Ten Long Years

"Do you think he drugged you?" I asked with a growing uncertainty.

"What? No. He wouldn't do that." She gasped, although the growing frown on her forehead showed she wasn't sure.

I watched as she went back over the details. "I don't know, Rory. It was ten years ago. I don't remember much. I remember being in bed with him, and he was on top of me. Then the vivid part was seeing the horror on your face, and the reality of what happened. I remember screaming."

"What happened to him?" I asked.

"I don't know, he left town. Moved to Christchurch. He tried to get me to go with him, but there was no way. I hated him more after what happened." She gave me a twitchy grotesque glare. "I wish you killed him. But that would have meant you going to jail, I didn't want that."

"If the neighbours hadn't come in when they did, I think I might have."

She cringed. "Was I going to be next?"

"What? No. I could never have done that."

"I don't know, Rory, I have never seen you that incensed, so furious."

"What happened after I left?" I asked, trying to change the subject.

She sniffled, wiped away a few tears and whispered hoarsely. "I had a melt down. I realised I destroyed our life together. All our dreams, all the things we talked about. I lost it."

She broke down her body shuddering wickedly. "I tried to kill myself. What a stupid fucking bitch. I was so selfish. It wasn't until I was in hospital that I found out I was pregnant."

I couldn't watch her sobbing her heart out. I wrapped my arms around her and held her tightly. She leaned against me, her head resting on my chest. "I can't believe how stupid I was. Dylan would have died with me."

"I'm glad you didn't succeed," I whispered into her sweet smelling hair.

"Because of Dylan?"

"Yes, partly, obviously, but I hate to think of you dying like that. I felt terrible when Mum told me."

"It wasn't your fault, Rory, it was all on me. I was a fool. I let you down, I let myself down and I let your family down."

We sat huddled together in silence for a long while, our bodies stuck together in the oppressive humidity. Auckland could be like that this time of the year.

It was nearly midnight before we moved back inside. "Good night, Skye."

She grimaced lightly. "Goodnight, Rory. Thanks again for inviting me."

The next couple of days were full on. We visited the zoo, Kelly Tarlton's, MOTAT. We were like crazy tourists. I wanted to take them everywhere, and I didn't have a lot of time.

Dylan was a new kid. He made friends that first day with the neighbour's kids and they played together every day. They helped build up an old bike they had, so he could go cycling with them. They got on great.

Mum, though, was worried. She grew more concerned with every passing day. Towards the end of the first week she took me aside. "Rory, you don't need me here. Skye can look after Dylan when you go to work next week. I need to get back so I can be with Sloane."

It was sad to see her go, but she was right. Sloane needed her.

I kept going back over that day. Derrick knew my work schedule. He knew damn well I wouldn't be home. He wouldn't have known Skye was home unless he was tracking her somehow. The question. was why? He had always had the hots for her. I caught him many times perving over her. He always laughed it off, but I did pull him up a few times. What Skye said kept going round and round my brain. Why did he go there? Was he that much of a prick he just wanted to bang my wife? Was she even telling me the truth? Maybe she manufactured the story to cover her tracks. It just didn't make sense.

We focused on making Dylan's holiday a good one. We took day trips to all the local scenic places of interest. All the while Skye and I grew closer and closer. When the neighbours asked Dylan if he wanted to do a sleepover, he was thrilled. He was packed and gone in minutes. It left Skye and me free.

I figured what the hell. "Skye, how would you like to go out for dinner tonight?"

She smiled brightly and did her impersonation of a happy seal. "Really? That would be amazing. I haven't been out to dinner since you and me."

"Get your glad rags on then. Lets cut a track."

I got changed and then waited, and waited, until she emerged looking stunning. The dress wasn't anything special, just the usual LBD. It was more how she wore it. She had always been trim and fit. One of those waify feline like creatures. She didn't work out, or jog, she just had one of those bodies. She looked amazing and I said so. "Wow, you look hot."

She blushed. "Thank you, you are a wonderful liar."

I chose a local eatery I frequented often, and we enjoyed a nice meal. The chat zipped back and forth and it was really pleasant, well until I got a pat on my back.

Turning, I spotted Shayne. "Hey, Rory, hows things?" She leaned down and we shared a light kiss. She wanted to hold it longer than was necessary, but it was just a kiss.

"Who's your friend?" she asked.

"This is Skye. Skye, Shayne." They reached out to lightly shake hands. Then Shayne gasped. "Wait a minute, oh no fucking way. Is this your ex? The one you wanted to murder?"

"Cut it out, Shayne, there's no need for that." I watched as Skye's face fell. She was about to cry, and it hurt.

"Shayne, perhaps you could give us some privacy. I'm sure you're here on a date. Go and annoy him."

"Hey, no need for the nastiness, Rory. I didn't mean to interrupt."

She was gone faster than she arrived, but the damage was done. "You really did want to kill me?" she gushed. "Oh my god. You hate me that much?"

"Yeah, at the time i did, I hated you. And I carried that hate for a long time. Bloody hell, Skye, you ripped out my heart."

She stood quickly. "I think we should go."

She stormed off and headed for the door. I followed with a quick stop to pay the cheque. Skye waited impatiently by the car. Once inside, she broke down, not just your usual sobbing. She was in hysterics. I tried to give her a hug, but she pushed me away. "Take me back to your place. At least you will be able to kill me in private."

"Skye, I said those things in anger. I'm over it. I just wanted us to have a nice night out. A chance to enjoy each other's company."

"Did you know she was going to be there? Were you using me to get back at her or something?"

"No, don't be ludicrous. I didn't know she would be there. I'm sorry it happened."

"Does she know the whole story?"

"Yeah, sort of."

"She probably thinks I'm a right old slut then."

"Who cares what she thinks? She isn't part of my life anymore. I don't care what she thinks."

"Maybe not, but I do." Skye sobbed, her face a mask of run and smudged mascara.

At home, she went straight into her bedroom and left me sitting alone wondering what the fuck happened. Shayne showed no desire to maintain or build on our relationship, suddenly tonight she wants to show some interest.

When I went to bed I heard Skye crying from her bedroom, I felt the knife twisting in my guts. I wanted to go in and comfort her, but lacked the courage. I went to bed and waited for the darkness to take me.

The morning brought a cold enveloping embrace. Skye didn't talk to me at all. As I was leaving, I threw her the car keys. "I'll take the bus, use the car if you want."

The day went slowly, work was hard to focus on.

Arriving home, I walked into the most amazing smell. Dylan rushed up for a hug. Skye popped out as I walked inside properly. She gave me a coy smile. "Rory, I'm sorry for last night. I had no right to be upset. Can you let me try to make it up with you?"

"Yeah, of course. It's forgotten already. What the hell is that smell?"

"It's sweet spicy pulled pork burgers and super spicy lemon and chicken kebabs."

"Wow, if they taste as good as they smell, it's going to be awesome."

Dylan sauntered up slowly and asked. "Can my friend Joseph have a sleep over tonight? Mum said I had to ask you?"

Before I could answer, Skye leaned in close and whispered quietly. "He has never ever had a friend sleep over." Her eyes pleaded. Talk about playing on my guilt.

I leaned down and lifted him up. "Of course you can. Is Joseph coming for dinner?"

"If he's allowed."

He rushed out the door, on his way to give Joseph the good news. "Thank you, Rory, I seem to be saying that a lot lately," she said.

"I don't think you will thank me later. You're not going to get any sleep tonight."

She winced a little. "I can live with that. You don't understand how huge this is. I have never seen Dylan get close to other kids. It's amazing."

"Is that why you apologised for last night?"

"No," she snapped, sounding offended. "I meant what I said. Last night I behaved like a bitch."

Dylan and his friend came bursting back in and the peace disintegrated. Dylan had to show off his new video games. That's when I chased them into the bedroom.

Skye laughed. "Wow, how did you do that? Gee, he just listens to you. He never does that for me."

Dinner was awesome, and no sooner was it over than Joe and Dylan disappeared back in the bedroom.

I helped Skye with the clean up and we relaxed to the lounge with a couple of beers. We talked a little about Shayne. I confessed that her behaviour blew my mind. She showed no signs of caring about our relationship.

"Rory, you sell yourself short. That girl was so into you. She was pissed at me being there. She might not even be able to admit it to herself, but she is not over you."

"Wow, listen to the therapist go."

"I learned a lot. I have spent a lot of time in therapist chairs over the last ten years. Guess some of it stuck."

She nestled in close as we drank our beers. Skye was never a big drinker, and after a couple of beers, she got giggly and silly the way I remembered. It was another of her delicious habits that I loved so dearly.

I put some music on and we chilled out. Somehow her head ended up on my shoulder, I felt her sweet delicious breath wafting over my neck as she sang along with songs. Oh damn, that felt good. So good.

As she sipped her beer, the cold bottle rubbed across my flesh, the change from hot, moist wet to cold sent shivers through my body. The hairs on the back of my neck trembled.

I was saved by Sloane, who chose that moment to call Skye. They slipped into their usual conflab. I decided to get up and go and check on the boys. They didn't have to try hard to drag me into playing with them.

It was getting late when I walked back out to the lounge. Skye had finished her call and was waiting with another beer.

"How was Sloane?"

She smiled. "She feels better now that Mums back with her. Your mother is a treasure."

"Yeah she is, I am so sad I lost all that time with her."

"Not as sad as she is. She really missed you, Rory. You leaving broke her heart."

"Yeah, it was just they pushed so hard. They wouldn't leave me to grieve, it was always. You have to forgive Skye."

She flinched, I felt her body strain. "I'm sorry, Rory. They thought they were doing the right thing."

"I know that, but it just fucked me up. I was so angry, and I know, I'm a stubborn shit. The harder they pushed, the harder I pushed back."

I felt her hand slide up around my head, her fingers trailing through my hair, her fingers massaging and caressing.

"Skye..." I breathed.

"No, don't say anything, Rory."

Her lips grazed my skin, it was a moment. I shivered, trembled; it was both hot and cold. The liquid sensations, her lips so hot, oh so damn soft, like embracing comforting pillows of crushed velvet, only moist.

Turning towards her, I wanted to speak, to say stop, but my hand caressed her cheek, slid behind her head and suddenly we were in the midst of a searing burning kiss. It was a kiss so deep, it felt like it swallowed us both. Her lips were mine, her tongue wrapped around mine. More like a wrestlers grip than a caress, more gymnastic than dance. My breath evaporated, my heart pounded as her body leaned over mine and her breasts crushed against me, her hard jagged nipples pressing against me.

She moaned, a long slow contented purring hum.

I moaned in response, a growling urgent exhale. My heart slowed, the beats harder, stronger. As she leaned further across me, I felt her heartbeat, it pounded, her whole body pulsing in time.

The hairs on her arm were standing tall, vibrating sonically.

God, the tension...

The heat...

It was electric, penetrating, two bodies in harmony. Her voice echoed in my ear. "Take me to bed, please."

I didn't want to, did I? Then why did I stand and lead her into my bedroom? Why did I slowly remove her clothes, my hands caressing her pale flesh, her smooth porcelain skin?

Our lovemaking was fast and powerful, then slow and delightful. The morning brought new passion and we started the day with a wondrously joyous kiss.

Work flew by and I couldn't wait to get home. Skye met me at the door with a kiss that was an amazing extension of the previous night. Dylan was off playing with his new mates, leaving us time to just be together, We talked, we laughed and took every opportunity to just do the simple things like hold hands, or pat each other.

Dylan dashed in later, closer to dinner time, and he rushed in for a hug. I couldn't believe how quickly he settled in.

The day they flew out was a sad day all around. There were tears aplenty. Dylan held onto me in our final hug, and he refused to let go. His fingers gripped my shirt as he held firm.

Skye had to almost prise him off me. With a final wave they headed through the gates. Halfway through Dylan turned and sprinted back for another hug. "I will miss you, Dad."

His words broke my resolve and I cried openly. "I'm going to miss you as well, son. I'll call every day, I promise."

Skye walked back to get him. As we hugged again, I whispered tearfully, "He called me Dad."

She kissed me lightly. "I heard, baby. He loves you, Rory, just like me."

With her back in Oamaru, I was amazed at how empty and quiet the place felt. There was no laughter, no noisy kids running wild through the place. It wasn't just Dylan, I missed Skye, the last few days of her visit were so amazing, my heart ached. Some miserable bastard had sucked all of the joy out of my home, left it cold and bereft.

I did as I promised, I rang every day, but the bright bubbly Dylan had vanished and he had been replaced by the introverted quiet kid. The happiness did appear when we spoke and did homework. Skye, as well, seemed depressed. The whole thing sucked.

Long distance relationships are hard, ours especially, because of the history, and the lack of trust on my part. I couldn't get rid of this nagging doubt: was she being honest about what happened with Derrick?

It was weird that he turned up at home that day, way weird, I needed to know why... Why, damn it? Sky just closed up shop and gave me the same old thing. "I don't know why, I don't remember what happened." The problem was, the harder I pushed, the more upset she became, and then it quickly degenerated into an argument.

It came out when I talked to Mum one day. She berated me firmly. "Rory, you have just got your relationship back, and now you're trying to tear it down by going over old ground. Why can't you leave it be?"

"Mum, I just need to know what happened. Don't you understand? If I knew why, then I at least would understand. It's the not knowing, it eats away at me."

She sighed. "Does it matter really? Either you have forgiven her, or you haven't Simple, really."

She was right, did it matter? Fuck, if it was just that simple. If it was just sex, like it was with Shayne and me, but not without warning, without talking or anything.

Christmas was our first opportunity to get back together. I flew, rather than drove down. Skye picked me up from Timaru airport, and Dylan flew into my arms and he was quickly followed by Skye. The feel of her gorgeous body wrapped tightly against me was heaven. All the questions and shit I had been beating myself up with evaporated, replaced by the sweet smell of her perfume.

We drove back to Oamaru and the whole trip was filled with Dylan talking endlessly about school. Rather than go to Skye's place, we went straight to Mum's; she had a huge family dinner planned. It turned into a fantastic evening, Sloane with her huge swollen baby filled tummy struggled to move around much. She was still under doctors instructions to do nothing, so she made us wait on her hand and foot.

Skye and I talked about the future. She was scared and nervous when she opened the conversation. "What are we doing, Rory, where are we going?"

"I have a job, and I own my house. I can't afford to move back here, and I'm not sure I want to move back. I miss you guys, I loved having you with me. If you're up for it, would you be prepared to move?"

"It's not that easy for me, either. Rory has school here, he knows people, your family is here and I love them all."

"I understand all that, and I get it. I just don't want to move back here. I would lose everything. I would have to start again."

We were at an impasse, When Mum heard that I asked Skye to move up to live with me she was sad and happy. She came out fighting, but this time she was on my side.

Sloane, as well, supported me, even Lila backed me. I could see why Skye was uncertain, I felt her pain. Moving away can be heartbreaking.

Christmas was a wonderful few days; it was filled with all the crazy eating and drinking, the gift exchanges. Dylan and I played for hours on his new Xbox One, and I borrowed a bike from Hank so Dylan and I could go cycling together.

Spending time with Dylan was cathartic, calming. It seemed to make life whole. I adored being with him. It was going to be hard to walk away again after the holidays.

I hoped that Skye would see the benefits of living in Auckland. My job for one. I had the house. My whole life as there, I couldn't just walk away from that.

Skye did have one bit of news she had been keeping to herself. She had seemed distracted and sheepish for the whole visit. I did notice that she had nothing alcoholic to drink during the Christmas celebrations. There was more to it. I probed a little, but she seemed reticent to share whatever it was.

I was pretty sure it was about the move; was she going to say no?

It was at Mum's place after another huge dinner that the explosion happened. We were alone, and Mum was playing with Dylan as he attempted to teach her the finer art of mastering Grand Theft Auto.

Skye held my hand as we sat out in the late evening night. I felt her suck in a huge deep breath before she released the bomb. "Rory, how would you feel if I told you that you were going to be a dad again?"

I think my horrified expression said it all. "What?"

Her expression was hard to read, there was a faint smile, a nervous twitch, and her heart must have been racing as I spluttered, "How the fuck did that happen?"

"Jesus, Rory, you know how it happened. We had sex. When I went up to Auckland, I wasn't on the pill. I haven't had any partners, I wasn't looking for sex. What happened between us was so incredible, I didn't even think about contraception. It wasn't on my mind. "I'm sorry, I just didn't think."

Her revelation did more than shock me, it blew my mind. I tried to comprehend, but her proclamation took my breath away and turned my mind to mush. I guess she was hoping for a better reaction, my horrified dark face wasn't what she wanted to see.

I sat like a fish blowing bubbles, trying to think of something to say. She reacted, she jumped up and ran inside. I heard her crying on Mum's shoulder.

Dylan came out and sat beside me. "What's going on with Mum?"

"She is happy, or sad, I'm not sure."

Mum and Skye walked out cuddled together a wee while later, and she looked confused. "Is there a reason why you're not jumping up and down happy?"