Page 103 of Heart Break Her

My vision turns red. Everything that’s been bubbling inside since I first went on tour pops at the surface and starts spilling out of me.

“What I did with Sebastian is none of your fucking business, or anyone else’s for that matter. You had no right to make it public in some sick game of revenge. And how dare you try to blame Sebastian for what happened to my brother. You didn’t know him then, and you never fucking will.”

I’m out of breath, and it feels like the air is leaving the room. I step back, but it doesn’t stop the merry-go-round from spinning.

“What’s going on?” I look to the left and see Merry turning the corner, with Eloise and Sebastian right behind her.

Sebastian’s face resembles how I feel. Tired, deflated, empty. And when his eyes meet mine, I feel recognition hit. I’m not sure what my expression says, but as his eyes dart to Megan and then back to me, we both know the truth is bare between us, and there’s no more hiding.

“Cassie,” he says.

But I hold up my hand as he takes a step toward me, still trying to catch my breath.

Deep down, I know it’s not Sebastian’s fault, just like it’s not mine. What happened the night Myth died was, and always will be, on Myth. But it doesn’t mask the betrayal of Sebastian keeping the details of that night from me. And it doesn’t take away the hurt of Megan’s revenge scheme as a result of it.

Megan crosses her arms over her chest and turns to face Sebastian and Eloise. “I quit,”

Eloise shakes her head, looking as confused as Merry does, a pinched expression on her face.

“What’s going on?” Eloise asks.

“I told her.” Megan sounds proud of herself for what she’s done, and it makes me feel sicker.

Eloise takes a step closer, but Sebastian doesn’t move. His expression is flat, and his gaze is stuck on me.

“Told her what?” Eloise asks.

“The truth.” Megan is yelling now, and I realized her tone is as unhinged as I feel. “You all pretend like nothing’s wrong. Like your brother didn’t fucking kill Myth. They were his drugs, you know? That laced shit was meant for him, but like it always is around you guys, someone else paid the price. Some fucking family this is.”

Merry’s eyes widen in surprise, and I feel the floodgates opening. Clearly this is also news to her. “What did she just say?” Merry takes a step forward.

“It’s not like that.” Eloise holds up her hand to Merry, before looking at me.

“I know,” I say, and they all seem a little surprised by it.

“You, what?” Megan is the first one to say something. “Wow, unbelievable. Thanks for taking away my guilt, at least. Guess you deserved it as much as he did.”

Sebastian finally steps forward with a stone-cold expression on his face. “Deserved what?”

Megan smirks and tips her nose up at him, her slanted eyes shooting daggers.

“What the fuck did you do, Megan?” He’s right in front of her now, and she has to tip her head up to look at him, but she doesn’t back down.

“Maybe you should have checked the room before fucking around with your best friend’s sister if you didn’t want it all over the internet,” she says in an ice-cold tone that sends a shiver down my spine.

“The internet…” Sebastian trails off, but I see the pieces click together in his head.

Merry is already moving around him, screaming, grabbing Megan by the hair and pulling her backward. “You released the tape?”

Madness descends, and limbs are flailing. If I ever doubted Merry’s fierce friendship, it’s proved in this moment.

Sebastian and Eloise try to break up the fight, but my feet are frozen in place as I watch it like it’s a movie playing out in front of me.

I step backward as people start to fill the room. The moment Noah and Rome make their way in, Noah moves for Merry. He wraps his arms around her waist and pulls her off Megan, which just pisses her off more. With the two of them broken apart, Sebastian steps away and runs his fingers through his thick hair.

When he looks up, his eyes meet mine, and they tell me all the words he should have said weeks ago. The cold, painful truth—that one night was all it took to break both of us in ways we might never be healed from.

Fighting and screaming might fill the room, but Sebastian and I are in a bubble at the center of it. Him, frozen. And me, overcome with unanswered questions.

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