Lovers' Maehem

Chapter 37

Maeve

October 3, 2180

7:48pm

As I head into the kitchen with Griffin's dad, I'd be lying if I didn't say I was nervous. The butterflies in my stomach aren't going to stop moving, but my senses are sharp, and won't falter. I don't care what acts he puts on, I know he doesn't trust me, and no doubt has some kind of plan in place to put me in jail the second he feels it's fit.

"You'd like to discuss something with me Ms. Blake," he says. He leans against one end of the counter while I sit on the other.

"Mae," I tell him, "it's Mae. Not Ms. Blake. I put that part of my life behind me, and I would like it if you could do that too."

"What do you intend to do with my son?" he asks, "Griffin is smart, but easily manipulated. He tends to see the best in people when he shouldn't. So what are your intentions here?"

"Intentions?" I question, "Mr. Colton, may I call you Owen?" I ask him, trying to make it more personal. He doesn't respond. "Mr. Colton, I love your son, more than you can imagine, but he's not the reason I left the Blake organization. I've wanted to seperate myself from that lifestyle for quite some time. Griff is the one who helped me make that happen. And as much as I love my family, I'm willing to help you. I know every strategy, I know every move. Let me help you catch them. I love Griffin, and I have given up my whole life for him, I don't get why you can't see that!" I take deep breaths calming myself as I wait for a response.

"Love him," he laughs. "Ms. Blake I-"

"Mae," I interrupt.

"Mae," he says my name with emphasis, "if you really loved my son you would let him go. You know just as well as I do, that by having any relation, let alone living with him, puts him in danger!"

"I told him he didn't have to do this," I say, "you think I want to put Griffin in danger, I don't. I love him so much, I would take a bullet for him if it came down to it."

"And you don't think he'd do the same?" Mr. Colton asks me. I never thought of it that way. "That boy, that god damn boy is so naive, he'd probably do anything for you. So even if you don't want to be a Blake anymore, they will be after you. They will be after you until you, and everyone you love takes their dying breath. He will die for you." I bite my lip and stare at my feet. I don't know how to respond to that.

"I won't let him," I whisper. With that I grab the dessert platter and march out to everyone throwing a smile on my face. "I brought dessert out!" Griffin grabs my hand as I sit down, but I refuse to look him in the eye. As his Dad joins us back at the table I attempt to ignore the non-verbal communication going on right now between the two.

A little while after the talk, everyone heads out. Once everyone is finally out of the door Griffin grabs me and kisses me.

"I'm sorry," he whispers, "they can be real vultures." I kiss him again, not feeling like talking. With that we head up to our room, making sure all the windows and doors are sealed.

"You know," I start, as we are settling into bed, "I was thinking I should get closer with Mack and Cassie." Griffin lights up at this.

"Really?" he asks.

"Yeah," I start, "they are some of your best friends, and I want them to like me. How about you give me their numbers and I text them about a shopping trip or something." Griffin nods,

"I think that's great!" he says turning off the light, "I love you Mae," he whispers in my ear.

"I love you more," I whisper back as we both close our eyes to enjoy a restful sleep after all this... family drama.

**4 hours later**

I wake up slowly, and I can tell it isn't morning yet, even before I open my eyes. It's really warm. Really warm. Really, really, warm. I force my eyes open despite the weight holding them down. Bright lights.

"Griffin," I mumble. I attempt to wake myself up as fast as possible. "Griffin!" I scream. Griffin bolts up, probably since he's trained to be able to act fast.

"What's wrong," he says, rubbing his eyes. I'm up grabbing the closest tshirt and my phone as soon as I can. Griffin bolts up as soon as he reaches the realization. "Oh my god. Oh, my, god!" he grabs everything he can, and then grabs me. I start dialling the numbers on the phone as soon as I can. 9, 1, 1. I hold the phone to my ear, as we rush down the stairs.

"911 what's your emergency?" the operator says.

"My house!" I exclaim, "my house is on fire!"

"Stay calm Ma'am, what's the address," he says, "Ma'am." I drop the phone and freeze. The back wall that's all windows shows me exactly the problem.

"Mae!" Griffin calls rushing towards the window, "let's go!" I'm frozen in place, staring at the place I just saw her. Just seconds ago.

"My family," I say, "they, they did this." Tears stream down my face now. "I saw her. She looked me in the eyes and ran. She, she is trying to kill me. They all are."

"How do you know it was them, it could've been anyone, they wouldn't do that to you," Griffin says. He doesn't know them.

"Those eyes are recognizable anywhere," I mumble under my breath. Dakota. My best friend, my sister. She torched my house, tried to kill me and ran. "Leave me here," I whisper quietly.

"What Mae! No that's ridiculous! You're coming with me, we can get out the door before the fire covers it all." Griffin argues. I shake my head, and attempt to wipe the tears from my face as I say this.

"Griff, I love you, and I would take a bullet for you. But that's not enough. My family won't stop until I'm dead, and you, as soon as they know about you, they'll go after you too," Griffin is shaking his head.

"No Mae, no!" he screams, "come on, we can still get out! Come with me!" The fire is beginning to cover the doorway, and I'm truly debating what to do. "Please Mae," he says, "come with me. We can do this, we can stay away from them! I'll protect you! Everything will be okay, just come with me." Griffin is covering his mouth now with a spare tshirt, but I can't move. The smoke is slowly filling up my lungs, and I won't last much longer if I don't leave. Life or death, it's a scary situation isn't it. Mom's voice echoes through my mind. I start coughing and fall to the floor. The smoke around me is making it hard to breathe, and hard to see where everything is. I stumble in the direction of what I think is the door, my will to live stronger than what I want.

"Griffin!" I call, as I feel the couch, not the door. "Griff-" I'm caught in another coughing fit. No. I close my eyes and wait for the darkness to over take me. He left. I told him to leave me, and he left. He left me, and now I'll never see him again. I'll never see anyone again.

The arms envelope around me, but I'm too dizzy and tired to do anything. A t shirt is pressed to mouth blocking out more smoke, but the amount I've already inhaled may be too much. I'm laid down on a cold surface away from the smoke, but can't open my eyes. The cool air blows against my burns making them hurt even more if that's possible.

"I'm here," the warm familiar voice whispers into my ear. He holds me so tight for a moment it seems like everything will be okay. Until the coughing starts again. It feels so bad, I don't think it'll ever stop. Eventually I start to hear the sirens that approach the house, and feel myself being lifted onto a gurney.