Of Stars & Lies Read Online Free Page B

Infact, it's plesant even though the chains gather rust in places and scratch against his fingers.
    “ Aren't you going to ask what we're doing here?” He glances through the darkness beyond the fence as he digs his heels in and pushes backwards.
    “ You said you had a secret.”
    “ I see the medication hasn't made you any more patient.”
    “ Oh, you have no idea how patient I am,” Love sighs. “So are you going to tell me?”
    “ Soon.”
    Cade halts his movement and glances around their surroundings until he locates what he is after. “Do you remember when we were messing about on that?”
    Love spins around and snorts. “You mean, when you were messing around, fell and knocked your front teeth out?”
    Cade turns away from the wooden see-saw's horse heads which he smacked his mouth on. His lip swelled like a water bomb and his gums bled down his chin that day. They were six, but he held the tears back because he didn't want Love to see him acting like a baby. Truth was, he was more angry that he acted so stupidly and embarrassed himself.
    “ As I recall, I was balancing in the middle and you were slamming it back and forth until I fell.”
    “ That's what happens when you don't hold on,” Love comments with no empathy.
    The shuffle of feet within the bark forces Cade to glance at his company. The light glimmers orange along the smooth hollow of Love's cheek and, for a moment, he mistakes the vivid hue for flames.
    “ Out with it then. You didn't bring me here for a trip down memory lane.”
    The teeth that grew back to replace those that flew out his mouth grit his plump lip before a frown takes over. “Don't you remember how it feels to have fun? Back then we didn't have a care in the world.”
    “ A lot has happened since then.”
    Cade bows his head. “I hate seeing you like this. I know you're still you, but I miss you.”
    What can he do about that though?
    Loveren scowls and glances away.
    “ Is that what you brought me here for? Today hasn't exactly been the best.”
    “ You need to get on with your life. I know you say you can't, but I—”
    The chains rattle as his mate pushes himself to his feet. He tries to flee from this conversation's direction, but Cade pulls him back down by his jacket It may not be the strongest of tugs, but he is powerless not to fall back onto his backside with his feet not balancing properly.
    “ I'm sorry, okay? Just hear me out,” Cade rushes to spew out.
    Love agrees with reluctance, but leans over onto his knees to show he is not happy about it in the slightest. If it were lighter out here, Cade knows what he would be seeing—a scowl harsh enough to form visible indents around his mouth through the stubble. Under other circumstances, the expression would set his insides on fire because Love doesn't realise just how adorable he looks when he's sulking. Right now though, the thought of him scowling has him wanting the ground to open beneath his feet and swallow him whole.
    Although he wants to say something, the nerves force him to remain silent. He wishes he could just spit the words out so he can crawl into bed and sleep this day away.
    “ I lied to you.”
    The words snap Love's attention back, but when he turns to face him, he cannot glance into his eyes.
    “ Alec and I kind of broke up.”
    “' Kind of'?”
    “ We broke up,” Cade admits with a pang of guilt. “Months ago.”
     
    ***
     
    Love chews on the information for a moment. On one hand, he is as elated by the news as the medication will allow. On the other, he wonders why Cade couldn't tell him before now.
    Are we not that close any more?
    “ Why didn't you tell me?”
    “ I thought you had enough to deal with without worrying about me. Hold up, where are you going?”
    This time, when Love gets to his feet he isn't restrained. Without the blindfold of Cade's palms, he crosses the playground in seconds. He is out the gate and slamming it before Cade can stand.
    So he's been pretending to