Page 33 of Where the Stars Heal

I slam the hot water off, letting the cold water shock my system, and wash away the thoughts of Halle in my bed. My pulse still pounds as I grab a towel, and my mind races, trying to reel itself back in as I dry off and get dressed.

There’s something about her that causes me to lose my damn mind. She makes me feel lighter, like I can breathe without the guilt choking me.

Gripping the edge of the sink, I take a deep breath. I shouldn’t be thinking about her this way. She’s Hunter’s little sister. My best friend’s little sister. But fuck, shouldn’t she just be Halle?

Sighing, I swing the door open and walk down the hallway toward her. Today, she’s going to be just Halle. I’ll make sure of it.

I step into the kitchen, my eyes falling on her. She has her back to me as she leans on the counter, her head tilted down. I feel that magnetic pull deep inside me, and my heart races a little at the sight of her standing there, waiting for me.

Moving around the counter on quiet steps, I find her holding an old photo, and everything in me goes numb. My nostrils flare and I suck in a sharp breath, causing her head to snap up.

“Shit, you scared me,” she says, her voice shaky as she clutches the photo to her chest.

My jaw locks, eyes narrowing, as white hot anger begins to radiate through me.

Without thinking, I snatch the photo from her hands. “You weren’t supposed to find that,” I snap furiously.

How long had she been staring at it? Where the fuck did she even find it? I spin on my heel and storm out of the kitchen.

“Get in the truck, we’re leaving,” I call out to her, my voice clipped.

I don’t wait for her or check to see if she’s okay. The guilt slams into me, twisting into anger, drowning me as I climb in and start the engine.

15

I’M NOT A CHARITY CASE

HALLE

A storm is brewing inside his head, and I’m caught in the eye of it. The silence between us is so thick, you could cut it with a knife. My muscles ache from the hour-long drive where I stayed to my side of the truck, with one hand on the handle, too scared to relax in fear of screwing up again.

“Get out of the fucking way, you’ll just screw it up.”

“Can you ever do anything right?”

Whispers turn to shouts in my head. That’s what I seem to do best… Screw up.

I shouldn’t have gone through his things. I should have just left the photo where it was hidden and waited outside for him. But no, I had to grab it from the top of the fridge where it was folded over, letting my curiosity get the best of me.

Asher’s place wasn’t what I was expecting at all. The moment I stepped inside, a chill came over me. It was empty, like no one lives there, and a heavy sadness hung in the air. There wasn’t a single photo or piece of himanywhere, and trust me, I looked because who lives like that?

Glancing over my shoulder for what feels like the millionth time, I find him silently following me. He’s tense and uninterested, with his jaw clenched and eyes narrowed in my direction. He hasn’t said a word to me since he stormed off and demanded I get in the truck, and it’s suffocating. Questions spin in my mind and a part of me wants to yell at him, to tell him that he’s being an asshole, but the whispers inside remind me that I’m already a burden, and that keeps me moving.

He’s giving me whiplash with his sudden mood changes, and I don’t know what he wants from me. One minute he’s silent and angry, the next he’s… something else. God, this is so confusing.

The photo flashes in my mind once again as I try to piece together the meaning behind it. Whoever it was in that photo clearly means something to him. He looked like Asher, but not. Where Asher’s hair is curly, this guy’s was shaved. They were young in the picture, both with the same vivid green eyes that you could get lost in for days. Standing side by side, smiling at the camera with an arm over each other’s shoulders, they looked happy. Like the world was theirs for the taking. So why was it hidden, and why did it make him snap the way he did?

I suddenly get the feeling that there’s more to Asher than anyone realizes, and I question if Hunter knows his full story. A knot of unease twists in me, and I glance back at him again. He’s always staying at Hunter’s. Could that be why his place is so empty, or is he running from something?

Biting my bottom lip, our eyes lock for a split second before his gaze turns elsewhere, completely ignoring me. Is this why I feel such a pull to him? Why he can see throughme? Maybe he has a past of his own, and that’s why he understands me. Why we are so drawn to one another.

My heart is pounding in my chest as we walk through the one and only mall in this town, trying to find the art store I came here for. I want to stop, to turn and say something to break the silence and tension between us, but my unease turns to nerves and twists lower in my stomach, leaving me unable to speak. So I keep moving forward.

I just want to grab what I need and get back to Sunlit Cove and away from him. My anxiety is threatening to spill over, and I’m worried I’ll cause more problems while we’re here. Biting my thumbnail, I glance up and find the store I’ve been searching for. Relief floods through me, easing some of my nerves, and I let out a sigh. This trip wasn’t a waste of time after all.

I practically run inside, a wave of calmness washing over me as I take in the sight before me. It’s like coming home. The art store where I grew up was a safe haven for me, and I never wanted to leave. Being here right now makes me wish there was one in Sunlit Cove.

A flicker of hope sparks in my mind. If I could, I would open my own store. That’s my dream. If I stay, that is. I could turn it into a safe place for kids.

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