38. Leilani

My knees nearly give out twice on my sprint back to Huxley Hall. I stumble on the path and nearly twist my ankle going up the wide steps.

Breaths are shaking me as my stomach trembles and spasm, trying to hold down sobs… or maybe it’s bile.

The urge to throw up is overwhelming, and I fight it the entire way up to my floor.

This can’t be happening. The man I love is related to the man I hate.

How can the universe be so fucking cruel?

Why? The word screams inside me—a raw, desperate cry.

I want to beat the ground and yell until my throat is hoarse.

This is so fucking unfair!

Panic claws at me, my heart thumping so hard, I feel as though it might pop out of my mouth along with the entire contents of my stomach.

I run down the hallway, my boots echoing on the floor. Swiping my keycard, I push the door open and hear a surprised gasp.

“Oh shit.” Casey scrambles for his boxers while Caroline wraps a sheet around her.

I see his dick, her boobs, and I can’t even shut my eyes and apologize.

I just stand there in the doorway—mute and frozen.

“Lani?” Caroline frowns at me. “Are you okay?”

Sucking in a shaky breath, I manage to rasp, “I’m gonna be sick,” before lunging toward the bathroom.

My legs wobble and I bang my hip on the edge of her desk, nearly tumbling to the floor. Casey catches me around the waist, helping me into the bathroom. I barely get the lid up in time before puke is spewing out of me. I drop to my knees, heaving into the toilet, then letting out a scream that sounds like a feral war cry.

Casey jolts away from me like I’ve lost my mind.

Maybe I have.

Or I’m in the process of losing it.

“What do I do?” I hear his shaky whisper. It sounds as if this is freaking him out more than Caroline’s pregnancy announcement a few months back.

Another surge of vomit lurches out of me, and I spit into the toilet before leaning my forehead against my arm and starting to cry in earnest.

The faucet comes on and I hear shuffling and drips, and then a cool washcloth is being pressed against my cheek.

“C’mere,” Caroline murmurs, helping me sit up so she can wash the rest of my face. She wipes away my snot and tears while I whimper and tremble beneath her touch.

Once she’s done, she holds my face, her tender gaze causing more tears to leak out of my eyes.

“What happened?”

I open my mouth, wondering if I can even find the words to explain this nightmare. Caroline takes a seat beside me, pulling Casey’s T-shirt around her hips while he stands there shirtless, his arms crossed and a worried frown crinkling his expression.

Gazing across the room, I find a spot on the shower door and stare at it.

Caroline’s patiently waiting for an explanation, lightly running her fingers through my hair until I can manage to mumble, “It’s him.”

“Who’s him?” She perks up, obviously relieved that I’ve found my voice. Her blue gaze is so expectant, like if I tell her, she can help me. But she can’t. No one can make this situation better.

No one.

I lick my lips, my jaw shaking when I whisper, “I just met Asher’s cousin.”

“Okay.” Caroline nods.

Casey’s bare feet shuffle on the bathroom floor. I watch them for a second, his broad soles taking up two whole bathroom tiles.

“Um… Lani, what’s up with Asher’s cousin?” Caroline prompts me.

I let out a shuddering breath. “He’s the guy from the party. The one who?—”

Caroline gasps, slapping a hand over her mouth while Casey gapes at me. “Harvey raped you?”

I nod, and then my stomach starts heaving again. Lurching to my knees, I choke into the toilet, my empty stomach hurting as my body jerks up a small mouthful of bile. I cry into the bowl, shuddering as Caroline’s hand lightly rubs my back.

“I can’t believe this,” Casey mutters. “That little fucker! Asher’s gonna kill him.”

“No!” I jolt back, wiping my mouth with trembling fingers and staring up at Casey. “He can’t know.”

“What?” Casey balks at me. “He needs to know.”

I shake my head. “This will kill him. Harvey’s like a brother to him.”

“Yeah, but he?—”

“I have to break up with him.” I can barely choke out the words. “It’s over. It has to be over.”

“No,” Caroline whispers, sounding just as heartbroken as I feel. “Lani, you can’t. You love him.”

“You love each other,” Casey clarifies with a pointed look.

“Which is why I have to end it.” My voice starts to pitch and squeak again. “It won’t work anymore.” I slash the tears off my cheeks. “I can’t make him choose between me and his own flesh and blood. It’s over.”