Page 57 of A Sky Full Of Stars

She calls my name over and over but I can’t even look at her.

“Summer, this is all your fault,” Mom yells, changing tack. “I hope you know what you’ve done.”

Ignoring the rest of the world, I focus on Summer, holding her tighter as she starts to shake, both of us refusing to give Mom any kind of response. “I’m so sorry,” I whisper. “They will never hurt you again.”

Spinning her around, I pull her into a hug, but she pulls back. “Thomas, I appreciate all you’ve done tonight, but you can’t cut ties with them. They’ve been good to you—”

“The hell I can’t,” I cut her off. “They’re both dead to me.”

“Thomas—”

“No, Summer.”God, what kind of a person does she think I am? Fuck.A breath catches in my throat, but I cough it up. “I know I’ve got a long way to go before I earn back your trust, but I need you to know…I would never condone this. Despite the fact that it could have just as easily been me, they hurt my baby sister. Their lies mademehurt my baby sister. I will never forgive them for that. I will never forgive myself for that either.” I hug her again before opening the door of my truck, needing to get her out of here. “Let’s get you home.”

“Mind if I have a word with Summer first?” Dylan asks, and the thought hadn’t occurred to me to check in with him. She’s my priority. But I never realized she was his too. There’s so much history between them, and I had no idea.

I glance at Summer in question and she gives me a small nod.

“Okay, but we’re going to have a chat about the ‘no dating my sister’ rule,” I joke, because I have no idea what else to say.

I don’t bother waiting for his reaction before pressing a kiss to Summer’s cheek and moving to my door, giving them space. “I’ll be in the truck.”

The second I’m alone, regret fills me as the weight over everything that just happened bears down on me.

What have I done?

***

When she’s finished her chat with Dylan, Summer jumps in my truck, and we drive to her apartment in silence.

It’s not until we pull up that I finally get the courage to speak. “Summer, I don’t even have the right words. Can I do anything to help?” It’s going to take a while to process everything, but this isn’t about me. I need to be strong for her.

She tries to smile but it’s just as vacant as her eyes. “I’m fine. I just want to be alone.”

My heart breaks for her but I let it shatter. I’ll pick up the pieces later, when I know she’s truly okay. If that day ever comes.

Summer twists to get out of the truck, but I reach out to stop her. “I love you, Summer. I’m sorry that I haven’t acted like it for a while. I was angry. I wanted to hate you, but I always loved you.”

She smiles again but it’s still completely forced.

“Can we talk tomorrow?” I ask, hopeful.

“I’d love that,” she says, and I want to believe that her face brightens slightly, but it’s hard to tell.

After watching her walk inside, I drive around for a while before making my way back to the Ball House. I have nowhere else to go. I can’t go to my parents’ place. Not now. Maybe not ever. Not unless I know they’re gone. They lied. They fucking lied. Now I’m forced to live with the consequences because Ibelievedthem.God. Tears prick my eyes again, but I bite mycheek to stave them off, and it’s so hard I can taste the blood as it seeps onto my tongue.How did I get this so wrong?

When I arrive at the house, I beeline straight for the hard alcohol, thankful that Nate still has a few options in his stash after I took one last night. I knock back a few shots within seconds of opening the bottle before heading out the back. Several people try to talk to me or call my name, but I ignore them. I can’t talk to anyone about this.

I need to be alone.

I need air.

I sigh in relief when I make it to the back door, but when I step outside, under the stars, it’s stifling. I can’t breathe. I can’t focus. The images of Summer’s scars blind me, and I can’t see through it.

The farther I walk, the quieter it gets, but it’s so loud in my head that it feels like someone turned the volume up—that someone’s pounding the memories into me.

“She stole from us, Son.”

“We want her to come home. We begged her to.”

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