by HC Michaels
A plump woman wearing a lanyard around her neck looked up from her computer. The lanyard said her name was Desmona. Her uniform said she was a nurse.
“How can I help you?” She smiled at Skye like she was one of her patients.
Skye cringed. “I’ve just been to see my mother, Clara Butterford.”
“Oh, Clara.” Desmona smiled warmly. “I’m only new here, but she’s already one of my favourites.”
“Really?” Skye tried to hide her surprise. Nobody had talked about her mother like that since her dancing days.
“Yes. She’s such a happy soul,” Desmond gushed.
Skye coughed, wondering if there could be two Clara Butterfords in residence.
“A wonderful ballerina, too,” Desmona continued. “I looked her up on YouTube the other day after that young fan of hers visited. She was wonderful. What a gift!”
So that was why Desmona was so besotted with her mother. She was star-struck. It’d been a while since Skye had met any of her mother’s fans, but she knew they were still out there. She’d been very well-known. Occasionally, she’d search for her name on the internet to find people still talking about her
“She was very talented,” smiled Skye. “I was j—”
“I’ve seen you here a few times,” Desmona interrupted, not seeming to have the need to take a breath. “You’re a good daughter. Sadly, most families choose not to visit. It’s too painful, they say. You know, I just want to shake them and tell them to stop expecting their loved one to be the same as they were before. If you can think of them as two different people, it’s easier to cope with.”
Skye thought perhaps that was the problem. They did think of them as two different people and that was why they could walk the other way. They didn’t love this new person. It was the old person with all their marbles who they loved.
“She was very confused today,” said Skye, trying to get to the point. “You see, h—”
“That’s to be expected with her condition.” Desmona made a strange clucking noise.
Skye inhaled and stretched her lips into a smile. Did this woman ever shut up?
“You can expect some days she’ll be more confused than others,” continued Desmona.
Nope, this woman never shut up. Skye bet she talked in her sleep.
“Perhaps I could speak to the manager,” Skye suggested, deciding not to waste any more of her time.
“Oh, sorry, I have a habit of rambling.” The smile fell from Desmona’s face. “No need for the manager. How can I help you exactly? What’s your specific concern?”
“My mother’s hair’s falling out. Is that specific enough?” Her tone was colder than a shot of vodka in a Russian ice bar.
Desmona sat up straight in her chair, her mouth finally clamped shut.
“She seems to think the doctor has taken her blood to do tests,” said Skye, not caring in the least if she’d offended her. “I would’ve thought I’d be consulted about such things.”
“Let me just check her file to see if the doctor’s made any notes.” Desmona turned to her computer and began to type, pressing the keys more loudly than necessary, perhaps compensating for her current lack of speech.
Skye noticed an engagement ring flashing on her left hand as she typed. She was engaged! It would be a brave man to marry her. Perhaps he was deaf.
“Oh right,” said Desmona, her brow furrowing as she read from her screen. “The doctor’s made a note about that. He said he took some blood to test her thyroid function. Most likely alopecia, he says. There’s a note here to contact you about it.”
“So, why wasn’t I contacted?” Skye arched a thinning eyebrow at Desmona.
“The doctor only saw her this morning. We would’ve called you this afternoon,” she quickly explained. “Please, there’s nothing for you to be concerned about. Alopecia is more common than you’d think.”
“May I have the doctor’s contact details please?” There was no point talking to this fool about her mother. Better to talk to someone who could give her real information rather than making it up as she went along.
Desmona picked up a pen, scribbled some details on a notepad and handed her the page.
“Thank you so much for your trouble,” said Skye, sarcasm dripping from her lips in such vast quantities she almost needed a bib to catch it.
She turned on her stilettos and left.
3 Days Before The Break
Theo scowled at his screen. He’d only just sat down at his desk, preparing to return some phone calls when a message popped up.
Elle Thomas 4.55pm
Hi Theo. Just making sure you’re ok? Skye’s been doing so well at chemo! She says she’s doing well at home too so hopefully that’s not just her being brave again. How are you coping?
He knew he should be grateful to Elle, not suspicious, but there was just something about her that was a little off. Not off as in off-putting—her profile picture was still as sexy as hell—just off as in not quite right. He couldn’t put his finger on what exactly it was.
He clicked on her photo and let it fill his screen. What a body. She obviously knew it. Why else would she use that photo as her profile pic? Yep, she was so hot he could fry an egg off that flat stomach of hers.
His gaze trailed to her cleavage and he felt his cock shift in his pants. If only it was that easy getting turned on with Skye.
She was so sick most of the time it was surprising she even wanted to be with him. With her bald head and bones protruding from under her skin, he was worried he might snap her in half. It sounded terrible to say, but there really was nothing sexy about cancer.
Elle’s green bikini on the other hand ... now that was sexy.
He clicked away from her photo, a fire raging in his pants. What if an associate walked in and he had to stand up? It wasn’t a good look.
Theo Manis 4.59pm
Hi Elle. Thanks once again for taking care of Skye. It’s good to know she has you there.
He paused, wondering why he was being so polite. He should’ve insisted Sophie take her to chemo, but Skye had been adamant she’d wanted Elle with her.
Elle had gotten him off the hook. He didn’t want to go. He couldn’t handle seeing Skye connected to those machines. It was hard enough to cope with her illness without having to witness the treatment first hand. He was lucky he had his work as an excuse.
Elle Thomas 4.59pm
No probs! But you didn’t answer my question. How are you coping?
Fuck. Why did she have to ask that? Nobody had asked him how he was coping for ages. They always wanted to know about Skye—as they should, of course.
Theo Manis 5.01pm
I’m good thanks. If Skye’s OK, then I am too. Just rushing off to a meeting now. Thanks again for your help.
He couldn’t deal with Elle and her green bikini today. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, unable to quash his arousal.
There was a gentle knock at his door.
Great. He picked up a file, preparing to use it as a shield.
“Come in.”
An oddly familiar woman appeared at the doorway. He only saw her face for a moment as she turned to close the door behind her, clicking it locked. Her long, dark hair trailed down her back. Was that Elle? Was that why she looked so familiar?
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“Hello, Kronos.” The woman undid her coat and let it slip to the floor, revealing some extremely skimpy green lace lingerie.
It wasn’t Elle. It was Skye wearing a wig he’d never seen before. Was she dressing as Elle intentionally? No, it must be a coincidence. Plenty of women had dark hair and green was a common enough colour. He was just seeing what he wanted to see.
Besides, he didn’t care what her reasons were. He was more turned on than he’d been in months.
She sat on his desk and swung her legs across to him, placing her high-heeled feet in his lap.
“I want you to fuck me,” she said, her eyes wide and blinking
as if she’d said the most innocent thing in the world. Skye didn’t normally talk to him like this.
He liked it.
A lot.
He grabbed her by the knees, roughly prising them apart, all the time wondering if it was possible to explode with lust.
He tore her underwear from her body, ripping it to shreds as he took her on his desk.
Damn, she felt good. Kronos was back.
2 Days Before The Break
George shifted his weight from foot to foot as he waited for Skye to open the front door, wishing it were Theo who’d buzzed him inside the gate. He wasn’t sure what to say to her. Theo had told him she no longer had her hair, and for some reason that made George nervous.
The door opened and he tried not to grimace at the shock.
“Hi, Skye. You look ... you look great.” He did his best to smile and pulled her into a hug, being careful not to crush her.
“You like my new image?” She ran her hand over her head and smiled.
“All you need are some tatts and you can come and work with me,” he said, trying to break the tension he felt building inside him.
She laughed and for a moment he saw the old Skye flash across her face.
He couldn’t believe it when Theo first introduced her to him. She looked like some kind of model. It was completely and entirely unfair given that Theo looked like ... him. Did that mean he could score a woman like Skye? That thought had plagued him ever since. He had to sweep it from his mind by reminding himself that Theo had other assets going for him, such as the piles of money he had stacked up underneath his bed. Lucky bastard. Everything always came easy to him.
Not that he was unhappy with his life. He had Sophie and the kids, and he wouldn’t swap them for Theo’s charmed life. His life was just as charmed, only in other non-financial ways.
Sophie may not have Skye’s youth, but he’d loved her since the moment he first laid eyes on her—even if she’d had her tongue shoved down his brother’s throat at the time. There was just something special about her that’d hypnotised him. He’d been thrilled when Theo had cast her aside. Normally this would’ve been a turn off. He didn’t do sloppy seconds, but for Sophie he’d made an exception. She’d been hot back then. She still was. She might have rounder hips than she used to and a few wrinkles around her eyes, but when he looked at her, he saw not only the mother of his children, but the sex goddess she was between the sheets. She knew exactly what to do with those hips of hers, not to mention those hands, those lips ... Yep, he still had a hard on for his wife, thank god for that.
“Theo’s not home just yet,” said Skye, leading him to the kitchen for what would no doubt be several minutes of awkward conversation.
He took a seat at the counter. Damn, these fancy stools were uncomfortable. He could barely get one bum cheek on it properly. What was it with Theo and furniture like this?
“I’ll get you a beer.” Skye opened the fridge.
He caught sight of a plate of brownies. Theo often complained she only ever made them for her mother these days. He’d kill for one right now.
She reached for a beer and closed the fridge.
“Are those your famous brownies I just saw?” If she wasn’t going to offer them, then he’d damn well ask for one. Surely, she could spare one. Her mother didn’t need them all.
“They’re for Mum. I’ll get you something else.”
She handed him a beer and he clutched it like a baby with a pacifier.
Damn.
The plate she placed in front of him looked all right if you were into fancy things like cheese with mould growing on it. Personally, he thought the only place to serve mouldy cheese was directly into the bin.
Given it was the only thing she offered him, he shovelled some in his mouth and pointed to a pile of miscellaneous belongings strewn across the counter.
“Doing a clean up?” he asked. It was highly unusual to see anything in this house out of place.
“I lost something, that’s all.” She opened the largest handbag he’d ever seen in his life and began placing each belonging carefully back in its allotted place.
“Need help looking for it?” he asked.
She gave him an empty smile. “No, it’ll turn up. It’s nothing important.”
He doubted that. People generally didn’t turn their bags upside down to find things that weren’t important.
“How’s your Mum?” he asked.
“Same, same. She’s okay.”
Uncomfortable silence filled the air. Whatever did Theo talk to her about? Sophie was easy to talk to. They had common interests, mostly due to being the same age. Skye was closer in age to his kids. He tried to remember what he talked to them about, realising he never actually had to try with them. Conversation just came naturally.
“Seen any good movies?” he asked, wincing at his pathetic small talk.
Skye’s face lit up. “Have you been reading my posts?”
He was confused. Had she started writing movie reviews? He never read anything she wrote, preferring to get Sophie to recap the highlights for him. If they’d had a few drinks, occasionally she’d act out Skye’s posts using a high-pitched voice and batting her eyelashes like a crazy woman. They’d stopped doing that since the cancer.
“It’s okay,” said Skye. “I wrote about my cancer being like a movie. You know, good guys versus bad guys.”
“That’s right.” He vaguely remembered Sophie saying something about that, but he hadn’t been listening closely.
Skye reached back into her bag and pulled out some kind of weird looking turban. She stretched it over her head and smoothed out some of the folds of black fabric.
He took a slug of his beer to hide his amusement. That hat looked like something a model would wear in one of those magazines Sophie read, not something you’d see an actual person wear in real life.
Hurry up, Theo. He would’ve gone to the pub with the boys for a bit if he knew he was going to take this long.
The housekeeper stepped into the room.
“I’m heading off now,” she said.
“Thanks, Linda,” said Skye with another one of those empty smiles. “Have you got that dry cleaning I need done for Thursday?”
“Yes. I’ll drop it off on my way here in the morning.”
George caught a look of sheer exhaustion on Linda’s face. It must be a hard job cleaning this place. He hoped she had some nice bloke at home to rub her feet.
“Great,” said Skye. “See you tomorrow.”
Linda nodded and turned to leave. George wished she’d stay. She wasn’t a bad looking sort and probably easier to talk to than Skye.
“Where’s Sophie?” asked Skye, turning back to him.
“Beth has netball,” he said. “Hey, where’s Amber tonight?”
In truth, he knew exactly where his niece was. Amber had appeared on his doorstep only the week before, upset about Skye kicking her out of the house. Sophie and Beth had made her hot chocolate and sat up with her for hours consoling her. That was the reason for his visit tonight. Sophie had suggested he drop in and find out what the hell Theo was thinking, evicting his own daughter from her home. Of course, it wasn’t really a suggestion. More like a command. Still, Sophie was right. He should take more interest in his niece and find out what was up.
“Didn’t Theo tell you?” asked Skye. “She’s moved in with her mother for a while.”
“Oh. Her decision or ... Theo’s?” Clearly it was Skye’s, but he chickened out from confronting her about it. He’d talk to Theo. Skye had cancer for god’s sake. What did Sophie expect him to do? Get her in a headlock until she talked?
“A joint decision.” She smiled. “It’s only temporary. Truly, it is.”
He wasn’t buying that for a minute. Now that Skye had Amber out of the house, he’d bet his left one there’d never be a convenient time for her to move back in. This was Skye’s dream come true.
“Besides, she visits all the time,” said Skye,
still trying to convince him. “She was here earlier today picking up some of her stuff. It’s not like we’ve kicked her out or anything. She’s welcome anytime.”
“Of course.” He took another slug of his beer, deciding to let the conversation drop. If Sophie wanted to know more about it, she could ask Skye herself. It was just too damn awkward for him to do it.
“It was nice of Sophie to pick me up from hospital,” said Skye, clearly just as keen as him to steer the conversation in a new direction. “Is her car all right?”
“What’s wrong with her car?” George set down his beer and frowned.
“Oops. Nothing. Think I just got confused.” Skye grimaced. “You know, cancer brain.”
“It’s in your brain?” He’d thought it was just in her ovaries. “Bloody hell!”
“No!” she quickly corrected. “I just meant I’m not thinking clearly.”
“Oh.” This conversation was getting more awkward by the moment. He was fairly certain Skye was thinking more than clearly. Certainly, clearly enough to be trying to distract him away from Amber by dropping Sophie into the shit.
“What were you saying about the car?” he asked, determined not to show his frustration with Sophie. They were a team. It would be disloyal to let Skye know he was annoyed with her.
“Maybe you should ask Sophie about that.” Skye pushed away from the counter. “I hope I haven’t gotten her into trouble. It was just a little accident.”
He drew in a deep breath. Sophie must’ve hidden another crash from him. Why would she do that? He wasn’t such an ogre, was he? Still, it did make him mad. She’d already damaged the car a couple of times this year. He wasn’t made of money. Unlike Theo.
“Hey, boofhead.” Theo walked into the kitchen and slapped him on the back.
He was so happy to see him, he didn’t even mind about the boofhead.
Theo kissed Skye on the cheek. “Hi, babe.”
George cringed. He hated how Theo called Skye babe like he was trying to be some kind of cool teenager. Didn’t he realise it made him sound like a fool? He imagined what would happen if he went home and called Sophie babe. She’d probably laugh so hard she’d fall over.
