When Songbirds Fly | Bellamy Blake

Chapter Eighty-Five: Blood Is Thicker Than Water

I wake with a quiet groan. The storage room is still quiet, save for the occasional beeping of the laptop. Raising my head from the desk, I blearily look up to find Bellamy sat beside me, his gaze fixed on the screen. 'Bell, how long have you been staring at that?'

'A while.'

'I asked you to wake me so I could have a shift watching it,' I quietly remind him.

His lips twitch up slightly into the ghost of a smile but he still doesn't look away from the Laser-com. 'You needed the sleep.'

Scoffing, I pull the laptop to the far side of the desk. 'Hey,' I sigh, 'so do you. It's been a pretty lousy couple of days.'

'You love Ezri, right?'

The sudden question catches me off guard. I freeze, looking to him in confusion. 'Of course. Why do you ask?'

Hesitating, he slowly turns around to face me. His eyes remain focused on the screen, now overcome with so many conflicting emotions that it's hard for me to keep up. It's like there's a war going on inside his head. 'Well, she did bad things. She could be manipulative, she was the reason why you got addicted... why you got arrested.'

My eyes narrow. I'm not sure what to say. I'm not sure what he wants me to say. My voice comes out in an unexpected whisper, strained in an attempt to remain steady, 'Yeah, but it's not like I was any better. As far as fuck-ups go, I'm a pretty royal one.'

He nods slowly. I reach for his hand but find myself halting, withdrawing before I can touch him. 'But you love her,' he mumbles with lowered eyes. 'Even after the things you went through, you love her.'

'She's my sister. Always will be.'

'Would you ever stop loving her?' He notices the questioning tilt of my head and shifts uncomfortably in his seat. He tries again, 'If she had done something you saw as unforgiveable, if she took it way too far... would she ever stop being your sister?'

I don't think I can bear to look at him for much longer. I see his perfect umber eyes brimming with tears, I see the hunching of his shoulders and the furrowing of his brow, and I just want to take him far away from here, back to The Ring where nobody can hurt him. But I can't.

Leaning forwards, I gently caress his cheeks, cupping his face in my hands. My forehead rests against his. 'Bellamy, none of this is your fault. You couldn't have known that she'd be like this.'

A tremor runs through him, shaking his whispered voice. 'I raised her, Wren. I taught her how to speak, how to walk, how to read. I taught her everything I know. Somewhere down the line, I must have screwed up. There has to be an explanation for why she's like this. I must have done something.'

'You're not responsible for her. Sorry to say it, but that's something your mom should have realised a long time ago. You were a kid. And, like it or not, you aren't the only person who's taught her things. She's learned a lot of hard lessons, not always in the right way and not always with the right outcome.'

'But when does she stop being my baby sister? How far does this have to go?'

I can't lie to him. I can't act like I have the answer. Pulling him closer, I kiss his cheek and admit in a murmur, 'I don't know.'

The door opens, prompting the two of us to break apart. I relax at the sight of Harper's concerned face. She glances to the laptop, which Bellamy drags back in front of us. 'You guys have been here all night?' She doesn't even need an answer, just the sight of Bellamy's exhausted face. 'Go,' she sighs. 'Get some sleep, okay? I got this.'

'It's been eight hours,' Bellamy says. Once again, his focus returns intently to the screen. 'Raven could have built a cathedral by now.'

'They'll get it done.'