Page 46 of Blood that Burns
CHAPTER TWELVE
MAGGIE
I ran away and I’m regretting it.
Law can resist his truths all he wants, but I know he needs me. He needs to be surrounded by people who can help him see he’s not the screwup his father made him believe he is.
Instead of standing strong and making him understand that, I fled. All because my ego couldn’t take the bullshit he was spewing. I couldn’t take the lies he was feeding me.
And they werealllies.
I could see right through them. I could feel his emotions. He was torn and sad. He needed me to be strong and once again, I let him down.
The guilt he harbors is crippling.
We didn’t speak after I left him in that cell block, surrounded by the friends he believes he doomed to their fate. Not one word or glance was shared between us the entire way home.
“What’s going on?” Marina asks from the bed.
I’m pacing the floor, trying to decide what to do.
“I’m frustrated... with myself.”
“This is about Law.” It’s not a question; she knows it is.
I nod. “We had a fight. Well... not a fight exactly. He pushed me away and I let him.”
“Stubborn Bellamy boys,” she says under her breath. “What’s his problem?”
Sitting on the bed with a huff, I twist my body to look at my sister. “Where do I start?”
She clucks her tongue. “The part that concerns you.”
Falling back, I land on her mattress with a thump. “He’s shutting me out.”
It feels like such a gross understatement, considering how my stomach is twisted in knots and my heart is beating furiously. It isn’t just my emotions I’m sensitive to, but his as well. Somewhere in this enormous estate, Law is struggling.
How do I know this? I’m not sure yet.
Marina scoots closer to me, playing with my hair like she used to growing up. It always soothed me, but in this moment it doesn’t. Nothing can.
“He’s going through a rough time right now, Mags. After the massacre at his party, he’s curled in on himself.”
“He’s struggled long before that party.” I sigh. “Has Julian ever mentioned anything about it?”
“No. Law seemed fine before that night. The quintessential playboy. Always joking around and never taking anything seriously.”
I sit up and turn to glare at my sister. “Is that what Julian said?”
“Well... yes, but—”
I cut her off. “He’s so much more than that. If Julian can’t see it, then he’s no better than his father. To hell with them both.”
Marina looks as though I smacked her. “Maggie, that’s not fair. You didn’t let me finish.”
“Then by all means, continue. Since you know them both so well.”
I’m seething. For years I heard Law degrade himself by repeating the unfair words his father spoke. He was the third born, the worthless son. He wasn’t even considered the spare heir because Marcellus held that title.