AFFLICTION- LRH

Even Accomplices Get Punished.

Maeve's POV:

I had been avoiding everyone and everything since last night.

The only person I had come in contact with after I had came inside from the beach was Kouvr, and that was only because she has yet to catch up to the fact that Luke and I are not talking.

But it has come to my attention that she probably just assumes he and I are in a very toxic relationship. That has to be why she loves it so much when we are okay, because I fear she worries for the both of us when we fight.

Tossing in Ashtons bed, I hear his soft snores on the floor below me, the sound filling the quiet space, but not loud enough to fill my screaming head.

He offered his room for me last night, telling me he will just make a pallet on the floor so it wasn't uncomfortable for either of us, and I about lost it.

Well, no.

I did lose it. I bawled like a baby to him.

He told me he understood that I couldn't be with Luke right now, and although I know Kouvr saw me come in here last night, she hasn't said a word to me about it. Or Ashton for that matter.

I didn't sleep much, and it wasn't just because of Ashton's snores. My mind raced with millions of thoughts of how today was going to go.

What I was really going to do.

I didn't have it in me to tell my dad the truth, although I knew I should. If dad found out Luke was the cause of his sons death, he would have Luke's head on the wall in his office within no time.

But it wasn't just Luke who would be affected by all of this.

And that's what was stopping me.

Ashton, Calum, and even Michael play a roll in this entire situation too. Although they weren't the ones who did the actual killing of my brother, or taking me from my home, they knew about it.

And even accomplices get punished.

I'm still in complete and utter shock from Luke's words...saying he loves me.

Like, how are you going to tell the girl you love that you killed her brother?

I mean, sure. I guess Ashton had a point in that. He just wanted to be honest with me and tell me the truth.

But at the end of the day, I wasn't going to let his love for me blind my thoughts on the matter. He doesn't get to love me when he's the one who destroyed my life.

On the other hand, though. Luke had been locked away in our bedroom all night. No one has heard a peep from him since yesterday, so I couldn't deny he wasn't feeling sorry about it.

Ashton didn't lie about anything he told me yesterday, that's for certain. I could see it in his eyes, the way they not only stayed on me during the matter, but they never dilated.

Fun fact, when you lie, your pupils dilate.

But the part that does concern me was, what if he only told me because my dads arriving today?

If my dad finds out what I know, they are all dead.

Speaking of, it was currently eight in the morning, and my dad had an arrival time of noon. Just four hours until shit is going to hit the fan,

And I have absolutely nothing to work with.

I needed a plan, and I needed one fast.

Springing out of the bed, I tiptoe past Ashton, who's body laid sprawled out across the wooden floor. Quietly, I grab my shoes that laid right beside him, before slipping them on and heading to the door.