Chapter 3

Skyler Johnson

"Gerald." My mother says and I look away from Candice where she's telling me all about her awards in spelling bees. She says she really wants to go to regionals but she's never made it that far and I can see that upsets her but she's young and she can still make it. "We can't drag this out dear." She tells him and I frown at her. My dad sighs and the easy mood suddenly turns tense around us.

"Sky, baby girl we have something to tell you." He says and I cock my head to the side and frown at him. He looks around the table and everyone looks tense and that makes me wonder what's going on even more because everyone seems to know except me.

"This isn't just a graduation dinner with friends. We wanted you to meet Xavier." My mother says and I look at the dark haired man in confusion. We've only exchanged a few words and he seems nice enough but why would he come all the way over here just for me to meet him?

"Okay, and?" I ask with a confused smile.

"Okay, so you know I'm set to retire in a few years and I need someone to take over for me when I do?" My dad asks and I nod. "Okay so, Xavier is going to be that person. Gerald and I have been talking and our business is going to merge with Xavier running it all." He says and I look between the three man at the table.

"Well, that's great news, Daddy." I tell him with a smile because now I don't have to feel so guilty anymore that I won't take over for him. I know he's been hoping for me to change my mind but I just can't handle taking over a company in a few years. It's insane.

"Yeah, it is but there's one more thing." My mother says and gives her husband a pointed stare.

"I'm getting to it woman, don't look at me like that." He says and I frown at them. "Okay, so to make sure both parties are going to be taken care of we've agreed to something. It's not that we don't trust each other it's just a matter of business." He explains and I nod.

"And that has something to do with me?" I ask because I'm really confused at this point.

"Yes, we want you and Xavier to get married." He says and I stare at him for a few seconds before I realized what he just said.

"Married?" I ask and he nods. I look over at Xavier and then back at my dad. "You want me to get married to him because you're giving him you're company?" I ask and he nods again. "Dad I love you, you know I do but you're crazy if you think I'm going to marry someone I don't know." I tell him and get up from the table.

"It's more than just business. This is to keep you safe." My mother says and I stare at her with confused anger.

"I'm being kept safe if I marry a man I don't love much less know? If that's the case then I would rather be in danger." I grit out and walk out of the room. I rush up the stairs and into my bedroom, locking the door behind me. With my back against the door I close my eyes and think about what just happened downstairs and shake my head. It's official, my parents have gone insane.

Moving into my room I start taking my hair out of the braids and let the strands fall over my shoulders as I look for something to wear to Tristan's party. I never thought I would be happy for a party but then again I also never thought my parents would go crazy. I end up wearing a long sleeved crop top with a pair of high wasted jeans and a pair of black studded boots. I ruffle my hair to loosen the curls the braids left and throw my phone and lip gloss along with some gum into my bag and grab my car keys. When I get downstairs my parents are saying goodbye to their friends and I can tell their all surprised to see me down here so soon.

"It was nice to meet you all." I find myself saying and smile down at Candice. "How about you get my number from my mother and call me about that spelling bee?" I ask her and she looks at me in surprise.

"You're still coming?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I?" I ask her, confused as to why she would think that.

"I just thought since you were mad at my brother you wouldn't want to come." She says and I shake my head.

"I'm not mad at your brother, I don't know him enough to be mad at him and even if I was mad at him we're friends and friends always keep their promises." I tell her and give her a hug before stepping around the rest of the adults and walk out of the house. I swear if I could deal with kids all day every day I would do it in a heart beat, too bad I suck at being a teacher otherwise I would become one but I'm not a girl that enjoys to much structure and that's why I never stuck to one thing in school. I would loose my mind if I had to do the same thing every year.

When I arrive at Tristan's house it's almost nine and the party is in full swing. I hadn't even realized how much time had gone by at home but I'm glad to be out of there. Maybe when I wake up tomorrow I can pretend that dinner was all a big dream and move on from it all. As I enter the living room I can tell he moved all of his parents furniture to make room for everyone and I wonder what he did with it all and how he's going to get everything back in time for them to come home but this isn't his first party and I'm sure he has it all figured out.

"Sky! You're here." I hear Natalie before I see her and then I'm embraced by slim arms. I laugh as I hug her back and when she pulls back I can see she's already had a few drinks. "You look good." She says and I shrug, taking in her short dress and high heels. I will honestly never get it. Why wear shoes you're going to take of a few hours into the night?

"Thanks, your dress is too short." I tell her with a straight face and she sighs but doesn't say anything about it as she drags me deeper into the house. We end up in the kitchen where she stuff a drink into my hand and I sniff it, the wave of alcohol assaulting my senses so I place the drink down on the counter and grab a bottle of water.

"You have to drink that." She says and I roll my eyes.

"I don't have to drink anything. I have no intention in drinking myself in a coma and puking my guts out tomorrow morning." I tell her and she groans.

"You don't even get hangovers." She grumbles and I smile.

"Because I don't drink myself into oblivion. I'll have something later but for now I want to dance so let's go do that." I say and throw the empty bottle in the trash and drag her into the living room. We dance song after song and at some point Tristan and Mason joins us along with Jane and Oliver and we all have a grand time dancing together and having fun. After about an hour of just dancing I force us all to go get something to drink and Nat forces me to drink the drink she mixed up for me. It has a sweet flavour but I only have one glass before downing another bottle of water.

We end up outside at some point and we all collapse on the grass, drinking and laughing about things that happened during the year. I have three more glasses of whatever Nat mixed up before I sit my foot down and stick to drinking water. By the time the party is at the end it's almost one in the morning and I help a very drunk Nat up to Tristan's guest room where I leave her with a bucket next to the bed and a bottle of water along with pain killers on the bedside table.

Downstairs Jane and Oliver says goodbye and leave Mason, Tristan and me behind. I grab some trash bags and start throwing away all the empty cups and beer bottles I can find in the kitchen while Mason and Tristan handle the living room. When we're done there I tackle the back yard while Mason and Tristan deals with the upstairs and downstairs bathrooms, we played rock paper scissors for that one. Mason crashes on Tristan's couch and that leaves us to the do final walk through the house, making sure everything is cleaned and nothing was stolen.

By the time we're done it's almost four in the morning and we both go to sit outside on the grass to watch the sun come up, each with their own thoughts but when he leans over and kisses me all my thoughts are forgotten and my mind draws a blank.