Page 44 of Take You

“Seriously? I honestly can’t believe it’s come to this.” His reluctance to do what I’d asked him permeated every move of his body, but he did it. Painfully slowly, but it was done.

When she was free, Tabitha shook her arms looking relieved, though that was short-lived as I approached her and handed her the gun.

“Fox, are you out of your goddammed mind? What the fuck are you doing? Why are you giving her that? She could fill us both full of lead right now, and it would be self-defense.”

“She’s not going to kill you.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because she feels the same way about you, as you feel about her.”

“There’s no wa—”

“Shut up, you moron, she’s crazy about you.” He pulled his focus from the barrel of the gun to her face, staring at her with questioning intensity. She shrugged, and looked at the floor. Kane’s lips formed a silent “O”, but he said nothing.

“Okay, but what’s to stop her taking you the fuck out?” The panic in his voice rose with every word.

“Everything.” As I spoke, Tabitha dutifully took the gun, but didn’t take her eyes from the screen in front of her.

“Everything? What the fuck is that supposed to mean? How can you be so calmly obtuse at a time like this?”

I looked pointedly at Tabitha until Kane took the hint and looked at her too, quickly following her line of vision to the screen in front of her.

“What is this? What am I seeing here?”

I turned to face the screen also, though I knew exactly what he was looking at. “This is Rhea, Tabitha’s nine-year-old stepsister, and the absolute light of her life. She’s playing in the park with her babysitter, just like she does every afternoon after school, while Mom’s at work.”

“Okay, but what are those circ—”

“Those circles? It’s a good thing that Tabitha here is quicker at solving mysteries than you are. If you were standing where she is right now, you would no doubt have attempted to kill me, resulting in having your baby sister shot dead by a sniper. I’m sure you’ve figured out by now that those circles are his scope. See the time, and date in the bottom right hand corner? Look at your watch.” He did was as he was told. “It’s live. And wave to the camera, because, as you can see in the bottom-left corner, he has real-time footage of what’s going on in here. One wrong move from either of you, and pretty little Rhea doesn’t make it to her tenth birthday.”

“You wouldn’t kill an innocent kid.”

“You don’t sound sure of that K. Wouldn’t I? You said yourself that there’s shit about me that’s only just coming to light now, and I’ve kept the finer details of my plans from you for weeks. Not that it’s your decision, it’s hers—but would you be prepared to gamble with a little girl’s life against a best friend you possibly never truly knew?”

“You bastard. This is not you. You have that kid killed, and you’re no better than you say Rose is, or was. Actually, scratch that, you’re much fucking worse. She’s an innocent child.”

“So was Jules.”

“What do I have to do to save her?” Kane and I turned our focus back to Tabitha at the sound of her thin, weak voice. She was crying harder than anyone I’d ever seen before, even as I’d lurked way back in the cemetery at my brother’s funeral, unable to face being part of proceedings. “Tell me. I’ll do anything. Name it, and it’s done,” she urged.

“I told you before I was going to make you face the agonizing decision as to whether to blow your own brains out or not, just like Jules had to. So that’s it. A bullet to your own head, or your sister gets one in hers. It has to be the head, though. Like I said before, Jules chose that method for a reason—it’s pretty much foolproof.

“Okay.” It was a barely audible croak. The look of horror on Kane’s face was heartbreaking. “I’ll do it.” Her voice was solemn, but firm.

“What? You can’t. Please. Rose. Please don’t do this. He’s bluffing. I know him. Yeah, it doesn’t seem like I do right now, and I’m the first to admit that he really blindsided me with this, but I’m telling you, I know it in my heart, and in my bones. He wouldn’t do this. He wouldn’t steal the life of someone’s sister, just like his brother’s life was stolen. He wouldn’t. You have to believe me. You have to trust me. Please.”

It was the first time I’d ever seen him cry, and it wrenched my gut to know that I’d been the one to cause those tears, but I didn’t let the guilt sway me. I had to see this thing through to the end.

“I can’t. I’m so sorry, but I can’t. It’s not a risk I can take. I don’t have a choice in this. I can’t spare myself and let her die. She has her whole life ahead of her, and she deserves to live it to its fullest, and die at a ripe old age. I couldn’t live with myself if this ended any other way.”

“You see, Kane, this is the perfect plan. If she dies, I get closure, vengeance, and retribution for Jules’s death, and she gets to make amends, and die a martyr, having saved her sister’s life. Tabitha, you’ve made the right choice. Better to die with grace, than live with guilt.”

“That’s the most bullshit I’ve ever heard. For the smartest person I’ve ever met, bar none, you have a loose grip on reality. You’re fucking delusional. I mean seriously fucked in the head. Rose, don’t listen to him, please. What he said before was right. I am in love with you. I guess I was too embarrassed to admit it before, because it was an instant infatuation—hardly a dignified look when the other person doesn’t feel the same way. But now I have nothing to lose. I love you and I’m begging you. Please. Please don’t do this.”

“I’m sorry. This is the only way, and I’m at peace with that. Fox is right. This is a fitting end to everything.” She sounded so resigned, and calm, which surprised me. She was more resilient than I’d given her credit for.

“No. No. No. No. No. No. No.” It was a desperate chant from Kane as he paced back and forth, clawing at his scalp, and tearing at his hair. “No. No. No. No. No. No. No.”

“Shhh, Kane, it’s too late. Tabitha, hurry and do the honors—the sniper is paid by the hour.”

“I’m sorry. To both of you.” I knew in my heart that she was.

Nothing prepared me for the noise. Actually, I think the eardrum-shattering boom shocked us all. The only thing louder was the sound of my heart crashing against my chest as the metallic clatter of the gunshot echoed and ricocheted around the cavernous space, followed my animalistic howl of despair.

One bullet. A solitary bullet was all it had taken to completely alter the course of my life all those years ago, and now here again, one single bullet propelled me into a new future. One where not only had I lost my brother and best friend, but I’d thrown away the life of my best friend and brother. This wasn’t how it was supposed to end.

TO BE CONTINUED…

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