Chapter 55

Lyra

“Spare me the shaky voice and the tears, Tasha. I’m not ready to be comforted by the same hands that held him while I was crying about him to you. I’m not ready to hear your sad little redemption story about how it was a mistake and you’ve hated yourself ever since. You hated yourself in silence. Privately. While I hated myself out loud. While I drowned in it. While I doubted everything about me.”

Tears streamed down her cheeks.

“Do you even know what it did to me?” I demanded, standing slowly like my legs were powered by rage and heartbreak and Red Bull. “Do you even fucking know what it felt like? Sitting in my room, sobbing over a boy who broke me, while you sat next to me—nodding like you cared, acting like my pain was safe with you—and you were the reason I was in pain the whole time?”

She tried to speak. I cut her off with a raised hand.

“No. No, you don’t get to talk yet. I need to say this. I need to get this out or I’m going to expl