Page 30 of Fame & Chaos

The coldness in her voice hit me like a slap. She sat up quickly and moved further away from me on the bed.

Every instinct inside me screamed that something was very, very wrong. “Okay,” I said carefully, trying not to panic. “Okay… but tell me what happened.”

A tear slid down her cheek. “You upset me.”

My chest tightened painfully.

“What?”

She stood abruptly and walked toward her wardrobe, pulling clothes out with jerky movements while I sat there trying to understand what the hell had changed overnight.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “Indi, seriously, tell me what I did and I’ll fix it.”

“It’s not what you did.” Her voice cracked slightly. “It’s what you said.”

I frowned harder. “What did I say?”

She turned toward me then, and the anger in her eyes genuinely shocked me. “You know exactly what you said.”

“No, I don’t.” I stood slowly. “Indi, I swear to God, I don’t.”

The frustration on her face only worsened. “You said you wanted me to be yours.”

Relief almost hit me at first because that didn’t seem bad. Not compared to the horrific scenarios my brain had already created.

I stepped toward her carefully. “You are mine,” I said softly.

“Stop saying that!” she snapped.

I froze.

“What is happening right now?”

“You know what happened to my parents,” she shot back.

I blinked in confusion. “Of course I do. I was there.”

“Then how can you sit there talking about forever and relationships like they are some beautiful thing?”

I stared at her, completely lost. “Indi, what are you talking about?”

“You heard me!” Her breathing became shaky and uneven. “My parents loved each other so much they destroyed themselves. Dad overdosed, and Mum killed herself because she couldn’t live without him.”

My stomach dropped.

Oh. Well, fuck!

Suddenly, I understood.

At least a little.

“That’s not us,” I said quietly.

“But it could be!” she cried and wrapped her arms tightly around herself as tears streamed down her face. “You don’t get it, Caleb. They were obsessed with each other. Completely obsessed. And where did that leave me?”

My heart hurt looking at her. “Indi—”

“No!” She shook her head violently. “I can’t become that person. I can’t spend my life terrified something will happen to you.”