First message
The sun was actually out for once, and for the first time in months, I wasn't looking over my shoulder. I was just Liam-a guy at a university, listening to a girl who made the world feel a lot less like a graveyard.
She was mid-sentence, her eyes bright with a joke she was about to finish, and I was leaning in, hooked on every word. For a split second, I forgot about the ledger, the threats, and the heavy, suffocating weight of the Santoro name. I felt... light.
Liam.
The voice hit me like a bucket of ice water. I didn't even have to turn around to know it was my brother. The air in my lungs just kind of evaporated.
"We're done here," he said. His voice had that "job" tone-sharp, cold, and final. Nico called. He's got 'errands' for us.
I felt my heart sink into my stomach. The "errands" were never just errands. They were another piece of my soul chipped away to pay off a debt that never seemed to get smaller. I felt my shoulders drop, the weight of the real world settling back onto me like a lead vest. I couldn't even look him in the eye; I just stared at the pavement, wishing it would open up and swallow me whole.
I turned back to her, feeling the shadow of my life darken the space between us. I wanted to tell her to run, to stay away from both of us, but I can’t say that. I gotta go, I will call you later. I say instead.