A/N: hi everyone, I just wanted to say thanks for being here and for reading and supporting this book your own way. I love this book like a child of mine and if I could, I'd want everyone to read it, lol. Please vote and comment, they go a long way and share to your friends and on your reading list. If there's anything you'd like me to work on, do tell. I think this book has less errors than all my others even though they are all first drafts. I'm being a little extra careful.

Thanks again and enjoy!

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° yes, it is possible to hate and love someone at the same time. I do it to myself everyday. °

Chapter 19

"I'm Sky," Sky walks around the car to introduce after a minute of silence is broken when Nessa asks who the person I am with is.

Nessa looks at him, clearly appreciating his looks before she extends a hand in greetings, "And I'm Nessa, the hopefully well talked about sister."

Sky smiles, "I have heard about you but not so much from Israel."

Nessa ticks her tongue, turning to look at me with a half questioning half teasing raised brow, "that's not surprising too seeing as I've heard nothing about you."

"I– I– It's..." I stutter, trailing off when I come to the realization that I have nothing to say. Nothing understandable that they'd love to hear anyway.

"Wait," Josh, the other person on the motorcycle— the one who was driving— says, saving me from fishing for nonexisting words. "Is it Sky as in Sky Hunt?"

Sky looks away from my sister and to her boyfriend still on the black motorcycle. Josh was looked more white than brown, no one can tell he's brown on first look even. "Yeah?"

Josh smiles, getting off his motorcycle to properly greet Sky. "You haven't changed much, it's really nice to see you."

"Um—" Sky turns to me in askance and all I can do is shrug. More plaguing things on my mind. Nessa just met Sky!

"Oh, I knew Charlotte very well," Josh explains and Sky's eyes widen in understanding and his skin pales, taking an inch backward like seeing Josh hurt or he wasn't prepared to hear what Josh just said.

"Oh," is all Sky says and I instinctively take a step closer to him not fully knowing why at first. Maybe as support or many because I think he's going to fall and I want to be close enough to catch him.

"I'm so confused, you all have explanations but for now, Sky this happens to be my boyfriend Josh," Nessa introduces with so much pride and I struggle to hold in an eye roll.

Nessa's love for Josh is something that can not go unnoticed. Josh was already in the university and was just taking a year off to take care of some things back home. I can bet my organs that their relationship is way older than what we know. There have been a lot of sneaking around and hidden photos conversations before Nessa finally got to courage to tell our parents. Now they could do whatever without hiding and tell everyone that cared to hear that they were together. It was annoyingly and awesome all at the same time and I usually wondered if I'd ever feel this way with someone.

"It was nice meeting you, Josh," Sky struggles to say and I wish I can at least place a hand on his shoulder, anything to make him feel better. But I couldn't.

"Likewise," Josh grins, unaware of the discomfort.

"We were on our way leaving before you all came," I quickly say, praying that we just slick away without any more questioning.

"It's quite late to see you out here Is, should we all just go grab dinner out?" Nessa asks, looking between me and Josh.

"No," I interject before Josh can say anything. "I was going home already and so was Sky."

Nessa pouts, "I thought it'll be a chance to know Sky more. He is a friend, right?"

I glance at Sky who wasn't looking all that weird anymore and had a barely there smile on. I can't help the little warmth that creeps up my neck, "yeah, he is."

"Interesting. So?"

"Maybe next time," Sky speaks up, "I have somewhere to be now anyways."

"Aw," Nessa finally gives in. "Hope to see you around then."

"Same here," he nods at Josh who waves at us both before retreating back to his motorcycle.

Nessa fixes me a look before she pulls the black helmet on, "don't be home late else I didn't see you."

"Either ways, you didn't see me," I tell her remembering the note I left at home saying I'd be at Jamal's.

"Israel Taylor," she laughs, getting on the bike after Josh. She waves just as the bike roars to life and zooms away.

I let out a heavy sigh of relief after they are gone and it's just a cloud of dust left in front of us. Sky's chuckle brings me back to the present.

"Your sister is really pretty and looks like she'd be fun."

I nod, "when she isn't looking for my trouble, she's okay."

"Do you think you're going to get into any trouble at home?"

I shake my head answering sincerely, "I don't think so."

"And is it bad that we've met?" He asks and I can tell he's measuring his words.

"I don't think so."

Sky nods, walking back to the driver's seat and I to the passenger's seat. We successfulness get in now with no other disruptions and it's when we're on the road that I ask.

"Charlotte's your late cousin?"

"Yes," he answers curtly, not blinking away from the road in front of him. The frown he has on is a rare one, one ridden with thoughts and a side of him I don't get to see often.

"I'm sorry Josh brought her up," I apologise itching to touch him even if just this once. Sky doesn't answers me, seeming far too gone in his own thoughts— so I do it. I move my hand to his thigh and he slowly lowers his eyes to it. When he looks at me, I quickly take my hand back, "sorry."

He smiles, like he wasn't the one deep in thoughts a second ago but this time there was a crack in the all is chipper mask . I could either see through him now or it was getting harder to keep up the facade with me.

"It's fine."

No it's not but we don't go into the details. The car ride back to my house is more silent and we both don't say anything else. Sky turned on the radio, keeping to himself and occasionally drumming his finger on the wheel while I just rest my head on the glass, looking out at the town I have spent all my life in.

I wish I can make it all stop. I wish the questioning would end. I wish I can stop all the hurt, the pain, the disgust, the everything interfering with happiness. I want Sky free from whatever that's bothering him and I want to be happier. I'm not sure if it's with Sky or someone else but I want to be happier. I don't want to over analysis every single thing, I want to be freer. I want to be happier.

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"What are you doing awake and laughing?" I ask, stopping at the foot of the stairs as I peer in on Nessa curled up on the arm couch, the only lightening in the living room being that of her phone that was right in front of her face.

She gasps, searching for me with her phone and hissing at me when she does, "Is, what in the world?"

I smile, coming out of my hidden spot and walking into the living room, "what are you doing?"

"None of your concern, creep," she huffs, "you totally scared me."

"It's two am and your laughing woke me up," I say, plopping down on the long sofa and stretching out my legs.

She clamps a hand over her mouth, looking up the stairs with alert eyes, "was I that loud?"

"No," I confess. I wasn't sleeping at all and I only heard her when I came out of my room hoping to get a glass of water.

"Thank God," she breaths out. "I should be asking you what you're doing up."

"I couldn't sleep." I have been tossing around my bed ever since I got in there.

When Sky dropped me off, I came in to find my mum preparing dinner and I helped her. Nessa came in twenty minutes later and after dinner I knew she'd want to question me about Sky so I quickly ran up to my room, locking myself in there. As I guessed, she came looking for me, knocking on my door but I pretended to be asleep and after a while, she left. I didn't want to talk about Sky because that would require thinking about him and I was struggling to do the exact opposite.

He wouldn't leave my mind and neither would the magnetic moment we shared on his truck earlier that day. Something was wrong with me, I was sure. All the unnatural and weird things I was feeling were silently and slowly strangling me. Then there was only the anxiety that came with Nessa knowing about him. She'd question me, I'd talk about him and she's probably just figure out everything I was yet to. Jamal's playful suggestions and insinuations were tolerable, Nessa's own won't be.

And I didn't want any judging, I was tired of it all and whereas I was curious to know what she thought about him, I also dreaded to know what she thought about him.

I teeter back to the surface and my consciousness at the sound of Nessa's voice. She asks, "why?"

I shrug, slanting to look at her, "what are you doing?"

She purses her lips at me answering her question with a question. "You're so nosy," she adjusts on the couch. "And I'm chatting and before you ask, my room was too warm and that's why I'm here."

"Your windows don't work anymore?"

She shakes her head, "no, but it's dark so I couldn't open it before some animal or insect rushes in and haunts me."

I roll my eyes with a chuckle, "and you're almost eighteen."

"Age has nothing to do with phobia, you jerk."

"This is no phobia, Ness. It's just an irrational fear of cockroaches and geckos," I say for the umpteenth time. "Things that can never hurt you, the supposedly higher animal."

"Oh my goodness, Is. Who are you to tell me what my phobia is or isn't?"

I roll my eyes, "no one."

"Thank you," the room quietens down and I reach for the chocolate snack on the coffee table. It's Nessa's and she's eaten out of it but I don't care and I silently eat up the rest. When I grab her glass of over milked tea, she groans, "don't you have something better to do. Watch movies? Chat? One of your friends have to be awake too, maybe Sky even."

My heart leaps, "Sky?"

"Yes, him," I hear her adjust once more and I know what I was avoiding has caught up to me. "How come you haven't ever said anything about him? Does mum know about him?"

"No," I quickly answer, sitting up to drink up her milky tea. It was thankfully still warm.

"I won't tell her if you don't want me to," she says for reasons best known to her. "I like him. And I'm glad your two friend list has expanded to three."

She likes him.

I huff, "you don't even know him."

"I don't but we all knew his Grandma and he's so hot."

"Nessa," I scold but my lips are twitching into a smile. "Josh didn't say anything about him to you?"

"I didn't ask, I only asked who Charlotte was because I don't remember her from our set in school but Josh said she died about two years ago."

I tense up on hearing that, "what killed her?" I didn't have the courage to ask Sky so I might as well just ask Ness. I know Darcy's wrong and I'm curious to know the truth.

"Stray bullet from a shooting between the police and some thieves," Nessa answers. "I've heard a story like that once but I never connected it."

"That's—" I couldn't find the words past the lump in my throat.

"Messed up, totally," Nessa completes. "But he's alright, right?"

I nod, "somehow."

"You owe me details on how you both became friends, you know."

"Nothing interesting."

"Normally I wouldn't doubt that but now I do." Her phone beams, vibrating and after she glances at it, she chuckles.

"I can't believe you and Josh have no other time to chat except two am."

"And who said it's Josh I'm chatting with?"

"It isn't?"

"Nope, it's Al."

I frown in confusion raking my mind in search of Al and I eventually remember. My sister's very cute former blond best friend. "Al? You guys still talk?"

"Of course, just because he moved doesn't mean our friendship died."

"Wow," I'm actually impressed, it's been so long since I've heard of Al. "How is he doing and what's so funny at two am?"

"He's doing really good and he's just telling me all about his boyfriend," Nessa chuckles. "So hilarious."

The world stops spinning for me for more than a minute. My ears are ringing and for a second I only hear static.

"B-boyfriend?"

Nessa smiles, turning her phone to show me a pic of a taller Al with his arms wrapped around a shorter brunette boy. They were glowing with their wide smiles and faces pressed together. "Isn't it adorable?"

Adorable?

I look at the picture and back at Nessa wondering if she was the one saying this to me or if my actual sister has been abducted and replaced by an alien.

"Nessa, are you kidding me?!"

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I'm loving this book more and more and more. What do you think about Sky's cousin death reveal? Israel and his Sister's bonding and finally all that about Al?

Love y'all x