Page 76 of Where the Stars Heal

The tension and uncertainty in the air finally lift, and for the first time in what feels like forever, a smile spreads across my face.

Hunter grins back. “Now, let’s fucking eat. All that sappy shit made me hungrier.”

Chuckling, I pick up the menu and scan over the options. My stomach growls as I wonder if their burgers are as good as the ones Halle and I had at that diner we went to.

“Boys, you look like you’re about done with the heavy stuff, so what can I get you?”

The waitress’s voice snaps me out of my thoughts, and I glance up, ready to order. But Hunter’s gasp pulls my attention. He’s staring frozen in shock.

When I look back at the waitress, she’s looking down at him with her eyes wide, like she’s been caught in headlights.Her hands shake, and before I can figure out what the hell is going on, the color drains from Hunter’s face.

His mouth hangs open like he’s seen a ghost.

She doesn’t wait for him to say anything. She spins, her blue apron fluttering, and bolts through the swinging kitchen doors.

“Hunter!” I snap my fingers in front of his face.

His eyes flick to me, and without a word, he scrambles out of the booth, tripping over his feet as he takes off, chasing after her.

37

I’M NOT A BURDEN

HALLE

The stars aren’t as bright here. They’re muted, swallowed by the glow of the streetlamp. Unlike at Asher’s house, where they shine so bright against the dark sky. But the swing at Asher’s is ours, and I can’t bear to be there without him.

The chain rattles with a gust of wind, the sound piercing the quiet night. Pressing my feet into the grainy sand, I push off, letting the swing sway me back and forth. The nights are starting to get cold, and the air bites at my skin, causing a shiver to snake through me, a welcome chill to the burning heat inside my chest from the ache that refuses to leave.

I miss him. Six days without Asher, and with each passing day, a little bit of my hope falls away. The sleepless nights, the forceful smiles, the hollow reassurances—they’re all beginning to weigh me down. The worry gnaws at me and intensifies with every second.

And now Hunter’s gone, too. Three days without a word.

Madi won’t speak. She won’t tell me what’s plaguing her mind. She moves like a shadow and sleeps in Hunter’s bed, working her shifts and hovering by her phone. If it weren’tfor Connor and Tessa, we’d be nothing more than two shells, consumed by worry.

I tilt my head back as the swing carries me higher, my gaze catching on a single star, so bright it seems to sparkle against the rest. Something inside me settles, the tight knot in my chest loosening as a small smile pulls at my face. With a sigh, I bring my feet down, dragging them along the sand and slowing the motion of the swing. My eyes don’t leave that star, the one that feels impossibly close and yet so far. Deep in my heart, I can feel it—a whisper of warmth.

Hi, Mom.

Two questions spin inside my mind, the same two every time I feel her with me.

Why aren’t you here? Why did you leave me, Mom?

I close my eyes and draw in a deep breath, steadying the beat of my heart. But the sadness has a way of sneaking in. It can come out of nowhere. It can come in the quiet moments when you aren’t thinking of anything or anyone, or it can crash over you when you see their favorite color, favorite food, or flower.

That’s grief. It has no routine, no schedule. It’ll creep up on you when you least expect it or even when youareready for it. And before you know it, your eyes sting with unshed tears, a shiver will slowly move through your body from your head to your toes, and you’ll be free-falling, helpless against the weight of it.

My eyes drift back to the single star, still shining down on me, a quiet reminder that I need to keep holding on, no matter how heavy life becomes. A tear escapes, tracing a slow path down my cheek as I hear her voice whisper through my mind.

“My baby girl, everything will be okay.”

Goosebumps ripple across my arms as my head fallsforward. What I wouldn’t give for one last hug—to feel her warmth, to breathe her in just one more time.

“You know, someone once told me that turning it all off with the stars makes more sense.”

My shoulders tense, fingers tightening around the cold chains as a shaky breath slips past parted lips. His voice wraps around me like a tight hug, but I don’t lift my head, too afraid that if I do, he won’t be real.

The crunch of sand under his feet echos into the stillness of the night, and then his boots appear in my line of sight. He kneels in front of me, my pulse beating wildly as his thumb brushes beneath my chin, tilting my face to meet his gaze.

---