Inferno

~155~ Heartbreak

Luke's POV

As soon as I hear Trace slam the door, I know....It's bad. Considering how insane dad is about not slamming doors, Trace knows as well as I do that it's not allowed. I'm sure dad thought it was me. He starts barreling towards the stairs as Trace is coming down them.

Dad stops immediately, he suddenly knows too. Mason and I are playing Mario Kart on the switch, but as soon as I see Trace, I put my controller down. Mason does the same thing.

As soon as Trace sees dad, he starts crying. Dad pulls him into a hug and holds him tight.

"I've tried everything, Taylor. I'm so tired" he sobs, putting his head on dad's shoulder.

Dad kisses his head and hugs him tighter. "I know you have, Trace. You've done nothing wrong" he says sadly.

Trace cries for another minute, and then he pulls away from dad and looks at him.

"I told her I was done. She didn't even flinch. There was no emotion. It's like she didn't care. I've given her everything I have. What did I do wrong?" He asks, looking over at mom. She is standing silently behind dad.

"Nothing. This is on her" she says sadly.

Trace sniffs and wipes his eyes. "I'm sorry I slammed the door" he says, looking back at dad.

"It's ok" dad says. He's heartbroken.

"I'm going to go home. Sorry Luke, I can't stay here tonight" he says, another sob racking his chest.

"I'll come over tomorrow" I tell him quietly. He just nods as he silently leaves.

It's quiet for a long minute. Mom and dad just stare at each other. "I've had a feeling for months that she's been trying to push him away" mom finally says.

"Why?" Dad asks, horrified.

"She's falling for him hard. She's completely in love with him. She really feels like she isn't good enough. She is completely convinced that he was just dating her until someone better came along. I really think she was falling hard, and it scared her. She wanted to end it now, before her feelings got deeper. I'm not saying she's right...But I know that's what it is" mom says, wiping a tear.

"Then she's probably absolutely devastated right now" dad says, sounding sick.

"Yeah. This is bad. I'll go up and talk to her" she says as she starts walking up the stairs.

"Can I? Please?" I ask.

Mom looks at me for a minute and nods. As I'm passing her she reaches out her hand and grabs mine. She pulls me to her and kisses me on the head.

"I'm sorry, Luke. For now, you're the middle man. You've gotta be there for both of them" she says sadly.

I just nod.

As I'm walking up the stairs I hear dad say.

"Alex was our middle man. He did a pretty damn good job"

I get to her door and knock. She doesn't answer. I decide to just go in. When I open the door I see her laying on her stomach, with her head on the pillow. I go up to her and lay next to her. She won't even look at me. Her tears are falling so heavily that she probably doesn't even know it's me sitting next to her.

"It's not too late. You can call him. He will come back, you know. He didn't want to break up. He's completely heartbroken" I say, kissing her cheek.

She doesn't answer.

"Emma. Call him. I'll give you my phone. He will come back. Just tell him you're sorry. This doesn't have to be the end. I'm his best friend. I know that he doesn't like Sadie" I say, getting frustrated.