Page 114 of Demise

Still, I have to try. My hand rests on the doorknob, and when I turn it, I’m surprised to find it unlocked. Slowly, I push inside the dark room. The curtains are drawn, all lights off as Liam’s still figure lays in bed. His usually soft snoring can’t be heard, and it has me furrowing my brows when he speaks.

“What do you want, Sky?”

His voice is so hollow, so…bare. It’s devoid of any of the emotion and playful tone it usually carries. Hesitantly, I cross the room, coming to his side as I speak.

“I just wanted to check on you. How are you feeling?”

“Like death,” he mutters against his pillow, not looking up at me or even moving as he speaks.

Worried, I reach for him before I think better of it. Instead, opting to stand there awkwardly because what do I do…how do I help?

“Should I leave you alone?” I ask.

He’s quiet for several seconds before he lets out a heavy sigh and lifts the blankets in invitation. I take the gesture happily, sliding into bed beside him as I lay on my side to face him. We stare at each other for several minutes, just watching one another. If we have to do this all day, then it’s what we’ll do.

I watch as a single tear escapes his eye, slipping down his face, over his nose, and to the other cheek before hitting his pillow. My heart aches as I lift my hand, brushing the tear away.

“Baby,” I whisper hoarsely. “What did they do to you?”

He doesn’t speak, instead, he just swallows. We stay like that for another minute or so before his voice comes through, the softest whisper I’ve ever heard.

“I killed someone.”

Oh, my poor sweet boy. Closing the distance between us, I wrap my arms around him, burying him into my chest as I shush him softly, running my fingers through his hair as he continues.

“A woman…I…I killed her. Brutally,” he says as his body shakes.

I hold him tighter as his arms wrap around me and he falls apart. His body shakes as sobs rip through him, the sound of his cries literally breaking my heart to pieces.

“It’s not your fault, Liam. You were doing what you could to survive,” I whisper against him. “You are so kind, so loving. That wasn’t you. It was who you needed to be, right?”

He cries for a few more seconds before he shakes his head.

“I tried to refuse. I couldn’t…not after all she’d been through. Then…”

He pauses, like he knows he shouldn’t say this next part.

“Christopher pulled a gun on me, said it was me or her, and like a fucking coward, I deemed my life more valuable than hers.”

“No,” I say.

“Yes,” he snaps. “That’s exactly what I did, because in that moment, all I could think about was you. I thought about how much pain you’d be in if I was dead, how much Ash would be. I was given a choice to do the right thing, and I didn’t take it because of you two.”

Guilt gnaws at me as he continues.

“And I fucking hate myself because, given the chance, I’d make the same choice again.”

My heart aches and soars simultaneously. I press a kiss to his forehead as I rest my head against his.

“It’s not like he would have let her live regardless.” I try to reason.

He shakes his head. “That’s not the point. If he had, it wouldn’t have mattered.”

I stay quiet for a moment as I nod.

“Does it make me a terrible person if I say thank you?”

He scoffs but doesn’t say anything as I continue.

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