Mom grins, finishes her glass of whatever alcohol she had, and heads upstairs, away from the basement. Momentarily, I can’t help but think how we’re slowly going back to how things were, and the relief is instant.
My attention goes back to Raven.
I open the door, entering the small room, and closing the door behind me. His eyes shift from the floor to me, and he’s only a shell of a man he used to be. There’s no longer the joking glint, the life. He knows his own has come to an end.
“Raven,” I drawl out, stepping closer to him.
He’s forced to lift his chin, looking at me from below. It’s such a powerful feeling, to look at him from above because in every sense of the word, I am above him. I will always be above little bitches like him.
“Arlo,” he croaks out.
His throat is dry, and since he was given minimal food and water, I’m not surprised. He looks pathetic, like a wild animal that’s at my feet, at my mercy. He doesn’t take his eyes off me, he doesn’t dare to. It would be a mistake proven to be fatal, and hence, he’s trying to prevent himself from even blinking.
“There are too many questions I want to ask, but…” I pause, crouching down to his level. There’s an inch between us, and he flinches when he sees that Arlo isn’t here — the Ghost is. Heswallows audibly, his throat bobbing up and down. He reeks of fear, his lip trembling. The man who can kill two people at once, with a single bullet, is shaking in the presence of his better. “Are you even worthy of being given a chance to make an excuse, hm?”
He doesn’t respond, and I chuckle.
My hand flies to his long, curly hair, wrapping around it, and tightly clutching around the strands. He winces, and I yank his head back, exposing his throat. “I could always slice your throat and watch as you choke on your own blood, but that would be too easy, wouldn’t it?”
He doesn’t respond. He has nothing to say, anyway. I shouldn’t waste my time on him, I should just pull the trigger and end it all. Yet, I can’t. This man has been with my family for a decade, and the betrayal hurts.
If things had gone wrong, Theodosia could’ve died and the possibility of Blair dying would’ve been bigger, too. That’s unforgivable, and I’m not the one to give out second chances. In fact, I have never given anyone a second chance, and I won’t start now.
“Arlo, please,” his voice breaks, and so does my patience.
I inch closer, gripping his hair so tightly that I know a full strand of it will end up in my hand when I decide to pull it back. “Begging already? My, how disappointing. I haven’t started yet.”
“Don’t do this,” he argues, though the tone in his voice is pleading. “You know me.”
“No, I don’t,” I grit out, the anger swirling inside of me. “Because I thought I knew you. The man I thought I knew wasn’tthe kind of pussy who would betray those he claimed to serve. Yet, you did. Which just means I didn’t know you at all, Raven.”
He understands the fury in my eyes, after all, he had the opportunity to witness it many times. Yet, it’s the first time it’s directed toward him, and he doesn’t know how to act. One wrong word, and it’ll tick me off.
“I’m sorry.”
The words are expected, of course. What’s unexpected is the sheer sincerity behind them. Just for a moment, my anger halts. For a split second, I’m thrown back to when Raven first joined us.
My father was always the one who trained me, yet Raven was able to sneak in and teach me a few sniper’s tricks. He claimed I’d never know when those might come in handy, and it was best to prepare for the unexpected, than die because of the lack of skill. And just for a moment, I contemplate whether or not to forgive him. However, the moment passes, and I’m back to the place I was seconds ago. His stupidity, his selfishness could’ve cost me Blair’s life. It could’ve cost me my own. If he betrayed me once, who knows how many times he’ll do it again.
Which is why I’ll make an example out of him.
“Yes, you are,” I murmur, releasing the grip on his hair and rising to my feet. There are a couple of locks of his hair tangled in my palm, and I toss them aside, watching as Raven winces in pain.
“You’ll be erased from history, Raven. Today is the last time anyone mentions you. It’s the last time anyone thinks of you. You won’t be remembered, and you won’t be on anyone’s mind. You’ll die just as you were born — all alone. You’re replaceable, and you’re not skilled enough for me to even consider keepingyou alive. Sleep tight, because you and I will meet again. And maybe then, I’ll grant you the opportunity to earn my forgiveness. Until then, you’re just another corpse left by the Ghost.”
Raven doesn’t close his eyes while I pull out the gun. I wanted to torture him for what he’s done, but he’s too pathetic. The little bit of mercy I can grant him is clean death. My gun is locked and loaded, pressed between his eyes.
Then, I pull the trigger.
His brain spills on the wall behind him, the blood dripping down the dark tiles. His lifeless body slumps in the chair, and I step back. He’s dead. One of the people I trusted the most is dead, and that feeling of anger toward myself doesn’t go away. It’s a question if it ever will. Without looking back, I turn on my heel and exit the room, the door closing behind me on its own. The last bit of sympathy for him is left there with his body, and there’s no going back.
My eyes fall to the left, just as Mom exits the room where Nelson is.
“Jesus Christ,” I breathe out. “You truly went all out, huh?”
Mom doesn’t seem happy. How could she? After all, this man is directly responsible for the life Luna lived until her death, and Aunt Jane’s death. Mom should be happy, gloating even, but to her, this is just proof that her niece and sister aren’t coming back.
In her right hand is Nelson’s decapitated head.
