Sky was preoccupied between work, cleaning house, helping with the kids and doing things with the three oldest Hansons and their friends. She had one or two girlfriends, but they mostly talked on the phone and only got together occasionally. Try as she might, she couldn't help but notice that her father was getting worse. Though home infrequently, he was rarely sober when she saw him, and they hardly even spoke. One day, he asked her to do him a favor. He asked her to go out with the son of a potentially big client at his company. It seemed harmless enough, but Sky felt uncomfortable about it. "It's just one date, Sky, I'm not asking you to marry him or anything. He's around your age and he'll be bored in a strange city without knowing anyone. They'll just be in town the two days. If you come have drinks with us on Tuesday, you can meet the kid, then he won't be a stranger the next night. It means a lot to me, Sky." He added. "Sure, Dad...I'll at least meet him," she said softly, forcing a casual demeanor. She didn't want to, but she also didn't want to let her dad down. He never asked her to do anything like this. She didn't want to fail him. Besides, she might like the guy.

That night she put on a nice black dress and pulled the sides of her hair up, and they went to an expensive restaurant. She behaved very well, smiling and asking a lot of questions to appear interested in Mr. Bivins, the client. Mr. Bivins seemed nice, but his son, Jason, didn't. From the moment she met him, she didn't like his looks. He was creepy and not very friendly. Still, she tried to make conversation. When her dad and Mr. Bivins went to the bar, Jason asked Skyler to go out for a smoke with him. She reluctantly went. "So, Sky....that's a weird name...any ways, what do you do to have fun around here?" He lit up and tossed his match. "You know, the usual...you kind of make your own fun, I guess." She replied, trying not to inhale. She hated the smell of cigarettes. "What kind of fun do you like to have?" he grinned, "Where are we going tomorrow?" The way he was looking her over made her feel like she was standing there naked. She folded her arms in front of her. "I dunno...wherever." She shrugged. "It don't matter...all I need is you."he was almost leering when he said this, and Sky thought to herself: Taylor said those very words the other day, yet how different the meaning is when you say it. She didn't want to go. Not at all. She had a bad feeling about it. She told her dad, but he shrugged it off and said he was a good kid...she was overreacting. He really wanted her to do this. She asked three times if she could cancel. But he insisted. So she put on jean shorts and a peasant style blouse and went anyway.

She was right about Jason. They had barely driven away when he told her he wasn't hungry he just wanted to "talk". She said she was hungry and wanted to eat, but he pretended not to hear and drove aimlessly, in search of a quiet place. She said she wanted to go home if they weren't going to eat and he laughed and said that was a dumb reason. Her heart was beating faster as she tried to plan her way out of this situation. It was a bad one. Alone with a practical stranger on a lonely road. At least she hadn't worn a dress. But 10 minutes later, it didn't matter much. She was fighting him off of her. She couldn't even breathe between her panic and him crushing her. "Come on, Skyler! Quit being a little prude..What's it matter?! Your dad wants you to entertain me and this is what entertains me!" he yelled, trying to push her blouse up. "Get off me! Now! Stop..I don't want to!" She swung blindly and hit him square in the nose. He hollered in pain and bent over. In a panic, she got the door open and scrambled out, falling onto the ground. She heard him yelling something about rotting out here and called her a few choice four letter words then squealed off into the night. Sky knew where she was. But she also knew it was a long way from home. She took a deep breath, determined not to cry, and set off on foot down the dark road.

One hour later, she arrived home, her left toe throbbing where a blister had formed. She'd barely gotten into the house when her father appeared around the corner. Expecting him to be worried sick about her, she was shocked at the look of anger on his face. "What the hell did you go and do?! Bill called me and says his son was driving around Tulsa, lost for half an hour because you left him stranded!!!" Sky was dumbfounded. "Left HIM stranded?! He attacked me, Dad! Then he left me on route 20! I had to walk all the way home, Dad!!!" her voice was cracking. She swallowed hard.

Her fathers' face was dark. He was obviously drunk. His eyes were bloodshot. "Dammit, Skyler!!! Do you know what you might've done?! Do you know how long I've been courting this S.O.B.for this account?! If I lose the account, Skyler, so help me..." "Dad, aren't you LISTENING to me?!" She screamed, tears welling up in her eyes. "NO, DAMMIT! I DON'T WANT TO HEAR!!" "DAD!" Suddenly he threw his whiskey bottle at her. She turned to run but it struck the door frame next to her and glass shattered everywhere. She cried out and ran. She was struggling with the door when she heard him call out to her. She ran into the dark night. It was threatening rain and the wind had really picked up. With nowhere else to go, she climbed frantically into the tree house. She sat down on the bed and started sobbing hysterically. She had some cuts on her left leg, one or two on her arm and a small one on her face. Nothing big, but they stung. She felt like she was losing it. She couldn't breathe and she didn't know how to stop.

Beyond the tree, Taylor was picking up the few remaining toys in the yard. It was late and there was a storm coming, so he hurried to finish. He was headed back to the house when he spotted something orange in the back corner of the yard. That dumb ball that Mackie loved so much. Ever since Zoe had taken a liking to his small red one, he got hooked on the big orange one. If only things were still that simple. He headed all the way to the corner and bent to pick up the ball. That's when he heard the sobs. Deep and sad like a wounded animal. His heart beat faster and he looked up. Not hesitating, he climbed through the fence into the Davis' yard and through the gate. He went up the ladder and cautiously entered the tree house. When Taylor walked in she thought it was her dad, and for the first time she was afraid of him. So she wimpered and backed away until she realized it was Taylor, then she resumed her crying. "Sky, what is it? What's wrong, Sky?" Taylor sat by her and put his arm around her. "Nnnothing.."She stammered, choking on her tears. She was shaking badly. That's when he noticed the blood. "What happened?! Did someone hurt you? Sky...talk to me.." He sounded a little scared. She took a few deep breaths then weakly spoke. "My father threw a bottle at me...don't tell, Tay, please don't tell..."She inhaled quickly and leaned against him. "I won't...I can't believe he'd do that...Sky, you need band-aids..come to my house." "No! I can't let anyone see...I'm scared..." She looked so small & afraid. It broke his heart. He thought for a moment. "I'll be right back, stay here." He took off running. By some miracle he got in and out of the house without any interference. He returned with anti-bacterial ointment, band-aids and a damp towel.

"Okay, let me see your cuts, Sky. I won't hurt you." She'd calmed by now and she extended a leg. Gently, he tended to her small cuts. He put two band-aids on her leg and one on her arm. Then he sat beside her and wiped her eyes with the corner of the towel. He was about to speak when a voice called out through the wind. "Skyler! Are you out here?!" She clung to Taylor in fear as her father approached the tree house, stood a moment, then turned and stumbled back into the house. "Are you going to be alright out here alone?" he asked, still letting her cling to him. She nodded, sitting up. "Thanks, Tay...for the band-aids." "Sure." He hesitated then slowly descended from the tree house.

The storm was a bad one, when it finally hit. A lot of lightning followed by loud crashes of thunder. Then the rain started in big fat drops, falling heavily to the ground. Sky was curled up in a ball on the little tree house bed, trying to think of nice things. Every time she came up with something, the thunder boomed and she jumped. What if the tree gets hit by lightning? Did she want to go back into the house? No, anything but that. She shivered, wishing she was under her blankets.

Taylor couldn't sleep. He lay there, gazing at the window. Each time the lightning lit up the window around his shade, he braced himself for the thunder that followed. He couldn't stop thinking about poor Sky, stuck out in that tree house. He was hoping she'd gone back inside, but he knew she probably hadn't. She was very upset. He sat up, wondering what to do. It was times like this that he missed sharing a room with Ike and Zac. It was a pain sometimes, but at least if he wanted to talk to them he just looked over and there they were. Especially Ike. He wondered if maybe he should go next door to Ike's room and tell him about the situation. But he'd promised Skyler he wouldn't tell, and he always kept his word. At least, most of the time. He got up and put his sneakers on. He didn't recall there being a blanket in the tree house. The wind had picked up and it must be cold out there. He got the extra blanket out of his closet and headed for the door. Then he stopped. She was probably lonely. He looked around, then spotted a stuffed animal that a fan had given him awhile back. It was a dog with long ears, made of a velvety material. It was nice, but he didn't sleep with stuffed animals anymore. He grabbed it and put it between layers of the blanket. Then he snuck quietly down the stairs. Before leaving, he grabbed a box drink of cranberry juice from the fridge. He was careful not to let the wind catch the door as he pulled it closed behind him. The thunder was moving off to the distance, but the rain and wind had picked up. He ran as fast as he could and nearly got stuck while trying to squeeze through the fence. He almost lost his footing on the way up to the tree house but got there in one piece. She was curled up in fetal position when he walked in and she didn't even hear him due to the howling wind.

"Sky?" he whispered. Her head jerked up. "Oh my God...Taylor...you scared me..I thought you were a ghost." "I brought you a blanket." He sat down, setting the drink on a shelf. "Oh thank you...thank you...I'm so scared out here..." she sat up and he started to unfold the blanket. The dog fell out. "Oh yeah, and I brought you something to keep you company." he tossed the dog on her lap and gave her a hesitant smile. "That was so nice...I am so glad to see you.." She put the dog behind her and threw her arms around Taylor. He sat stiffly for a second before returning the embrace. He relaxed and leaned back. "I....I was worried about you, so..." he didn't want to over-explain. He wasn't sure what to say. "I hope you don't think my father is a lunatic. I swear he's never done this before. He's been under a lot of pressure at work, and I guess I messed things up for him." She explained, briefly, what had transpired over the last two days, leaving out the sordid details. "Man....that's awful...he shouldn't have made you go. I hope that guy didn't hurt you." "No, I'm okay. I just can't believe my dad threw that bottle at me. Do you think he meant to hit me?" She was too tired to be mad, she just felt confused. "Probably not, Sky. If he was that drunk he probably doesn't even remember doing it." "I hope he does remember. I hope he feels bad." she was tilted over against him and realized that he was absently stroking her hair. She looked up at him, but he was staring off into space. He blinked and looked down at her. "Your dad sure built a solid tree house. I can't believe it's not leaking." he commented. "I know..only a little rain came in. Lucky for me. Want to lay down?" She whispered, then thought maybe she shouldn't have said that. She couldn't even think straight tonight. He gave her an odd look and started to say something, then nodded and slid down onto the bed. He put the blanket over them and ended up with his arm around her. It was so comfortable. They didn't talk for a few minutes. Then she looked up at him again. "I really am glad that you came out here. You didn't have to." she reached up to brush a strand of hair away from his face. "I wanted to...I couldn't sleep unless I knew you were okay...oh, and I brought you a box drink." he added as an afterthought. She started to sit up, looking for the box drink, when she felt his hand on the side of her face. All at once he'd turned her head and was kissing her. She was so surprised that she didn't react at first, then started to pull away, then responded. It happened so fast. Then he was looking at her, trying to read her face, looking for a reaction. Her mind was blank. She was so worn out by all that had happened that she just didn't want to think. She touched his cheek and he leaned down to kiss her again. Once they'd been kissing for a minute or two, it was like someone turned a speaker on in her head. At first a voice said 'I wonder if he's ever kissed a girl before...he's pretty good for a beginner'. Then another voice cut in and this one was yelling 'Hey! Quit it, Sky! He's way too young for you! You're not even dating him! He's going to get the wrong idea! Stop it! Stop this at once, Sky!' She ignored this second voice for a few more minutes. But the kisses had gotten deeper, they were pressed together and his hands moved lower down her back. Part of her wanted to stop and part just didn't care what was right or wrong at this point. But when he started to moan softly, it brought her back to reality. She pulled back a little. "Tay...stop..okay?" she put her hand on his shoulder. "Why?" he whispered softly, leaning toward her again. "Because...we can't...I mean..we shouldn't.." she wasn't up for big explanations. "Because you don't like me?" he asked, frowning a little. She looked at his mouth and wanted to kiss it again. She shook her head. "No, it's not that I don't like you..but we're not going out and I'm older than you." "Not that much older." "I'll be twenty before you're even sixteen!" "So? That doesn't matter to me. Anyways, I'm mature for my age." "Okay, but it's just that..I like us as friends and I don't want to ruin it." She paused, then added, "Remember that girl Sarah that liked you? The one you were telling me about? You said you liked her, but you didn't want to go out with her. And she thought you didn't like her. But it was just that you liked her in a different way. Remember?" He thought for a minute then looked disgusted. "So you're not attracted to me? You don't think I'm good looking...I'm not that good at kissing, but I haven't had much experience." He pulled the dog out from underneath his arm and tossed it in the corner of the bed. "No!...I mean, I do find you attractive. It's really just that I like being friends with you and it'll just get so complicated...I'm so messed up right now, I'm afraid we'll be sorry tomorrow. People do things at night, especially when they're tired and upset, that they would think twice about in the middle of the day. Does this make sense?" She was trying hard not to hurt his feelings. He thought for a minute. Then he sat up and leaned over, grabbing the box drink. "I guess," he said, unwrapping the straw and stabbing it into the box, "if that's how you want it. Maybe you're right, but I don't think kissing did any harm. I'm still your friend." He handed her the drink after sucking in a mouthful of juice. She raised her eyebrows, but accepted the box, finishing off what was left. "It didn't hurt, Tay. I'm still glad you came out here and I'm still your friend,too." "Good...you're cool, Sky,"a smile crept across his face, "and a good kisser." She laughed and put her head on his shoulder to hide her face.

After a minute, he swung his legs around to the side of the bed. "Well, it looks like the rain has slowed down. I'd better get back before someone notices I'm gone. Will you be okay out here?" He looked concerned. "Yeah...I've got this little dog here." She patted the soft brown dog. He smiled and turned to leave, then paused and looked back at her. "Oh..I almost forgot. Ike told me earlier today to invite you to go with us to a birthday party tomorrow. It's our friend Chris, you've met him. They rented a pavilion at the park. It should be fun, they'll have food and all that. Do you wanna go?" She thought for a second. "Yeah..sure, I'll go." "Great! I'll call you or something in the morning." "Sounds good. Goodnight, Tay." She blew him a kiss. Even in the dark she could tell he was blushing. He waved and disappeared from her view.