Have We Gone Too Far?

I lay there as still and quietly as possible, trying to not draw any attention to myself. The only problem with doing that is that the attention was already on me. Even though Mr. Baker and Derek were now talking between themselves, trying to work out what to do next most likely, they still kept looking over at me, smirking. They must have something planned. They wouldn't be here if they didn't. I mean, the chances of this being a spur of the moment thing are very very slim.

My dad was over with Cole, keeping an eye on him and waiting for him to come back around. I'm guessing they don’t want to do anything more until he can see all of this. Until he can see what they’ve done to his brother... That’d kill Cole. I know he complains about John a lot but he doesn’t mean it. He needs him. Cole loves him and... I just...I can’t believe that happened.

“Talk to me Zack,” Mr. Baker said as walked over to my side and knelt down. He finished his conversation with Derek and now they both seemed even more focused and prepared for whatever it was they were going to do next.

I ignored him for a few seconds before I accidentally glanced over at John again. I already know what happens when you don’t cooperate with these people. Maybe I shouldn’t test them. My safest bet is to just do as they say, not matter how much I’d rather not. Pretend I'm not scared of them, ha; they already know I'm petrified. There’s no point in acting strong now.

“He a friend of yours?” he asked me, glancing over at John.

I frowned and nodded at him.

“W-why?” I asked, knowing that just that one word would be enough for him to know what I was asking. Any idiot would understand what I wanted to know. John is the most innocent person in the room, yet he was the one who had to take a bullet. “He did w-what you wanted. He let go of me!” I said, raising my voice to him.

“John’s part of the plan Zack...just like you are.”

I froze for a few moments. Plan? What?

“Talk to me,” he said again, this time hissing his words at me, sounding a lot fiercer than he did last time he told me to speak.

“W-what do you w-want?” I asked him, my body was shaking all over and I knew he’d be able to notice it. People like him always do...

“I just want your boyfriend to apologize angel,” he whispered and chuckled as he watched me flinch at the word angel. He always calls me that and I hate it. I hate him. I hate...everything!

I tried to calm myself down by taking slow deep breaths, but I wasn't able to for long. He moved closer to me, making my nerves increase even more. What the hell was he going to do now?

“The longer he waits to say sorry, the worse it’s going to be for all of you,” he whispered, placing his hand on my knee.

“He has nothing to be s-sorry for,” I sniffed, knowing that like Cole had said earlier, Mr. Baker is the one that should be apologizing. Cole’s innocent in all of this.

“You’ll see what he has to be sorry for angel, it won’t be long now,” he muttered before standing up again and walking back over to Derek.

I watched them but tried not to make it too obvious. The house was completely silent but I was still struggling to hear what they were saying. It’s not as if they’d say it any louder though, I'm sure they wouldn't want me hearing what this plan of theirs is. The unknown is part of their way of getting into our heads, a trick into scaring us into doing whatever they ask. Let me tell you this; so far, it’s working.

“Oy Baker, I think he’s coming back!” I heard my dad shout over to them.

As much as I was glad to know that Cole was okay now, part of me wished he didn't come back so soon. They’re going to pressure him even more now he’s awake. They shot his brother! I have no idea what Cole’s going to do when he realizes that. I imagine that even if they were holding that gun to him he’d still lash out to get back at them for John.

I don’t want him to wake up. Not because I'm horrible, but because I know he’s only going to get hurt. If they wanted to wait for him to come around, that must mean they have bigger plans for him. They need him to be here. Shooting John might just be a way to get a reaction out of him... Wait. What if that’s part of the plan? Getting Cole angry?

Thoughts started racing through my head as I tried to link all of this together. Is there even anything I can do? I'm more likely going to end up as a distraction; unless their plans don’t only involve Cole. They did say that I was part of the plan as well...

Mr. Baker ran over to Cole’s side and smirked as his eyes twitched a few times. He then went over to the sink and picked up one of the dirty glasses that were on the side and filled it with water, before walking back over to Cole.

“Hopefully this’ll give him a bit of a boost,” he smirked before pouring the entire cup full of water over Cole’s face.

I watched as he coughed and spluttered. He quickly started trying to sit up again to stop the water rushing down his nose and making him cough even more. In a way that was a clever thing to do, but it also meant that they knew he was okay now. They knew this was their time to make the next move.

“Ready to apologize Cole?” Mr. Baker asked as he lifted up Cole’s body and leaned him back against the wall.

He looked up and smirked before shaking his head. At that point Mr. Baker slapped him, maybe as a way of knocking some sense into him. It’s easier to just do what they want. If you don’t, people get hurt.

“I've done nothing wrong!” Cole shouted at him. He’d clearly lost his temper now; I'm guessing it was that last slap that pushed him overboard.

There’s a certain point where you get so annoyed and angry that you have no option than to just snap. It’s when you can’t control yourself anymore, and even though you’re too scared to do anything, you end up doing it anyway.

“Don't you even remember Geoff?” Mr. Baker asked him, looking like he was putting a lot of strain into his voice.

I watched as Cole’s face completely fell. He knew what Mr. Baker was on about. I thought he said he’d done nothing wrong though... How could he have done something wrong? It’s not like you can just forget something like that.

My hands were gripping onto each other, a clear sign that I was starting to feel nervous. Who’s Geoff?

“You do remember him, don’t you?” Mr. Baker muttered, shaking his head in what seemed to be disgust.

“Look, Frank, that was so long ago. What does it even matter now anyway?” he asked, talking slightly too slowly for my liking. Usually when you start to feel anxious you talk faster, Cole was talking slower though. Does that mean he isn't worried right now?

“It matters because he’s my little brother and you bloody abused him!” Mr. Baker shouted. “He was ten years old Cole! Ten bloody years old!”

A frown spread across my face as I remembered John telling me about this. Even though I already knew about this, it was still kind of hard to deal with. Part of me even felt jealous. I know that Cole and this Geoff guy were together years and years ago now, but I can’t help but feel a slight pang in my chest while they’re talking about him.

Part of me feels slightly on Mr. Baker’s side too. He was in a sexual relationship with a ten year old; with Mr. Baker’s brother... Maybe Cole is in the wrong.

“I-“

“What, you going to try and talk your way out of this?” he asked him. “I’ve wanted to get to you for so long Cole,” Mr. Baker hissed. “Ha, if you think I’ve already got my revenge, you’re wrong. What I’ve done is nothing Cole. Nothing!” he shouted. “You damaged our family in ways that I didn't even think were possible, and do you know what the worst part is?” he asked, directing his question to Cole, who looked down at the floor and shook his head. “You drove him over the edge. Because of you everyone found out about Geoff, do you know how hard that is to deal with? And then what did you do Cole? You left him! When he needed you most, you weren’t bloody there.”

“W-what do you mean?” Cole asked in a weak voice. “’Drove him over the edge’?”

I looked over to Cole and could see the hurt in his eyes. My Cole wouldn't ever purposely hurt someone. I know he wouldn't, and if Mr. Baker doesn’t believe that, then that’s his problem.

“I mean that because of you, he killed himself,” Mr. Baker snarled. “My baby brother is dead and it’s all your fault!”

The room went silent for a few moments, but that was quickly stopped by the sound of Cole’s sobs. My heart started aching. It wasn't just because of Cole being upset; it was because of the whole situation. A ten year old kid died for a reason as stupid as that. I can’t even imagine how I’d feel in Cole’s shoes. Sure I’ve blamed myself for Beth losing her baby and for her being in a critical condition right now, but I had someone to tell me it wasn't my fault. What does Cole have? He has Mr. Baker yelling at him; saying that it was all because of him.

“Ashamed now, Cole?” Mr. Baker asked. “Do you feel bad for what you’ve done? The pain that you’ve caused all of us!” Mr. Baker shouted again. “Think about how he must’ve felt. He was so low that he killed himself, Cole. Imagine his thoughts, Cole. I'm guessing most of them would’ve been about you.”

“STOP IT!” Cole snapped. His face was covered in tears and even I’d started crying now. “J-just...s-stop,” he whispered.

“It hurts, doesn’t it Cole?”

“Y-yeah,” he sniffed, trying to keep himself together, but clearly failing.

I went to go over to comfort him but the look my dad gave me told me to stay away. I'm not sure what it was that made me do what he wanted me to; I just know that I did. For some reason I trusted the warning look he gave me.

“I...I didn't w-want to h-urt him,” Cole choked out. “I-I lo-loved him,” he whispered.

Those words stung. He loved Geoff. Sure he loves me now, right, but would he get this worked up over me...?

“You left him,” Mr. Baker hissed, shaking his head and trying to act like the words Cole had just said had no affect on him at all. They must’ve done though. Being told that someone really loved someone as close to you as your brother must mean something, right?

The room was quiet again, once again only the sounds of Cole crying could be heard.

“Do you get why I'm doing this now angel?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. “Starting to make sense now?”

Cole nodded his head.

“You...you want to hurt me,” Cole whispered. “It’s me,” he sighed. “Not Zack...Not John.”

When he said that I remembered that he still didn't know about the condition John is in. He can’t see him from where Mr. Baker chucked him on the floor. This’ll make everything even harder for him.

“Look Cole,” Mr. Baker whispered. “You took away the person who I loved more than anything in this world, got that? And from what I can see, the person who matches up closest to that for you, is either John, or Zack,” he smirked. “Do you see where I'm going with this Cole-y?”

“This is between me and you Baker,” Cole pleaded, trying to hold back the tears so he can make a few serious statements.

“It would’ve been, if you didn’t take someone from me. In case you haven’t worked it out, I'm doing the same to you. You raped my brother, I raped your boyfriend. You drove my brother to suicide, I got your brother shot,” he smirked when Cole’s eyes widened.

“WHAT?” He shouted, trying to get up.

Mr. Baker and Derek laughed at him.

“Think you’re ready to apologize now?”

I started shaking again. I knew Cole wanted to say sorry, but I also knew he was unlikely to after being told what Mr. Baker just told him.

“You shot my brother?” he hissed.

“No,” Mr. Baker laughed. “Derek did.”

At that point I wanted to get up and hit him so hard.

“Apologize,” this time Derek ordered, passing the gun over to Mr. Baker before walking over to a bag they’d dumped on the floor earlier and pulling another one out for himself and putting it into his pocket, knowing that it wasn't in his hand made me feel slightly safer.

Mr. Baker then held the gun up towards Cole. Even with my dad’s warning, I couldn’t just sit back any longer. He is not shooting my Cole! Quickly I jumped up to my feet and went to run towards them. I didn't think; I just acted.

My mission was then cut short and I felt myself crashing back down onto the floor. Derek had grabbed me mid-run and slammed me down. I blinked a few times to try and get my eyes to focus again. In-between my blinks I saw Derek’s gun sliding across the floor after falling out of his back pocket. My head was throbbing and I knew I must’ve done some kind of damage then.

“Zack!” I heard Cole shout as he watched me drop to the floor.

Derek had his body on top of me so that I was being pinned down onto the floor by his weight. I couldn’t move... Not that if I would I could anymore. From the way my head felt, I could tell that if I stood up I’d feel so dizzy that I’d have to just sit back down again.

My eyes glanced over onto John once more. For a second I thought he was moving. I blinked a few more times, assuming it was my possible injury that was making me see that. But when I looked back I saw his eyes twitching. A smile spread across my face when I saw him wink at me.

He’s alright.

A sigh of relief escaped from me; luckily Derek didn't notice it though. Just because John’s clearly not dead doesn’t mean that he isn't hurt and will struggle to do anything here. What if he can’t stop Mr. Baker?

“Apologize!” Mr. Baker shouted again, jabbing the gun to Cole’s head.

As soon as those words escaped Mr. Baker’s lips, I saw John jumping up to his feet and grabbing hold of him. I closed my eyes quickly, scared that the gun would go off accidentally. When I only heard the struggle, and not a bang, I opened them again, quickly realizing that Derek had jumped off me and was now holding John back away from Cole and Mr. Baker.

I turned to my side and saw my dad sitting there next to me; he gently pulled me into his arms. My eyes closed again and I tried to calm myself down. The speed my heart was at now was enough to make me have a heart attack, I was certain of that.

“It’s going to be alright,” I heard my dad whisper into my ear. “Just take slow deep breaths.”

The prep talk felt like it went on for a few minutes, whether it did or not I'm not quite sure.

When I finally felt calm enough to peel my eyes open once more, I saw something that I was hoping would’ve been sorted. I wanted to scream when I saw Mr. Baker with the gun in hand still and Cole still positioned in front of it. Derek and John were still fighting on the floor. My dad, the man who abandoned me, was still hugging hold of me. This is so surreal.

“One last chance Cole!” I heard Mr. Baker shout.

“I’ve said I'm sorry,” I saw Cole panic. “I didn't want it to happen. What more can I say?”

“Sometimes sorry is not good enough,” Mr. Baker muttered, placing his hand on the trigger of the gun.

My heart started racing and I closed my eyes tightly, managing to predict what would happen next.

I heard nothing for what felt for forever, but then that dreaded sound shook though me.

Bang.