Glass Hearts [BL]-Chapter 239: Please Don’t Ask Why[June’s POV]

Ian got up to stretch, rolling his shoulders a little as he talked.

"By the way, June’s an amazing singer," he told Nari. "Seriously. Angel voice. She performed at Dom’s party last night."

Nari pointed at me.

"That was you? No freaking way. You sounded incredible."

Heat flooded my cheeks.

"Oh... thank you. That means a lot."

"I have a live show in Estrella in like two months. You should perform too."

My eyes went wide.

"Wait...me?"

Omg..did she just say I should perform on stage in her show?

"Hold on... are you crying?" Nari asked, genuinely confused.

"I don’t know what’s happening," I fanned my eyes. "Please ignore me."

Ian walked over and wrapped an arm around my shoulder.

I practically melted into him..

And tried not to think about how good he smelled.

Or how close his waist was to my face.

"Hey, breathe," he murmured into my hair.

And then, a knock.

Nari kept painting her nails.

"Who is it?"

"It’s Yuri," the voice came from outside. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

She pushed the door open, gave everyone one quick glance, and settled her stare on me.

"Aww, my baby sister..." Nari started.

"No," Yuri cut in. "I’m not here for you or your tantrums. Don’t call me that."

Oh. Okay. So she’s scary for everyone equally. Good to know.

Then those sharp eyes slid back to me.

"June, can I see you outside for a minute?"

"...Me?" I pointed at myself.

"Yes."

She didn’t blink.

Why doesn’t she blink?

Nice knowing you all. I’m dead.

I looked up at Ian. He nodded, reassuring but also a little nervous.

Nari scoffed.

"Wow. Everyone knows June. Even Yuri? Why am I always the last to know anything?"

"Maybe if you were actually home and spent time with the family, you’d know what’s going on," Yuri shot back.

"Yuri," Ian warned.

"What? I’m just saying the truth!"

She turned and stepped into the hallway.

The door clicked shut behind her.

Ian exhaled.

"That was... intense."

"Yeah," I whispered. "Wish me luck."

Intense is one word for... whatever that was.

I stood, walked up to her and forced the calmest voice I could find.

"Hi, Yuri... I know you tried to warn me about Ian and I didn’t listen because I..."

She cut me off without looking surprised.

"I’m not here for that. What you do with my brother is none of my business."

"Right." I blinked, trying to finish, but she kept going.

That shut me up.

She stared directly into my soul. Then dropped it:

"I know about Dominic and Ash. They’re together. And you all keep lying to Nari."

"Whatttttt!"

"Relax." She waved it off. "I don’t care about Nari’s little fantasies anyways."

That caught me off guard. "Then... why are you telling me this?"

She took a breath.

"I overheard Dominic’s dad last night. On the phone. He mentioned Ash Rivera’s name."

Her eyes narrowed. "And he said, if Ash ever trespasses again.. eliminate him."

My entire body went cold.

"Eliminate?" I whispered.

My phone literally slipped out of my hand and hit the floor. I didn’t even look at it.

My chest tightened so fast I thought I couldn’t breathe. "Are you sure you heard him say that?"

Yuri didn’t soften. Not even a blink.

"Of course! I told Jae already. She’s been calling Ash nonstop but his phone’s not going through. And since you’re his best friend..."

She shrugged.

"...I figured you should know before it’s too late."

"Thank you...for telling me." I didn’t know what else to say. My fingers were numb.

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Do whatever. Just... don’t be dumb. Stay safe!"

Then she turned and walked away.

I couldn’t make my legs work.

Eliminate Ash.

The words repeated. Kill him? No. No.

I ran back into the room.

Ian stood when he saw me. His face went from calm to worried in a second.

"Babe, what’s... are you okay? Did Yuri do something to you again?" He was already moving toward me.

"No." I shook my head. "We need to talk." My voice trembled.

He grabbed my hand and pulled me into the small sitting area, closing the door behind us without thinking.

"June. What happened?" He held me by the shoulders. "Look at me."

"Yuri said...." I forced my head up. "She overheard Dominic’s dad was on a call last night. She heard him say Ash’s name. And...and if Ash trespasses, he told someone to eliminate him."

Ian blinked once. Then all the warmth vanished from his expression.

"Eliminate..." he repeated.

I nodded. "Ian... does that mean..."

He ran a hand over his face. "Do you.. are you sure she heard that right?"

"She heard it on his call last night." My hands were shaking now. I rubbed them together. " I..Ian, what does ’eliminate’ mean? Does he want to...kill Ash?"

"We don’t jump to conclusions. But we don’t ignore this either. Ash might be in danger."

He pulled me closer.

"Okay," I whispered, gripping his shirt. "Okay. Tell me what to do. I’m scared. And I don’t want to freak Ash out.."

"Okay, first of all," he said firmly, pointing at me, "you need to calm down."

"I am calm." I said, still gripping his shirt.

"You’re literally vibrating," he held my hand, and shook my body. "You’ve been panicking since sunrise."

I opened my mouth to argue... then shut it because, honestly? He was right.

He dragged a hand down his face.

"Dom’s dad... we don’t know what he actually meant. You should call Ash, I’d talk to Dom."

I nodded.

Ian grabbed his phone to call Dominic.

I dialed Ash.

It rang once.

"Ash!" I exhaled so fast when he answered the call. "Hey, are you okay? How are you?"

"June," he sighed. "I was literally about to call you. Dominic sent me a really weird text and I... I don’t know what it means. I’m forwarding it to you."

My phone buzzed. I opened the message.

I love you so much, Ash. I’m sorry. Please don’t ask why.

I read it out loud.

"What... what does that mean?" My voice cracked.

"I don’t know," Ash whispered through the phone. "I thought maybe you might help me figure it out."

"It sounds like..."

I couldn’t finish.

My brain was screaming the worst possibilities.

A tap to my shoulder snapped me out of it.

Ian’s face was completely pale.

"June," he said quietly. "Look."

He turned his phone toward me... a livestream thumbnail:

DOMINIC VALE — LIVE AT TOWN HALL

"AN URGENT STATEMENT TO THE PUBLIC"

My blood ran cold.

Ian’s breathing hitched.

Ash called out my name from the phone, sounding worried.

I clutched the phone tighter.

"Ash... stay where you are. Don’t move. Don’t go anywhere. I’m coming to get you."

"June, what’s happening?"

"I’ll explain everything later. Just stay safe. Please."

I hung up before he could argue.

Ian grabbed his car keys.

"I’ll drop you off," he said, " I’m not letting Dominic do this alone. I’m going to the town’s hall, I’ll alert the circle too."

I nodded, with that ache in my chest.

Because whatever Dom was about to confess, might change or destroy his life.