Morning peered into my window, far too bright for my liking. I squinted my eyes, trying to block it out. Dragging myself out of bed I checked my phone and noticed the time, 8:30 am. School had already begun, so I decided I better get my butt in gear.

Peaking out of my door, I heard dead silence in the house. I walked to my dad's room, and he was not there. The thought occurred to me he might not have even come home.

When I walked into the kitchen, I noticed the still-warm cup of coffee on the table. That was proof positive that he had been there, putting my mind to rest.

Walking through the house it felt different, deserted somehow. I wondered if dad would leave too? If he left, I didn't know what I would do or how I would take care of myself. Even if I got into Georgia Southern, I wouldn't be able to leave right away. The thought of being homeless wasn't exactly appealing.

I remembered how he looked so sad when he told me, so distant. She made our lives hell, but she was still his wife, my mother. I always knew that she wasn't like other mothers. When I was a little girl and would fall there was never any nurturing or anyone to kiss my boo-boo away. She would tell me to suck it up and leave it to me to sort out for myself. Well, that's one lesson she taught me, that I could only rely on myself.

I never could understand how dad would sit, hour after hour, day after day, taking the screaming. He never reacted, never stuck up for himself or me. Would things be different if he had?

I don't know why I was sad. She was a monster, and yet somehow I felt like someone had ripped a hole in my heart. How do you console yourself when your own mother doesn't want you? How screwed up do you have to be for your mother to abandon you? Those thoughts assaulted my mind until I thought I would go insane. Finally, I went back to bed and put the covers over my head, my safe place.

The next day, the alarm buzzed, and it jarred me awake, I considered getting up and pulling myself together. After a few minutes of debate, I decided that I was too tired. Rolling back over, I dozed off. Somewhere around lunchtime, I heard my phone buzzing over and over.

"Sky, where are you? I haven't heard from you in two days now," Jake's texts sounded frantic. He brought me so much comfort when the news first came, but I never could bring myself to tell him what was going on. I let him hold me, thinking he could take the pain away.

"I am fine Jake, I'll catch up with you later, I am sleeping. "

"Are you sick?" he continued to push.

"Yeah" I shot back, I was sick, sort of, at least my mind and my heart felt like they were. I didn't intend to push him away. I wasn't ready to face anyone or anything. I silenced my phone and went back to sleep.

Another day dawned and my alarm buzzed, it was Saturday. At least I did not have to worry about school. Dad had been leaving before I got up and staying out late at night. I knew he was likely gone for the day.

I investigated, and as I suspected, he wasn't there. Walking by the mirror in his room, I saw my reflection. I looked like a zombie. I was wearing only a long t-shirt and panties with bare legs. My hair was hanging loosely out of a ponytail I had in for days.

There were dark circles under my eyes, bags also hung under them making me look much older than I was. My skin looked hollow, the result of barely eating or drinking for days. I stared for a long time and wondered who the person was staring back at me.

Most kids have so much pride when someone says, "Oh, you're so and so's kid," but what did I have that identified me? I had a mother that ghosted us and a father that was barely even present.

The reflection staring back at me was so unfamiliar that it scared me a little. I was on my way to my room when I heard a knock at the door. Paying no matter to my current appearance, I opened the door and found Jake on the other side of it. He glanced at me and then stared me up and down, not believing what he was seeing.

"Sky, what's wrong," he asked with concern written all over his face.

"I am fine, Jake," I said flatly.

"You don't look fine." The look of worry intensified on his face.

"I am fine but I can't do this I'm sorry." With those words, I shut the door.

With the door shut, I could still hear him from the other side shouting, "Open the door, Sky!"

"Go away," is all I said as I headed to my room and curled back up in my bed. As I shut my bedroom door, he was still knocking in the other room, I was too tired to care.

I didn't even bother setting the alarm for Sunday. When I finally woke up Dad had left me a note saying that he wouldn't be home. It had been days since I had spoken to him. He left before I woke up and came in after I had fallen asleep.

In my mind, I reasoned that he was dealing with mom leaving in his own way. While I understood that, I hated staying alone at night. It scared me to death. It never occurred to me he would not bother coming home at all one day.

Night came far too quickly, and the fear set in. I went through the entire house, making sure every door was secure. When I finished, I checked every window. I pulled one of the dining room chairs into the living room and angled it. Then I propped the back under the door handle to further secure it. Every light in the house was on and the radio, somehow the noise and light made me feel less alone.

Retreating to my room, I locked my bedroom door for extra protection. I laid down and tried to rest but my heart was racing and I heard a thousand noises that were all in my mind.

Trying to fight the urge to call Jake, I lost the battle. I needed someone to talk to, so I didn't feel alone. It wasn't fair to him after how kind he had been to me and how awful I had been to him. I couldn't help myself. Hopefully, he would answer after how rude I was. I waited in anticipation as the phone rang, and finally, he picked up.

"Jake," is all I said and he could hear the desperation in my voice.

"Hey baby, how are you?" he asked, still not sure what was going on.

"I am sorry to call so late, I was lonely and wanted to talk, I hope that's ok."

"You can call me anytime you want gorgeous."

"Thank you, I am a little freaked out, my dad isn't coming home tonight" I explained.

"Where is your mom?"

"She's not here, she is at her mother's," I finally got out after hesitating.

"I am worried about you, the way you acted the other day scared the shit out of me" he admitted. I thought about telling him everything, spilling it all, but thought better of it. It was too soon and too raw. If I had tried to talk about it, I would have fallen apart. When I did not respond, he changed the subject again.

"So your alone ha?" he asked with a bit of friskiness in his voice.

"Yes, and I am so freaking scared."

"Well, then I should say something to distract you, get your mind off of it," he flirted. I could hear the playfulness in his voice. Even though I was not really in the mood for it, it was better than being alone.

"Tell me what you are wearing," he said in a fake, demanding tone. It took me aback, but at least it was taking my mind off everything.

"A t-shirt and panties," I replied, a little embarrassed as the words escaped my mouth.

"Let me close my eyes and imagine that," he replied, making me blush even though I was the only one in the room.

"Jake!"

"I am just kidding baby, but I wouldn't mind slipping under those covers with you right now."

"I wish you were here to hold me," I confessed, the sadness finding its way into each word.

"Hey, I'm right here, talk to me."

"I can't Jake."

"You know you can tell me anything, right?"

"Not this," I insisted.

"Okay Sky, you are scaring the shit out of me again, tell me what's wrong," he demanded. What was I supposed to say, that my mom decided that she couldn't stand to live with my father and I another second? Should I tell him that my dad hadn't been home in a week and I could not drag myself out of the bed? No, I couldn't tell him the truth, it was too ugly.

"Jake, can you talk about something, anything else, please?" I could hear him sigh from the other side of the phone.

"Sure baby."

******

A/N

Thanks for continuing to follow Jake & Sky's journey. There is so much more to their story and I cannot wait to see it unfold. How do you think Sky will pull out of the depression that she is in?