We arrived home after what felt like a longer than usual car ride, filled with awkward silence. I didn't know what to say to Anthony, or how justify myself. But, more importantly, I was still fuming with anger at seeing those lying blue eyes. I was so mad at seeing him, although I couldn't figure out why exactly. In reality the only thing Jarred ever did wrong by me was break up with me by saying I was simply too much for him to handle, but yet, I still felt like he had slapped me. And then, there was a sadness in me, coupled with regret. He looked good, carefree and happy. Maybe I was jealous?

My inner self started slapping that idea out of my head with a rubber fish. No! No! No way in hell are we jealous of that ugly ass penguin.

I sighed. Jarred had said I still hadn't changed.

Who cares!

I do. Every relationship I've had has ended the same way. I was too much. But, how could I not be? I wanted a relationship were I could be myself with the person, every part of myself. And as it turns out every part of me was approximately five individual psychos living with one mouth. I turned my head and looked at Anthony as he pulled into the hotel garage and looked for his reserved parking spot.

Would he leave because I was too much?

I pushed the thought far away. I didn't want to distrust him; I didn't want to second guess him. I cared for him more than I could fathom and I knew he cared for me at least somewhat. I needed to focus on that and stop dwelling on the what if's and could be's.

But, even happy thoughts were no use against the multiple voices living inside my head.

I felt a warm touch on my hand seated in my lap. "Sky," Anthony started to get my attention and I was happy to give it him. "We're here."

The look in his eyes told me this wasn't the first time he had told me.

I nodded, taking a deep breath and opened the door, quickly climbing out of the car.

"You okay?"

I nodded my head not daring myself to speak.

We walked into the apartment and I made a bee line for the couch, TV remote, and my bunny. Nothing would make me feel better than watching strangers fall in love whilst cuddling Hercules.

Anthony disappeared into his study, muttering that he had work to do, although I wasn't particularly paying attention and waved him off.

I was wrong. Watching strangers fall in love didn't make me feel better. In fact, it made me feel worse. I was ready to start crying.

You need chocolate.

"I agree." I nodded to my inner self and looked over at the pantry. "Nope too far, even for chocolate."

Ice cream?

I turned to face the fridge and groaned. "Even worse."

"What's 'even worse'?" Anthony sat down on the couch beside me. His hand straying to scratch Hercules behind the ear making her close her eyes and look asleep. His eyes looked tried, his body sagging with exhaustion and tension.

"Are you okay?" I asked him, my crying fit and hunger for chocolate and ice-cream forgotten.

His eyes lifted to met mine and I noticed the gold spark that was there only days ago was dimmed ever so slightly. "Am I too young to retire?"

I chuckled a little and decided to try and comfort him.

Try being the key word there, Sky.

Shut up, I can be comforting if I wanted to!

My inner self gave me a disbelieving look that said: Yeah right.

I leaned my head on his shoulder and cuddled in close to him. Slipping my arm around his and leaning into his side.

Anthony appeared slightly shocked but quickly responded, placing his head against mine to give his muscles a break and letting his hand rest effortlessly on my knee.

"Anything I can help with?"

He scoffed. "No offense babe but..."

I held up my hand. "I warn you, offense will be taken so crash that train of thought."

Don't just crash the train of the thought, derail it and let it take out an over sized over pass with innocent bystanders trapped in cars.

I blinked. Okay, I am becoming slightly concerned with these thoughts you've been putting in my head.

My inner-self waved her hand at me. Oh relax, if I ever gained control of your hands, then you'd be in trouble. She winked at me.

I gulped and turned to look at Anthony.

He appeared slightly amused and dropped the sentence, starting a new one. "It's this damn proposal I have to present to my board next week. Because we had that weekend away, I've been struggling to catch up."

"Why does it matter if your board doesn't like it? Don't you own the controlling share of the company?"

"Technically, my family as a whole owns the controlling share, and these smart investors wanted in on the idea, but still, I can't just say this is what I'm doing if you don't like it, get out."

I frowned. Point taken.

"Wait, you have a proposal and now you have a new investor?" I thought out loud. "What are you planning?"

Anthony smirked. "Well there are multiple steps to this but the ultimate goal is hotels in Japan and China."

"Japan?"

"What's wrong with Japan?"

"Nothing, but, won't it be expensive?"

"That's why I needed another investor."

I sighed knowing he was far too excited about opening a hotel in Japan that even money wasn't going to stop him. "So what's step one of your grand scheme?" I asked him partly because I was interested, but mostly because his business talk was lulling me to sleep.

Nothing like boring business talk to send you to sleep.

Anthony hesitated for a moment before continuing. "Well I'm planning to merge my families company with yours."

I lifted my head to face him. "Okay that makes sense." So why was he hesitating? "Any particular reason?"

He shifted a little seeming a little uncomfortable with the direction of conversation. "Well, your father's investors don't like me and are trying to shove me off as CEO and find someone new."

"But they can't do that, you have the controlling share."

Again there was that hesitation. "No I don't."

I frowned confused. "But.." I trailed off not knowing how to make sense of this.

"Sky, your father gambled away the majority of his shares."

I was shocked. It was like I was being submerged in an ice bath. "I-I was g-given shares." I cursed myself for stammering. "For my eighteenth birthday."

Anthony pressed his lips together and reached over for the TV control, not speaking to me.

"Anthony?" I snatched the remote out his hands.

He sighed deeply. "They're gone."

My eyes widened and my lips parted. "What?"

"Your father started selling your shares once he's got too low."

"My sister's?"

Anthony looked down not wanting to answer me, but he did. "Them too."

"What about my trust fund, Jasmine's trust fund?" I remember Charlene closing off my trust fund for another five years after I got a little carried away on an entertainment system for Jessie and my apartment when I first moved out. I was grateful after the initial hate had worn off, though I would never admit it of course.

"Not a cent left, yours or your sister's."

It was like a pot on high heat, bubbling and boiling over with anger.

Daddy's a dead man.

Damn right he is. I literally have nothing. I had no job, no form of income, and the safety net I had known all my life ready to catch me was now made of invisible fishing wire. What did I have left? A family who were in worse condition than I was. A fiancé who is marrying me for my families' company that apparently wasn't even as stable as they thought it was.

"I'm sorry Sky." Anthony took my hand hoping to make this situation better than it actually was. It was comforting, but comfort was not what I needed right now.

Punching bag here I come! See its times like these when that gym membership would have come in handy.

Flashes of me falling on a treadmill flashed in my mind making my anger subside ever so slightly.

Or maybe not. My inner self concluded.

I swallowed. I decided to keep talking to keep my mind moving forward. "Okay, so that's why you need a big investor. To buy back controlling shares?" I tried desperately to push the conversation on before the hurt set in and I started to cry.

Anthony wasn't fool, he noticed the hurt in my eyes, but didn't press me. I was grateful for that. "Yeah."

"Sounds exhausting."

"It is." I could feel his eyes watching me closely, evaluating me. "I'll set up a small fund for your sister if you'd like. Your father won't be able to give her anything so what we give her will be everything she gets."

I smiled softly at him. Honestly, I hated to ask for the money to build my sister a trust fund but I wanted Jasmine to have something just in case she needed it. A safety net for when life dealt her a bad hand.

"Thank you." I moved closer towards him and kissed his cheek.

---

I slammed the heavy front door shut and whirled around on my heel. "Dad!" I screamed, waiting to hear a response. My voice echoed through the large house that was once a home.

Silence.

Of course. No ones going to answer you when you sound like Shrek.

I'm not green thank you very much!

No more like an oompa loompa from Charlie and the chocolate factory.

I'm not orange either!

You sure about that?

I looked down at my bare arm and checked my complexion. If anything I was a little paler than usual.

Made you look!

Ugh. I rolled my eyes at my inner self and stormed through the house screaming out for my father all the while.

"Dad!"

Yo, father of mine, where you at?

"Skylar will you stop shouting." Charlene scolded me, her voice coming from the lounge room.

I turned and redirected my direction. Walking into the lounge room I spotted Charlene looking over a number of books she was using to plan an up and coming event. Although it pained me to admit it, she was a damn good event planner.

"Do you know where dad is?" I asked her as I came to a stop just in front of her.

"I do not." She looked up at me briefly before she noted down an invitation style.

"Do you know when he'll be back?"

"No."

I huffed out a sigh and sat down, pushing some of her papers aside.

"Exactly how bad is it?" I decided to confront her instead.

She stopped with her work and looked up at me with hesitation.

"Anthony told me about my trust fund. Jasmine and my shares all gambled away."

Charlene let out a breath I hadn't noticed she was holding.

"I want to know how bad it is. Really."

Cut that bullshit with chainsaw evil step-mother!

"Bad." She rubbed her temples seeming tried. "There's no money. The bank owns the house, your father's car. And worst of it is, even if we sold absolutely everything, we would still be in debt. The only thing keeping a roof over our heads right now is the weekly payments we've been getting from Anthony ever since you agreed to the engagement."

I felt dull. Almost numb hearing the cold reality of it all. How had my dad let this happen?

"What's the plan?"

"Plan?" She made an unnatural noise. "Well, I was thinking we try to keep going as we are just until Jasmine finishes school. Then we sell the house and the cars to pay off at least the bulk of the debts and then..." Charlene trailed off with another sigh.

"You'll have a handle on it." I tried to finish it for her.

"I'm trying to wait for Jasmines sake. I don't want to disrupt her life now; I want to wait until she finished school."

I nodded agreeing. It was best for Jasmine.

We heard the distant sound of the back door shutting.

Charlene turned her head in the direction of the sound. "That'll most likely be your father. Careful, he might be drunk." She added the last part with more distaste than I ever heard in her voice before. "Do you want to see him?"

"No." I answered honestly. "I don't think I can face him right now."

"You know," she turned to face me. Her eyes were glassy, watering up with emotion as she struggled to hide it. "Your mother was the smart one. She saw what he was capable of with a drink in hand and a gambling table and got out before you got hurt. I wish I could have saved you and Jasmine from this."

I could feel how guilty she felt even at this distance. But more than that, she said me and Jasmine. She wanted to shield me from this just as much as her own daughter and somehow, that meant more to me than anything else ever would.

---