Lie, Baby, Lie ✔️

chapter four- mia

I stare at the weapon for a long time. "Why are you handing this to me?"

"Mia," Thomas says quietly. "These men need to know what a good shot you are. I can't be around all the time, and I want to make it loud and clear that you're not afraid to do what you have to do."

He wants me to kill him. He wants me to kill Frank and I don't think I can do it. I'm not a murderer. I'm not like him.

But he's trying his best to change that.

My brother's mouth presses into a thin line as he starts to lose his patience.

"This isn't an option, baby sister," Thomas continues. "So take the fucking gun."

I do, trying my best to swallow the lump in my throat. I know the weight well. I know exactly where to aim, how to hold it. As Frank looks at me, I feel my heart sink.

This is extreme, a knee-jerk response. Frank might be an asshole, but he doesn't deserve to get killed because of it.

"Please," he whispers. "Mia—"

The devil himself shuts the man up immediately.

"You say nothing!" Thomas shouts. "Be quiet, or it won't be a headshot. I will let you bleed out slowly, understood?"

Frank quiets himself, wincing.

"Hurry up, Mia," Thomas quips. "We're waiting."

I scan the crowd, taking in the mixture of expressions. Some are amused, others are indifferent. Some are terrified, others not. Wade isn't even looking anymore.

I point the pistol and Frank flinches. I think I might be holding my breath. My lungs are filling with lead, growing heavy, choking me.

"I'm sorry," I mouth at him, hoping Lucifer doesn't see it.

And then I pull the trigger.

Frank's head snaps back as blood and brain and flesh spray everywhere. It all hits the floor with a sickly splattering noise, warming my face and coating my skin. His body crumples onto the ground, limp and mangled. The back of his skull is blown apart, but the entry wound on his forehead is pretty small. I can't look without getting nauseous, so I don't.

I can't make a sound.

"Nice work," Thomas says, taking his pistol back. He slips it into his holster and gestures to what's left of Frank. "Someone clean this shit up, for the love of God."

There's no God here, I think to myself.

It takes me only a few seconds to realize I killed someone. I took a life. Thomas does this kind of thing every day, but this was all me. I did this on my own without any help. I murdered Frank for no real reason.

My lip quivers and I bite down hard to try and stop it. I can't cry here, not without showing my weakness. The reason Thomas was so insistent on forcing my hand was to show everyone I'm not to be messed with.

I think I must be out of it for the rest of the night. I watch as more fights happen, as bills fan out in front of Thomas, as my brother does a line of coke right in front of me to test the product. I say nothing, do nothing. I am just background noise until Thomas finally lets me go home.

When I finally see myself in the rearview mirror of my car, I gasp. It seems like a nightmare to look like this. Splashes of red crust over my cheek, marking me. I don't look like the Mia I know anymore. That girl is long gone. She died as soon as her brother inherited the kingdom, and I've been in denial too long to accept it.