Page 88 of Ink & Stardust

My heart kicks against my ribs.

Maybe this was a mistake... A mistake I have to own now because there’s no way I can take back the confession I just made.

“Just say what you mean.” I throw his words back at him.

“I’m not...” He shakes his head. “I can’t...”

I’m notin love with you.

I can’tgive you what you want.

I fill in the words he doesn’t say, devastation tearing through me like a serrated knife that hacks at my insides with such violence I physically shudder.

Tears prick the backs of my eyes, but I refuse to let a single one fall. He will not see me break. No man will ever see me break again. I refuse to give anyone that kind of power.

“That’s what I thought.” My chin quivers, threatening to expose me as I push to a stand.

“Lyric...” He looks up at me like he wants to say a million things and yet, not a single one breaks the surface.

“It’s okay,” I tell him, slinging my bag over my shoulder. “You were upfront with me about what this was.”

“But I—”

“Please don’t say something in an attempt to make me feel better. I can promise you it will only make things worse.”

I turn and exit the room so quickly you’d think I was being chased by someone I don’t want to catch me. And in a way, I guess I am.

The cool air whips around my face as I exit the building, but it does little to soothe the feeling of being burned up from the inside out. It’s all-consuming, an inferno I can’t outrun no matter how hard I try.

My feet move on autopilot, carrying me farther across the lawn.

“Lyric, stop!” I hear Kai’s voice just seconds before his hand closes down around my arm from behind, bringing my movements to an abrupt halt.

I pitch forward but am able to quickly bring myself upright again, thanks in part to the grip Kai has on me. A grip he instantly releases when I spin toward him.

“What?” The word is riddled with so much defeat, it’s painful to speak, and even more painful to hear.

“You just... You took me by surprise back there. I’m sorry if I didn’t say the right thing. It’s just—”

“You don’t feel the same way. Yeah, I got that.”

“You don’t understand.”

“What is there to understand? I’m in love with you. You don’t feel the same way. It seems pretty cut and dry to me.”

“I don’t know how to do this.”

“Do what?”

“Any of this.” He gestures around at nothing and yet everything all at the same time. “I just know I don’t want to lose you.”

“Do you love me?” I ask, point blank.

“Lyric, I—”

“You wanted me to be straight with you and I was. The least you can do is give me the same courtesy. Do you love me or don’t you?”

“It’s not that simple.”

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