Glass Heart Hero: A Dark High School Romance by Lindsey Iler (free ebook reader for iphone .TXT) 📕

She points to my head and then my heart. “When you make your choices, it’s her voice that tells you what to do, even when you don’t hear it.”

“You’re right.” I nod and leave the kitchen, the piece of paper burning through my jeans and scarring my skin to never be the same again.

There’s a certain kind of chaos we are equipped to work with. It’s the kind of chaos that allows us to continue to move. It doesn’t matter how disappointing everything becomes. We put one foot in front of another. We continue to live.

What I’ve discovered today is a different form of disorder.

“What are you looking at, handsome?” Delaney’s kind tone catches me in the middle of my nightmare daydream.

I’ve sat for five minutes, deep enough in the shadows to not be seen. These last five minutes haven’t given me nearly enough time to figure out how I feel.

“You’re acting goofy,” Tatum says as I walk into the room.

“It’s because he’s in love.” Charlie playfully pokes her finger in her throat, pretending to act disgusted.

“I get it. She’s awesome.” Tatum smiles at Delaney. “Do you know she has a collection of vintage Chanel handbags?”

“No, I didn’t know that.” My tone is even. Not a tremble, not a pitch change. I’m numb. “We better go, Delaney.” I check my phone and see the time.

“You’re not going to stay for dinner?” Charlie sits up a little straighter. “Come on, Breaker.”

“Yeah, can’t you, though?” Tatum joins in on the assault. “Stay for dinner. We don’t see you enough.”

“Girls, I can’t. We need to go,” I snap. When their faces fall, I realize I’m taking my stress out on them.

Delaney eases off the couch. The tension on her face tightens like ribbons, visible yet somehow beautiful. She doesn’t know what I know yet. She’s blissfully ignorant, and I resent her a little bit for this.

Charlie comes up and hugs me, instantly lessening the sharp pain. I kiss the crown of her head. “I’ll be there when you meet with him, okay? You won’t be alone.”

“You promise?” Tatum joins our hug.

“He’ll never come close enough to you to do any damage. I promise that much. You don’t have anything to worry about.” I glance up, holding my sisters in my arms, and catch the glisten in Delaney’s eyes as she watches me with them. “Okay, you two, listen to Aunt Emily.”

“Oh, they always do.” I spin to see her in the doorway. The girls move out of my arms and sit on the couch. “Don’t worry about us.” Aunt Emily is always so carefree, but maybe for the first time, I see the stress in her eyes. I can’t imagine her pain and turmoil from carrying her sister’s secret for years. She clutches my face between her hands, making me feel like a child. “It’s going to be okay, Breaker. Even though it doesn’t feel like it, it will be,” she whispers.

“How do I do this?” I wrap her in a hug.

“The truth will always come out, so start there.” She kisses my cheek. I catch her eyes fluttering behind me to the bookcases covered with photographs of my mother and our family. “She would have been so proud of you.”

“I doubt that. I’ve done a lot of questionable things.”

“Sometimes our actions, questionable or not, don’t matter. Sometimes, all that is worth taking inventory of is where our heart is when we make the choices.” She kisses my forehead. “Delaney, I wish we had more time to sit down and get to know each other, but I’m certain we’ll see each other again.” She dips her chin once, a confident smile flashing at us both.

“You ready?” Delaney has a thoughtful gleam in her eyes. She must sense it. The mood between us has changed. No matter how much I tell myself, no matter how certain I am that I can’t blame her, my mind and heart are hurting for the part her family has played in my mom’s death.

We walk out of the house, hand-in-hand. I guide her to the passenger side and open the door for her. Neither of us says anything as I get behind the wheel and drive through town to campus. The music is a low hum, breathing life to the space around us. If it were up to Delaney and me, we’d be strangling from lack of oxygen.

“Whatever it is, I can handle it,” she whispers.

“How can you tell I have to tell you something?” I ask, drumming my thumb to the beat on the steering wheel. It’s the only thing keeping me calm.

“Because I know you. You were somewhere talking to your aunt, and when you walked into the room, your face had changed. You had changed. I know whatever it is, it’s big, and I know by the way you’re avoiding looking me in the eyes, it has something to do with my family.” She glances at me and then away. I’m thankful for the lack of eye contact.

“What I learned, Delaney, it’s going to change us. We’ve already been through so much,” I confess.

“So, whatever it is, we’ll get through it,” she pleads.

Does she feel me slipping through her fingers? I have full control of what comes and goes in my life, but her, she feels one word away from being gone. Is it worth the risk by telling her the truth? Will it change us beyond repair?

“I need to be able to look you in the eyes when I tell you. I can’t be driving when these words leave my mouth for the first time,” I admit what I’m in need of.

“Are you taking me to the house or my dorm?” she asks a seemingly easy question.

My answer will prove how detrimental this new revelation is. I don’t want to say these words, and on the other side of the coin, if I don’t utter them, I’ll be disrespecting the memory of my mom.

“The dorm,” I whisper.

Delaney’s eyes widen. Her hands run up and