Page 155 of Closer

He steps closer, but I retreat.

Pain flickers in his eyes. “Is everything okay?”

The words tumble out. “What—Is it—Why would he say something like that?”

He holds up his hands, palms out. “It’s nothing. Let’s—”

“Nothing?” John’s voice is cold and unforgiving. “You killed her father.”

“Sebastian? What is going on?” I ask.

“I’ll tell you what’s going on,” John says. “Your father—”

“Stop.” Sebastian’s hand shoots out, but John ignores him.

“—in his madness, he killed his wife and almost killed his daughter and my son.”

What? My mind reels. No, that can’t be right. “My parents died in a car accident when I was a child.”

“Yourparents didn’t die in an accident,” John says.

Flashes of memory assault me. Screams. A boy looking at me with haunted eyes. Blood under a door. “No, no, that’s not true.” I back away, shaking my head. This has to be a mistake.

John points at Sebastian. “Ask the man you’re so in love with.”

“Lil, don’t listen to him,” Sebastian says. “He’s trying to—”

“Tell me he’s lying. Please,” I say.

“Yes, tell her. Tell her what you did for her,” John says.

Numbness spreads through my limbs, and I struggle to draw breath. A scratching sound at the back of my head.

“Please. Look at me,” Sebastian says.

I look up straight into Sebastian’s pleading, desperate eyes. “Tell me the truth. Please.”

“Let’s get home and talk about it there.”

He’s not saying it.

“You knew…” I say. “All this time, you knew.”

Sebastian reaches for me, but I flinch away.

This can’t be true. It has to be some sick, twisted joke. But the way Sebastian’s face pales, the way his eyes dart away from mine…

“I can’t… I can’t do this.” I back away, nearly tripping over my own feet. “I need to go. I need to—”

The world tilts, my legs threatening to give out. Those nightmares, the ones that plagued me for years…

I can’t breathe. I need air. I pivot and flee.

“Lil, wait! Please!” Sebastian calls after me, but I can’t stop. I won’t. My finger hammers the elevator button like my life depends on it.

I can’t be near him, not now, not when everything I thought I knew has been turned upside down. Is this a nightmare?

The doors slide open, and I dart inside, frantically pushing the close button. Right before they shut, I catch a glimpse of Sebastian’s face. Regret. Pain. Guilt. And I know. I fucking know it’s true.

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