Chapter Twenty-Eight
Indi
My heart is thumping so fast I can barely breathe.
My vision is blurred from tears, and I can’t see where I’m going as my head pounds so violently that I feel sick.
The upbeat music around me feels mocking, the cheerful sound twisting in my skull until the whole world spins.
I stumble through the crowd, desperately trying to catch my breath while crashing into people and rides because I’m too disoriented to focus on anything properly.
I have no idea where I am, other than the fact that I’m at the funfair and Caleb cheated on me with that woman.
I feel like my world has come full circle.
Everything is overwhelming me as I sob uncontrollably.
I clap my hands over my ears to block out the music infiltrating my head and making it pound harder, but nothing helps.
The panic won’t ease. The pain won’t stop.
My chest tightens so viciously that it feels like I’m having a heart attack as I clutch at it for dear life.
All I can hear are people laughing, music blaring, rides creaking, and children screaming.
Every sound crashes into me until nausea churns in my stomach.
I can’t take it anymore.
The lights, the noise, the pain, the confusion… it’s too much.
I need to get out of here.
A broken cry tears from my throat as I start running. I don’t even know where I’m going. I can’t remember where the exit is, but I keep pushing through the crowd while people stare at me like I’m some sort of freak.
I am a freak.
I must be.
Caleb can’t stay faithful to me… ever. So clearly I’m not worthy of it. I knew I shouldn’t have trusted him. I knew I shouldn’t have believed him.
Why else would nothing have happened with Maddie after school?
I saw her hands moving to his dick. What more proof do I need?
I’m so stupidly naive.
How could I ever think we would work? I knew he was a serial womanizer. I knew he loved the rock star lifestyle. How could I possibly believe I would ever be enough for someone like him?
Sobbing harder, I finally find the exit and stumble through it while searching for my car. Thank God I have the keys because Caleb can find his own way home, the lying, cheating, scum-sucking arsehole.
I yank open the car door, collapse into the driver’s seat, and cry into my hands. I can’t believe this is happening. I genuinely thought we were happy. In the few short days we’d been together, everything had felt perfect, like there was no possible way things could fall apart this quickly.
I love him.
I’m so hopelessly, undeniably in love with him.
And he’s shattered my heart so completely I don’t think I could ever love someone this way again. Will I get into another relationship one day? I honestly don’t know. But will I ever love anyone as deeply as I love Caleb right now? Never.
I can never love like this again.
Because right now I feel like I’m drowning.
Like I’m trapped beneath violent waves, and instead of holding me up the way he promised he would, he’s the one forcing me under.
He’s the reason I’m suffocating. He’s the reason I feel like I’m dying inside, and he’s the reason my heart won’t survive this.
I sob harder into my hands when my cell starts ringing in my pocket. The sound startles me so badly that I jump, then drag it out and stare mindlessly at the screen. My vision is too blurry to make anything out, so I wipe my eyes and squint until Caleb’s name comes into focus.
Rage explodes through me.
It bubbles up so violently I can’t contain it. I hurl the phone across the car and grip the steering wheel so tightly my hands ache as I shake it violently, letting out a strangled moan of frustration. I’m hurting so badly, and even this tiny release of anger doesn’t help.
Crying, I clutch the steering wheel until my knuckles turn white. Then, once the last bit of fury drains from me, I drop my forehead against it and break apart completely, my grip loosening as the floodgates open even wider.
He has destroyed me.
I was so hesitant about getting into this relationship with him. So confused. I wanted him more than anything, but I knew exactly what he was like. This outcome was inevitable, and I should have listened to my gut instead of my stupid heart. Now my heart feels dead, and I only have myself to blame.
I keep crying against the steering wheel, feeling more lost than I’ve ever been in my life. My entire world is crashing down around me, and nothing can repair the gaping hole burning through my chest. Nothing can undo the damage Caleb McCormack-Slade has caused me… yet again.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
I jump violently and look up to find Caleb outside my car window, knocking impatiently against the glass. My face screws up as fresh tears spill down my cheeks, and he frowns before shaking his head.
“Indi, please, just let me explain,” he yells through the window.
“There’s nothing to explain, Caleb. Leave me alone!” I scream as I start the car.
Panic flashes across his face as he grabs the door handle and tries to open it, but I locked it the second I got in. He tugs at it in frustration while I start crying harder.
Groaning, he rests his forehead against the window. “Indi, listen to me, please. I slept with her, yes, but—”
“That’s all I needed to know. Goodbye, Caleb.”
I start pulling away, but another car swings in front of me, blocking the exit.
“No, Indi, wait. Goddammit, will you just listen?”
“No. Fuck off, Caleb. Don’t call me, and don’t come to my house, or I’ll have you arrested. I swear to God, leave me alone or I’ll never talk to you again.”
His eyes widen before the tension in his face softens slightly. “So… you will talk to me again then?”
I mentally slap myself for saying that. “If you leave me alone,” I snap, desperate to get rid of him.
“Okay. I’ll give you time. But please, give me the chance to explain. Indi… I love you.”
The sound of those three words rips through my chest so painfully that I gasp. Tears pour harder down my cheeks as the other car finally moves away. I lift my gaze to Caleb through tear-soaked lashes. “Move!” I force out.
His shoulders slump before he steps away from the car. I pull out of the parking space and glance in the rearview mirror, watching him stand there while I drive away. My heart pounds so hard I feel lightheaded.
I hate this feeling.
I just left Caleb behind… for the last time.
I can’t keep doing this to myself.
He will never change, and no excuse he gives me will ever be good enough.
I drive too fast all the way home, praying he won’t already be there when I arrive, even though that feels impossible considering he has no way of getting back from the funfair.
Pulling into my usual parking spot, I wipe at my cheeks and glance into the mirror.
The girl staring back at me is the same broken-hearted, insecure girl from six years ago—the one who loved Caleb with everything she had, only for him to let her down.
I can’t believe I let this happen again.
Climbing from the car, I make my way inside my quiet, cold, empty house. It feels completely different now that Caleb isn’t here. When he was around, it felt warm, safe, like I belonged somewhere. Like I finally had someone to lean on.
But here I am again.
Alone and lost.
Exactly where I was six years ago.
I’m back at square one, and I hate it.
Wrapping my arms around myself, I place my keys on the buffet as thunder cracks loudly outside, followed by a heavy downpour of rain.
I hope Caleb isn’t caught in it. The thought barely settles before I shove it away and secretly hope he is… the lying, cheating bastard.
Deciding I’ve had enough of today, I head to my bedroom, pull on my comfiest pajamas, and crawl into bed while trying to forget I ever met Caleb McCormack-Slade.
***
My phone’s vibration slowly wakes me. Groaning, I blink against the morning light filtering through my curtains and reach for it unquestioningly. It’s probably Caleb.
To my surprise, he didn’t come over last night or try calling again after I left the funfair. He actually gave me the space I asked for, and despite everything, I’m grateful for it.
Rolling over, I squint at the screen and see Kenzi’s name flashing across it. My brows furrow as I glance at the time before answering the call.
She never calls this early.
“Kenzi?” I murmur, my voice thick with sleep.
“Indi, are you okay?” she asks immediately, sounding tense.
I rub my eyes, confused by the question. “Yeah… what do you mean?”
“I mean about the news. Did you know they were going to tell your story?”
Every trace of sleep vanishes. “What are you talking about?” I ask, sitting bolt upright in bed.
“Oh… you don’t know?”
“Kenzi, talk to me.” She goes quiet for a second. “Kenzi,” I repeat more forcefully.
She exhales heavily. “Your parents’ story is all over the news.
That, and your recent relationship with Caleb and how you broke his heart.
They’re saying you guys have this long history together and that you ended things with him, and now he’s trying to put his life back together.
Apparently, it’s going to do wonderful things for his career. ”
My entire body goes rigid as heat floods through me so violently it feels like my blood is boiling beneath my skin. I feel sick, violated, and completely betrayed.
“I can’t believe he did this,” I whisper harshly as I throw the blankets off and storm toward my laptop.
“I thought you’d want to know. I know how private you are, and honestly, I thought it was weird that you’d let something this personal go public—”
“Well, I obviously didn’t, Kenzi!” I snap.
“I know that. Jesus, Indi, don’t bite my head off. I know you’re angry.” Her tone softens slightly. “Do you want me to come over?”
The rage starts draining out of me, leaving behind a crushing ache spreading through every inch of my body. I flip open my laptop and pull up the news website, only to freeze at the sight of mine and Caleb’s faces plastered across the homepage beneath the headline…
Seems a Nurse Can’t Heal a Broken Heart
My bottom lip trembles as I scroll lower and see a photograph of my parents.
How the hell did they even find that?
“Indi?” Kenzi asks gently.
I wipe at the tears burning down my cheeks. “How could he do this, Kenzi?” Slumping back onto the edge of the bed, I stare blankly at the screen while pain claws through my chest.
“What happened? Last I knew, things between you two were amazing.”
I let out a hollow laugh. “Well, turns out a leopard never changes his spots.”
Kenzi sighs heavily, and I can hear movement on her end of the line like she’s already getting dressed. “Right, give me your address.”
“What?”
“I know you’re weird about people coming to your place because you think everyone’s judging you or whatever, but Indi, right now you need a friend, and unfortunately for you, I’m the only one you’ve got.
So give me your damn address before I resort to finding it illegally at work, okay? I really don’t want to get arrested.”
Despite everything, a tiny smile pulls at my lips. “Okay,” I mumble. “I’ll text it to you. Bring chocolate brownies because I need carbs.”
She laughs softly. “Done. I’ll be there soon, and Indi…”
“Yeah?”
“Don’t read the articles, okay?”
I stare at the screen again, my stomach twisting painfully. “Okay.”
She exhales quietly, says goodbye, and hangs up.
The second the call ends, I stand up, walk straight back over to my laptop, and start reading the article anyway.
Because, apparently, I haven’t suffered enough.