Page 21 of Beneath the Stars (Sugarlake 1)

“Probably. Who knows with her these days?” His jaw clenches, sadness sweeping over his features. “I’m trying not to be so overbearing. Let her live her life.”

Guilt stabs me for not voicing my worries. I promise myself that after we handle her finding out about us, I’ll bring it up. One thing at a time, Alina.

“Do you, ya know, wanna tell her about us?” I break eye contact, peering down at my pink-sparkled toes. I guess the rips he caused on my insides are a little deeper than I thought because part of me is terrified he’ll want to keep me a secret.

He tilts my chin up with his index finger. “I plan to tell everyone about us. I told you last night, I’m done fighting this. It’s us, now. Always.”

My body releases the tension, relief flooding my veins.

He pecks my lips again, trailing his hands down my arms until our fingers lace together. “How you feeling today, Goldi?”

I smile up at him. “Just right.”

He smirks, grabbing my hand and leading me out the door, making our way to his house.

Lily is home, and she does not take the news well.

I’m not sure what I expected, but it wasn’t this. I watch her pace the living room, feet moving so fast I’m not sure how the rest of her body keeps up. She looks tired today, a raggedness to her features I’m not used to seeing her wear. Her dark brown hair hangs limp and stringy, no makeup on her face. The antithesis of what Lily Adams usually represents.

“Lil, come on,” Chase pleads, standing in front of her.

She stops pacing. “Don’t you ‘come on’ me, Chase. What am I supposed to do with this? I was having an okay day. Then in walks my brother, the one person I could always count on to put me first, and I find out my whore of a best friend has been stealing him out from under me all this time?”

My heart drops through my stomach. Did she just call me a whore?

Chase cuts his hand through the air sharply. “Put you first? Lil, you haven’t let me put you first in a while. Every time I try, you call me overbearing, so don’t play that card with me. And don’t call her that. You don’t get to act like you’re a victim, here. This has nothing to do with you, Lil.”

“This has everything to do with me!” Her voice grates my eardrums, making me flinch. “She’s supposed to be my best friend! And you… you are supposed to be my brother. Didn’t you care at all about how this would make me feel?”

Tears stream down her face, and while I can understand where she’s coming from, this reaction is extreme, to say the least.

Chase breathes out, his shoulders falling as he walks toward her and takes her hands in his. “I’ll always be your brother. All I’ve ever wanted was to see you happy. Don’t you want the same for me? She makes me happy, Lil.”

Lily sniffs, staring hard at the ground like she wishes it would open up and swallow her whole. Her words are a whisper, so soft I have to strain to hear them. “She’s going to take you from me. I can’t lose you, Chase. You’re the only thing that keeps me safe.”

I feel awkward, standing behind them, watching as Lily’s scars from years I wasn’t a part of rip open and bleed out on the floor.

Chase pulls her to him harshly, the muscles in his arms tensing as he hugs her tight. “You’ll never lose me, Lil. It’s you and me against the world. That’s never going to change, okay?”

She nods against his chest.

My body relaxes, tension I didn’t even realize I was holding melting away.

Chase and Lily separate. He wipes the tears from her eyes before turning to wink at me. “You want something to drink?”

I shake my head, still feeling off-kilter from Lily’s reaction. I’m looking at Chase but can feel the weight of her stare. When Chase goes toward the kitchen, I pivot.

“Lily, I—”

“Don’t,” she cuts me off, a look of disgust creeping over her face. “I thought I knew who you were. But looking at you now? I just see bumpkin trash.”

Each word is a visceral pain making my stomach squeeze so tight I feel like I might throw up. She moves forward until she’s right in front of me, glaring. I try to focus on her words but my brain is too busy taking in her eyes. Have her pupils always been big like that? By the time I snap out of it, she’s done talking, looking at me like she’s waiting on a response. I have no idea what she just said. She rolls her eyes, knocking into my shoulder hard as she pushes past me, storming out the front door.

9

Chase

Eighteen Years Old

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