Prologue

Flashback - 10years ago

•.• Skylar•.•

I looked out of the window from the backseat where I sat with my little brother, who had his attention on the iPad in his hands. Mum and Dad were at the front, laughing about something while Daddy drove.

“Sweetie, are you excited to see Jaxon and his little sister?” Mummy asked. I pursed my lips before looking away from the window, shaking my head.

Mum glanced back at me, her brows drawing together and her eyes softening.

“Why, honey? You don’t like it there?” she asked.

I stared down at my hands. They were little—not as big as Mum’s or Dad’s.

“Jaxon ignores me the whole time. He no longer plays with me but prefers sitting with Aidan,” I pouted, and Mummy shared a look with Dad, who said something I didn’t catch.

“Did you have a fight with him?” Mum went on to ask, and I shook my head.

“No.”

“He’s taken after his father. Leave it to Aaron to pass his fucking trait to his son,” Daddy said, and Mummy glared at him.

“Language, Adrian,” Mum scolded before returning her attention to me.

“Oh sweetheart, it’s not what it seems, okay? Maybe Jaxon was angry at something,” Mummy said.

I pressed my lips together before leaning forward.

“Are we still going to be friends?” I asked quietly.

Mummy smiled before reaching back to pat my hair.

“Of course, sweetie. We would talk to Jaxon, okay?” she reassured me, and I nodded, feeling a little happier than before.

We’d play together like we always did, around the tree. Jaxon had promised he’d teach me how to climb once I was grown up. He was just ten and I was nine—that wasn’t much of an age difference, was it?

Mum and Dad had quiet conversations for the rest of the ride, but I was no longer paying attention. We eventually got to Aunt Joan’s and Uncle Aaron’s house. I got out of the car excitedly but tripped and fell because I jumped before Daddy could stop the car.

Mummy screamed and got out of the car, rushing to check on me.

“Skylar! Why would you do that? We told you it’s unsafe to jump out of a moving car.” She squatted in front of me to check my knee.

It hurt.

“You sprained your knee,” she muttered before saying something to Daddy. Daddy dropped Aidan, who walked over to me in small steps. He was four.

He gave me a small wave, which I believed was his way of saying sorry. I smiled at him even though my knee hurt.

I pursed my lips when Mummy pressed it slightly. “That hurts.”

“Should have thought twice before jumping out of a moving vehicle,” Daddy said, and I stared up at him. He sounded a little pissed. He sighed before squatting in front of me and patting my hair.

“It won’t hurt anymore, honey,” he said, and I nodded. Maybe this wasn’t the right time to tell them I was in a hurry to see Jaxon. It would make Mummy mad.

“What happened to her?” I heard Aunty Joan ask. I peeked over Mummy’s shoulder as their door opened and Aunty Joan walked out with someone on her trail—Jaxon.

I perked up and tried giving a small wave. He didn’t see me. He didn’t even look my way.

I watched as he walked up to Aidan, who lit up the instant he saw him.

“Hey buddy. You up for some hide-and-seek?” he asked, and Aidan nodded gleefully. Jaxon gave him a smile before putting his arm around him and leading him into the house.

My shoulders dropped. He didn’t even look at me once or acknowledge the fact that I was hurt.

It hurt. Not my knee being sprained—but being ignored.

I dropped my head, ignoring the adults fussing over me, and felt a tear slide down my cheek and onto my dress.

It hurt. It hurts so bad.