° we are only haunted by the things we refuse to accept °

Chapter 18

"This is a terrible idea," I shout at Sky. "That food would eat you inside out."

"What would you be having?" He asks, ignoring me like I wasn't saying anything.

"It's bad for your organs," I say instead and the man at the little opening window snaps his eyes to me with a glare. I swallow, ignoring him. "Sky!"

Sky smiles at me, "I think a milkshake would do, right?" Before I can protest, he turns back to the guy and orders.

"Fine but I'm not taking anything," I huff, glaring at him from where I'm sitting in the car. "A normal McDonald's would have been better."

"But then you'd never get to try this."

"With good reasons."

He pays and collects the food poisoning, entering back into the car. It's two milkshakes with an extra large pack of fries. He hands them to me and I begrudgingly hold them as he drives to a nice and quiet spot near the only bridge in town.

"This is yours," he hands me one of the milkshake as we sit on the bed of his truck. Keeping the fries between us.

"I don't want this, it's food poisoning," I complain holding the shake still.

"Israel relax," he rubs a hand over my shoulder. "People basically eat there everyday and not many have died," I stare eye wide at him. "My point is, we won't die from this one time."

I watch him take a sip from his shake and nod in approval before I eventually give in. It wasn't as bad as I thought, tasted nice like a regular milkshake.

"So you'd dip the fry in," he dips a fry in and pops it into his moan of approval.

I shake my head in disbelief but do it too, it tasted better. "This seems like something you do regularly."

"It is," he nods to himself, dipping more fries. "I suck at cooking and dad does too. Plus it's hard and boring to eat alone."

"Your dad doesn't stay home much does he?"

"He does but he drinks more than he eats," Sky glances at me. "It's reducing now though."

"My dad sucks at cooking too," I say to fill the silence. "And sometimes mum makes this African dish that we all don't like but she forces us all to eat it."

"My cousin sister was a great ass cook though and she'd whoop my ass for eating something like this," he smiles to himself.

"She sounds like a wise person," I say trying to recall if I've ever heard anything about a cousin of his.

"She was."

"Oh," right Darcy! "I'm sorry."

He smiles, "and once again I'm sorry I left without saying a word. I didn't think it'll mean anything to you."

"Well, now you know for next time."

"Next time?" He asks with a mischievous smile.

I nod while sucking up my milkshake. Sky looks away, looking ahead in thoughts. "Tell me something I don't know about Sky Hunt?"

"You know a lot of things about me already, trust me."

I shake my head, "and it's not enough, trust me."

"Sure," he strokes his chin in thought, "well, I have a tattoo on my back."

I gape at him but recover quickly enough, "why am I not surprised?"

He smirks, "I can show you."

"W-what?" I blink in surprise, then look around us. The road is pretty much empty. "Right here?"

He nods, already removing his jacket. A smile I couldn't quite decipher on his face.

"S-Sky, I—" my words seize in my throat as he turns his back to me, already rolling his shirt up. He could have pulled the shirt off because it was almost same with it rolled up to his shoulder. I couldn't keep my thoughts on whether or not his shirt was completely off though because they were immediately occupied with the anchor tattoo on a side of his back. It was on his ribs, a giant anchor that had roses tangled around it.

The anchor itself was black and silver but the roses were red with green stalks going around the anchor. It was beautiful, the most beautiful tattoo I have ever laid my eyes on. Very impressive and captivating. The roses looked tightly tangled on the anchor, if it was real you'd have to cut them with a knife or something sharper to free them. But then, looking closer anyone could see the little thorns around it. It looked so real and significant and way deeper than just a tattoo.

I didn't even know I was touching Sky until he shivers and breaking me out of my trance like state. My fingers are tracing the roses around the anchor and Sky's shoulder are all tense and he looks like he's holding his breath. I immediately retreat my hand, turning away. "It's beautiful."

"It is?" Sky let his shirt fall, turning to face me. For some reason I couldn't look at him and my skin burned. He touches me and I reluctantly turn to him. The moment feels electrified and once again Sky's darkened pupils search my face and lower to my lips.

I could feel it, 'the spark' I've heard about so much. It was so strong and overwhelming but so... Wrong. I felt like the feeling was going to come to life and consume me whole. No! The feeling slowly turns to disgust and hate in my stomach and I feel like I'm going to throw up. I look away from Sky, my fisted palm aching as I free it up and grab the remaining milkshake, sucking everything out of it. Hopefully it goes to my stomach and occupies the dark pit in there.

"I'm happy you think so," Sky says wiggling his brows at me, the boy from a moment ago gone completely. "Maybe we could get you one."

I choke on the milkshake and he laughs, "very funny. You and I know that's impossible."

"For now."

I grab Sky's milkshake, bent on drowning the disgust feeling eating me up. Sky smirks at me but otherwise, says nothing. "When did you get it?"

"Um, when I was thirteen years old, around the time we moved here."

"Thirteen, that really young."

"Yeah, I was rebelling and I felt trapped. My mum didn't want to come with us and Dad wasn't changing his mind, it was a really dark period that rippled out a lot of bad things."

"What other bad things did you do?"

"I– uh, I ran away from home once, I was angry at my dad and mum and I wanted them to hurt them badly," he runs his hand through his hair. "I started living around, under the bridge, in the subway sometimes even hiding out in school. I needed a way to survive so..."

"Sky, it's alright," I say, trying to assure him. I've probably already heard the rumors of whatever it is he wants to do.

"I sold drugs sometimes, I became a kind of rascal and did all sorts of things," He coughs and turns to me, looking really guilty. "I'm not that guy anymore though. I stopped all that a long time ago."

"What made you go back? The police?"

"Yeah and I fell sick and had to go back home."

I chewed on my tongue, "did you use them? The drugs?"

"No, never," he quickly defends. "I didn't. Because of the restlessness and lack of sleep, I always had bags under my eyes and people thought I was a druggie but I wasn't."

"Do you regret any of it?"

He shook the head, "Most of it but not the tattoo, it's fucking sexy."

I giggle at that, his free nature and liveliness infecting me. "So nipple piercing and tattoos, you fit right into the bad boy image Sky."

"If you say—" he pauses and raises his brow at me. "I didn't tell you I have nipple piercings."

Oops.

"Did I say that out loud?" I reach for the fries but it almost all gone and Sky snatches it away before I can take the rest of it.

"Israel, fess up."

I sigh, picking at the rouge strands of my hair. "I stalked you on Facebook."

He gasps exaggerated, lips spread into a grin. "Israel fucking Taylor, how could you?"

"Shut up."

"I'm flattered, when did you stalk me and for how long?"

"When we first met and about two minutes."

He laughs, "well if it makes you feel any better—"

"It wouldn't," I cut in, not even knowing where he was heading.

"—I've stalked you too."

I wasn't expecting that. "W-what?" Then I glare at him. "Liar, I don't have Facebook or any other social media. Except..."

"Tinder?"

"What, no!" I blush, "it's Pinterest."

"Uh--"

"I like looking through photography okay? Pictures and all that, it's like one big gallery in there."

"I didn't say anything," Sky defends.

"You wanted to."

"I love Pinterest too, my cousin was a sucker for it."

"Whatever," I wave it off. "Back to you lying about stalking me too."

"It wasn't a lie. I didn't know you have Pinterest and I probably can't stalk you on that but I've known you a long time now," he scrunches his lips when I look at him and looks away, suddenly shy. "I use to see you pass by the house everyday until you graduated middle school. Then you started driving with your sister. Every Saturday evening, you'd come to church an hour early and help the old women clean the church before your folks and everyother person arrive, then leave around six thirty."

He quickly turns to me, "I wasn't following you around or anything, I always play football by the field close to the church so..."

"Wow," was all I could say. "And I didn't even know you."

He shrugs, "you fascinated me."

"That's a little unbelievable to hear you know, you're the fascinating one with the tattoos and piercings."

"Doesn't change anything," he hands me back the fries. "Do you like them though, the tattoos and piercings?"

I nod without missing a beat, "they are really cool."

"If you could, which would you get?"

I give it some thoughts, "I can't get any, but I've always loved an ear piercing, a little glinting stud right there and," I take hold of Sky's hand, "I've also liked those sleeves tattoos you know."

"Interesting."

As I run my fingers over his arm, I notice two red dots up his hand like something pierced him or mosquito biting. "What happened?"

He immediately withdraws his hand from my arm, taking up his  jacket to put it back on. "It's nothing."

I nudge him, "did mosquito bite the great Sky Hunt?"

"Yeah, maybe," he smiles, getting off the trunk. He stretches his hand out to me, "Come on let get you home, sweetheart."

I swat his hand away, jumping down by myself. "I don't need your help, honey."

"I don't mind you calling me that," he says walking behind me.

"You wish."

"Can I call you sweetheart though, sounds nice."

I make a gag sound, "never."

"At least I still have Innocent Issy."

I turn to him with a smirk (I hope it looks as good as his own smirks), "and now I have Shy Sky."

"Shy?" He narrows his eyes at me, "I'm not shy."

"Oh really?" I raise my head, meeting his gaze.

"Yes," he bites his lip. "I can prove it even."

I want to come closer and tell him to but I can't really risk it and Sky is kinda unpredictable. "You don't need to, I already know."

He smirks and flicks my nose, "cute." I don't get a chance to react before he walks past, going to the driver's side.

"You're crazy Sky Hunt."

"And I really like you, Isreal Taylor."

I freeze by the door but the moment get cut short by the roaring motorcycle that comes to a stop right before Sky's truck. I squint at the two drivers and they start pulling off their helmet. My lips part in surprise when the helmet goes and Nessa face comes in view.

"Is?" She asks, surprised too. "What are you doing here?"

"Um–"

She turns to see Sky at the other side and if it's possible for her brows to go into her hair, they would.

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Dun dun dun...

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