Page 104 of No Mistakes
Carter picks the lock, unlocking the door to the house that sits quietly at the end of a cul-de-sac. The house is quiet as we step inside. Pictures line the wall while shoes of every size rest at the bottom of the stairs.
A pang of guilt fills my chest as I look at the pictures of children laughing, family parties, and special occasions, each one of them holding a special memory.
Carter moves in front of me, leading the way up the stairs as they creak underneath our weight. I tighten my grip on the pistol as sweat clings to my skin, my heartbeat growing louder than my own breathing. “Remember what I told you. Don’t think. Just act.”
I nod, swallowing hard. “I can do this.” My voice doesn’t sound like mine, but it’s there, steady enough to keep me moving.
We reach the landing, and a strip of light spills under the door at the end of the hall. Carter looks at me, signalling with his fingers that beyond that door is the target.
The door creaks open, and a figure steps out amongst the darkness, the shadows shielding them. My body reacts before my brain catches up, and I lift the gun, my finger squeezing the trigger.
A bang bounces off the walls, the shot exploding through the narrow hallway as the body jerks back, slamming into the wall before crashing to the floor.
Adrenaline surges through my body. My chest heaves at the fact that our father will be proud. “I-I got him.” A shaky breath leaves me, almost a laugh. “I fucking did it.”
I turn towards Carter, waiting to see his expression, but he’s not looking at me. He’s staring at the body. I follow his gaze, wondering why he’s staying silent, but the moment my eyes connect with the figure. My stomach drops.
Not a man. Not the target.
A boy.
He lies there, his pyjamas covered with rockets. His chest red around the hole my bullet tore through. His mouth opens and closes like he’s trying to breathe, but all of a sudden, all his movements stop.
“No.” The word breaks out of me as my gun slips from my hand, hitting the carpet with a thud. I take a step closer into the hallway and drop to my knees, hands shaking as I try and process what I just did. “No, no, no, I didn’t- he’s just a kid, I didn’t mean-”
A scream tears through the house, and a woman storms out of the room that he just left, her eyes finding the child instantly. She collapses beside him, dragging his tiny body into her arms. The sound she makes isn’t human; it’s grief, raw and gut-wrenching, rattling the walls around us.
Behind her, a man charges out after her, his face twisted with rage.
Carter moves faster, lifting his gun as he takes aim. I panic, switching my gaze between him and the man. “Don’t!” I shout, reaching for his arm, but the shot fires before I can stop him. The man drops, and another round rips through the woman’s head, her body falling over her son’s.
I stumble back, ears ringing, breath catching in my throat. “We killed them…oh God, Carter, we fucking killed them.” My voice cracks. “She-She was holding him-she was holding him Carts.”
“Shut up,” Carter snaps, his face stone. He grips my arm, trying to drag me back down the hall. “We finish this, or you die with them. Choose.”
I nod frantically, but my legs don’t work. My eyes lock on the small hand limp beneath his mother’s, his fingers stretched out like he is reaching for her.
“Fuck Ant. We have to move. Please move.” Carter pleads as he pulls me up.
My world tilts, and my chest caves in. “I didn’t mean it,” I whisper, over and over, the words choking me as Carter leads me down the stairs. The hallway blurs. My own voice repeating “Murderer” as the screams from the mother replay in my head like my own personal mix tape.
Carter pushes me outside, and I fall to the ground, ripping my mask off, my fingers clawing at the cold ground, “I didn’t mean it. I didn’t mean it. He’s just a kid…”
“Do you still hear the screams at night?” Rachel asks, pulling me back to the situation at hand. I open my eyes, blinking the memory away. The room tilts, my chest clamping shut. The memory slams into me again as if it doesn’t want to let me go, the sound of the gunshot, the silence after the screams, and bile scorches my throat as it tries to climb out.
“You remember, don’t you?” she whispers, but her voice carries in the silent room. “The boy. The blood…”
My knees threaten to buckle, but I don’t let her get to me as I see Mandy move. She shifts in the corner, her breath ragged, eyes wild but locked on me. Her presence cuts through the pain from the ghosts I thought I left behind.
I latch on to her, linking my mind and soul.
I straighten, forcing my hands to stop trembling even as my chest burns. My voice comes raw, hoarse, but real. “Let her go.”
Rachel laughs, clapping her hands. “There he is. The mute boy whofinallyspeaks. All it took was me holding your little obsession in my hands.”
She takes a step closer, running a hand up my arm slowly. “Do you want to know who Ireallyam?”
My skin crawls underneath her touch, but I keep my eyes trained on her. She takes a step back, a smile on her face as she watches me and Carter. “My name is Aria,” she says slowly, like she wants me to feel each letter cut into my skin. “And you, Antonio… you killed my brother.”
