Page 88 of Toxic

One of his brothers, a really tall guy—maybe that purple alpha, Storm—turned around and gave me an intense look.

I quickly backed away, feeling like there was a thin string stretched between me and Skye, getting tighter and tighter, cutting into my skin, slicing through muscle, shredding bone.

An hour later, back in my dorm, I still felt like everything was unreal. The ground felt shaky under my feet as I unsteadily made my way to the bathroom and threw up. It was sinking in, with every heartbeat, with every breath. Slowly and painfully. I’d pushed Skye away, and this time, permanently.

I looked at my face in the mirror and clenched my teeth.

A rebel in me protested—No, you can’t give up!

Skye was probably packing his stuff right now, loading it into his parents’ car. Maybe I still had time. Maybe I still had a chance?

I quickly tore off the clothes I wore to graduation, rinsed out my mouth—still tasting the bitterness of vomit—and then ran out of the dorm, sprinting toward Skye’s building.

When I got there, I saw the door was open, and a couple of students were carrying things down the stairs. I sped past them, running full tilt, and reached Skye’s room. The door was open, and inside, it was empty. No one was there—not Alvin, not Archer, and definitely not Skye.

I rushed to the window, which had a partial view of the parking lot. I saw a few cars driving away, and in the last one, that tall alpha guy was getting in. I frantically tried to open the window, but just as I managed to do it, the door of the car slammed shut, and the vehicle started to pull away.

"No! Wait!" I shouted, but it was too late.

The last car left the lot.

My head was spinning. I looked around the room, helpless, refusing to accept what had just happened. I pulled out my phone and tried to call Skye, but my calls went straight to voicemail.

I glanced at the bed, and on a sudden impulse, I leaned down to check underneath it. I found one of Skye’s T-shirts there, one I’d seen him wear a few times. He probably forgot to pack it. I pressed it to my face, inhaling the faint, familiar scent, tears gathering in my eyes. He must have only worn it briefly because the smell was light, but it was enough. My heart was so broken… I broke it myself.

Clutching the shirt in my hand, I returned to my dorm.

It was only when I got back to my room that it really hit me hard, like plunging into icy water, the cold forcing the air out of my lungs. I walked over to the bathroom, laid Skye’s shirt on the sink, and stepped into the shower fully clothed, turning on the freezing water.

Too late.

Too fucking late.

This time I’d really blown it. Maybe if I had just told him to leave me alone and walked away, things might have been salvageable. But bringing Don into it—that must have been the final straw. Choosing a predator over him—that was the ultimate stab in his heart.

I’d lost everything all over again.

An hour later, Liam showed up.

He’d just come back from his own graduation ceremony. He found me still in the shower, sitting on the floor, silently crying, numb and in deep shock.

"God, Soren, what’s going on with you?" Liam rushed over, looking shaken by the sight of me. He dragged me out of the shower, peeling off my soaked, freezing clothes, and wrapped me in a blanket.

"God, you’re practically hypothermic!" He hugged me tight, trying to warm me up with his small body, but it couldn’t give me what I really wanted.

"I screwed everything up…" I stammered through chattering teeth. "I told Skye I never wanted to see him again…"

Liam froze for a moment, then quickly turned his head away so I couldn’t see his face, but it was too late. I had already caught the look on his face… he was smiling, he was happy! Fucker.

Then he said, "Soren, I know you see it differently now, but you actually made a really smart decision. You two didn’t have a future, and it would've only caused you more misery…"

I groaned in pain, feeling a terrible ache in my chest. "No, Liam! That’s not what I need to hear from you. I was hoping you’d tell me not to give up and to try to get him back… Be a good friend, support me!"

"No, that wouldn’t be ‘being a good friend’. You’re not going to get those words from me, Soren. You know how I feel about relationships between betas and alphas—they just don’t work!"

I groaned again, even more painfully. "Tell that to my heart, which only wants to fix things with Skye!"

Silence fell between us. It was like an abyss, a gigantic chasm between us. Liam’s pale brown eyes looked at me attentively, but didn’t see me—what the real me wanted. I knew we would never be on the same page, and I was absolutely sure Liam wasn’t the right person to talk to about this, to share what I was feeling.

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