Page 117 of A Sky Full Of Stars

“Cold turkey?”

“Yes. And you’re right; I need to do the same.”

My heart clenches, and I have to wonder if this is the first time being right has ever felt like the worst moment of someone’s life. My chest aches so badly, I need something to numb the pain, but I can’t have it, because my usual drug of choice is currently walking back toward the door, each step bringing me a new level of agony.

I want to ask if I can hug her, hold her one last time, but that defeats the purpose of a clean break. Only at the lastsecond, she rushes forward and throws herself into my arms, shattering any resolve I thought I had.

“Please know that I’m doing this for both of us,” I whisper into her hair, my arms wrapped around her as I breathe her in, getting my last hit.

Lainey nods against my chest, but she doesn’t say a word, and when she steps back after what felt like the shortest moment, her blank expression is back in place.

“Goodbye, Thomas. I wish you all the best.”

Fuck. “Bye, Lainey. I’ll—” She shakes her head, cutting me off, so I silently finish my statement.I’ll miss you. More than you’ll ever know.

She walks away again, this time without looking back, and when she closes the door, I drop to the floor, sinking my head into my hands as my eyes fill with tears. That wasn’t how I wanted it to end, but I couldn’t get Nate’s words out of my mind. She can’t stay for me. It’ll slowly destroy her, and if we’re ever going to be together, we both need to be in the right headspace.

But a clean break.Fuck. That feels soabsolute.

I’m not sure how long I stay like that—running through all the moments I could have changed to ensure we didn’t end up with this outcome—but it’s not until I feel a presence above me that I snap out of it, thankful to find Nate.

“You did the right thing,” he says with a nod.

Jesus. He heard all of that. “That may be true. But fuck, it feels wrong.”

“You have to think long term. You—”

The back door slams open and we both pause, silently waiting to see who rounds the corner.

Luke rushes in, throwing his keys onto the table in the hallway before kicking the bottom step and running his handsthrough his hair. “I’m ready to murder someone,” he seethes. “Give me a reason, any reason.” He bounces around.

Nate subtly looks my way, but I know this isn’t about me or he’d have punched me in the face instead of kicking the step, and I’m disappointed that didn’t happen. I’d deserve the pain for what I just did.

Luke groans until he notices me on the floor, then his mind shifts. “What the fuck are you doing down there?”

“Luke, he—”

I wave a hand for Nate to stop and meet Luke’s eyes, letting him see everything I’m feeling. “I just broke up with your sister,” I say, standing up to face the truth, no longer caring if he hates me for it.

“The fuck?” He clenches his fists as his eyes flash toward the front of the house.

“She’s gone,” I say with certainty considering he didn’t see her car when he drove in. “But she wanted to cancel her trip for me. To look after me because I’m fucked up over something thatdidn’t even happen to me. And I couldn’t let her stay. She deserves better. So I broke her heart to help heal it.”

Luke’s eyes bounce between mine as he listens, and when I’m done, he shockingly nods. “Good. About time one of you told me.”

“What?” I step closer, ready for some kind of showdown, but he sighs before patting me on the shoulder.

“I’m not happy about you keeping it a secret, but I’m glad it’s over. She can’t stay here. And more than anything, she can’t be with you. It will ruin her.”

Jesus. Even though I knew that, hearing it from someone else feels worse. But before I’ve had the chance to say anything in response or process the fact that he’s not trying to kill me, Luke smirks sadistically, making Nate and I glance at each other inconcern. “You know what?” he says as he grinds his fist into his opposite hand, and I remember his words when he first walked in.I’m ready to murder someone.“This is perfect,” he continues. “How much do you care about my sister?”

“More than anyone else,” I say as a dark cloud swirls inside my head.

“Then we have something in common…and I could use the help.” My brow furrows as I wait for him to continue, but I never could have predicted what was to come out of his mouth. “Someone sent my gran a half-naked photo of Lainey in a ripped dance costume, and they’re threatening to leak it if she doesn’t back off.”

What the fuck?

Nate curses as my muscles tense, and a rage I’ve never felt before works its way into my bloodstream, completely taking over me.

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