Page 219 of Fame & Chaos

Which he had better do.

Because if he doesn’t… I genuinely think it would destroy me.

And if he ever jeopardized us again after everything we’ve survived, I don’t think I’d survive a third heartbreak. All I know for certain is that Caleb lives somewhere deep inside my soul now, and the only thing I could genuinely see destroying us at this point is Sasha.

That bitch is my hard limit.

My absolute no-go zone.

I know she’s disappeared completely over the last year, and thank God for that because just thinking about her still fills me with anger so intense it makes me uncomfortable. The humiliation she caused me wasn’t just embarrassing. It was traumatic.

Being attacked outside my own home, being egged, being stalked by media crews for months, being too terrified to even return to my own apartment because paparazzi waited outside like vultures, hoping for another breakdown, was devastating.

And worst of all?

The way it dragged all my childhood trauma right back to the surface.

The instability.

The fear.

The shame.

I should never have had to relive any of that.

Sasha caused it, so as far as I’m concerned, any contact between her and Caleb would feel like complete disregard for everything I suffered because of her. And Caleb knows that. Which is why I truly believe nothing will happen there.

But if Sasha ever does decide to show her face around me again?

God help her.

Because I may be small and quiet most of the time, and according to Annie, I apparently resemble a ‘tiny angry pixie,’ but if someone pushes me far enough?

I become absolutely feral.

And tonight, instead of letting all that fear and anger consume me, I’m going to spend every remaining second I can wrapped in Caleb’s arms before he leaves for six months without me.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Caleb

I’m lying in bed, wrapped around Indi, knowing I should already be getting up. She’s sound asleep, curled into my side, and I’m desperately trying to make this moment last as long as possible because this is the final morning I’ll wake up beside her for what is going to feel like forever for both of us.

I tighten my arms around her slightly and nuzzle into her hair, trying to memorize everything. The curve of her body against mine. The warmth of her skin. The soft little breaths she makes when she’s deeply asleep.

Being away from her is going to be torture. Absolute fucking torture.

At least I’ll have the concerts to distract me. That’s one thing to look forward to every day.

She stirs softly, then makes that tiny, sleepy moan she always makes when waking up, and my chest physically aches at the sound.

Half a year without hearing that?

That suddenly feels impossibly long.

I swallow hard and accidentally tighten my arms around her again. She slowly lifts her head and blinks up at me sleepily. “Morning, handsome,” she whispers.

“Morning, beautiful.”