Ruthless knight

Liam swings at the air—taunting him—before he flips the laptop open and smashes it to smithereens. 

I’ve never felt the urge to kill someone before now. I know how hard Jace worked for that. 

I know how much he loves Dylan. 

And Liam. 

This isn’t right. Liam’s acting like a spoiled brat who isn’t getting his way and it’s not fair to Jace. 

“Did you t-t-tell her I l-l-loved her?” He swings again. “Did you b-b-both g-g-get a g-g-good laugh?”

“No. I told you I wouldn’t do that to you.” 

I believe him. There’s no way Jace would ever betray Liam.

“Ha. Like I c-c-can t-t-trust you,” he screams. “You’re n-n-nothing b-b-b-b-but a liar.” 

No, he’s not. He’s a good brother who doesn’t deserve any of the shit Liam’s currently giving him. 

“Christ, man. Get a grip,” I yell. “Stop acting like a maniac and destroying Jace’s stuff.” 

Liam glares at me. “He k-k-kissed, Dy—”

“Yeah, I know. But Dylan was never yours, dude.” I snort. His oblivion is almost comical. “Did you really think you had a shot with her?” I rock back on my heels, trying not to laugh. “A blind person could see she’s been into Jace for a while now. But even if she wasn’t, no way would she ever date someone like you.” 

Despite being weird and bitchy, Dylan’s a dime piece. 

Liam isn’t even a five. Well, not anymore. 

Some kids at school dubbed him the green-eyed monster because of the scars slashing his face. 

Thanks to our parents’ exceptional looks, everyone in our family is well above average looking.

Everyone except him. Now his outside matches his inside. 

“Cole,” Jace snaps. 

No. If he’s not going to defend himself and stop the Liam pity train…I will. 

It’s time someone put Liam in his place. Who better than his twin to do it?

“No one likes you, Liam. Not even your own family.” Disgust rolls through me. “You’re embarrassing. Always looking for attention with your crying and stuttering—”

“That’s enough,” Jace growls, winding his fist back. “Say another word and I swear to God I’ll beat the shit out of you.” 

Seriously? Liam destroyed all his stuff, won’t let him be happy with the girl he likes, and somehow, I’m still the problem in this scenario?

It’s like everyone I care about has blinders on and no one can see the real him. 

Maybe I should walk around with a mask on too.

One that fools people into thinking I’m so great…just like Liam does. 

“Whatever. Screw this.” I look at Liam. I’ve never hated anyone more than I hate him. I’m pretty sure I never will. “Screw you.” 

I flip them both the bird. “You assholes sort your own shit out. I’m done.” I start to walk away but pause when I reach the door frame. “I wish it was one of you who died instead of Mom. Maybe then this family wouldn’t be such a disaster.” 

With one of them gone, maybe she could have finally loved me. 

 

I’m about to roll over and go to sleep, but there’s a knock on my door. 

I ignore it. 

I know who’s on the other side and I’m not interested in his bullshit. 

Knock, knock. 

“Go away.” 

“P-p-please,” Liam croaks. “I n-n-need…I n-n-need to t-t-talk to you.” 

Oh, hell.  Here we go. 

Just like our mother, Liam suffers from what my family calls mood swings.

Usually he stays in bed and sleeps it off when he’s upset, but sometimes he’ll stay up for hours on end. Doing stupid shit. 

Like painting a mural in the living room. A hideous one at that. 

My father was pissed when he saw it. But of course, Liam turned on the waterworks and cried about how much he missed Mom and how she would have liked his ugly ass painting featuring an ugly green butterfly. 

Not only did he not get in trouble…the monstrosity stayed on the wall for six months straight.  

Another random night he decided to throw out all the food in the refrigerator. When we confronted him about it in the morning, he said he was tired of us killing animals and demanded we all become vegan instantly. 

When we objected, he threatened to call the police and tell them we were murderers. 

Did he get in trouble? Nope. 

We were forced to eat like rabbits until Liam decided he had enough of it a week later and put us out of our misery. 

Then there was the time he decided he wanted to learn to play the trombone. 

When did he like to practice? Three o’clock in the damn morning. 

We were all forced to wear earplugs for two whole weeks…until he decided he had enough and threw it in the swimming pool. 

Jace didn’t say a word as he fished it out, but deep down, I knew he realized.

Liam was sick…just like our mother. 

But screws loose or not, it still didn’t give him an excuse to act like an asshole and inconvenience everyone around him. 

Jace tried to get our father to take him to therapy, but he refused. 

Liam, not our father. 

Begrudgingly, I open the door. I know if I don’t, he’s liable to set up camp outside and keep knocking all night. 

“What do you want?” I ask, ignoring his red glassy eyes and the throw blanket wrapped around him. 

Dramatic much?

If he was smart, he would have gone to Bianca’s room. Ever since the accident happened, he’s spent some of his nights in there. 

Jace and I used to think it was weird and a bit perverted, but when we went to investigate, we found them with their arms around the other, shaking and crying. 

We decided not to bother them about it again after that. 

He brushes past me. “I n-n-need help.” 

“Help with what?”

He sits on my bed. “D-d-dylan’s n-n-never going to like me…is s-s-she?”

I’m not one to sugarcoat things, so I tell him the truth. “No.” 

Anger flashes in his eyes. “Jac-c-ce betrayed m-m-me.”

“He didn’t betray you.” 

It’s not always about him. Any fool could see they’ve been into each other for years. Any fool but him. 

Or maybe he can see it. He just doesn’t want Jace to be happy. 

More time with Dylan means less time with Jace. His replacement coddler.

 “Yes, he d-d-did!” Liam shouts, standing up. “And T-T-Tommy…he…everyone s-s-saw. I’m n-n-never go

“Probably.” 

Tears stream down his cheeks. “I w-w-wish people w-w-would s-s-stop making fun of m-m-me.” 

“Then stop giving them a reason to.” 

The answer is so simple. The dumbass just refuses to blend in. 

It’s almost like he enjoys being different from everyone else.  

“W-w-what’s that s-s-supposed to mean?” 

Not wanting Jace to come in here and yell at me for making him cry, I drop it. “Nothing.” I walk over to my door. “I’m going to bed. Get out.” 

Liam shakes his head, wrapping the blanket around him tighter. “They’re going to k-k-keep m-m-making fun of m-m-me. My life i-i-is r-r-ruined.” 

I’m not in the mood for this. As far as I’m concerned, he dug his own grave. “Get. Out.” 

“I d-d-don’t feel right, C-C-Colton.” Squeezing his eyes shut, he smacks his head over and over. “S-s-something is w-w-wrong.” A strangled sob breaks free. “It hurts t-t-too m-m-much.”

Seeing him in so much pain shouldn’t feel so good…but it does.