Page 35 of Lessons in Sin

Unknown: Leave him or I’ll send this to the college council.

Unknown: You’ve been warned.

My heart cracks, splintering into a thousand tiny pieces, each one slicing through bone and blood until I’m gasping for breath.

‘No.’ It’s weak, barely a breath, the hope diminishing in that single word - a word I know to be meaningless.

Everything, Tristan’s entire life, is at stake here. I can’t let his life be ruined for me. I just can’t.

I have to lose him.

The tears fall.

I’m gasping for breath.

And then he’s there, cradling me in his arms. I slide the phone back into my pocket, hiding the truth of what’s to come.

‘Hey, hey, what’s wrong?’ He grazes his knuckles against my cheek, before stroking my hair.

Sucking in a breath, I smile weakly through my tears. ‘Ah, I think I’m coming down with something.’ I nuzzle in close to him, imprinting this moment into my memory - the feel of him, how he makes me feel. ‘Do you think we could head back now instead of tonight?’

He kisses my head. ‘Of course.’ He helps me up. ‘I’ll go tell my mom.’

I nod. ‘I hope she doesn’t mind.’

he smiles at me, stroking my cheek with his thumb. ‘My mom loves you; I can tell. You’re easy to love you know?’

And then he’s gone.

Leaving me stunned, does he really mean that? The hint of what he feels buried in the surface of his words.

The tears fall harder now but I will them away, knowing that I have no choice.

I must leave.

No matter how much it breaks me, I cannot let his life be ruined for the sake of me.

And I know how I’ve got to do it.

Chapter 22

The car ride home is silent.

I’m resting my head against the window watching the blue bleed into black as the moon rises in the sky. A warm hand touches my knee and I jump, the texts from earlier pushing thoughts of demons and sabotage into my drifting thoughts.

‘Hey jumpy, you okay?’

I nod but stay silent. If I talk, I think I might just break and tell him everything.

I mean, I could do that, but I know that Tristan would choose me over his job. He’s said as much before, and I can’t let that happen.

Even if it breaks my heart.

When we reach my dorm, hopefully safe from prying eyes since its three in the morning, Tristan laces his fingers with mine. ‘Hey? You sure you don’t want to stay with me?’ He wiggles his brows, ‘I could be your doctor.’

The broken pieces of my heart swell, pushing dread deep into my stomach.

Taking a breath, I look away from him. ‘I can’t do this anymore.’

---