Page 62 of A Sky Full Of Stars

“The hair of the dog. Always the best remedy for a hangover.”

“Actually, Luke,” Thomas slurs a little as he sways. “I think I’m still drunk.” He taps Luke’s fist before taking a long pull of his beer, and my stomach churns.What the hell happened? Did he keep drinking after I left?

“Well, you better keep that up then,” Luke says with a laugh, apparently not seeing any issues. “You have a flight to catch. My little sister’s going to take you.”

Thomas spins so fast, a drop of his beer splashes to the floor, his eyes widening, clearly having no idea I was in the room. He frowns for a moment before shaking his head and shooting me a wide but fake grin. “Sounds perfect. Thank you, Luke’slittlesister. I’ll get my things.”

When he’s ready, Thomas silently follows me to my car, remaining one step behind as we pass by his truck. I glance his way to gauge his reaction, but he doesn’t acknowledge it, his gaze barely lifting from the ground.

We wordlessly settle in our seats, and before I’ve put the car in drive, Thomas turns on the music, his attention drifting to his side window.Point made.He doesn’t want to talk.

Other than the songs I’m barely listening to, it’s silent on our drive, and I hate having the time to think. I’m not a lover of small talk, far from it, but the weird energy surrounding us makes it feel like we’re strangers all of a sudden. Like I’m his Uber driver and he wants nothing to do with me. And that has my mind in a spin.

With his head back and his eyes closed, Thomas looks peaceful as he tries to fake sleep, giving me the strong urge to call him out on it, to tell him I can see through his ruse. But I don’t. Instead, I tap my fingers along the steering wheel and try to focus on the drivers of other cars, giving them a purpose.

The woman in the silver Volvo is on her way to the dog groomers. Her pooch never misses an appointment.

The man in the black Porsche is off to a business deal, ready to make his next million.

“Counting Stars” by OneRepublic comes on the radio, and Thomas starts singing along, instantly pulling me from my thoughts. He’s getting so many words wrong that I almost laugh at how adorable it is, until I remember we’re in a strange place right now.

He continues in his own world until the beat picks up, and he abruptly silences the volume before turning his head to face the window again.

“What was that about?” I snap, unable to take his moodiness any longer.

“I don’t like the song.” He shrugs. “No big deal.”

“You weresinging.”

“So? Turn it back on if you want.” He waves a hand toward the radio, and I bite my tongue to stop myself from arguing. “I’m trying to sleep anyway.”

I consider turning the volume up, hoping to gain some kind of reaction out of him but ultimately decide against it. He’sbeen through enough. I gave him yesterday and I’ll give him today, but if I ever see him again and he’s an ass like this, he’ll know about it. I’m done with people treating me like shit. I left my former life to get away from the drama. At least I would have, if they hadn’t kicked me out first.No, I’m not thinking about that.

I let my mind drift to other things as the new quiet fills the air, so when Thomas speaks again, I startle.

“I didn’t sleep with her,” he blurts, making me jump.

What?“Who?”

“Any of them.”

It’s been years since I saw him, and I shouldn’t care what he does or doesn’t do, yet I’m relieved. Though I can’t say if it’s a relief for me or him. He was a mess last night; he shouldn’t haven’t slept with anyone in that state. In fact, I don’t think he physically could have. “Okay,” I whisper because I’m not really sure how he wants me to respond to that, then I smile.

Thomas nods. “Okay,” he repeats, barely glancing my way, and my brain kicks into protector mode.

“Speaking ofokay…Thomas, I—”

“Thank you for yesterday, Lainey,” he cuts in. “For your help. For being there. I feel much better.”

He’s smiling so wide that I don’t even have to look his way to see it and it’s unnerving, not to mention fake.

“Don’t do that,” I grate. “You can pretend all you want to the rest of the world. But don’t pretend with me.” I can’t imagine what he’s going through right now, but we’ve never hidden our feelings from each other, only our feelingsforeach other. I was there last night; I witnessed his breakdown.

“I’m not pretending.” Thomas chuckles, his voice completely foreign. “I’m good. How can I not be? I’ve got my sister back.”

His response makes me mad, but since I know it’s a coping mechanism, I leave it alone.For now.My heart aches for him and all that he’s been through, but it’s going to take him more than twenty-four hours and his weight worth of alcohol to get over it.

“That makes me happy,” I say truthfully because if he has Summer back, then I’m here to celebrate, but I’m nervous about the events of last night. That didn’t look like someone that had everything worked out. “It’s good to see you smile.”

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