N O

S U C H    T H I N G

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"Thanks for the ride home." I smile over to James who is already staring at me.

"Of course."

I watch as his lips turn upward, and to be completely honest, it's an amazing sight.

"Bye Skylar!" Ian shouts, and I slightly jump.

"Goodbye Ian." I sigh, leaning over to push the truck door open. Once I'm out of the truck, I notice the foreign car parked in my driveway behind mom's car.

"Who's that?" I ask more to myself than anything.

"Want me to come inside with you?" James asks, and I turn to him in surprise.

"No, it's cool. My mom is home so I'll just see you both later." I smile, and shut the truck door before walking up my driveway.

I take note of how James waits beside the curb and only drives away after I get my front door open.

As I walk inside, I immediately feel an uneasy chill going up my spine.

I hear chatter in the kitchen, so I head in that direction. As I walk inside, my eyes widen.

"Skylar... my God. Look at you."

"What are you doing here?" My eyes turn to slits as my glance moves over toward my mom.

"Well, we were in the neighborhood and decided to stop by."

"Oh, so you were just casually strolling through the neighborhood and thought, 'hey, let's stop in on my daughter that I abandoned years ago and see how she's holding up', because that's just so normal?" I seethe, my fists clenching at my sides.

"Skylar..." My mom warns, and I shoot her an ugly look.

"Don't even do that. Respect is something you earn. What has he done to earn mine?" I question, and it's only then that I notice a little girl sitting quietly behind my father at the dining room table.

"Who's she?" I ask.

I watch as my dad steps aside, and kneels down beside the little girl.

"Skylar, this is Katrina, your baby sister."

Surprise?

The little girl gets up slowly, and walks over to me. She barely reaches my stomach as she looks up at me.

"I'm Kat." She says in a small voice, and while I find her incredibly cute, I can't help but feel that much more angry.

I give her a half smile before bringing my attention back to my dad.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me."

"Skylar! Language!" My mom gasps, and I almost want to roll my eyes.

"No! You don't even bother sending me a birthday card, but you go off and have another kid with someone else and pretend as if you're father of the year?" My voice has risen to unnecessary levels, and Katrina hurries over toward the table in a way to hide from me.

"Skylar, it's not that simple." My dad sighs, as if he actually has something to be annoyed or angry at.

"Oh, but it is. You didn't want me anymore, so you went out and had a replacement." I casually say, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Congratulations, dad." I sarcastically grin.

"Skylar, please stop. I raised you better than this." My mom says, and I want to scream at her for taking his side.

"Of course, the second he shows his face, you're like putty in his hands all over again. What ever happened to that backbone of yours? Or did you never even have one?" I glare, but immediately felt bad after I said it.

My mom frowned while slightly shaking her head.

"Skylar, don't talk to your mother like that."

I brought my eyes back to my father, if you can even call him that, and rose an eyebrow.

"Excuse me? You lost the authority to tell me what to do a long time ago."

"Skylar, enough!" My mom shouts, and that's the first time she's ever shouted at me that I can remember.

"I can't believe you! He's here for five minutes and you're taking his side over mine!" I shout and I hear Katrina whimper from the dining table.

"It's alright sweetie, your sister is just upset." My dad says while kneeling beside Katrina.

"She's not my sister."

With that, I turn around and storm out of the house.

I ignore my mom who shouts after me to come back, and I just keep going. I run and run until I reach the end of the road, and then I run some more.

Finally, I reach the park that's a few blocks over, and I sit down on one of the swings.

I'm about to grab my phone but that's when I realize I left it in my bag that's still at home. There's no way in hell I'm going back there anytime soon.

I can't believe this. How do you walk out on your family, and start a new one? How do you just start over and not give a second thought to what you left behind?

How does anyone walk away from their own flesh and blood?

My eyes feel wet, and that's when I know I'm crying.

I've never felt the sting of my dad leaving, this harshly before. Sure, when I was younger, it hurt to know that I would never see my dad again... but now? Knowing what I know and seeing that he has another daughter who he's been with since birth, it just makes it all too real and all too horrifying.

Why was Katrina good enough for him, and I wasn't? Is there something wrong with me?

I suppose I will never understand.

"Skylar?"

I almost jump at the sound of his voice.

"Hey." I mumble while wiping at my eyes.

"Are you alright?"

"No."

"Oh."

He takes a seat on the swing beside me, and I can't even find the energy to tell him to go away.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He asks.

"Yes, just not really with you." I admit.

"Ouch." He lightly chuckles.

"I'm sorry, it's just... you lied to me Percy."

"I'm sorry." He says, and this makes me look up at him.

"I just didn't think that it mattered." He shrugs.

"Of course it matters! Avery has hated me ever since she first got with James back in the day. More so now that I'm with him and she's not. She's always made my life hell whenever she can, so yes, it was important for you to tell me how you were related to her. It just looks sketchy that you lied about it." I say, and he can tell I'm in no mood for jokes.

"I still don't know what you see in him." He scoffs.

"It's not what I see in him that makes you angry Percy, it's what I don't see in you."

I have no idea where that came from, but something flashes in Percy's dark eyes.

"I-I'm sorry, that came out a little more harsh than I meant it to." I quickly say.

"No it's okay. James is perfect. So perfect in fact, that I saw him earlier with a cute little blonde in his front seat." Percy says, but I don't miss the slight smirk resting on his lips.

"If this is another one of your plans to break us up, I don't want to hear it." I sigh.

"Fine, why don't you go and see for yourself then. For a guy who's so head over heels for you, he sure has a funny way of showing it." Percy says before standing up. "Catch you later Sky. Maybe we can do something tomorrow if you're free." He smiles, but there's nothing genuine about it.

"Bye Percy." I say, and stand up too. I walk in the opposite direction with only one destination on my mind.

_______

| James' POV |

"Can we please do something other than play video games?" Claudia sighs from beside me on the couch.

"Quit your whining, woman." Ian mumbles while trying to find more ammo for his gun.

"Whatever. I'm going to see if my lovely Aunt wants to do anything." She sings, as she gets up to head upstairs.

"How long is Claudia staying here?" Ian asks.

"Not sure. She always visits randomly. I guess it's cause her parents are always gone and she doesn't like being home alone." I shrug while shooting a bullet between the eyes of Ian's character.

"Wow, thanks for that." Ian glares.

"Don't mention it, buddy." I smile.

I pause the game when I hear a knock at the door.

"Who the heck is that and why are they ruining Call of Duty time?" Ian whines as I get up to answer the door.

I'm surprised to see Skylar, with big puffy eyes.

Has she been crying?

"Skylar, what's wrong?" I softly ask, pulling her inside and shutting the door.

"I get we're fake dating, but could you at least have some decency not to cheat on me until after we fake break up?" She glares while crossing her arms.

My eyes widen.

"Come again?" I furrow my eyebrows.

"The cute little blonde Percy saw in your truck earlier, where is she?" Skylar asks, and as if on cue, Claudia comes strolling down the stairs.

"She was asleep, guess adults do actually take naps." Claudia shrugs, but then notices Skylar. "Who's this?" She asks.

"I could ask you the same question." Skylar says, and I can foresee a catfight brewing.

Ian must be thinking the same, because he quickly comes to my defense.

"Skylar! I'm glad you're here! Meet Claudia, James' cousin." He says slowly, and after a few seconds, Skylar's eyes widen as her cheeks redden.

"Cousin?" She uncrosses her arms as they dangle by her sides.

"The one and only." Claudia smirks. "Nice to meet you."

"Okay... I'm just going to go." Skylar says, and immediately turns to the front door.

Before she can pull it open, I step in front of her to stop her.

"Wait; tell me what's going on?" I say again.

"Nothing." She looks down at her feet.

"Okay, how about you tell me the truth now?" I slightly smile, taking a step closer to her.

Skylar looks around at Claudia and Ian as they patiently wait for her response.

"Um, can we go to your room?" She quietly asks, and I nod.

"Come on." I reach out for her hand, and to my surprise, she laced her fingers with mine as I lead her upstairs.

"Better wrap your junk. I don't need another cousin running around any time soon." Claudia smirks and I send her a quick glare.

"Awe, but I wanna know too!" Ian pouts.

"Shut up Ian." I sigh.

Once Skylar and I are in my room, I shut the door as she sits on my computer desk chair.

"Do you ever just feel so mad, that you want to keep feeling mad because it's better than trying to feel anything else?" Skylar suddenly says, and I take note of the serious expression on her face as she stares at the floor.

"A few times, yes." I reply easily.

She shakes her head. "I just don't understand." She finally looks up and into my eyes.

"Why didn't he want me?"

"Who?" I sit up a little straighter, as I know this is going to be a serious discussion.

"My dad." She quietly says.

"I didn't think you ever spoke to him." I softly say, trying my best not to say the wrong thing.

"He didn't speak to me for years. Didn't make one phone call, or send one birthday card. Nothing. Then out of nowhere, he shows up at my house with Katrina and thinks we're supposed to be this great big happy family again." She begins to rant, and I let her say everything she needs to say before speaking again.

"Who's Katrina?" I ask, thinking it must be her dad's new girlfriend or wife.

"My sister."

My eyes slightly widen as I look back at her. "Wow. How old is she?"

"Probably five or six. I didn't stick around long enough to ask any questions." She shrugged, and then leaned back into the chair comfortably.

I like that she can be comfortable here.

"Maybe this is his way of asking for a second chance?" I say, and almost regret it.

"Second chance? He is my dad. He shouldn't need a second chance, he should've just been my dad all along and none of this would be happening!" She exclaims, and I keep my eyes glued to hers, letting her know that she has my full attention.

"At least he's trying to be here for you now. At least he understands what he did was wrong, and he's trying to make up for it. He wants to know you and he wants you to know your little sister. You have a little sister, you should be happy about that. I still wish my dad would leave, so my mom can move on and find a man who will actually come home to have dinner with her, or take her out on their anniversary. My dad has never really been a father, he's just a shell of a man who comes home occasionally and eats dinner with us if he has the time. He's as good as absent, but he won't leave. At least not for real. He won't give my mom the closure she needs, he won't allow her to move on and be happy." I find myself ranting, and I'm surprised at how much I'm sharing with Skylar.

"Trust me Skylar; your dad isn't the worst of them." I say after a few seconds of silence.

"I can't believe you. Your dad never abandoned you. Yeah, he wasn't there as much as he should've been, but he never left without a goodbye and never spoke to you again. My dad completely acted as if I never even existed. Do you know how that feels?" Skylar's eyes look glossy, and I can tell she's about to start crying.

Yes.

"I'm not going to argue over who has the worst father. The point is, he is here now and wants to try again. You can at least give him that chance." I say, and Skylar sends me a glare.

"I knew you wouldn't be on my side here. I should've went to Lena and Abby." She huffs, standing up and heading for my bedroom door.

I stand up too.

"Then why did you even come here?" I ask, my voice slightly louder than normal.

She immediately turns around to face me.

"Because! You are my boyfriend... I mean, fake boyfriend and I thought you were my friend but I guess everything is just one big game to you as always. You never take anything seriously!" She accuses, and I want to press her up against that wall and show her how serious I am.

"You don't know everything Skylar." I say in a low voice.

"Oh trust me, I know enough." She says and doesn't fail to show how pissed off she is, which is actually incredibly hot.

"No, you don't. You're the most naïve girl I've ever met actually." I say which causes her to give me an incredulous look.

"You know what? I must be naïve, if I ever thought for a second that this-", she gestures between the two of us, "was ever going to go somewhere good. I thought we could actually become friends like you wanted at the beginning of this year. It's only been almost a month and you're still the same old James. I don't know why I ever trusted you!" She shouts and by now, I'm only a few inches away from her.

"You know it's true when they say that all guys are the same." She scoffs, and that's when I've had it.

I close the gap between us and angrily grip the back of her head as I bring my lips to hers. She hesitates for a second, before responding soon after as her lips move with my own.

I've never felt such soft lips before.

For a few seconds we get lost in ourselves. Her arms go around my waist and I keep my hands cupped around her cheeks, gently stroking my thumb against her skin as I continue to kiss her.

Before I can think one coherent thought, she's pulling away and shoving me backwards.

My lips ache for hers just as soon as she pulls them apart.

"Skylar..."

But just like that, she's out of my room and down the stairs. I hear the front door open and close. I audibly sigh as I lean my head against the wall of my bedroom.

"James." I hear, and I immediately stand up straight as my eyes widen.

"The next time Skylar is over, please inform me. I would've liked to say hello." My mom smirks as she passes my bedroom and heads downstairs.

"Sure thing ma." I say and finally join her and everyone else downstairs.

"Did you kiss her?" Ian asks.

"Yep."

"And she ran?"

"Yep."

"Girls." He rolls his eyes, and all I can do is nod.