MOLTEN HEART ♱ BELLY CONKLIN

04. Drunken Fights, Drunken Lies

ILLICIT BLUES.
04. ╱   Drunken Fights, Drunken Lies

   Betrayal is a dramatic word, but good for us, Marigold is very dramatic.

   A swirling mess of emotions was clouding her mind. Her heart churned with a blend of sadness, anger, and a sense of envy as she gazed upon the boy seated beside Belly. The sight of their laughter, their smiles, and the subtle graze of their shoulders made her heart crumble in on itself, threatening to consume her.

   With each chuckle that escaped their lips, her heart shattered a little more. Their laughs echoed from the spot many feet away and she couldn't help the growing jealousy. She looked so beautiful laughing. She's laughing with him. How could she sit there, and laugh, and look so beautiful?

   Marigold's teeth, clenched with an almost agonizing force, grind against each other. The sudden realization hit her as she looked at the two more and more. She wasn't angry. She was sad, disappointed even. How could she let herself fall for a girl that she would never be able to have?

   "If looks could kill, that boy's head would be blown off," Lila jolted her back to reality. Marigold suddenly became aware of the vice-like grip she had on her own hands, her fingers tightly intertwined in an attempt to contain her own sadness. As Lila's words hung in the air, she slowly unclenched her jaw, releasing the tension that left an ache.

   With a feigned nonchalance, Marigold tried to brush off her inner jealousy, mustering a dismissive shrug.

   "She can be with whoever she wants. It doesn't matter. she isn't mine, or anything," the girl muttered through gritted teeth, her voice laced with a hint of bitterness. Yet, despite her attempts to mask her feelings, the words carried the weight of a fragile facade, revealing the cracks in her voice.

   Lila's sharp intuition, however, refused to be tricked. Sensing the truth that lay beneath the Fisher's words, she paused and reached out, gently clasping Marigold's wrist. The swift movement exposed a bloodied palm. The crescent-shaped imprints of Marigold's own nails imprinted into her skin.

   She almost gasped at the sight.

   "This says something else," Lila whispered, her voice filled with a mixture of concern and compassion. Her words hung in the air, Marigold hadn't even noticed the harshness of her grip. She attempted to deny the significance of her self-inflicted wounds.

   "It's nothing, Lila───seriously," she assured, her voice barely above a whisper. Marigold nodded softly, trying to show a sense of reassurance.

"You can't keep letting this happen, it hurts to see you like this," Lila explained but Marigold only stayed silent. "You have to tell her, and whether it happens she's madly in love with you or she doesn't see you that way───you'll know. You can move on from this self loathing mindset, and allow yourself, and Belly, to be happy."

She nodded, agreeing to the strong words spoken from her best friend. However, the silence that captured them in that moment was broken by the eruption of heated shouts and chaos across the flames from them.

"What's your problem, man?" The familiar voice led Marigold's attention over to the scene.

"It's one beer. It's a party, relax," the person replied. She began noticing a group surrounding her brother.