Page 107 of Please Hate Me

“Hiswhat?” Lucian exclaimed.

Sebastian looked away from me, putting a hand on the back of his neck. It felt like time slowed as my stomach flipped.

“His boyfriend!” Leona continued, as if she hadn’t dropped a bomb on the whole table. “Sebastian, what was his name again?”

Sebastian hesitated as he finally looked back to the table. His gaze shifted to each of us, his silver-blue eyes wide as he swallowed hard. Leona had to have this wrong. I had Sebastian’spurity ring in my suitcase. He told me he saved himself for me. If he had a boyfriend, they must have had sex at some point… right?

I placed a hand on his shoulder, only for him to shrug me off.

Leona’s eyes narrowed as a thoughtful expression crossed her face, like she was completely unaware of the tension she’d caused. After a moment, it was as if a light bulb went off.

“Alex! He was a barista at the coffee shop you used to stop by when you started working for—”

“Leo, stop,” Sebastian muttered, his face turning redder by the moment. “We broke up. It’s fine.”

“What? But you guys were together for years! You were planning on—”

“We. Broke. Up.” His tone was sharper this time.

The room went completely silent, save for birds just out the window.

“Dude, why thefuckdidn’t you tell me you were bisexual?” Lucian’s eyebrows were raised in disbelief.

Sebastian looked up at his brother with a wild frenzy in his eyes, stood up, and threw his napkin on his plate before storming off. I watched him walk away, almost unable to move.

Lucian snapped his fingers, instantly becoming the center of attention.

“Leona... that wasn’t for you to tellanyof us.”

I had never heard Lucian stick up for Sebastian before. In any other situation, it would have been sweet, but this...

This was a nightmare.

When the shock of the situation wore off and I finally made my way up the steps, the apartment door was locked. If anyone else had come to check on Seb, that would have been a great wayto keep them out, but fortunately, I had a key. I fumbled with it a moment before pushing the door open and stepping in, not caring to shut it behind me.

The living room was empty, and the apartment was quiet aside from the hum of the fridge.

“Seb?” I tried to keep the uncertainty from my tone as I wandered down the narrow hall.

Light spilled out from under our bedroom door and onto the cream carpet. Should I go in? Or would it be better for me to give him time?

My knuckles tapped on the door.

“Go away.”

I paused; my hand still raised. Rejection from Sebastian stung worse than I expected. I wanted to be there for my boyfriend, and I hated that he didn’t want me there.

I twisted the doorknob, finding it wasn’t locked.

“Sebastian,” I called. “Can I please come in?”

“Go back downstairs, Mason.” His voice was soft, tinged with a sorrow I had no idea he’d been harboring. “You have a house full of people who want to see you right now.”

“I don’t care. I just want to see you.”

I cracked the door just enough to peer in. Sebastian was perched on the edge of the bed, head in his hands. The dim lighting caused shadows to dance across his face as he looked up at me. His chest swelled with a breath as another beat of silence passed.

“Fine,” he mumbled.

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