Chapter 22
The house was quiet when she woke.
Aiden had left a note saying he’d stepped out on an errand.
After breakfast, Skylar settled in with her laptop to study.
One chapter in, her phone rang- an unknown international number.
She hesitated before answering.
Silence, then Callias’s low voice:
“I’m outside your building. Come celebrate my birthday with me.”
She didn’t know how he’d found her.
But she knew him – if she went down, he’d try to force her to leave with him.
“Go celebrate with your mother in Paris. She must miss you. I’m staying in. Happy birthday.”
The line went quiet except for his increasingly heavy breathing.
She recognized the warning signs of his anger.
Before he could explode, she hung up and turned off her phone.
She spent the day studying, avoiding the windows.
The next morning, she found over a hundred missed calls.
She deleted them without reading.
For the next two weeks, she barely left the villa.
She only went out for family dinners with the Fosters, spending most of her time studying or talking with Aiden.
September approached – time for clas ses to start.
Three days before orientation, Skylar told Patricia she wanted to move into her apartment.
Patricia tried to convince her to stay, but finally agreed.
The next day, they drove her and her now–doubled belongings to her new place.
Aiden didn’t get in the car to leave.
“You’re not going back?” Skylar asked, surprised.
08:59
Addio To The Stand In Past, This Time I Chose To Reclaim My Own Life
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“Classes start for me too. I’m your senior, actually.”
Only then did she learn he also attended the university.
No wonder he knew the area so well.
Looking at their luggage only hers she frowned. “Where’s your stuff?”
He pointed across the hall. “You picked the apartment opposite mine.”
“What a coincidence!” she laughed, delighted to have him as a neighbor.
“Guess I’ll keep bothering you for help.”
He picked up a box, smiling. “Any time, freshman.”
She made a face. “Don’t call me that! We’re the same age – I’m actually a day older.”
He met her eyes, his voice oddly serious. “Just one day.”
