Page 74 of Brighter Shades of Light

Mumbling followed her question, but I was too far away to hear what was being said. In the bedroom, I grabbed my jeans from the floor and pulled a hoodie over my head. I shoved clothes into my bag, not caring if they got wrinkled, before tying my sneakers and hauling the bag over my shoulder. I fished out my keys from my back pocket.

When I walked back down the hall, Emily was closer to Sebastian, holding his hands and whispering something to him. He stared back at her, his expression void of emotion. But life returned to his eyes when he saw me.

“You’re leaving?” The shakiness in his voice made the center of my chest physically hurt, like it was being ripped open. He pulled his hands from hers and started toward me.

“Yeah.” I stepped out of his reach and grabbed the door handle.

“Let him leave,” Emily said. “We need to talk anyway. Better if he wasn’t here.”

My heart dropped into my stomach. Were they going to get back together? Would Sebastian throw me away so easily?

I flipped around to her. “Look, I don’t know what your deal is, lady, but I didn’t do anything to you. So back off.”

“I need to back off?” She smiled coldly. “He’s my husband. And what is he to you? Your professor? You’re a child and need to stay in your own lane. Let the grownups talk.”

As I opened the door and stormed outside, the cold air held no comparison to the cold inside my chest. Snow covered the ground, and I trudged through it toward my truck.

“Cody!”

I turned to see Sebastian in the doorway. Barefoot and shirtless, he ran toward me. He was insane. He could get sick.

“Please don’t leave,” he said, once in front of me. His chin trembled, probably from the below-freezing temperature. “I can’t lose you.”

“Are you getting back with her?” Though it was hard, I glared at him. “Is that what she meant by you guys needing to talk?”

He looked at me, his unreadable expression not giving me much hope.

“Whatever.” I slid into my truck and slammed the heavy door.

Blue started on the third try, which was kind of a miracle given the cold weather. The tread on my tires sucked, and going down the steep hill would be fun to say the least. But I needed some space.

Sebastian stood in the snow, staring at me as I backed up.

The red-headed bitch stood on the front porch, crossing her arms. I expected to see a smug smile on her face. Instead, she appeared indifferent.

Once I was out of sight, I finally let go of the pain I had held back. I screamed and punched the door. Tears welled in my eyes. He should’ve told me about his ex-wife. I mean, he fucking told me about his dead ex-boyfriend. Why not his wife? What would happen now?

Emily was obviously still in love with him.

A guardian angel must’ve been watching over me because I made it to campus without an accident. Other than sliding a little on the steep hill, I didn’t have any trouble making it to the campus parking lot. It took me thirty minutes instead of ten, since I drove slowly, but I arrived in one piece.

I couldn’t say the same for my heart.

Tristen was fucking someone when I walked through the door. He was in his bedroom with the door closed, and the bed squeaked as it banged against the wall. I walked down the hall, hearing a guy moan.

In my room, the loneliness was suffocating. I kept the light off and crawled into bed, watching the snow fall outside the window. Falling in love with Sebastian was inevitable.

It seemed losing him was, too.

Chapter 19

Sebastian

“Are you pleased with yourself?” I asked Emily, once Cody’s truck disappeared down the hill and we went back inside the house. My feet were frozen, but I paid the sting little attention.

“No. I’m not pleased.” She plopped down on the couch. “Contrary to what you think, I don’t want to hurt you, Sebastian. But you have to see where I’m coming from. I never knew you liked men. It was a shock.”

“It’s not the gender of the person I’m attracted to, but rather who they are,” I said, a cold that had nothing to do with the weather creeping through my veins.