Page 174 of Sinful Lies

She looked at Thomas, her eyes wide with pain—so much pain—that it felt like my heart was breaking for both of them.

“Stop… Stop, Thomas. The police—they’re gonna help us. They’re coming, okay? It’s gonna be okay,” she whispered between sobs, trying to hold herself together.

Thomas shook his head. “I’m so sorry for lying, Stella. I never should’ve dragged you here… I—I love you, baby. Please, forgive me.”

I couldn’t watch them anymore. It felt like I was falling apart.

I snapped. “Stop! Stop talking like that! Nothing is gonna happen. The police are gonna come and help you, and everything’s going to be okay!”

“Jadie, please,” Stella sobbed, her voice so small, so broken, it didn’t sound like her anymore. “Tell Mama I—I love her, okay? Tell her I’m sorry for everything?—”

My chest tightened. “No! No, Stella, I’m not doing that! You’ll tell her yourself!”

“Jadie, I’m so sorry. I love you too—so much, so much.”

“Stop it, Stella! Stop!” My own voice cracked, and I didn’t even care anymore that I was crying. “You don’t get to say goodbye! You don’t get to quit on me, do you hear me?”

She whimpered, her whole body shaking. “I don’t want to die, Jadie. I don’t want to die!”

“You’re not going to die!” I screamed, my nails digging into my palms. “Neither of you are gonna die! We’re gonna get you out of this! But you have to stay still—do not move, Stella, not a single move, do you hear me?”

Her sobs were louder now, broken gasps that shattered every word. And all I could do was watch, my hands useless, my heart in pieces. I wanted to grab her, hold her, shake her, make her believe me—but I couldn’t.

I was stuck here, on the edge of a nightmare, watching my sister crumble before my eyes.

Stella’s breath hitched, and she looked at me, her face pale. “Jadie… do you remember when I was five, and you taught me how to ride a bike after school?”

I swallowed hard, my heart pounding in my throat. “Yeah… yeah, I remember.”

Her lips trembled, and she let out a shaky laugh, her voice cracking through her tears. “I fell, like, a hundred times, and you said… you said that when a little star falls from the sky, she becomes dust and shines on everything she touches. You made it sound so magical, like falling was just part of something bigger.”

“Stella, don’t. P-Please don’t do this.”

“You are my star, Jadie,” she whispered, her voice trembling. “You always have been. You’ve always been the one shining on me, even when I messed up, even when I fell. You made everything better.”

“Stop it,” I begged, my voice barely audible, knees threatening to give out under me. “You don’t get to talk like this. Not now. You’re gonna tell me this later, okay? You’re gonna tell me this when we’re sitting in the kitchen, eating the rest of my birthday cake, and opening the gift you got me. You hear me?”

But she just shook her head, her wide, shimmering eyes breaking me, piece by piece. “I’m so scared, Jadie… I don’t wanna die. I don’t wanna leave you. I’m not ready.”

“You’re not going anywhere!” I shouted, my hands trembling as I pressed them to my mouth, trying to choke back the sobs clawing at my throat. “You’re not gonna die, Stella! I swear it—I swear to God, you’re staying right here!”

Her mouth opened, like she wanted to argue, but the words caught in her throat. And all I could see was the little girl who used to follow me around, her wild blonde hair and those big brown eyes full of trust, looking at me like I could fix anything.

And now, for the first time, I couldn’t.

Stella let out a hollow, broken laugh, the sound rattling in her chest. “Jadie… your birthday present, the one waiting at home,” she whispered. “It’s a photo album. All the pictures we’ve taken over the years. Mama helped me put it together. I wrote under each one—where we were, what happened that day, allthe stupid little memories. I wanted you to have something to remember everything.”

“Stella, stop!”

She paused, her voice faltering as she forced a smile. “And I got you a new keychain, too. With our initials on it. ‘Cause you’re always losing your keys. Thought it might help.”

“Good way to spoil the surprise, Stella.”

A heavy silence stretched between us, the kind that made the world feel impossibly quiet, even when everything inside you was screaming.

“Jade,” Thomas rasped, his voice shaking, “tell my mom that I love her, and?—”

“No!” I cried out, cutting him off, my voice breaking as tears poured down my face. “Not you too, Thomas! Please! You’re going to be fine, both of you! Stop it! Stop talking like that! I swear—nothing is going to happen!”

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