“Shut up! Shut up!Shut up!”
“Kai,” Liam says carefully, eyes narrowing. “What is it?”
I can’t answer. It’s crawling inside me now.
The heat. The sound. The rage.
“They’re laughing,” I say, and I don’t recognize my own voice.
Christian is suddenly in front of me. He grips both my shoulders, hard, and forces me to meet his eyes. “Kai. Focus.”
“They’re laughing at me,” I breathe.
Christian doesn’t say anything for a second. And then his grip tightens. “You need to breathe, Kai.”
But I can’t. I’m not even sure I know how anymore. Because it’s happening again.
Everything slipping. Breaking. Burning.
I look down at my hands. At the blood, and the scarring. At the bruises across my knuckles.
“I thought I was holding something together,” I mutter, still staring down at them. “But my hands are empty.” My breath shakes. “Look at them.”
Christian doesn’t move.
“What was I doing?” I ask myself. The sky. The world. “What was ever there?”
And suddenly I’m moving. I shrug him off, stumbling toward the door. I can’t stay here. I need to go after them. I need it more than I’ve ever needed anything.
“Where are you going?” Liam shouts after me, already stepping into my path.
“Get off,” I snap. “Don’t make me hurt you.”
He doesn’t flinch. Instead, he grabs my arm.
I swing.
It’s fast, thoughtless. My fist collides with his cheekbone, hard. The sound it makes is sickening, and Liam staggers back, holding his face as blood spills from his nose.
Kym gasps behind me.
Christian shouts something I don’t catch.
The ringing’s too loud. The laughter’s back.
“You can’t go after them in this state!” Christian yells. “Kai, you could die!”
I don’t look at Liam—don’t let myself see the hurt, the betrayal, the blood.
“Don’t you understand why we can’t let you do this?” Liam rasps from behind me. “You matter to us. Please just—please think about what you’re doing. You’re our brother!”
For a second, just a second, I freeze.
But the moment passes, and I don’t turn around.
“That is your burden to bear,” I say quietly.
And I walk out the door.
