Page 88 of Love Bleeds Red
Cat… I need to help her. Help them all.
Someone knocks on the bathroom door, interrupting my spiral. “Bailey? I pulled some clothes that should fit you. I can leave them right outside the door, okay?”
I think that’s Jasper’s new girlfriend, Falin.
“Thanks,” I say, appreciative but so exhausted I can’t muster anything else.
“I kicked the guys outside to give you some space. Let me know if you need anything.”
Her footsteps retreat, so I crack the door and grab the bundle of clothes. There’s black sweats, a cropped T-shirt, and a zip-up hoodie. No undergarments… which I guess I wouldn’t want to wear anyway. Still, it feels even weirder to wear someone else’s clothes with nothing underneath.
I pull everything on, tying the sweats tight and zipping the hoodie. The fabric is soft, worn-in, and smells faintly like roses. Normal clothes. Not the formal dresses Sir would choose for me. Not the lingerie King forced us into. Just regular clothes that someone thought I might be comfortable in.
The house has gone quiet on the other side of the door. No more muffled arguing, no footsteps pacing back and forth. Either they’ve moved somewhere else to continue their planning, or Falin really did kick them outside like she said.
I should go find them. Thank them. Try to explain what happened to me. Hell, I should at least want their comfort. But my legs refuse to move and thinking about facing their questions, their sympathy, their anger on my behalf, makes my chest tight.
Instead, I sit on the closed toilet seat and stare at my hands. My nails are short and clean now, but I can still see the phantom dirt under them. Can still remember the dried blood from the man King killed in front of me. Can still feel the knife handle as I stabbed that guard.
How had our plan gone so wrong? It doesn’t matter now, but maybe Polly would be here if we weren’t so impulsive. If she didn’t rush it because of me.
I hear a soft knock and lift my eyes from my hands. “Bailey?” It’s Leon’s voice, gentle and uncertain. “Can I—Are you okay in there?”
I want to say yes. To open the door and fall into his arms and pretend that everything can go back to how it was before. But I don’t know how to be the girl he fell in love with anymore. That girl died somewhere between King’s house and Sir’s estate, and I’m not sure who’s left in her place.
“I’m okay,” I lie. “Just... give me a few more minutes?”
“Of course,” he says. “And listen, you don’t have to talk about anything tonight. Or if you do want to talk, we’re all here for you.”
“Okay… I’ll be out soon.”
I listen for him to walk away, but he doesn’t. He stays on the other side of the door, not rushing me to come out, or suffocating me with his presence. It’s almost like he’s standing guard until I’m ready to face the world.
“Leon?” I ask quietly.
“Yeah?”
“How did you find me?” The question has been gnawing at me since the moment I saw his face in that clearing. “How did you know where I was?”
He’s quiet for a long time and when he finally speaks, his voice is strained. “It’s complicated, Bailey. We can talk about it when you’re ready. All of it.”
“Maybe you should tell her now.” I recognize Jasper’s voice. It’s quieter than Leon’s, but there’s something different about it, like there’s an underlying tone of confusion or hurt. “She’s going to figure it out eventually.”
“Jas—” Leon says.
“You two… How long has that been going on? And your fa?—”
“Don’t.” Leon’s voice is sharp. “Not like this.”
“Lee, she needs to know that the man who had her?—”
“I said, don’t.” There’s real pain in Leon’s voice now.
Jasper sighs loud enough for me to hear through the door. I need to know what they’re talking about. Something with Sir?
I stand and crack the door open.
Both of them stop arguing and turn toward me. Leon looks like he’s seen a ghost and his jaw is clenched tight enough to crack a tooth. And my brother… I didn’t notice earlier how exhausted he looks with his disheveled hair and tired eyes.
