She shakes her head the same way she did earlier today. “Nothing.”
“My dad’s sick.” I can’t believe it when those three words come out of my mouth. I’d promised myself I wouldn’t talk about my father here. I wanted one week where no one knew or looked at me with pity.
But Sky has a way of making me open up to her. She hardly even asks any personal questions, and yet I find myself volunteering information.
“Colt…” She snuggles close to me.
“I think he’s going to be okay,” I say with far more confidence than I feel. “He’s the toughest man I know.”
“You really love him,” she says almost in awe.
I snap my head toward her. “He’s my hero. And my best friend. He and my mom.”
“That sounds incredible.”
“Yeah. My parents…the three of us make a great team. I was born lucky. I know not everyone has that kind of a relationship with their parents.”
Silence.
“Are you close with your mom?” I say.
“Yes. I adore my mom. She’smyhero.”
“Has she always been a single mom?”
“In all the ways that matter.”
“And your dad—do you still see him or…”
“He’s no longer in the picture,” she says firmly.
“I’m sorry. That must be hard.”
Tiny nod.
Sensing she doesn’t want to talk about him, I ask about her love of writing.
She perks up immediately, telling me about some of the past stories she’s written for her school paper. With the full moon above us, I can see her face, and her green eyes come alive the longer we talk.
“I hope I can do something with my writing in the future,” she says wistfully. “I want to be able to take care of my mom if she needs it. And I want her to be proud of me.”
“The one thing I keep promising myself is that I’m going to make my dad proud. No matter what happens or if he…” I cut off. “No matter what.”
And now I’m choked up. But Sky takes my hand and holds it tightly in hers. And then, as tears sting my eyes and a few fall, she reaches up and gently brushes the wetness off my cheeks.
For the first time this summer, I feel like someone gets my pain. Which doesn’t make sense because Sky’s dad isn’t even around. And yet, her eyes carry an anguish that I can’t figure out.
We walk down to the creek, and I nod at the shadowy form of the mountains that are visible thanks to the moonlight. “Kind of cool we can see them even though it’s the middle of the night.”
“The mountains are amazing,” Sky says. And then she echoes my thoughts. “It almost feels like they’re protecting us, you know? I know it’s silly to say.”
Her eyes are shining with so much emotion I have to suck in my breath when I look at her.
“Not silly to me.” I bend down and pick up a stone. “For you,” I say as I hand it to her.
She takes it from me. “What’s this for?”
“It’s from the mountain.” I point toward the peaks. “So when you’re feeling lonely, you’ll remember this night. You’ll know you’re never alone, Sky. I’ll always be here for you.”
