“Did you really think I was going to let you walk away?” he sneered. “You forget who I am and what I’m capable of.” He turned his back on me and strolled to the bar, like he hadn’t just struck me in the fucking head with a gun. “There’s a plan here. If you’d been paying attention, you would know that.” He reached for his favorite bottle of whiskey and poured himself a heavy three fingers. “Personally, I wouldn’t give a fuck if you got hit by a car tomorrow.” I hated him, didn’t care about his opinion, and yet, hearing those words from him hit as hard as the gun to the head. “You’re a disappointment, but you’re also a means to an end.” He finished his drink, placed the glass down. “You’re not going anywhere and neither is your girlfriend.”
My heart stopped. I felt the blood drain from my face. How did he know anything about Cedar’s plans? “Leave her out of this.”
“She’s in it. You put her there.”
“What the fuck does that mean?”
“You even think about leaving, and I’ll make it very difficult for you and for her.”
All the years I’d put up with his abuse, all the years of torment, but him directing that on Cedar snapped something inside me. I charged him. Hitting him hard in the gut, knocking both the gun from his hand and the air from his lungs. I didn’t stop there, though. My fists connected with his face, over and over again. He was strong, throwing me back, before lunging, getting in a few good hits to my face and ribs. I hit back, and for the first time, heard his bones break, saw his blood splatter. I think it was that, which had me releasing it, the monster that lived deep inside of me; the one that had been formed by the very man I was beating on. I charged, knocked him to the ground, straddled him and didn’t let up. Even when he went still, my fists continued.
It was the sight of the blood all over my hands, a pool of it under my dad’s head that had me stopping. I felt the sticky wet on my face, looked into eyes that were staring back but not seeing. I killed him. I stood. Shock kicked in, so did fear. My stomach lurched, and I threw up. What happened next felt as if it dragged on, but it happened so quickly, too quick to really process what was happening. I reached for my phone and called Sage. I didn’t let her answer. “I fucked up,” I whispered. “Fuck, Sage. I really fucked up.” Tears I hadn’t realized were filling my eyes, were rolling down my cheeks. “I killed him.”
“Where are you?” There was fear in her voice.
“My house. Mom called. I thought she was in trouble, but it was a setup. She wasn’t even here when I got here. But he was. He didn’t want Cedar and me going to Manhattan. Said there was a plan in place, threatened Cedar.”
Sage’s voice was hard, but I felt her concern for me coming over the line. “It’s going to be okay.”
“I hit him, over and over. I broke bones. I killed him. He’s dead.” I looked over at my dead father. “Fuck, I killed him.”
“We are on our way. Brock, it’s going to be okay. Do you hear me? It’s going to be okay.”
“He had a gun,” I whispered.
“Jesus,” Sage hissed. “You’re not alone. Do you understand? We’ll get through this. I promise you.”
“I’m sorry—”
“Don’t. We’re family. We’ll be right there.” She hung up before I could say anything else.
I waited, the minutes dragged on, then I heard the sound of footsteps, but it wasn’t Sage and Andrew, it was Dax. He took one look at the scene and said, “Well, fuck.”
It was all so surreal, my life taking a nosedive, playing out right in front of me, but I didn’t even feel like a participant. “What are you doing here?”
“Followed you.”
I looked over at my dad. “I killed him.”
“Yeah, and my bike is sitting right the fuck out front. Shit.” He pulled a hand through his hair. “You’ve got two options. Stay and go to jail, or come with us.”
“I called—”
He crossed the room, grabbing me by the shirt and throwing me up against the wall. “Who the fuck did you call?”
“My girl’s parents.”
He released me and stepped back. “They can’t help you with this,” he said dispassionately. “His blood is literally on your hands. You’re doing time. There’s no getting out of that even with your face looking like that.”
“Cedar.” What the fuck had I done?
“You want to put this on her, on her parents?”
It was slowly sinking in, what I had done.
“Make the decision, Brock. Now.”
What decision was there to make? She was going to be a designer, was going to set the world on fire. She didn’t need the baggage that came with me now. Her parents didn’t need to get wrapped up in my shit either. One moment, one fucking moment, and I lost the only thing in my life I wanted.
The sound of sirens in the distance had me getting to my feet. I died, the person I’d been died in that minute when I made the decision to let her go. “I’m with you.”
I walked out of the house, climbed into my car and followed Dax. We passed the source of the sirens, an accident, but I didn’t see it. I just drove, away from my life, away from my past, leaving my heart with the only girl I would ever love.
My cell rang when we reached the town’s border. I knew it was Cedar.
