“We both die that way!” I said, the gun shaking so much I could hardly keep it in place.
“We both die no matter how this is going down. Don’t do this.” He was seething with rage, though I knew it was desperation. “Youpromisedme that if there was a choice… Youpromised…”
“There is no choice here, Liam!”
I checked the timer…ten seconds. I still didn’t know if Liam had any chance of getting out in time.
“If we’d just had more time,” I whispered, sniffling, feeling cold as though my body were already turning into a corpse. “I love you.”
“I love you! I love you so much, Ty, goddammit! Stop! Stop it, Ty!” Liam thrashed about like some kind of fucking animal, face red, his restraints clashing and clanking. This was truly the Hulk-David-Banner side of Liam that Mick had mentioned.
If there had been a way for him to break free, if fate or the universe had planned to spare me, it would have already.
But this was the end.
I slipped the barrel of the gun into my mouth, aiming toward the roof of my mouth.
The final two seconds were the longest—they seemed to move in slow motion as I prayed for the best, making deals with God before seeing that final digit shift: 00:00:00.
A calm swept through me.
No, it wasn’t long enough with Liam, but then again, had we reached our final moments together, old and gray and having spent our lives as one, I would have still been too greedy to give it up.
Liam unleashed a fierce, guttural cry as he realized he was incapable of saving me, and I saw his desperate grappling with his restraints in that final moment.
God, please…somehow…just save him.
Because it was too late for me.
Theclickas I pulled the trigger echoed like thunder in my ears.
