Read Love Hurts for Free Online Page A

the movie on a shelf over his bed, although Jilly wouldn’t allow him to play with them just yet. He didn't understand ‘collectible,’ but he did understand special. Jilly had painted a huge web on the wall over his bed. On the other wall she’d hung a poster from the Spiderman movie with Tobey Maguire. The dark blue of the carpet against the red of the walls seemed like it should be overwhelming, but Jilly's artistic ability enabled her to carry it off, and the end result was a young boy's fantasy room. It was one of the few places she’d allowed her art free rein since Matthew’s birth.
     
    "Auntie, you're not listening."
     
    "Oh, sorry, Matty. I’m admiring your awesome room."
     
    "Miring?"
     
    Anna smiled and ruffled his hair. "I like it."
     
    He grinned and jumped to his feet. Anna got up much more slowly, and he reached out his arms. "Up," he demanded and Anna obliged.
     
    Jilly looked up as they entered the kitchen. “You ready for some lunch?”
     
    “Sure.”
     
    Matty climbed onto his chair.
     
    “We’re having spaghetti.”
     
    “Yeah! Sgabetti, my favwit.” Matthew banged his spoon on the table and bounced in his chair.
     
    Jilly smiled and put his plate in front of him before he could get too worked up.
     
    Anna sat at the table and tried to keep the thoughts off her face while Jilly served up two more plates. “Gregg at work?” she asked.
     
    “Yeah. He spent the morning at home, but I couldn’t handle his hovering so I made him go in.”
     
    Anna didn’t say anything, but her heart went out to her brother-in-law. He’d gone through a lot with Jilly. She’d have had to beg Rob to stay home with her and even then he’d probably claim he had unmissable appointments.
     
    “Wine?” Jilly asked.
     
    “Sure.”
     
    The cork popped and Matthew grinned. He loved that sound. He mimicked the cork, shouting, “Pop! Pop! Pop!” and Jilly decided to clean him up and send him to his room.  
     
    “Wow, you eat fast,” Anna told Matthew.
     
    “Yup.”
     
    “You’re like a human vacuum.”
     
    Matthew grinned and started making suction noises. Jilly glared at Anna who just laughed and winked. Matthew could lighten the mood in almost any situation.
     
    They ate in silence once Matthew ran off to his room. The spaghetti had a slightly burned taste. Anna smiled to herself, careful to keep her face lowered. Jilly had never gotten the art of cooking. In that way, she was just like Mamma. Remembered half-cold, half-burned dinners brought her back to their childhood. She had taken over the cooking by the time she was thirteen, if only because she’d gotten tired of eating the same few meals that Mamma had become proficient at preparing. That’s when Anna began to experiment with food and discovered she had a real knack for it. She’d gotten, if not outright thanks, at least a few smiles from Mamma over her meals. Jilly had privately thanked her over and over for rescuing their stomachs.
     
    As Jilly reached for a plate, Anna gasped.
     
    She snatched Jilly’s arm, and before Jilly could react, pulled up her sleeve. They both froze, their eyes on three fresh cuts across the inside of her forearm, intersecting many old scars.
     
    "Jilly,” Anna whispered her name and snapped Jilly out of her stupor.  
     
    She ripped her arm out of Anna's grasp and glared at her while she slid her sleeve back into place. Her face became as shuttered as an abandoned house and just as forbidding.  
     
    Anna sighed and wished she knew the magic words to get her sister to open up.  
     
    Jilly refused to meet Anna's gaze. She stacked the plates, carried them to the sink and loaded them into the dishwasher.
     
    “Jilly?”
     
    “I’m fine. Don’t start.”
     
    “Jill, if you were fine you wouldn’t be cutting again. I’m sorry about what happened last night, but we need to talk about it.”
     
    “Mind your own damn business.” Jilly’s back was a sharp outline.
     
    “It is my