Runaway (Empire High, #5)

by Ivy Smoak

It wasn’t about being worthy. It wasn’t about worth at all. Matthew Caldwell made me feel…loved. He made me feel whole. He’d promised me forever. I’d promised it back. Matt was my home. My heart. My everything. The tears streamed down my cheeks even faster.

“I have to do this. I don’t know how else to explain it. He has a piece of my heart. I either need to give him the rest of it or get it back. I need it back. My heart can only break so many times before it stops working completely. It’s broken. It hurts. I hurt all the time.”

I stared out at the crashing waves. Of course I was still sad. I’d wanted to marry Matt when he’d asked. I had. I’d meant what I said when I promised him forever. But I’d also made promises to myself. I refused to let life pass me by in a meaningless blur. I wanted to start living again. And living missing someone else was no way to live. It took me a while to figure out the mess in my head. But I’d always known that my promises to myself were a lot more important than promises to someone else. Because I was the only one that was ever going to put myself first. I didn’t need another kidney to be stolen to learn that lesson.