Page 106 of Castle

It was excruciating to watch a man die no matter how much you hated him.

Chandler had fallen back with the force of the gunfire, and that’s when Theo appeared out of the shadows, wearing pajamas. “What’s this ruckus all about?” He asked sleepily and then his eyes registered the horror in front of him. “Fuck!”

No one attempted to help Devin as he choked, spurting out blood.

We just stood there watching.

Castle pushed Devin off himself and walked to where I was standing. “Are you alright? I thought he shot you!” He said, his fingers threading through mine. He was glad I was okay. I touched his bloody face and tried to wipe the blood off it.

“Call 911.” He told Theo, reaching for Chandler and taking the gun out of his hand.

Chandler, having realized what had happened, asked, “Why isn’t he moving?”

Castle didn’t answer, and pulled Chandler in a hug, turning his face away from the scene. “You shot him to save my life. That’s what happened here.”

Chandler was deathly silent.

The way I saw it, this was poetic justice.

“Hello, this is Montgomery’s residence. We need help.”

The funeral took place in the family’s chapel near the cemetery.

Who would have thought this would happen? There were two white coffins lowered into the ground which were supposed to be for me and Castle. Chandler hadn’t cried one drop. He looked like a broken doll.

Castle had injuries on his face, and people who we didn’t even know were in the house paying their respects and discussing the horrific events. They looked sorry for the brother who was going to be killed by a money-hungry half-brother.

Chandler had opted out of the funeral all together. He wanted to be cooped up in his bedroom, reading comics, and Castle hadn’t pushed him to attend. He’d told me to let him be. I’d seen the sadness seeping in the child’s eyes and I knew he needed time to grasp everything. Devin had given him shootingtraining since he was ten for in cases of emergencies to defend himself. The irony of that was kind of sick.

Grandpa Hugh was also downstairs. Winston stayed close to the old man, but Hugh didn’t seem to care about what was going on. He was going on and on about something. Theo and his girlfriend Ivy were huddled in a corner and I’d seen him hug her close, intimately close, as she consoled him. No matter how evil Devin was, he was still his brother.

“Are sure you don’t want anyone to stay here with you?” I asked when I went to Chandler’s room to check on him.

He had the haunted look; the child had killed his own brother. He was trying really hard to act tough.

Chandler sniffled. “Millie, am I going to prison?”

I closed the door behind me and came to his bed, where I wrapped him in a hug. “No, of course not. It wasn’t your fault, Chandler. Devin would have killed us. You saved our lives.”

His large emerald eyes stared up at me, and the similarity with his brother was disturbing. He would grow up to look like Devin, but we would make sure he was a better man, one who didn’t live with greed but spread love.

“You promise?” He asked with his pinky out.

I nodded, “I promise.”

“Is Castle sending me to boarding school? Devin told me he was going to.”

I shook my head. “I wouldn’t let him.”

He raised his pinky again. “You have to double pinky promise me.”

I tangled my pinky with his again. “Double pinky promise.”

He hugged me again suddenly, and then a loud wail filled the silence. I held him to me until he had no tears left. He needed someone to give him a bit of maternal love and attention, and I could become that someone.

I went to look for Castle later but couldn’t find him inside the house. Then someone told me they’d seen him walk outside.

Finally, I spotted him. He was sitting by the lake all alone, staring at the serene water ahead. He had taken off his blazer jacket, and sat wearing a dark shirt and slacks, a few buttons open at the collar and tousled hair. Even with the injuries on his face, it gave him a rugged look. It would have been inappropriate, but I had the sudden desire to kiss him.

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