59. ANTONIO
ANTONIO
I couldn’t leave my bedroom. I wouldn’t leave until I figured out how to undo everything I’d done. Because now, the entire state of New York was hunting for the shooter—and it was me. The kid in the room next door.
Enzo and Michael hesitated at the door before slowly stepping inside. I couldn’t even look at them. I felt numb, like I was trapped in some twisted dream. Only it wasn’t a dream. It was real, a reality I’d created in a fit of rage.
“Hey,” Enzo said, walking over to the chair across from me and sitting down. Michael took a seat on the bed next to me.
“You okay?” Michael asked softly.
I didn’t respond. I couldn’t. But I couldn’t keep this secret anymore. My voice was barely a whisper when I spoke. “I shot him.” Both of them froze, their eyes wide with disbelief. I could barely believe it myself.
“Are you on something?” Michael asked, looking concerned.
“I’m serious,” I said, finally meeting his gaze. “I shot him.”
“Why the hell would you do that?” Enzo growled.
“I saw him kill my father,” I said. “I thought it was the only way to end this… all of it . He’s turned my mother into someone else. I know she had a hand in having him take my father out. I trusted Joey. I’ve been spying on him for weeks and haven’t seen anything worth reporting. But because of that, Vincent threatened to kill me . I followed him that night, and I saw everything .” The two of them exchanged looks, both at a loss for words.
“You should have told us,” Michael said.
“Who helped you?” Enzo asked.
“Why is that your first question?” Michael shot back, glaring at Enzo.
“It’s a valid question,” Enzo replied, his gaze steady on Michael.
“Giovanni,” I admitted. “He has a vendetta against Joey over what happened with Renee. But the thing is, Renee was set up to date Joey so Vincent could catch him doing something he shouldn’t, and take him out.”
“That’s fucked up,” Michael muttered under his breath.
“I can’t believe you had Giovanni help you,” Enzo remarked in disbelief.
“What is wrong with you?” Michael snapped, turning to Enzo.
“I’m his best friend!” Enzo shot back. “He should have come to me.”
“No!” Michael practically yelled. “He should have gone to someone with real power! This could’ve been over long ago—without all this bloodshed.”
“Well, it’s too late now.” I sighed, running a hand through my hair. “Who knows what they’ll do when they find out it’s me?”
Enzo’s eyes narrowed. “What did you do with the gun?”
“I got rid of it,” I said, trying to sound confident.
“So you’re good.” Enzo shrugged.
“ Good ?” Michael barked. “He’s far from good. You should tell Joey.”
“That’s stupid! Don’t listen to Michael!” Enzo interjected quickly .
“We could go to my grandfather,” Michael suggested next.
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “That’s not an option.”
“What kind of friend are you?” Enzo muttered, glaring at Michael.
“A good one! They’re not going to kill a kid! If he explains what happened, they’ll understand!” Michael shot back.
“And to think, for someone as smart as you, turns out you’re just book smart,” Enzo remarked. “There’s always a black sheep in the family, I guess.”
“The two of you aren’t helping,” I muttered, rubbing my temples in frustration.
“Well, you can’t just go on with your life like nothing happened,” Michael declared.
“I know that,” I replied.
Nothing would ever be the same again. If I knew anything at all, it was that. The consequences of everything that had happened—everything I had done—were already too far beyond my control. I couldn’t undo it. No matter how hard I tried to fix it, I couldn’t go back and erase what had been set in motion. Now it was all just some long, drawn-out waiting game.