Page 162 of Fame & Chaos

I hate how uncertain she sounds already.

“We met at one of our concerts,” I cut in quickly. “Sasha’s a fan of the band, right, Sasha?”

Sasha smiles slowly. “Yeah… that’s right.” And the look she gives me makes my pulse spike harder. Then she tilts her head slightly. “Remember the first night we made love, Caleb?” she asks casually. “That was right before you sent Indi all those gorgeous roses, wasn’t it?”

Everything stops.

My heartbeat.

My breathing.

The goddamn world.

I feel the blood drain straight from my face while Indi slowly turns toward me. And I physically watch the pieces click together behind her eyes.

No.

No, no, no—

“As in…” Her voice shakes violently. “The night we almost slept together, and I got called into work?”

I open my mouth immediately. “Indi—”

“You went home…” she whispers brokenly, “… and fucked her instead?”

“It wasn’t like that!” I say instantly. “Baby, I swear—”

“Then what was it like, C-Caleb?” Her voice cracks loudly enough that nearby people start turning toward us. Tears spill down her cheeks while she wipes at them furiously.

Fuck.

Seeing her cry feels like someone’s ripping my chest open with their bare hands. I glare at Sasha for half a second, wanting to wipe that smug expression off her face, before turning back to Indi and reaching for her shoulders, but she jerks violently away from me.

“Don’t you dare touch me!”

The words hit like a hard slap.

“Indi, please listen to me,” I beg desperately. “After I left your place that night, I was upset and angry and confused and—”

“Save it!” she yells. “I don’t care if you were drunk or high or fucking possessed by Satan himself!” Her entire body shakes while sobs tear from her chest. “You told me you l-loved m-me.” Her voice breaks completely. “I thought that meant s-something.”

“It does mean something!”

“All this time, have you been sleeping with her behind my back?”

“Yes,” Sasha says calmly.

Before I can even react, Indi slaps me hard across the face, and the crack echoes around us.

I barely feel it.

“No!” I shout immediately. “Indi, no, that’s not true!”

She looks utterly shattered. “I should never have trusted you,” she whispers.

Panic explodes inside me. “Sasha’s fucking obsessed with me,” I yell desperately while glaring at her. “She keeps showing up everywhere. She wanted me to cheat on you with her and I wouldn’t—”

“You’re lying!” Indi screams through sobs.