Page 8 of The Fallen Ones

I swallowed hard at her words. “Did you love Jace, Lil?”

She sniffled. “It doesn’t matter. There’s a lot of confusing shit going on in my head right now. It wouldn’t matter if I did sincehe’s screwing someone else right now.” Her words were bitter as she hugged herself.

“Fuck, Lil.” I sighed and reached for her. She let me awkwardly hug her for a moment before pulling away and wiping at her eyes.

“Let’s just go. I want to be distracted.”

“OK.” I started the engine, wanting the same damn thing because that battle inside my head started again, making me question everything once more.

Fucking hell.

Chapter 4

Lily

Caleb had been acting strange since Giano’s. To be fair, he’d tried to punch Damien in the face, but it was more than that. In fact, upon considering it, I realized he’d been acting strange since he’d picked me up earlier in the evening. The thought that maybe my confusion and heartbreak may just be putting him off ran through my head too, and for that, I was angry for making him feel uncomfortable around me. I was new to breakups, so I was probably just doing it wrong. I’d always just suffered everything out in silence, but Caleb had always been there for me during it so I didn’t feel so alone.

Maybe breakups were different, and I was screwing everything up.

I sat next to him on the couch in my tiny off-campus apartment and drew my legs up onto the cushions. “Is everything OK? You’re acting weird.”

He tensed beside me before clearing his throat. “I’m fine. Damien pissed me off. He shouldn’t have said that shit to you.”

I frowned, an old memory resurfacing.

Damien’s warm lips on mine on a patio at a Halloween party after we’d moved in with him and his father on the upper end of the city. The way he’d placed his hands on my hipsand tugged me closer. The words he’d whispered to me,“You’re mine, baby sister.” Then, he pulled away and left me breathing harder, stealing my first kiss at fifteen and taking it with him.

We never spoke of that night again, but Damien had watched me until the day I found my mother dead on the floor in her lavish new bedroom, a photo on her phone of Damien’s dad fucking another woman in a text message clearly meant to hurt her.

“Damien is…Damien.” I sighed and rested my head against the back of the couch. “I just ignore him.”

That was a lie. I watched Damien as much as he watched me. Not in a creepy way. It was more like I was anticipating his next move. He and Jace hating one another made things so much worse. It seemed to amplify Damien’s possessive behavior, which in turn ramped up Jace’s. Damien had cornered me several times since I’d started dating Jace to remind me he still owned a little piece of me. Taunting me about whether or not Jace knew our little secret.

It was all too confusing, so I tried to not dwell on it, and I’d never told anyone about the kiss I’d shared with Damien all those years ago.

“You’re lying,” I murmured, looking over at Caleb.

He finished his slice of pizza and chewed slowly for a moment before wiping his lips.

“Caleb? Talk to me. You’re worrying me.”

He hesitated for a moment, his gaze snapping to me before he looked to his hands in his lap. Caleb told me everything and never held back. To see him this way made me concerned.

“It’s nothing, Lil. I’ve just got a lot going on. It’s all good. I’m working on it. Promise.” He gave me a quick smile.

“You know I’ll listen when you’re ready.” I knew he was lying, but I didn’t want to push him on it.

“I know. That’s what makes you so damn perfect.” He sighed and grabbed another slice of pizza and handed it off to me. “Eat. It’s getting cold.” He looked over at me. Something flashed in the depths of his eyes that made my heart jolt.Guilt.I’d seen that look on his face before when he’d gotten caught by his dad for sneaking me into his house late at night during one of my attempted escapes from the foster home I’d been stuck in after my mom passed.

Just as quick as the look flashed over his face, it vanished, leaving behind a small smile that didn’t quite make his eyes sparkle in the way I loved so much.

I took the slice he offered me and bit into it, watching as he grabbed himself another piece. We ate in silence for a long time before he finally spoke.

“What’s going on with you?” He looked over at me. “How are you doing with…Jace?”

I flinched at the mention of Jace’s name. I wanted this night to be about escaping all my painful thoughts on the Jace situation. Caleb was supposed to be distracting me, but he was dragging me right back into my own personal hell.

“I’m OK. Really,” I lied. “It was the right decision. I’m not ever going to be able to give him what he wants. Not after what I watched my mom go through with men and then Rick…” My voice faded away at the mention of Damien’s father’s betrayal.

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