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CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE: IF IT BLEEDS
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LOVE WAS A GIFT; love was also a chain with a manacle at each end. It held captive even the hardest of hearts, and by no means was Maggie Sullivan's heart immune to the burdensome weight of loving someone. Love was like a tender bruise, a freshly picked scab, a bullet wound covered by a band-aid. Love was the reason she hurt so much, pushed herself into the darkest pits of Hell just to see a side of life where love wasn't quite so heavy. A reality where Maggie wasn't Atlas, her heart the weight of the world on her shoulders.
Her aunt would describe love like a lived-in home. Somewhere to return to at the end of each day, a safe haven from a hurricane, where memories were made and cherished. Zeke would have described it as a sense of realisation; like the rise of a new dawn, the first lung-squeezing breath of a diver's head rising above the surface of the water. It was acceptance, of yourself and the world around you. Vera Sullivan, an enigma in her own sister's life, viewed love as materialistic, something you could hold in the palms of your hands, feel like a scar. Every bouquet of flowers, fancy bottle of perfume and the likes was a declaration that she was worthy of someone else's attention, the true object of one's affections.
Most of all, to Maggie, love was knowing when to let go.
Paul's hand was firm against her thigh as they waited for the Council Meeting to begin. Together, they were joined by their friends, old and new, and the Elders of the Quileute tribe. Sitting in the centre of the circle, just feet away from the flames was Jake's father, Billy Black. He had a paper plate propped on his lap, a burger and some salad piled onto it by Sue Clearwater, who waited to the right of him with a soft smile on her face. She whispered in Billy's ear as they watched Embry and Mae arrive, her gaze observant but not unkind.
On the other side of the fire was Maggie and the rest of the group. Quil's grandfather, whom her cousin was named after, was sitting alongside Everett, the two men laughing at something that Quil junior had said. He'd eaten most of the food off his and Maggie's 'shared' plate and was already looking for more, much to Maggie's amusement. With a mumbled 'I'll be back' he disappeared before Maggie could so much as blink at him.
On the outskirts, she watched as Mae hesitated and tugged at Embry's hand. The two exchanged words for a second, pushed together beside the food table as Zeke chased after Seth and an airborne football they were messing around with. Embry shook his head at whatever Mae said and continued to lead her towards them. It didn't take a genius to see the hesitant, nervous expression on Mae Cooper's face. Her eyes seemed to scream 'help, what am I meant to do here?' so much so that Maggie pulled away from Paul to gesture to the empty space beside her. Mae smiled gratefully and, in a rather ungraceful flop, dropped down beside Maggie and crossed her legs beneath her.
"Hey," Maggie leaned in close to greet her.
At the same time, Paul roared with laughter over something Jared had said to tease Embry, whose face went red hot beneath the glow of the bonfire flames. Idiots. Mae's eyes flickered to them routinely, like she was suddenly unsure of every move she made. Was she honestly that nervous? It was only a bonfire... but then again, Maggie was used to this. This had been her life since Everett and Wren took her in. Bonfires and legends and a connection with the land that so many Quileutes had suffered for. Mae, for all intents and purposes, might as well have been meeting them for the first time, all over again.
