Arranged To Be|18+✔️

40'

Czar's POV

I just sat, staring at Liam's unconscious body, waiting for him to wake. It wouldn't be fair to kill him like this, while he couldn't fight back. Besides, I wanted him to see me. I wanted him to know that I was the one causing his pain, that it was me.

I heard the back door open, and when I turned my head, I saw Anderi walking into the house.

"What the hell are you still doing here?" he asked.

"Why are you here?" I countered.

"Zariah called me. Told me what was going on. I'm here to make sure you get out safe."

"No. Go home. This is between Liam and me."

Anderi shook his head. "I'm not leaving. Zariah would kill me if I did. Besides, I don't think you'd really kill him."

I stood. "What exactly do you mean by that?"

"Come on, Czar. If you really wanted Liam dead, you'd have done it a long time ago. There's still a part of you that sees him as your best friend. And that part... it's going to get you killed."

"I—"

"I'm flattered... really, I am," Liam groaned, sitting up and cutting me off. "Who would've thought that good old heartless Czar still cared about me after all these years?"

I yanked him up by his shirt, looking him in the eyes. "I couldn't give a shit about you. You destroyed my sister's life, caused her to kill our mother, tried to kill my wife, and scarred your own daughter for life. This ends today."

Liam laughed. "What I've done to you isn't even a fraction of what your sick father did to me. He destroyed me, made me go insane. And I kept quiet, for you!  And how do you repay me? By killing my fucking girlfriend!"

"Shut the hell up." I shoved him against the wall. "You didn't care that much if you were screwing my sister."

"I hate to interrupt," Anderi said, "but Czar, we need to get out of here."

"Why?" I asked.

He pointed at Liam's hand, he was holding a small white controller with a red button. He smiled.

"He activated the bomb."

My eyes widened. I threw Liam to the floor and kicked him in the stomach. He groaned but grabbed my leg and swept me off my feet. Anderi rushed in to help.

"Stay out of it!" I yelled.

Liam and I broke into a vicious fight, exchanging punches. I managed to knock him back and landed several blows to his face before pulling out my gun.

Liam groaned, his face swollen and bloodied. "How can you call me a monster when your father is the reason I'm this way?"

I stood over him, finger on the trigger, gun aimed. My mind flooded with memories— 

Flash Back Age 10

Liam and I sat on the edge of the pool, ice cream melting down our fingers. I had vanilla-chocolate swirl. He had strawberry.

"I should've gotten two," Liam said, licking his cone.

"You barely had money for one," I teased.

We laughed. The sun blazed overhead.

"Is that your dad?" he asked.

I looked toward the window. My father was watching us. He stared at Liam, who scooted closer to me.

"Hey, Czar?"

"Yeah?"

"Promise me something."

"What?"

"Promise me no matter what happens, we'll always be friends."

"Why wouldn't we be?"

"Just promise."

"Okay. I promise."

We hooked pinkies as a silent promise,

End of Flashback

"Czar! Czar!" Anderi called. "We have to go!"

I snapped back to reality. Liam was crying now.

"Just do it already," he said quietly. "Do it."

A single tear rolled down my cheek. I turned away from him and pulled the trigger.

Bang!

Blood splattered across me. I dropped the gun, hands trembling.

"Come on, let's get out of here!" Anderi shouted.

We bolted to the back door. As we hit the steps, the house exploded. A wave of heat slammed into us, flinging us toward the white fence.

We hit the ground hard.

"Told you we had to get the hell out of there," Anderi groaned, rolling onto his side.

I stared up at the sky, lying on my back. I felt... empty.

I had just done a terrible thing. I couldn't make sense of it. Sadness crashed over me.

I was crying.

Anderi sat up beside me. "Czar, you did what you had to do."

But that didn't stop the tears. That didn't change the ache.

I closed my eyes and let the sorrow consume me.

I lay there crying—like a baby—for what felt like forever.

~*~

I think it's important to show that guys do cry too and that they can be vulnerable. I loved this chapter, even though it wasn't such a happy one. We have exactly ten more chapters to go along with the epilogue. I am so excited and sad at the same time. I love you all, don't forget to comment, vote, share, and follow.