I don't fucking let him.
I rear back with everything in me and collide my fist with his jaw with as much force as I can muster.
He doesn't fall, but he does falter. He stumbles a bit but only laughs harder as his jaw ticks. That is when I lose all of my senses and see nothing but red as I lunge for him. I don't stop.Finally, it happens.
The gun falls from his hand and flies across the barn's ground.
Time stands still, but I don't.
I continue unleashing every pent-up emotion I've suppressed for many years. Emotions that this asshole that was supposed to bemy brother, my family, has singlehandedly caused. Emotions that have caused me to go numb for years.
Unfortunately for him, I can feel again—and I feel fiercely. Right now, I feel nothing but rage and empowered.
Still swinging, my shouts get louder as Liam gets weaker but still fights back. He plants a punch to my ribs, where he knows I'm already hurting, and I give in, keeling over to my knees.
"Ander!" I scream as I see Liam steadying himself, attempting to make his way for the gun.
I still haven't been able to spot Ander through the dark barn. I can't hear anything over the sounds of Liam and me.
Something tells me Ander isn't coming to save me; I have to save myself, and I have to savehim.
Thinking fast, still gasping and trying to catch my breath, I look around for anything in reach and notice an old, worn-out two-by-four lying near the hay near my side.
I inhale a deep breath as I rush to stand and pull for the board, all in the same motion. I swing it to the back of Liam's leg, which is already injured. I don't stop swinging even after he's down.
"Ahhhhh," I scream as another blow of the wood hits him, and he starts to cower in, barely moving.
"I wanted a b-brother," I choke out. "I wanted to love you! THEY loved you, andyou killed them!"
The shouts keep pouring from me as my voice shakes almost as much as my body. Liam lies there, not moving. Adrenaline pumping hard through my veins, I rush over to the gun and grab it. Then I return to stand next to Liam, who lies on his stomach, face planted in the ground, and coughs viciously.
"Oli—" He coughs out as I turn him over onto his back and point the gun at his head.
"You don't deserve to live!" I scream guttarly. I lean down, pushing the gun into his forehead.
"How does it feel, Liam? To feel helpless? To realize you have no control over your own life?" I rasp out, my voice broken and cold, just like I feel on the inside.
"How does it fucking feel, you bastard?"
My ears ring, and I'm unable to hear anything. My hands are trembling; I pull back, open the cylinder of the revolver, assuring there's a bullet in place, and then I place it right back in its rightful position on Liam's forehead. Liam's eyes shut as he lies, barely breathing below me.
My finger hovers over the trigger, ready to end it all. I'm prepared to end this part of my life.
End him.
As my index finger grips its place on the trigger, I feel a hand snake around my arm, pushing the gun away. I can barely hear his words in my ear through the ringing, but I can feel the coolness of his minty breath dance across my skin.
As my arm swings and the gun goes off, shooting a bullet into the wall, I spin around and seeAnderthrough my tears.
Chapter thirty-four
Ander
"Baby, look at me," I say softly, pulling the gun from her hand as the love of my life stands there trembling before me. "Rosie, please." I cup her chin, forcing her eyes to peer up and meet mine. "I'm here, baby." I plead with her to recognize that she's safe now.
She lunges forward and buries her face in my chest as I pull her into me, and the sobs rack from her body uncontrollably.
She lets go.
