Family Forever ✔︎

Chapter #25 The Truth Comes Out

As they take Justin and Ethan away I can't move. Liam rubs my arm for reassurance but I just keep staring at the ambulance. My heart feels heavy as I know I'm the one that shot him. I shot him. I had no other choice! Right? Or maybe I could have just let the police deal with him. But he would have just come back and tried to make my life miserable.

I keep trying to tell myself that it was the only way but I can't help but wonder if there could have been another option. Ethan stares out the back of the police car as he leaves and Liam just scowls back.

"Ready to go home?" Liam asks his brow knit.

I nod, "Yeah"

We drive back to his apartment and I swallow hard as I notice how much damage Ethan did. Instead of the usually clean living room pillows were on the floor, the T.V. was on a channel with just a blurry screen and a stifling noise. Pieces of an unknown item were shattered all over the floor. I guess when Ethan was pulling me out the door I must have knocked some things over. In the time being I didn't even notice but now I see the after effects.

Henry and Mason come out and gasp running over to us. They pull us into a big hug and Liam lets out a long sigh. Mason looks actually concerned for once and Henry is biting his lip, studying Liam and I.

"What the hell happened?" Mason asks after a while.

"When we found Liam locked in his room and all the stuff all over well we..." Henry trails off and rubs his arms.

"We let him out right away and before he could catch us up he dashed out the door" Mason recalls.

Liam looks at me and I know I'm gonna be the one who has to tell the story. So I do. I tell the two boys all about Ethan betraying us and threatening to kill Liam if I didn't come with him. Henry's expression changes rapidly but Mason's sympathetic look stays the same the whole time. I tell them about Justin and Ethan working together and the alley. How I shot Justin and Ethan being taken away in a cop car.

"Then we came back here" I finish searching the boys for a reaction.

"How could he do this?" Henry asks, "I've been friends with him since grade school"

Henry looks down at his feet. I feel bad for him. He can't help that one of his best friends made a bad choice. Mason walks over to the couch and sits down. Henry lingers for a bit before doing the same. Liam and I sit in some chairs near the T.V. and Liam turns it off.

"He didn't have a choice" I mutter.

"Yes he did" Liam points out, "He could have refused and you know Justin wouldn't have wasted his time on Ethan"

That was true. Justin was more worried about getting me than Ethan refusing to work for him.

"He threatened to kill him" I say.

"Your right" Henry agrees, "But he betrayed us so easily" "Like the years of friendship didn't matter. All the memories thrown away"

Henry might have been talking more about himself than everyone but he was wrong. The whole time Ethan was fighting Justin. Trying desperately to do the right thing but instead failing miserably.

Suddenly a knock on the door catches everyone's attention. I walk over and open the door. A tall woman in a short blue dress, hair pulled into a tight bun, and forced smile stares back at me.

"Are you Miss Bailey Brown?" she asks, cocking her head.

I hesitate before replying. This could be a trap or a trick. I have no idea.

"Who are you?" I ask, eyeing her suspiciously.

"Oh how rude, I'm sorry" she sputters flattening her dress, "I'm Veronica Jones"

I nod slowly. She still hasn't told me why she's here.

"So are you Miss Brown?" she pushes looking me up and down.

"Yes" I say, "Can I help you?"

"Actually yes I'm from NYAI New York Adviser Information" she explains, "I have some news for you. You might want to sit down"

Liam comes up behind me and gives me a "What does she want?" look. I step aside to let her come in. She takes one look around and shivers. She takes out a small bottle of perfume and starts to spray it everywhere.

"Whoa whoa whoa" Henry starts, standing up, "What do you think you're doing?"

"I'm trying to get rid of the putrid smell in here" she says "matter of factly". "Can we go somewhere a little more private?"

I lead her into Liam's room and Liam follows close behind me. I sit down on the bed with him and Veronica closes the door behind us. She rustles through the papers in her hand until she settles on the one she wants.

"Your brother" she starts looking between Liam and I.

There is a moment of stale, stiff silence before she speaks again.

"Is dead" she blurts out.

I tense and feel my stomach twist into a knot. There's a lump in my throat and it feels like everything was in slow motion. I killed him. He was gone, dead. It was all because of me. Liam pulls me into a tight hug and comforts me, stroking my head. I rest my chin on his shoulder wishing I could just disappear from this whole situation. I finally turn back to Veronica to see her with a small frown on her face.

"That isn't even half of it" she mutters going through her papers again.

"What else could there possibly be?" I ask, not wanting to find out.

"Are you just here to give us bad news?" Liam questions, glaring at Veronica.

Tons of scenarios flash through my head and I try to shake them out. None of them started or ended well. I really hope that wasn't the case. What could possibly be so important that she needed to come and tell me in person?

Whatever she was about to tell me must be a lot bigger than Justin dying. Maybe it has something to do with Ethan. Or Justin sent someone else to kill me. How ironic would that be?

Veronica fidgets with her papers some more and lands on a smaller, yellow sheet.

"Are you gonna just sit here or tell me?" I ask feeling restless, scared, anxious, and regretful all at the same time.

"Your mother is alive" Veronica says suddenly.

What I twist! This chapter was a little boring and hard to write but I still like it. Mason is finally actually feeling sorry for them lol. Anyway hope you liked it and stay posted for the next chapter! ;]