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Her voice shakes now. “I’m sorry for the pain I’ve caused you, and If you decide you don’t want to be a part of my life anymore, I get that, but please know that you’re my son. You’ve always been mine, and I don’t need something as trivial as blood to confirm it.”
My heart stutters in my chest, and I reach for her, my hand grazing her cheek. She looks so fragile and breakable. I’ll do anything to protect her in the future.
“I don't want you to apologize, Mom. You’ve been there for me, and yes, there are things you couldn’t protect me from, but you’ve always been and always will be my mother.”
There’s a short coughing laugh that comes from the other side of the room. “Isn’t this touching, you two catch up so sweetly over my corpse.”
“Shut up!” I snarl at him, both wanting to kill him right this second and watch him die slowly as he bleeds out on the floor.
He struggles to suck air into his lungs, and I notice the pool of blood around his body growing bigger. It shouldn’t be long. Then again, with as big of a pain in the ass as he is, I doubt he’ll go out quietly.
“Killing me won’t change what happened… but…”
I watch my heart leave my body, as he uses the last bit of strength he has and lunges forward, his hands outstretched for—Bel.
I’m moving without thought. The doctor tugs Mom out of the way, and Sebastian rushes toward her too. A gunshot goes off and the echo of it rings in my ears, creating a staccato tap along with my heartbeat.
No! For half a second, I fear the worst. Bel’s been shot. I don’t know what the hell I’ll do if she doesn’t make it. That sheer panic is short lived when I notice my father's body slumped to the ground, his open eyes vacant and lifeless.
In the center of his forehead is a perfectly round bullet hole. I know I should feel something akin to sorrow or sadness, but I don’t. Does that make me a monster? I don’t know.
Sebastian sneers at him, and I wonder if he’s going to shoot him again. Maybe. I would. Just for safe measure.
Reaching Bel, I wrap my arms tightly around her slender body, vowing never to let her go. “Are you okay?”
She nods, as tears slip freely down her cheeks. “I’m fine. He didn’t get close enough to touch me. I… It just scared me.”
I tighten my grip on her, terrified that if I blink, she’ll disappear, and I’ll look down to see her body in place of my father’s. It’s okay. She’s okay. It’s over now. I repeat the mantra over and over again inside my head, holding her as tightly as I can to my chest. I relish in her sweet floral scent, and allow the steady thud of her own heartbeat to bring me back to a normal state. I need this moment with her, to know that she’s okay, that I’m okay. That this nightmare is fucking finally over.
“Fuck, Bel. I’m sorry. I’m sorry you had to witness all this. It was supposed to be simple, straightforward, and quick. I was trying to outsmart him, to make him think I was going to go through with it,” I whisper into her hair. “I’m so sorry for putting you in danger.”
My gaze catches on Sebastian, who stands over Lyle’s body. The gun is still in his hand, his finger still on the trigger. It’s hard to read him right now. I can’t tell if he’s numb, or if what I’m seeing is a mixture of guilt and anger.
He’s lost so much. What happens when the dam breaks?
“You okay?” I ask, even while knowing he’s not.
“As okay as I’m ever going to be. My only regret is not getting answers to questions I might have wanted answers too. I didn’t think about that until after I’d pulled the trigger. Not that I think it matters anyway. He wouldn’t have told me anything I wanted to know, not without bloodshed. Everyone else's lives were games to him. If he could fuck things up or leave you reeling with emotion, then he would.”
“I know. I hate that you won’t ever get the answers you want, but I’m glad he’s dead. It’s what he deserved.”
He doesn’t say anything, but then again, he doesn’t have to. He lost his mother without any closure, and now he’s lost his father—even the piece of shit that he is. And I thought my life was fucked up.
To be in his shoes right now. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.
“Let’s go lie back down. I think you’ve had enough fun with the gun for today.” Dr. Brooks says. I turn just in time to watch as my mother slumps forward, Brooks catching her gently under the elbows.
I give Bel a squeeze, then release her and march over to my mother. I pick her up gently, like she’s made of glass, and carry her over to the bed again.
“I agree. I think you need to rest. I don’t want to lose you because you put all your energy into getting rid of him, especially when he’s already gone.”
A sigh slips past her lips, which I swear are pulling up into a smile as she lies back in the bed. The doctor bustles around to plug in her monitors, and the IV I only just noticed, that’s still hanging out of the joint in her arm.
“No matter what happens in the future, this moment was worth it. Worth every hardship, secret, and ounce of strength. He deserved to pay in blood after hurting so many and destroying their lives. I just hate that he died so quickly.”
I lean forward and press a kiss to her forehead. “It’s done now. He’s gone, and he’ll never hurt us again. Now we can focus on moving forward.”
“Oh I know, sweet boy.” She smiles up at me, her eyes twinkling.
