Chapter 92: #NINETY-TWO

NICHOLAS’S POV

"Okay." I nodded as I agreed to see Jayden.

I wasn’t sure why I said yes so quickly, because the moment the words left my mouth, my stomach tightened. There was still a part of me that wanted to stay as far away from him as possible, but another part of me needed to see him with my own eyes.

I needed to understand how someone I had once considered a friend could have been responsible for so much of what had happened to me. Maybe I wanted answers, or maybe I wanted to see whether he would still look at me the same way after everything he had done.

To see if he would feel an ounce of remorse.

We finished dinner a little later, and Adrian was the first to stand when everyone had cleared their plates.

"Before we go, I need everyone to understand that nobody is going to provoke him," Adrian said as he pushed his chair back and looked around the table. "Nicholas can speak to him, ask whatever he wants and say whatever he needs to say, but nobody is going to turn this into a fight. Jayden is still dangerous even though he’s being held, and I don’t want anyone making a stupid decision because they’re angry."

Cassian nodded as he stood. "We’ll keep it under control. Nicholas is the one who wanted to see him, so he should be allowed to decide how much he wants to say."

I didn’t respond to that. I simply stood and followed them.

We walked downstairs together, and with every step towards it, I became more nervous.

It was crazy to think that after how much he had treated and abused me, now I was voluntarily walking toward him.

When Adrian opened the basement door, the first thing I noticed was how silent the place was.

Jayden was sitting in the chair where they had left him, his head tilted slightly to one side. His eyes were closed, and for a moment I thought he was pretending to sleep. Then I noticed the steady movement of his chest.

He was asleep.

I stopped several feet away and I just stared.

That was Jayden.

The same person who had sat beside me at school and joked with me. The same person who had listened when I complained about things. Who made me feel like I had found a safe place in someone who wasn’t family.

Now he was sitting in a basement, restrained and under guard because he had kidnapped me.

My eyes started burning and I quickly looked away.

I didn’t want anyone seeing me cry over him.

A phone suddenly began ringing and Cassian reached into his pocket and checked the screen before his expression changed.

"It’s Dad," he said, showing the phone to Adrian. "He’s calling again."

Adrian’s jaw tightened. "I’ll handle it," he replied, reaching for his own phone as it started ringing almost immediately. He looked at Cassian before walking toward the door. "Come with me. I don’t want him calling everyone separately and getting different answers."

Cassian followed him out and the door closed behind them.

That left me with Elijah, Roman and Jayden.

Roman walked toward Jayden and picked up a nearby container of water.

"What are you doing?" Elijah asked, watching him suspiciously.

"He’s sleeping too comfortably," Roman replied, lifting the container. "I think he’s earned a rude awakening."

Before I could say anything, Roman poured the water over Jayden.

Jayden jerked awake immediately, coughing as he lifted his head and blinked several times.

"What the hell—" He stopped when he noticed us and his gaze moved around in panic before his eyes landed on me. Then a slow smile appeared on his face.

I immediately felt uncomfortable.

"Well," Jayden said, wiping his face with his shoulder as he looked directly at me. "You actually came."

I didn’t answer, my fingers clenching at my sides.

He looked around the room before focusing on me again. "I was beginning to think your brothers were going to keep you away from me forever," he continued, his voice completely casual. "After everything we’ve been through, I would have expected you to at least want to see me once."

My hands tightened. "Don’t talk like we’re friends," I said, staring at him. "Whatever friendship I thought we had ended the moment this all started."

Jayden laughed quietly. "Of course you’d say that. Like you know me."

I scoffed. "I think I know who you are now. A fucking bastard."

"No, you don’t," he replied, leaning back as much as the restraints allowed. "You are looking at me like I’m the only person who did something wrong to you. Your brothers are here pretending they’re different from me, but you know what they did to you too. They took what they wanted, they made decisions for you and they expected you to accept it because they called it care. You were already being treated like you didn’t have control over your own life before I ever touched it."

"Shut up," I said, stepping closer.

Jayden’s smile widened. "You know I’m right."

I felt something inside me snap.

"You don’t get to talk about them as if you’re the same," I said, my voice shaking with anger. "Whatever happened before, whatever mistakes they made, you kidnapped me. And you were going to kill me."

His expression changed slightly and for the first time, the smile disappeared. "You think I didn’t care about you?"

"I don’t care anymore."

Jayden stared at me and I could feel Elijah watching me from behind, but I didn’t turn around.

I walked toward Jayden and stopped directly in front of him.

"You were my friend," I said, my voice cracking despite my attempt to keep it steady. "That’s the part I can’t understand. I trusted you. I defended you when people said things about you. I never thought I’d have to sit in a room like this and look at you as someone I needed to be afraid of. You knew me, Jayden. You knew exactly what would scare me, and you still used it against me."

Jayden looked away and something about that made me even angrier.

I reached down and began working at the restraint around him.

Elijah immediately noticed. "Nicholas, what are you doing?" he asked, stepping forward.

"Let me." I growled.

"Adrian specifically said—"

"I don’t care what Adrian said," I interrupted, finally looking at him. "I came here because I wanted to see him. I have seen him. Now I need to do something for myself."

Elijah hesitated and Roman moved closer too, but neither of them stopped me.

I finished loosening the restraint and stepped back.

Jayden looked at me with surprise, his body weak and unable to move. "What are you planning to do?"

I didn’t answer. Then suddenly, I hit him.

He stumbled sideways, and I followed before he could recover. I was no longer thinking about whether I was supposed to remain calm or whether Adrian would be angry with me.

Jayden tried to protect himself, but I kept going until he fell to the floor.

Elijah called my name, but he didn’t grab me while Roman remained where he was, staring at me with a stunned expression.

I stopped only when I realized I was breathing so heavily that my chest hurt.

Jayden was on the floor, dazed and unable to get back up immediately.

I stood over him, shaking. I had imagined this moment so many times. I had imagined confronting him and I had imagined demanding answers. But now that I was standing there, I didn’t feel better.

I felt empty.

My eyes moved around the room when I noticed something.

A gun was tucked into Roman’s waistband and I stared at it.

Roman noticed where I was looking. "Nicholas," he said cautiously, taking one step toward me. "Don’t."

I moved before he could stop me and I pulled the gun free.

Elijah’s expression changed instantly. "Nicholas, put that down," he said, slowly raising his hands. "Whatever you’re feeling right now, don’t make a decision you’re going to have to live with afterward. Give me the gun and we’ll handle Jayden ourselves."

My fingers tightened around it and Jayden looked up at me.

He seemed to sense how tense I was and he didn’t look amused, he looked scared. "You won’t do it," he said, his voice quieter now.

I stared at him. "You don’t know me anymore." I muttered as I raised the gun.

Elijah moved forward. "Nicholas, listen to me. You don’t have to prove that you’re strong by doing this. You’ve survived him already. Put the gun down and walk away."

My hands were shaking and I couldn’t hear anything except the pounding of my heart.

To hell with him.

Then I fired, the sound cracking across the basement loudly.

Elijah froze and Roman stared at me in shock.

Without thinking, I fired again and Jayden stopped moving.

Then, the gun slipped slightly in my hand and for several seconds, nobody moved.

Then my knees gave way and I dropped to the floor, still holding the gun, staring blankly at what I had done.

The basement door suddenly flew open and Adrian and Cassian rushed inside.

"What happened?" Adrian demanded, looking between us before his eyes landed on Jayden and then on the gun in my hand. "Nicholas, what did you do?"

Cassian immediately moved toward me. "Give me the gun," he said, crouching several feet away so he wouldn’t frighten me. "Nicholas, look at me and give me the gun. You don’t need to hold it anymore."

I finally looked at him and my hands had started shaking uncontrollably as I released the gun and it hit the floor.

Adrian looked at Jayden’s body, then back at me. "What happened down here?" he asked, his voice lower now.

I couldn’t answer.

I— I killed him.