Scattered and Broken, Book 3 of Wingless Series

Giving in

You never believe a miracle before you see one; you never know what is true even when it is standing in front of your face. So many times, I seemed to think I had it somewhat figured out and life found a way to twist it into something new.

Carlo raised his hands up almost seeming to welcome the bullets in his direction, Evan backed off coming to me. He was clearly more worried about my well being then Carlo's.

Mark finally gave up when he found himself staring at the gun to many times to his liking. Kenny wasn't backing down, and he was willing to take down anyone who wanted to jump in the way, anyone who wanted to be a hero for Carlo didn't deserve any saving.

"I want everyone to listen to me." Carlo said hands still in mid air. Kenny came closer holding the gun ready to pull the trigger.

"I don't want to hear anything else you have to say." Kenny said touching Carlo's face with the gun.

"I think you do." He said pleading with his eyes before his head was about to be blown off. I wondered if that were even possible.

"Let him talk, you want to be crazy go ahead but let him say what he needs to say first." Mark said clearly angry about being held against his will. Everyone waited for whatever was about to come out.

"It's time for changes and I see the best time is now. Maybe if I would have done this a long time ago, things wouldn't have come to this." He said grabbing hold of the barrel of the gun.

"Go on." Kenny said not letting the gun out of his hands.

"Its time for change, I'm too old for this so I leave all of this up to you guys, you want to see me as such a bad guy, but not ever understand what it takes to be me. I figure the best way to get where I'm coming from is to step right into my shoes." Carlo said grabbing the gun roughly bringing it up to his head. He stared at Kenny his eyes intense and set on what he was doing.

Kenny looked over to Evan and at Mark no one had anything to say. I stayed silent not knowing if what I thought was true.

"Do it Kenny, maybe you will get what you want, maybe you won't. It's time for me to go. I'm an old man I'm ready to get out of here." He said almost begging.

"I don't understand how you can say you're done." Mark said finally.

"I wasn't meant to live forever Mark, just because we go around ending lives doesn't mean we aren't going to expire, its time."

Now I was certain that Carlo was asking his own kids to let him go, he was done. That he wanted to see them go through what he did and not turn into what he had become.

"That's fine with me." Kenny said ready to pull the trigger.

Evan jumped literally, where he stood yelling.

"No he needs to hear something before you do that; I need to say one last thing." He said coming close to Carlo. Carlo watched Evan closely as he seemed to almost lose it himself. As evil as a person Carlo was, he was in fact a father to each of them. It started to pain me to think it was the last moments they had with him.

"You don't know how much anger I have inside for you, and you will never understand. I wish you would have left me with Donna and not made me be this monster. Because that's exactly what I feel like, is a monster. And I know I wasn't meant to be that. I don't know if you will ever get forgiveness for what you have done, but I'm going to be the first one to say despite all the messed up things you did to make me who I am, and all the horrible things you said to me I'll forgive you." He said.

Evan brought his hand up to Carlo's face touching it, I barely was able to stay still or contain myself, and I wanted to do nothing more than to help him through. But it wasn't my place he was doing what he needed to let him go.

Tears secretly slipped from my eyes, I was too mesmerized to wipe them away, and as messed up as it all seemed, it was in a morbid messed up way, horribly beautiful.

"Evan you're a good man and you are a good son. You will be whatever it is you want to be I know that, I can't stop that. I tried taking a good kid and making him into something that he was never destined to be." Carlo said barely touching him back.

Kenny brought the gun down to his side letting out a long sigh; he stared at the floor unable to bring himself to look in Carlo's eyes.

"I hate you, I will always hate you. You ruined me and never gave me a chance to know what a real life was. You wanted me for nothing more than your own gain. And you sacrificed my life to have all you wanted. And for that I will never forgive you because you will never know what it feels like what any of us went through." He said his body seeming to relax some, everyone turned to Mark, and he took Carlo's hand looking at the old man.

"I don't know how to be angry at you for anything, when I was alone you took me in and gave me all that I could want, and you acted like you cared. Maybe I just don't know what it's like to have a real family so I have nothing to gauge it on, but I'll always miss you and never hate you. I don't care what anyone thinks of me for that either." He gave Evan and Kenny a look before heading out of the room.

Kenny looked over at Evan they both seemed to say silently what the other was thinking.

Carlo dropped to his knees looking up at us all.

"Just remember this is your life and your family and I hope you guys take the reins and figure it all out for yourselves. You may not like the family you were given but it's yours now. I hope you can do what you think I couldn't, now do it." He said closing his eyes.

Evan and Kenny both brought their hands up to Carlo's chest touching him at the same time, Carlo's life seemed to leave instantly his body slumping over and falling to the ground.

I swallowed hard knowing it was done, he was gone. The answer to how does one kill death was right in front of me, you killed death with death.

With the best exit that Carlo could ask for, Kenny turned back to him and pointed the gun at his lifeless body. He pulled the trigger letting one single shot fire, and bitterly tossed the gun on the floor next to Carlo. I looked away feeling Evan grabbed a hold of me tightly.