Chapter 42

My ears had gone silent, but it all happened so fast yet…so slow. Blair buckling under the pressure and begging Cristo to not say anything. Hands waving and red eyes tearing up, asking him why he would ever do such a thing. Her telling him she loved him.

Please, her mouth moved, I love you. Don’t do this to me.

People do strange things when they love someone. Mark’s mother. Blair. Cristo’s parents. And it was then that I understood it all so clearly. My fears, my feelings…my trauma.

To be loved was a burden.

Cristo sat beside me in the car, the air around us sullen and sour as our questions seeped into the air. Unspoken, untrusting, and unending.

So many questions and I had the voice to ask none of them. Was it even my business?

To be honest…I think it was.

“You need to tell me what’s going on, Cristo.” I said softly. “I…I want to trust you but…what I saw in there–”

“It wasn’t me.”

“I wasn’t finished.” I snapped. He exhaled deeply through his nose, eyes softening in something close to