Page 119 of The Unseen

Luca moves so he’s standing in front of me, by my father’s side.

“You weren’t coming back, Austin. And I had to do what I had to, to get my old life back.”

“I SAVED YOU FROM THIS LIFE!” I bellow.

Fuck Dr. Alfie for opening up my emotions because now I can’t fucking control them at all. The hurt of this betrayal has cut me deeper than any wound ever has. I have scars all over my body, knife fights, surgeries, and fist fights that led to split knuckles, split lips, and split eyebrows. There’s no part of my body that hasn’t suffered from my previous life. And while there’s no physical violence in the life I built, you pay the price with your emotions. You learn to care; you learn to love, to trust, to feel something other than shit. So when the ultimate betrayal happens, you’re left reeling.

“I NEVER ASKED YOU TO FUCKING SAVE ME!” he screams right back. He’s holding the gun to my face. The gun I fucking bought him as a gift. The intricate pattern on the side emulates a gun he saw in a Leonardo di Caprio movie. It is Catholicism incarnate, and he’s always loved the dichotomy ofusing something so violent in the name of God. Luca’s like that—he leans into two halves. I’m learning just how much.

“You never said you were unhappy.”

“You’ve gone soft, Austin. Do you know how fucking pathetic you’ve been? Running around with that slut who dropped to her knees the second you gave her attention.”

“Don’t you fucking talk about her like that,” I hiss, leaning my forehead into his gun. His lips part in horror. My brother steps forward, and my father sneers.

Silence descends on the docks until the only thing I can hear is the gentle lapping of waves against the concrete. Even the seagulls have the decency to shut up.

“Finish him, and I’ll know you’re ready,” my father interrupts.

My brother snaps his head to face our father. It looks like I’m not the only one who was betrayed tonight. I give him a small consolation smile as he turns back to me, shaking his head. His anguished face tells me everything I need to know. He didn’t know I was going to die tonight. He didn’t know Luca would betray me, and he had no idea our father had made a deal to let Luca take over.

Luca’s hand shakes. I can see the sweat forming on his upper lip. Our last conversation is running through his head. I’m not coming back, and I won’t fucking lie now to save myself. Maybe that’s stupid. Maybe it’s naive. But I won’t beg.

I inhale deeply through my nose and close my eyes. The salt air mixes in with diesel and honest-to-god fish guts but I push the stench out of my mind. If I’m going to die, the last thing I see is going to be Olivia laughing maniacally in a field because I’ve launched a Ghostface mask over my shoulder and tackled her to the ground. I’m going to pepper her face with kisses as she smiles with her whole face. I breathe in again, and I can almost smell her citrus shampoo. I can smell the wildflowers in the field that we ran through. That moment is perfect; she is perfect.

An ear-splitting shot rings out. A flash of white hits myeyes, and then...nothing.

Well . . . not nothing.

I assume I am dead for about five seconds when I don't feel my body hit the ground, but then I realize the yelling, multiple shots, and someone getting tackled aren’t the sounds of hell. I am still alive.

Either Luca is still a terrible fucking shot, or he wasn’t the one to pull the trigger.

I open my eyes, chaos ensuing.

“Don’t just stand there, you absolute fucking idiot!” my brother screams at me as he tackles me out of the line of fire. Despite his stocky build and the strength he pummels through my abdomen as he saves me from a flying bullet, I manage to stay on my feet.

Snaps of lights flash across my eyes, disorientating me. The ring in my ear pulses like it’s trying to push through me, my head practically vibrating with it. I open my jaw, push my finger in my ear, and try to wiggle.Fuck, I must have burst my ear drum.

I force myself back to the present. The two goons standing beside my father have their hands up straight above their heads, and I roll my eyes. They’re both shaking, and the one on the left has pissed himself. I've promised myself after the intervention Dr. Alfie gave me that I won't kill again.Fucking hell. The one on the right is crying.

Throwing my hands up in exasperation, I yell, “Run away, you morons!”

I shoo them away, and now it’s my brother’s turn to throw his hands up.

“I promised my therapist I wouldn’t kill anymore.” I shrug.

“Life-threatening situations might be exempt from that rule, Austin.” The deep tones of Alfie fucking Adams ring through my one good ear.

“What the fuck are you doing here?”

“Well, you missed our last two sessions, so I wasslightly concerned. I also had a feeling you were going to be ambushed.”

“So, you came to a gunfight? Jesus, Alf, we’re outnumbered by a fucking lot here. I don’t know if I can protect you.”

“Is this your boyfriend?” my brother asks. “I thought you were with a woman?”

I’m hoping the ringing in my ear stops soon and just takes my ability to hear away, so I don’t have to hear stupid fucking comments like that. He knows full well who Olivia is.

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