Page 3 of A Sky Full Of Stars

Clenching my fist, I’m ready to deliver the first blow when Luke steps in, grabbing Jeffers by the shirt. “Get the fuck out of my house, before I make you,” he seethes, his expression more menacing than I’ve ever seen it.

Unsurprisingly, the douchebag heads for the front door without argument, but it’s too late for me. Him leaving does nothing to stop my mood from plummeting.

Luke’s demeanor effortlessly slips back into his easygoing self, but I struggle.

I need air.

Or a distraction.

Anything to get the images of my sister, Summer, out of my head. It’s bad enough that I had to listen to all the guys talking about her at high school, but I’m in college now and it’s still going on. I don’t even know what to believe.

Vaguely thanking Luke, I head outside for a break only to be hit with more chaos. I could go home, but that’s not really going to distract me. It’s likely to make it worse.

As I walk toward the front of the house, I pass by the staircase leading to the second floor and pause. My eyes lock on Luke’s handwritten “out of bounds” sign but I ignore it.Surely he doesn’t mean me.

When I reach the landing, I cringe as the noise level barely changes. If any of Luke’s family are home this must be torture. It’s one thing being down among the madness if you want to be, but God, it’s loud up here, and they have no choice but to put up with it.

I make my way down the hallway, searching for any signs of Luke’s room. His family moved to a new house after I went to college, and I’m sad to say, I don’t visit as much as I used to. But as soon as I see another sign, I know I’ve found my target.

“You’ve already come too far; turn around and fuck off.”

Laughing as I once again ignore it, I step closer and find a smaller note taped to the handle. When I read this one, I’ve got to admit, it lifts my mood.

“Don’t even think about it, or there’ll be hell to pay.”

Sure thing, Luke. Sure thing.I chuckle to myself.

While I don’t care about entering, I still hesitate before grabbing the handle, a little part of me expecting someHome Alone-level shit from Luke. Like I’m going to get electrocuted the second I touch the metal. But when it’s all clear, I rush inside, closing the door behind me.

Shutting the world out.

Finally alone, I take a deep breath, letting the air fill my lungs.God, I hate this. My life is peachy until I start thinking about my sister and the fights she has with our parents. Summer and I are close—always have been—but since starting college and spending a lot of my time out of the house, I’ve seen less of her. She never tells me what’s going on. All I know is what my parents say, or what I hear through the grapevine, and I don’t know what to believe.

I drop my head to the door with a thud and huff out a curse. Maybe I need to move out of the house and into a dorm…escape my family life for a while until things calm down. True, I can’t think of anything worse than sharing a dorm room—even if it is with one of my teammates—but being at home has its negatives too.

Summer’s issues are none of my business, and until Summer talks to me about it, I’m guessing she doesn’t want me involved. She’s always been strong.Incrediblystrong. I have no doubt she can handle herself, but it’s days like this that it gets to me.

I’m still as my thoughts race, trying to block it all from my mind. And because of this, it’s a good minute before I turn around, realizing my mistake.

Even in the darkness, I know I’m in the wrong room. There’s a pole attached horizontally along the wall to my right in front of a large mirror, and a four-poster bed with lace material draped all around it.

Fuck.Fuck.

That’s not the worst part. It turns out there is at least one family member home today, and I’ve just invaded her space.

Luke’s sister.

Luke’sfifteen-year-old sister stares back at me with wide eyes and her sheet pulled up to cover her body. A million panicked thoughts hit me but two stand out…

One—I’m inherroom.

Two—Luke is going to kill me.

Fuck!The signs make much more sense now, because what the hell would Luke be protecting in his own room—dirty clothes and a football?

Through the shock, it takes me too long to realize I’m still staring in her direction and I cringe, my gaze bouncing around the room, looking anywhere but the bed.

My head spins as I contemplate what to do next until Lainey speaks, making the decision for me.

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