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That was all Porter ever heard. Everyday, it was how pathetic he was, how weak and useless. He couldn't take it anymore. If hurting Haden let the man keep his life, then he had to make a choice.
Porter grabbed his father's arm. The man stopped, fist raised and glancing over his shoulder. He raised a brow, asking the question that didn't need to be vocalized.Was Porter going to do it or not?
"I'll do it," Porter muttered. "And you won't kill him?"
"Do I ever lie, son?"
No, Gabriel Manetti didn't lie. What was the point? When he said he was going to do something, it got done. At least his word could be taken for law.
"Then I'll do it."
Gabriel smiled. It was rare when he saw the man make that face, that bit of pride that broke through the handsome, charming facade. It was almost a drug to Porter. Some part of him that longed for validation, for acceptance. He wanted his father to always look at him like that. Even just hearing his father call him son made Porter want to give in and do what he was told. Whatever it would take to stop being punished for simply being born.
He took the scalpel and walked closer to the man. Every step felt like a bad choice as he shuffled forward. A voice screamed at him to turn away, but he was doing this for the good of someone else. You could do a lot worse in the Manetti basement than a bloody face and a few cuts.
Porter pressed the scalpel against the man's arm. He swallowed thickly. A few quick slices and he would be done. But...he knew how it felt to be on the other side of a blade. His skin itched with the memory and scars that had long ago healed started to burn. But he pushed on because it was for the best. What were a few cuts compared to being dead? He pulled the scalpel and the man’s flesh caved like a hot knife through butter. A guttural scream was pulled from Haden and it echoed off the basement walls. The sound shocked Porter and he jumped back, staring at the man with wide eyes as blood ran down his arm.
Gabriel chuckled. "Don't be scared, son. They always make that noise." He patted Porter's arm before he walked behind Haden and held his face still. "Leave a mark where it can't be hidden. Right here." He tapped the man's cheek. "Go on."
Porter swallowed thickly. He was doing this for the man's own good. Porter kept repeating to himself that a few scars were better than dying. He forced himself to move forward again and placed the scalpel on Haden's cheek.
"No, no please." The man begged as Gabriel ripped the gag out of his mouth, tears and snot on his face as he tried to shake his head. "No more. No more."
"I'm sorry," Porter whispered. “I’m so sorry.”
Porter dragged the scalpel down Haden’s cheek, watching the skin split and blood bubble up before it ran down his face and dripped onto his lap. Everything had gone numb for him to the point where he couldn't even really hear the man scream. Standing back, Porter nodded at his father.
"I did it."
Gabriel smiled. "That's a good man. That's how you do it." He turned to Haden. "As for you, don't worry. It won't hurt long." Gabriel nodded to Michele. "Kill him."
Porter startled. "Y-you said you wouldn't kill him! Those were your words."
"I'm not laying a finger on him." Gabriel walked over to a table, snagging a pack of cigarettes before he slipped one into his mouth. "Michele is."
His heart sank. Before Porter could protest more, he caught Michele’s movements out of the corner of his eye. A knife glinted from the lone light in the basement and Porter stood frozen as a sharp blade was pressed to Hayden’s throat. "Michele, don't!"
The spray of blood that splattered across Porter’s body shocked him. It was still hot, freshly ejected from Haden’s veins and decorating his clothing. A few spots had landed on his cheek and he could feel the warmth against his flesh as he stared down at the gasping, gurgling man in front of him. Porter’s eyes trailed down his own body, at his blood covered hands and something inside of him broke.
Without saying a word, he turned and walked back up the basement stairs. He could hear his father calling to him, but for once he didn't stop. In a haze, he made it to his room and shut the door. There was no lock, he lost that privilege a long time ago, but at this point if his father burst in and punished him, he didn't care. All he could see were Haden's kids and the look on their faces when they realized their father was dead.
Porter stripped off the slacks, button up shirt and gray vest he'd picked out to greet his father in. Clothes that didn't even feel like him, but he wore them to make the man happy. Everything he did to please the man and Gabriel still stabbed him in the back. Even when he did what he was told.
He walked into his bathroom and turned the heat on in the shower as high as it would go. The minute it felt like flames licked at his skin, Porter woke back up. He couldn't simply fade away inside of himself, couldn't numb all of this out. That was what his father wanted.
The blood swirled down the drain at his feet. As the water disappeared, he told himself that he had to do the same. It was time to leave.
Porter stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist as he mentally started a checklist of what he needed to do. Walking back into his bedroom, he froze. His father sat on his bed and glanced up at him, an eyebrow raised.
"Is there a problem?"
Was there a problem? God, Porter wanted to scream at him. Of course there was a fucking problem! But he simply shrugged, not wanting to say a word in case things came out that he couldn't hold back.
"Well, since you handled your assignment well tonight, we'll be going out tomorrow. Together. I think it's time you took on more responsibility."
Porter blinked at the man.Was he insane?Tonight had been too much and he wanted him to do more?
"And what if I say no?" Porter asked, unable to stop himself. "What if I say I don't want to do this shit anymore?"
