Page 76 of We Are the Stars

I spin around to find Elliott holding her head, blood seeping through her fingers. Her eyes are wild and scared, and she’s staring at me with terror.

Everything inside me goes from volcanic hot to icy waters cold.

I move toward her and she holds her hand out.

“Don’t.”

I ignore her and press forward, falling to the floor next to where she’s sprawled out. “Elliott…I fucked up.”

“That’s…” She winces. “That’s obvious, Carsen.”

I reach for her again and she scrambles backward. “Don’t.”

That one word shatters me. Cracks splinter and fan out until I’m in absolute shambles.

Jase struggles off the floor and heads toward Elliott, but she shakes him off too. The rest of the restaurant stands around muttering, whispering things behind their hands, throwing worried and disappointed looks our way. The staff stands frozen, unsure where to even begin with the cleanup. A red-faced manager stomps my way and I stand, promising to pay for all the damages.

Somewhere amongst the chaos, Elliott disappears.

Panic hits me and I can’t breathe. My chest feels like a thousand fire ants burrowed their way into my lungs and made a home. My body is lit with worry.

Then, relief floods me.

She’s gone.

She’s safe from me.

I can’t hurt her anymore.

I told her I was dangerous.

***

Elliott

“Whoa, whoa. Slow down there, speedster.”

Disoriented and in a rush to get out of the restaurant, I crash into a hard body on the sidewalk and nearly send myself falling to the ground for the second time tonight.

Strong hands wrap around my biceps and the stranger steadies me.

Another set of my hands land on me and I try to shake them off. Instantly I’m let go.

“Elliott?”

I look up to find Nate and Blake gawking at me. “Uh, hi.”

“What happened? What’s wrong? Why is your head bleeding? Did someone—”

Nate’s questions die amidst my outburst of tears.

“Carsen,” Blake whispers. “Was it him?”

I barely manage to nod and my head throbs from the movement. “He… We… Jase showed up and our date was ruined. He didn’t…” I gulp in a big breath of air. “He didn’t mean to. He didn’t know it was me, but he was so…he was so…”

The tears take over again as I fight for air.

“Hey, shh.” Warm arms engulf me and I try to calm myself down by breathing in the clean sent wafting off Blake. “Shh. It’s fine.”

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