K Caverly - Shards of Us

I bite down on my lip harder this time. "Marco tried to kill me," I say, making sure my voice cracks for dramatic effect. "He--he's after. Please, Sebastian. I'm sorry for what I said to you. I'm sorry for leaving you. I was just… I was just angry, but now I need you," I whisper. "I need to go back to the house. Will you meet me there?"

There's a pause at the other end of the line, and the phone crackles. My heart pounds faster and faster, but I already know he's going to say yes. I already know he can't say no to me.

The fucking idiot.

"Angel," he says, and his voice is so innocent, so hurt. "I'm sorry. But are you sure this isn't a trap--"

"Of course it isn't," I say quickly, making sure my voice is filled with as much need as possible. I force myself to start sobbing a little, which makes Marco smile. "Please, Sebastian," I say in between tears. "Please, save me."

"Okay okay," Sebastian says quickly, his voice filled with concern. "Come to the house now. I'll be outside waiting for you. I'm sorry," he whispers, and his voice sounds so broken. "I love you, okay?"

"Okay," I say, forcing myself to sob again. "I'll be there."

Then, I take a deep breath, and I hang up. Marco slaps me on the back, laughing to himself, telling me Sebastian is a goner, and I feel a small smile tickle across my lips at that, because I know it's the truth. And even in the silence on the other end of the line, where Sebastian's voice just was, all I can think is one word: I'm going to kill you.

Marco parks his black SUV in the street behind Sebastian's safe house, gliding it to a stop. The sky is starting to darken now, and there is no sound but the slight howling of wind through the branches and chirping of crickets all around us. I slowly open my door and step out, feeling the cool pavement beneath my feet. Marco follows my lead, handing me my gun and looking up at me, his face illuminated by a pale streetlight overhead. Even through the darkness, I can see that same vicious look in his eyes, the look of someone ready for revenge. Kind of like me. "Are you ready?" he asks in a low voice.

I can see that he's ready, too.

I can see he wants to end this as badly as I do.

I check to make sure my gun is loaded, then slip it into my pocket and nod at him. "I've been ready for a long time now," I whisper, meaning it. And right now, in the cool night air, feels like the perfect time to do it.

Marco's smile grows. "Good, my love," he says. "I'll stay behind you. You take care of Sebastian, and I'll do the rest. And then, you'll be all mine. Forever."

I give a small smile. "I know," I say, taking a step toward the house. And then, just like that, I'm off.

The front porch lights are on in Sebastian's safe house, illuminating the expanse of green hill. The whole place is at a deadly hush, like the wind is whispering, waiting for what's about to go down. I keep my hand in my pocket, clenching the gun, as I come around the side of the house, through several entangled bushes, and start walking toward the front door, where I know Sebastian is waiting. The quiet sound of leaves crunching under my feet fills the air, and I listen to the monotonous hum it all, as leave after leave gets destroyed.

Marco stays a good distance behind me, not making a sound, and it isn't until then that I realize how quickly my heart is pounding, how much my throat is hurting from the cold, how chilled the blood in my veins has become.

I keep my eyes narrowed, determined, as I come around the side of the house. I take step after step, inhaling, exhaling, trying to stay calm. I know what to do. I've known for so long. And this is right--I know that now--but I can't help but feel so, so nervous.

Finally, I reach the front yard, and my body gets bathed in the intense porch lights of the giant house. I don't squint, though. Don't even hesitate. I just keep walking to the front steps, where a figure is standing. I have to work to hide my smile.

I know it's Sebastian, waiting for me.

Oh, how goddamn predictable he can be.

His face comes into vision as I draw nearer. It's surprisingly calm, although there is obvious worry etched into his features, like he knows what's about to go down. He's dressed in his usual business clothes, his head held high as he stands among the marble steps, two white pillars on either side of him. His blue eyes lock with mine almost immediately, and then something strange happens: he shakes his head.

Doesn't say "I'm so glad to see you." Doesn't say "Are you okay?" Doesn't check to make sure I'm not hiding something from him. He just shakes his head.

"Angel," he says, watching me with that hawklike gaze, but his voice is almost regretful.

"Sebastian," I say back. I stop at the bottom steps, just a few feet away from him. Behind him stand my parents, who are watching me intently, who are obviously alarmed. I don't meet their gazes, though. I'm done looking at them. "You came."

"It doesn't have to be like this," he says, his voice full of regret, but it's so quiet it practically drifts off with the wind. The sky is dark, so dark, and only the porch light illuminates his face.

I can hear Marco coming up behind me, can feel that it's almost time to end this once and for all, and even through my furiously pounding heart, I take a deep breath. I lock eyes with Sebastian. I prepare myself.

"Yes," I say slowly, hearing Marco a few feet to my life, just beyond their line of vision.

"Yes, angel?" Sebastian asks, narrowing his eyes at me.

He knows what I'm going to do. It hits me then. He knows, and he wants me to stop.

And then I force a smile, because I know with every part of me that this is it. This is the moment I've been waiting for. This is the moment it all ends, and Sebastian can do nothing to stop it.

I reach into my pocket, and I pull out my gun, aiming it directly at Sebastian's head. "Yes, it does have to be like this."

My mom screams. My dad covers her in her arms, whispering something into her ear. But Sebastian doesn't even seem afraid--just sad. It's weird, how he changed since I called him. It's like he was expecting this all along. He just keeps shaking his head.

Marco bursts out of the shadows then, holding a gun of his own, and I hear my mom crying, hear my dad comforting her, and yet, I feel nothing. I just keep staring at Sebastian, at those beautiful blue eyes of his, my fingers hovering at the trigger.

"It doesn't have to be like this. Don't be like me, angel," Sebastian pleads, narrowing his eyes at me. His voice is so sad, so full of regret.

"Shoot him," Marco barks at my side, aiming his gun at my parents. "Shoot him before he tries to pull anything."

My heart beats faster, but I don't shoot, not yet. I know the plan; I have to wait. One second, two seconds. Three. Four.

He sighs. "Yes, angel," he says, his blue eyes burning into mine, as if he's trying to warn me not to do this one last time. "Shoot me."

A smile flickers across my lips. Even through everything, it still feels good to talk to him. Anger rushes inside of me, bubbling up, seeping through the core of my being, and I feel my finger moving closer and closer to the trigger, feel my head and heart pounding so hard I swear they're going to explode. But I don't shake. I don't let myself be weak.

I can't ever be weak again.

"You would like that, wouldn't you?" I say to him calmly.

"Shoot him!" Marco shouts, louder this time, but I block him out.

This moment is just me and Sebastian. Just me and him. This moment is all about revenge.

I don't dare take my eyes off of him. I focus on his every word, waiting for the signal.

"It only feels right, coming from you." He's still staring at me, as if begging me not to do what he's know I'm going to do. I can tell he's stalling, trying to convince me not to, but my mind is already made up.

I'm going to do whatever it takes to be happy.

"SHOOT HIM!" Marco screams at my side. "Shoot him, my love! Shoot him or I will!"

My heart is pounding furiously and my mom keeps sobbing and my head keeps hurting, but I try to push it all away, to just focus on this moment, on the trigger, on the feel of the gun in my hand. I block out everything but me and Sebastian, but what he did to me, but what he will do. And I click off the safety and press my finger to the trigger, and then I hold it there. "Any last words?" I whisper to Sebastian, eyes boring into his.

"DO IT NOW!" Marco screams, his voice becoming increasingly desperate.

My whole body hurts, but it's all focused, finally in order. My finger twitches at the trigger, itching to pull it.

I keep my gun trained on Sebastian's forehead, just as Marco showed me.

I know what I have to do.

And I know the time is now.

"Yes," Sebastian whispers, and he sounds so defeated it hurts. "Just a few." He drops his gaze, his eyes burning into mine, and every part of my body is screaming at me at once, and I know this is it. This is the moment. "Don't do this," Sebastian whispers.

And then I fire. 

The shot rings out through the night, shattering the silence that was just there. It reverberates throughout my ears, the end-all of all of this, the final piece in Sebastian's grand plan.

And I've just completed it.

I keep my eyes trained on Sebastian the whole time, and he looks back at me, regret spreading across his features as soon as I pull the trigger.