The Guilt Consumes

Chapter 13

L I A M    B A X T E R

I can't be hearing right, can I? He's dead?! What? How? When?

What?!

"H-he's what?" I ask her trying to see if I'm not hearing things. One look to her eyes and there you see it, she's telling the truth. The void in them. The sadness. The brokenness. The pain. The heartache. It's all there. Plain in her eyes. Just one look and you'll be able to see it. "You're telling the truth" I mumble more to myself but I'm guessing she heard because she responds with a simple nod of her head. I look into her eyes and see the tears she's trying damn hard to hold in.

"He's dead. And I'm never going to see him again" her words dig deep and I feel her pain. The sadness. I sigh and bring her into an embrace. She clings to me as she cries. Little sobs resonates around us and I feel for her. All of a sudden, I feel this unfamiliar feeling. A feeling of guilt? How can I play her, find out what she's hiding when she's suffering like this. Whatever Ariana decides to do with Blythe's confession may lead her to more pain and suffering. She pulls away and sniffs while wiping her eyes. She smile up at me and nods her head curtly. She moves around me and walks out of the kitchen.

"Twins, breakfast is done. Quickly come and get it before I eat it all!" she laughs after her sentence and walks back in. She winks playfully at me and plates some pancakes onto her plate and munches it down. I'm left in disbelief. She manages to put on a brave smile on her face to ease the curious minds of others. To stop the questions of 'are you okay?' Or 'how are you feeling?'. She does it to stop all the pity and sympathy given her way and boy, is she good at putting on a facade. The Twins come rushing down and stumble into the kitchen. They sit themselves down and begin to mount pancakes onto their plate. For six year olds, they sure do have an appetite. I compose myself and sit opposite Blythe.

"I-I need to head home." She speaks up after a moments silence. I look up and make eye contact with her to which she quickly averts her eyes to her hands. I sigh and bow my head. She gets up and puts her plate in the sink and smiles at the twins. "See you soon rugrats" she tells them. Ruffling Asher's hair and tapping Ashlyn's nose. She smiles at me and walks towards the kitchen door.

"After you're done, leave your plates in the sink okay? I'll wash them later" I inform the kids as they hum in response. I get up and follow after Blythe. "Blythe?" I call her. She stops putting on her shoes and faces me.

"Yeah?" I smirk at her footwear. She can't be serious about walking back in them.

"You're walking home?" I ask her and she nods her head. "In them?" I point to her nude heels. She looks down and shrugs.

"I can manage" she tells me and I shake my head, running my fingers through my hair.

"I'll drop you" I tell her, leaving no space for a debate. I grab my keys from the key holder and open the front door.

"You really don't have to" she persuades but I won't take no for an answer. I shake my head while making my way towards my car. "Liam!" I hear her calling out to me. "What about the twins?" She shouts out to me. I stop and turn to face her.

"It's not the first time I've left them on their own" I tell her while shrugging. She gapes and frowns.

"They're six! What if they burn the kitchen or I don't know, do something dangerous!?" She tells at me. I smirk at her when she folds her arms over her chest. She looks really adorable right now. Geez, Liam stop this. This isn't part of the plan. Do I want to carry on with the plan though?