Page 133 of A Sky Full Of Stars

“Lainey…”

“No, don’t ‘Lainey’ me. I’m not going to pretend I didn’t know this”—I motion between us— “wasn’t a possibility. I knew running into you was likely to happen atsome point, but now isnotthe time to talk. Unless you’re prepared to tell Summer everything.”

I’m not entirely sure why my attitude is defaulting to this. I always thought I’d be excited to see him again. But now that he’s standing before me, I’m confused, and it’s coming out as anger.

Thomas winces and I have my answer. He’s not prepared to tell Summer, and why would he be? We’ve always kept things between us a secret. Nothing’s changed.

“I don’t want to cause any trouble, but…” he trails off and my hardened exterior softens.

“I’m sorry,” I say, and I mean it. “You just caught me off guard.”

“Believe me, I know what you mean. But you don’t have anything to be sorry about. I’m the one that has some explaining to do.”

“No, you don’t. It’s been years. Life changes, people move on. I get it.”

“Ididn’tmove on, Lainey. I should have contacted you. Iwantedto contact you. It’s just…”

“Just?”

“God…” He runs his hands down his face, clearly struggling until his eyes meet mine again, a new conviction resting in his gaze. “Luke said you were doing so well, but that you needed… I couldn’t—”

“Luke?”Surely he didn’t just blindly believe Luke and his usual bragging.

Thomas grimaces before his eyes slam shut, as though he’s just realized he said the wrong thing, and a panic fills me.

“It doesn’t matter,” he whispers, opening his eyes again, his concern gone. “The point is that I wasn’t there yet. You were happy and I wasn’t there… God, I can’t believe that you’re here.”

He trails off and redirects the conversation, an awe in his voice that I’ve heard before. I want to ask if he’s “there” now, but I can’t get Luke out of my mind.

“What did Luke tell you?” I ask, keeping my voice low and devoid of emotion.

“What?” He feigns ignorance.

“What exactly did Luke say? You mentioned he said I needed something.”

Thomas turns away, but his eyes meet mine in the mirror, making him wince, and for the longest beat I question if I really want to know.How can it be this hard?

“Luke knows we were together,” he says suddenly, turning to face me but only meeting my eyes at the last second. “He knows how things ended, and he knows about our deal.”

What?My gaze drops, unable to look at him as his words settle between us, and when the meaning behind them finally penetrates my mind, I’m fuming.Luke knew?“When?” I ask, no longer hiding the waver in my tone.

“It doesn’t matter—”

“When?” I yell before covering my mouth with my hand, my eyes flitting toward the monitor, thankful that it doesn’t light up.

Thomas steps closer, but I shake my head to stop him, trying not to let his pained expression get to me. “He’s known since before you left,” he says slowly before rushing to add, “but we didn’t mean to deceive you. It wasn’t—”

“I can’t do this now.”He knew the entire time?“I have to get back.”

I reach for the handle behind me, my chest tight as a million thoughts invade my mind.

“Lainey, wait!”

“No, I need a minute.” I open the door, poking my head out to make sure we’re alone before stepping into the hall. “Actually”—I stop, looking back to find Thomas right behind me—“I don’t just need a minute,” I say, my hands clenched by my sides. “When we’re here, in this house, I need you to be a stranger. Please leave me to do my job.”

I don’t wait for a reply before walking away, beelining straight for Josh’s room, prepared to hide out in there if I need to. But not at all prepared for the avalanche of emotion that hits me the second I’m inside.

Idon’t see Thomas for the rest of the day, but our conversation doesn’t leave me for more than a second. He says they didn’t mean to deceive me, but for six years they allowed me to believe one thing while talking about me behind my back. It’s hard to see it any other way.

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