemma looked up just in time to see a teardrop fall from Skye's face and soak into her jeans.
"Did they do this to you? Your parents?" Jemma asked. She also asked what she was even more afraid of. "Did you... do this to yourself?" Skye's fingers tightened around the chains of the swing and the toe of her shoe dug into the mulch below.
"I don't have any parents." Skye admitted. Pieces of the puzzle suddenly started placing themselves in Jemma's mind. She lived in an abusive foster home. That's why she didn't like attaching herself to people, didn't like going home after school, and why she didn't want to talk to Jemma anymore; because she knew.
"Please tell me you're not still staying with them." Jemma said. Skye's silence was worth a million words.
"Skye, you can't!" Jemma choked. She moved from her swing and knelt in front of Skye, putting one hand on each of her knees to comfort her. Skye finally brought her head up and made eye contact with her. "They're hurting you, you can't stay with them!" Jemma demanded.
"You don't understand." Skye shook her head furiously and blinked back a few tears. For a moment, Jemma's mind thought back to what Ward had said in the hallway. He was wrong, Skye would not be better with him and Jemma could understand, she could help.
"I understand enough. You're getting hurt and you have to tell someone." Jemma said softly. She'd begun trying to talk to Skye with a supportive voice instead of an angry one, because arguing with Skye clearly never worked.
"I don't want to leave that house." Skye explained with angst.
"Why? How could you possibly want to stay there?" Jemma asked. She couldn't believe Skye was so self destructive.
"Loads of reasons, Jemma. For one, I don't want to transfer schools now that I'm friends with you-"
"That is no reason to let this happen to you. I can't bear the thought that you're going through all of this just to stay in two classes with me. If you would just switch foster parents, I promise I'll visit you every. single. day." Jemma cut her off. Just the idea of this in any way being her fault was unbearable.
"Let me finish." Skye took a deep breath and waited to see if Jemma was going to let her continue. "This is one of the better foster homes. There's enough food, which is great, and they normally treat me really well. There aren't any perverted foster brothers that come into my room in the middle of the night-"
"Skye!" Jemma yelped. The more Skye opened up to her, the more she wished she didn't know. Skye didn't let Jemma's reaction stop her.
"The only bad thing about this foster home is that I have to behave. Things only get rough when I do something wrong." Skye said, almost cheerfully. It was wrong, so wrong, that Skye completely believed that what they did was something she accepted punishment for.
"You didn't do anything wrong!" Jemma complained, clutching the material of Skye's jeans.
"My foster mother caught us making out on the couch right beside a bible." Skye said skeptically. Jemma clenched her jaw and decided she'd like to change her opinion about religion. But there would be no talking sense into Skye, all she could do right now was make sure she was all right.
"Come here." Jemma held her arms open and Skye launched herself into them, pressing her cheek against Jemma's collarbone and letting herself be comforted by Jemma's warming embrace. Jemma tucked her chin over Skye's head and they stayed there, Jemma rocking Skye back and forth, for what felt like hours. Skye was so still in her arms, Jemma hoped Skye wasn't asleep so she wouldn't have to wake her.
"I can't talk to you anymore." Skye finally said again.
"Yes, you can." When Skye pulled away Jemma tucked a strand of Skye's hair behind her ear affectionately.
"The last time I got caught kissing a girl I got beaten to a pulp. If they see me near you again..." Skye said.
"You're not hurt anywhere else, are you?" Jemma asked. She took Skye's silence as a yes and reached for the hem of Skye's shirt to make sure none of her ribs were broken. From what she had read about physical child abuse, they often were. The cool touch from Jemma's fingers startled Skye and she jumped away.
"It's ok." Jemma tried to convince her. When she did take a full look at Skye, she noticed how Skye had her sleeves balled up in her hands like she had paws.
"'s nothing." Skye mumbled when she noticed her looking, but Jemma had already grabbed her hands. Skye cried out in pain and pulled them back up against her chest.
"I'm taking you to the hospital." Jemma ordered more than requested. Skye weakly shook her head no.
"I'm fine." She informed Jemma.
"Then let me see." Jemma demanded. Skye hesitantly let go of her sleeves and let the bandages on both her hands poke out. Jemma only had to unwrap one of them to know what had been done. The entire surface of Skye's palms were covered in burns, burns that would leave horrible scars, burns that only could have happened at home if her hands were forcibly pressed against a burning stove. Jemma burst into tears and Skye wasn't quite sure what to do.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Skye." Jemma sobbed. Skye remained quiet.
"If I had just noticed earlier, been a better friend..."
"You're an amazing friend!" Skye stopped her. "You're more than a friend, you're my best friend. You're even more than a best friend..." Skye's gaze slowly rose and rested on Jemma's face. "I... I think I love you." Skye said, barely above a whisper.
"I love you too." Jemma said. A massive weight lifted off her chest when she heard the words and when she returned them. Gently, ever so gently, Jemma leaned in and kissed her. Skye sniffled and Jemma pressed their foreheads together.
"I don't care what happens," Jemma told her. "you're not alone."