Page 66 of Dominion

I held onto it, clutching it in my cold hands, and I just hoped my beliefs and my hopes would be enough to withstand the storm heading our way.

21

ASH

It wasthe broken cry that woke me up from the deep slumber I was in, my eyes trying to adjust to the darkness around me, looking for the immediate danger. My hands roamed over the massive bed all three of us were sleeping in, exhausted after that emotional onslaught last night. When I came up empty, when I realized that neither one of them were in the bed, I jumped up, almost falling over the massive blanket that was thrown over me.

My body ached from the position I slept in, but the pain in my body was nothing compared to the pain I could hear in that voice that kept wailing like a banshee somewhere outside the room.

My feet rushed me outside of the bedroom and down the stairs, to find Skylar sitting on the floor in the middle of the small living room, with her back turned toward me. Her body shook, her head bent down, and I had no doubt that the wail came straight from her. With each new step I took, a thousand different scenarios rushed through my head, trying to wake myself up and trying to figure out what was happening.

My eyes scanned the area—the closed front door, the empty chalet apart from the two of us, and like a bucket of cold water over my body, the realization slammed into me, stealing thebreath from my lungs. I rushed down the stairs, willing him to appear from somewhere.

Willing my heart to stop beating like it was going to jump out of my chest, but neither one of those things happened. Dylan was nowhere to be found. Had he been inside, he would’ve heard her cries.

“Sky,” I murmured slowly as I approached her, trying not to scare her. Maybe she was sleepwalking? Maybe it was nothing but just a bad dream? My hand landed on her shoulder, fear slowly crawling up my throat. “Baby, what’s wrong?”

Her sobs echoed around the room, breaking my heart with every new one that racked her body, and I hated the helplessness as I tried to figure out what going on. It was there, at the back of my mind, the real truth behind her reaction, but I didn’t want to believe it.

I moved myself in front of her, seeing the crumpled paper in her hands and the river of tears visible on her face. She wasn’t looking at me. She was here physically, but mentally...

“Skylar,” I whispered, falling to my knees in front of her, taking her hands in mine. “Moonshine, please talk to me,” I urged, needing to hear her voice. My eyes scanned over her body and I knew that the wounds she was crying about weren’t skin deep, but soul deep. I knew without a doubt what was occurring, but I didn’t want to accept it.

I would never accept it.

“Skylar.” My voice broke. “Please, baby girl. Please.”

Her cerulean eyes clashed with mine, pain I had never seen screaming at me, begging me to make it stop. She stole my breath away many many times before, but this time, it wasn’t her beauty that pierced through my heart, making it feel as if nothing would ever be the same. It wasn’t her beauty or her kindness that had me gasping for air, but the pure, unfiltered pain and anger swirling in those blue depths.

“He’s gone,” she murmured robotically, putting an end to my misery and confirming what I already knew. “Dylan is gone.”

There were moments when I thought I knew what heartbreak felt like. There were moments when I thought that the pain would last forever, and every single time I was wrong.

But this... This unexplainable feeling in the center of my chest, where the crack started, splitting my heart in two pieces... This was what real heartbreak felt like. There were no tears that rushed to my eyes. There were no words on the tip of my tongue, ready to soothe her pain, because I didn’t know what to do with my own.

There was nothing I could say to make either of us better, nothing that would soften the blow of her words. I understood her screams now. I understood the wailing that took place, only to be replaced by a cold look and the lack of emotion on her face. I had no idea what happened, or why he left, and it didn’t matter at this point.

Dylan was gone.

Dylan wasn’t here anymore.

Dylan... My throat closed. I-I didn’t want to think about this now.

“Sky,” I rasped, pulling her onto my lap, ignoring the stiffness in her body. “Come on, baby. Come here.”

“He’s gone,” she repeated robotically, and I had no idea if she was talking to me or herself. “He... He left us.” Her face turned, looking up at me again. Those eyes I loved so much were filled with tears, her heart breaking right in front of my eyes. “He left us, Ash.”

A thousand splinters embedded themselves in my bleeding heart, each breath feeling like a lead weight on my body. Skylar buried her face in my neck, her cold lips pressing against my skin. While I wanted to ask the question, I wanted to know what happened, I couldn’t. I didn’t have enough strength in my bodyto ask. I didn’t have the guts to ask her why he would break us apart like that.

I had no doubt that he loved us, that he needed us as much as we needed him. Dylan showed it in every little touch, every single word, and my mind couldn’t comprehend why he would leave.

“H-he went to Winworth.” She hiccupped, shaking in my arms. “He went back to him, Ash.” Jesus Christ. “He went back to Judah.”

Those splinters pushed deeper with each new word she said, and I hugged her tighter, as if my touch alone could erase the heartbreak we were both experiencing.

There was nothing I could do to calm her down.

“He left us a note,” she gritted out, anger taking over the pain, and I welcomed it with open arms, thankful that there was something else she could focus on. “He said that he couldn’t do this anymore. He said he didn’t belong here. He said not to look for him!” She bellowed that last part, punching straight into my gut with every new word, and I let her. I let her destroy the illusion I had about the life we could’ve had if all three of us stayed together.

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