Page 18 of Fatal Fantasy

If he takes my life, he gets the revenge I know he’s been fantasizing about, and in turn, I get the final exit I’ve been dreaming of since returning to California.

“It’s okay, Jasper. It’s okay, just do it,” I whisper, the tears falling down my cheeks, and he snaps his eyes shut, shaking his head as he makes the decision I know is ripping his heart in two.

It needs to be done, so he can move on with his life, and I can escape from the one forced upon me.

It’s salvation for us both, and right before he squeezes the trigger, a loud voice disrupts the silence, breaking our trance as we search for the source.

“Enough!” He shouts, the two-syllable word bouncing off the brick walls, and Jasper lowers the gun while I drop my head, the chance at eternal bliss evading me once again as I open my eyes into theirs.

There they are, the two boys I gave my soul to, but seeing them together doesn’t ignite the fire in my bones that it used too, it only serving as a reminder that I missed another fucking opportunity, and now, I’m forced to live another day.

SEVEN

TYSON

We came back to California with conditions, as I was not going to allow my brother to behave like a vigilante, but give him the grace to work this maze out on his own.

That’s what loving Carter has turned into, us finding our way through a complicated corn maze, and although I quickly found the exit, he has to forge his own path through the dead ends and tricks.

So when I turned over all my research, let him make the moves to get her alone, and I promised that if things got too heated, I’d step in.

Of course, he wanted to behave like a mafia kid, abducting the target and moving her to an unknown location, with plans to torture her until the truth spilled from her lips.

While that’s all good and well, the second he put a gun to her head was my breaking point, and I emerge from the shadows, putting an end to their game of ‘who wants to die more.’

They’re both the strongest soldiers I’ve ever met, but hearing the one person I’ve ever loved beg for a bullet in her brain snaps something inside of me that I refuse to let break fully.

“Enough!”

Both sets of bright eyes search for mine in the darkness, and while I limp with a cane to stop their madness, neither of them make another sound until they see my face.

Massi drops the gun, and Carter ends the theatrics, while a sigh of relief escapes from my chest at the sight of them both together, and alive, for the first time in months.

“Tyson? Oh my god, no! No, no, no. Please, let him kill me,” Carter cries, her body slumping against the wall slightly, due to the very little slack he gives with the restraints, and my eyes meet Massi’s, ready to cut her down myself if he doesn’t.

“Do you fucking believe her now?” I yell, yanking him by the shirt and shoving his back into the wall, effectively snapping him out of the trance his clouded ideas of revenge put him in.

“I … don’t know, Ty.” His body sliding down the brick as his heart and head battle each other, but we don’t have the time for his doubts.

“We came in here with a time limit, Massi. Make a choice. Right now,” I order, and he nods, snapping his eyes shut, but I don’t bother hounding him further, knowing exactly what he’s going to choose.

It only takes a few moments, the room silent other than Carter’s soft cries and pleas, but finally, he stands, leaving the gun on the floor as he crosses the room, back to Carter.

“Come here, Principessina,” he says, releasing the cuffs on her wrists, catching her body in his arms while I work on the restraints at her ankles.

“Say that again,” she whispers, snuggling into his chest while he carries her, the bond they once thought was destroyed immediately rekindling.

“Come here, Principessina.”

“Why, Jasper? Why didn’t you just kill me?” She sobs, and I bite my lower lip, hating the fact that once she was finally in a free space to speak, all she’s done is advocate for her own death.

When I came to see her alone, I knew we needed to save her, but her mindset is so far gone that I didn’t realize how much damage would rise to the surface.

Six months has done a number on our girl, but I’m determined to heal those broken pieces, and eliminate those thoughts from her head – for good.

“I’ve seen that look in a man’s eye before. The one where they aren’t afraid to die, even while staring down the barrel of a gun … you meant every word, didn’t you?” He asks, tears breaking from his eyes and rolling down his cheeks while she’s none the wiser, keeping her head tucked into his chest.

“You shouldn’t be saving me. Take me back to live out the punishment I deserve … I don’t want your grace! I killed your fucking family!” She pounds her fists against his back, screaming while we follow the escape route under the tunnels, but he doesn’t say a word, ignoring the desperation in her hoarse voice as long as he can.