Page 127 of Striking Range

“What?” I finally snap, frowning at her as her eyes narrow.

“I just… why didn’t you tell us?” she asks.

“Tell you what?”

She could be referencing mine and Evie’s relationship, or she could be referencing my past. I have no idea.

“About when you were young. Did you think we’d judge you or something?”

“Yeah,” Henry chimes in. “We know you’re grown up now. We know it was a long time ago.”

There is a tension building inside of me now. This is another one of those moments where I feel invisible; where I am tempted to stay hidden. They don’t understand me, and it’s not even their fault.

My fear of losing the people I love keeps me isolated. It brings me enough sorrow and guilt that I can feel them pulsing in my chest.

“I’m not… I’m not much different now,” I finally admit, and it feels like reaching out toward the sun, slowly easing myself into the light.

“What does that mean?” Kelly presses gently.

“It’s still inside of me,” I whisper.

“Skylar is fiercely overprotective and prideful,” Everett cuts in, and as I turn my head to catch his expression, I can see the stern look he’s giving our friends. “There is this part of him that feels joy in getting revenge on those who hurt him or his people. In inflicting that pain.”

He is daring them to judge me. The glint in his eyes is a clear warning: think through what you say next very carefully. Tread lightly.

“Oh,” Henry breathes out, his eyes darting around the room.

“It’s not that he wants to hurt everyone around him, or that he freaks out over little things—if that were the case, he wouldn’t be able to hide it,” Evie adds.

“I still don’t understand why you kept it from us, though,” Kelly says, and she looks genuinely hurt by it. By this secret I’ve kept.

“Have you never felt ashamed of something? Have you ever thought, ‘it might be best to keep this to myself?’” I ask, shaking where I stand next to the coffee table. “I didn’t want… I didn’t want to amount to that. I have so much more to offer than my anger, and I didn’t want that to be the first thing you guys saw when you looked at me.”

Everett reaches out, grabbing my hand in his. “And our relationship was a secret because of my dad, obviously.”

Our friends take a moment to consider what I said, weighing the deceit against the logic of it all. Anxiety crawls up my throat, clogging my airway as I wait.

And finally, with a single determined nod, Kelly says, “Alright. I kind of get it. And we know now, so that’s all that matters.”

“And we still love you guys,” Henry interjects. “Clearly your relationship won’t affect the group, since you’ve been together for a while.”

Everett nods, squeezing my hand a bit tighter.

“We don’t care that you’re angry, Sky,” Kelly declares. “We don’t care that you’re a bit full of yourself. We love you, and it’s nice to trust those who love you. To confide in them.”

“Yeah,” I murmur, feeling a warmth grow inside of me as the anxiety recedes. “You’re right. Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize,” Everett interrupts. “You were protecting yourself. No one is mad at you.”

“Not at all,” Henry insists.

“Okay.”

Another silence overcomes us, but instead of the awkward tension from minutes ago, it is comfortable and soft. It’s reassuring.

Everett wraps an arm around my waist, pulling me into his lap. “See, pup? Everything’s okay. You’re fine.”

I’ve never enjoyed being babied before; I’m a man after all. But when he does it? It makes me want to cry, to crumble, to drink it down and choke on it.