Page 202 of I Never Stopped Loving You

Growing up in Texas, my grandfather taught me how to shoot a shotgun when I was young because you weren’t allowed to go out on the ranch without one. And I always had a handgun in my car for my protection, but ever since he died, I stopped practicing my aim. I didn’t even bring them to Michigan with me.

I find the safety, click it off, and with shaky hands, I raise the gun and aim it at the man I once knew to be my father. He and Jeremy are too close to safely shoot. I need them slightly farther apart. I need to have a clear shot.

Jeremy suddenly screams in pain and bends, clutching his leg. It’s the exact thing James needed to get the upper hand.

*Crack*

He punches the side of Jeremy’s head, slamming it into the wall. I watch in horror as his eyes roll back into his skull and his body slumps against the wall. James’s body is heaving deep breaths as he struggles to stand.

I can see more blood pooling on the ground, and when I look at Jeremy, I can see blood pooling from a gash in his thigh. The knife is on the floor against the wall and when James takes a step toward it is when I let my presence be known.

“James,” I growl as the gun continues to shake in my hand.

My wrist is screaming in pain, so I grip the gun with both hands trying to steady it. He slowly turns to face me. Blood is dripping down his face from his nose and a split lip. A bruise can already be seen forming where Jeremy punched him in the face. His lip curls as he snarls while looking at me.

“Well, well, well. Look at you. Do you even know how to shoot a gun, baby girl?” he asks, with a tone of condescension.

*Bang*

The gun goes off, the bullet hitting exactly where I wanted, going right into his thigh. He drops to the floor in pain as blood begins to flow from the wound.

“You stupid fucking bitch!” he seethes as he grips his leg and stares up at me. “I’ll fucking kill…”

“Shut. Up!” I scream, aiming the gun at his head this time.

He raises an arm up to shield his face as if that would prevent the bullet from ripping through his arm and embedding into his skull at this distance. I can finally see a look in his eyes…One that I thought I’d never see. An emotion that I never believed a monster like him could even feel…

Fear.

As he stares up at me, I can feel the rage simmering under my skin. For years, he tormented my mother and me. We walked on eggshells around him, that much I remember. Now, staring down at him, he’s no longer the monster I’ve feared. He’s broken. His mortality is now evident in his features.

His eyes are sunken in. His skin is more ashen now from years in the darkness. His teeth are nearly all gone. He’s emaciated now, grimy clothes hanging off his body. His nails are a blackish-yellow, broken from malnutrition and decay. He looks weak. And I couldn’t be more elated at the sight in front of me.

“Shoot me. Become what he wants you to be. He wants you to be a fucking killer, just like him,” he shouts at me.

I take another step forward still keeping the gun trained on his head, at the spot right between his brows. One shot and it will all be over.

“You won’t do it, will you, Willow? You’re too weak. You couldn’t stab me before when I was tied up, what makes you think you can end me now?” he demands.

“That’s where you’re wrong, James. I’m not weak. I’m stronger than you. I survived your abuse for years. I made it out. I’ve lived an amazing life. I grew up with a loving family that supported me to try anything I ever wanted. I became a lawyer. I fell in love. And now…”

I take another step forward, watching as he scurries backward and places his back against the wall. With another step closer, I press the barrel of the gun right against his forehead. My hands aren’t shaking anymore. I’ve never felt as calm as I do right now.

“Now, I’m going to be able to kill the monster who’s haunted me all my life. Not many people get to say that they killed their monsters…But I will.”

“Willow, please…I…”

*Bang*

The gun goes off.

Blood, brain matter, and bone fragments explode out the back of his skull splattering across the wall. His eyes are wide as they lifelessly stare up at me. His body slumps against the wall as blood trickles out of the darkened hole, burned from the heat of the barrel.

As I lower the gun, I can’t help but chuckle softly. He was never a monster, only a man. A man who needed to hurt others just to feel strong. He was always the weak one. Not me. And not my mother. We were strong. She sacrificed her life to protect me and she was the strongest of us all.

“Wi…Willow?” Jeremy’s voice groans from the other wall.

I rush over to him and grab under his arm to help lift him up. He’s bleeding horribly. Damnit, I need his help to get Noah…