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** KEVIN **

I was blinking abnormally fast, that much I knew for sure. I was unsure of everything else. I felt as though I were detached from my body and watching the situation unfold from a safe place that was somewhere far, far away from the cold, hard room with the psychotic woman and her intimidating companions.

Now that the pieces of the puzzle had finally come together, I was feeling even more confused than I had been feeling in the beginning. I just couldn’t wrap my head around Sarah’s reasoning. Why had she hung on so tightly to a half-baked promise that Nick had supposedly made to her more than a decade ago? I understood that Nick was a celebrity and that a lot of women thought that he was attractive, but Sarah’s obsession just seemed completely unfathomable. How could she not have realized that Nick hadn’t been being sincere? How could she not have seen through his charm and his bravado? Nick had been a boy when he had made his so-called promise to Sarah. Couldn’t she see that he was now a man and that his words from long ago had no meaning?

To top it all off, I still didn’t know why Tony, Joey and Vinny were involved in the whole ordeal. There was still a big chunk of information missing, and it was driving me crazy. I needed to tie all of the loose ends together. If I could make sense of the situation then I would be able to figure out a way to save us. I was sure of it.

“How are we going to figure out who goes first?” Tony looked at Sarah expectantly and a wave of agitation crossed his face when she didn’t respond. “Sis!” Tony tried again. “Who goes first?”

‘Sis’ – ‘Sister’. The word began running through my mind on a loop. Tony and Sarah were related; that explained his involvement. I dared a quick look at both Joey and Vinny before returning my attention to Tony. The three of them were so similar that they could easily be related; if not brothers, cousins at the very least.

“I think that Nick should decide who goes first.” Sarah continued to stare at Nick with a mixture of longing and hatred. She didn’t even bother to direct her response at her brother. “How does that sound, Nick?”

Nick shook his head. He had long since released his grip on Howie, and he was now slowly backing away towards the same wall that Brian had firmly pressed himself against. I could see his eyes darting nervously back and forth between the four of us as he moved, making sure to give AJ, who was still wriggling under Joey’s grip, a few extra seconds of attention.

I instinctively took a step forward. “What are you hoping to gain from all of this? We know who you are, we know your name, and we’ve seen your face. Wouldn’t it be better for you to just let us go? Things will only get worse for you if you hurt us.”

Sarah rolled her eyes and reluctantly turned her attention towards me. I forced myself to look her in the face; to ignore AJ’s terrified expression and Joey’s gleeful smile as he tightened his hold around AJ’s neck. Sarah took a step towards me and I swallowed hard, praying to God that she didn’t notice the fact that I was scared.

“All that matters to me is making Nick cry.” The words dribbled out of Sarah’s mouth; slowly and deliberately. It was glaringly obvious that she didn’t fear the repercussions of her behaviour. She was already committed to her plan and she was going to follow it through to the end.

“He’s already crying.”

I didn’t even need to look at Nick to know that my statement was true. I could hear his soft hiccups and his unsteady breaths as he struggled to get himself under control. I knew without even turning my head that he had already made his way to Brian; that the two of them were now clutching each other as if their lives depended on it.

Sarah shook her head slowly, a sinister smile reappearing on her face as she took another step towards me. Her right hand pushed aside her long cardigan, and she quickly pulled a gun from her side. I hadn’t even realized that she had been carrying a weapon, and the atmosphere in the room changed as soon as her gun was revealed.

Judging by our five successive intakes of breath, it was clear that we had all been under the assumption that it was five against three. Now that Sarah had drawn her weapon everything had changed. It was as though the last ounce of hope had been sucked from my body. The five of us didn’t stand a chance against four people with guns, especially when three of those people were more than double our size.

“Kevin, Kevin, Kevin …” Sarah clucked. She cocked her gun into position and flashed me a wide smile. “Why do you do it? Why do you always stand up for everyone? Can’t you see that they don’t appreciate the whole alpha dog thing?”

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. I just stood there moving my lips like a fish and staring at the blonde woman’s triumphant face. She knew just as well as I did that I didn’t have an answer to her question. There was no justification for as to why I continued to carry on my big brother role. I simply did it because I didn’t know what else to do; it was the role that I had always played.

“Face it, Kevin.” Sarah continued. “They don’t need you anymore.”

“That’s not true.” AJ choked. His eyes locked with mine as he struggled to get the words out; Joey was still holding on tight to his neck. “She’s just trying to get in your head.”

“Am I, Kevin?” Sarah prodded, taking another step closer. “Am I getting in your head?”

“I’m not afraid of you.” My voice shook as I delivered the words, betraying the fact that I was lying. “You’re not going to turn us against each other.”

Sarah’s eyes narrowed and she flicked her left hand in Vinny’s direction; her eyes never leaving my face. “You don’t sound very confident.”

Before I could react, Vinny’s arm was around my neck. He practically pulled me off of my feet as he locked me in a chokehold, very similar to the one in which Joey currently had on AJ. My hands flew upwards as I frantically tried to wedge my fingers in-between Vinny’s massive arm and the soft skin on my neck. I knew that my actions were fruitless, but I tried anyway. What else was I supposed to do?

“It’s time to pick.” Sarah announced. She stepped away from me and Vinny and turned to Nick. “Who means more to you: AJ or Kevin?”

“You’re a sick son of a bitch!” AJ spat. “Nick, you don’t have to say anything!”

The sweat was running down my forehead, stinging my eyes. Vinny lugged me roughly across the floor and positioned me next to AJ. I could see the panic in AJ’s eyes and smell the garlic on Joey’s breath. My heart was hammering wildly in my chest. Regardless of how Nick’s answered, even if he kept his mouth shut, I knew that one of us was going to die.

“You don’t make the rules!” Sarah returned AJ’s retort with vengeance. “I do!”

“I’m not picking.” Nick’s voice was high and thin. “I – I can’t. Just shoot me instead.”

“No!” My exclamation boomed out only slightly above AJ’s, but well under Brian’s and Howie’s.

The collective outburst didn’t surprise me. Brian had his hand clamped around Nick’s arm as if he was ready to hold him back. Howie looked as though he was on the verge of passing out for the second time in less than a week; his face was dangerously pale and he was looking at Nick in dismay. AJ also had his eyes trained on Nick, tears simmering beneath his lashes. Regardless of the other relationships that had formed between the five of us, it was Nick who held us together. Each of us had a bond with Nick that couldn’t be duplicated; albeit some of those bonds were noticeably stronger than others. Without Nick, the four of us wouldn’t be able to carry on, and we had all just acknowledged that fact loud and clear.

The smile on Sarah’s face grew. She quickly closed the gap between her and Nick and held out her hand. “I want you to come up here with me.”

Nick frantically shook his head back and forth and pressed himself even tighter against the wall. He looked like he was inches away from vomiting all over Sarah’s feet. “Please don’t do this.”

Sarah looked less than impressed at Nick’s petrified behaviour. She wiggled her hand in front of him and looked him dead in the face. “Take my hand or I’ll put a bullet in Brian’s chest.”

My heart was positively pounding now. I could feel the sweat trickling down my neck and pooling on top of Vinny’s steroid-infused arm muscles. I wasn’t at all surprised as I watched Nick shoot his arm out and allow Sarah to curl her well-manicured fingers around his. I wasn’t surprised, but I was disappointed. Sarah had played right into Nick’s potentially greatest weakness; he would never let anything happen to Brian, and Sarah knew it.

“That’s better.” Sarah tugged Nick forward into position a few feet in front of me and AJ. “So, are you going to pick? Or do you want me to pick for you?”

“Listen …” Nick’s voice was shaky. He was effectively creating as much distance as possible between himself and Sarah while continuing to hold onto her hand. “… I’m sorry about what I said to you all those years ago. I was a stupid kid back then. I didn’t realize that my words would have such a serious impact on your life. If you want to punish me that’s fine, but you have to let the other guys go.”

“I can’t.” Sarah slowly shook her head and tightened her grip on Nick’s fingers. “I want you to experience all of the pain that I’ve felt over these past fifteen years. I want you to know what it’s like to go on living without the people who mean the most to you. If I were to kill you, that would defeat the entire purpose. If you’re dead, you won’t be able to feel, and I want you to be able to feel. I want you to feel the worst pain that you’ve ever felt.”

I tried to catch Nick’s attention, but his gaze was fixated on the floor. He didn’t respond to Sarah’s deranged comments, and I could see that his fingers were limp and slack in her grip. I thought about sacrificing myself and encouraging Sarah to pick me, but the image of Kristin and the boys prevented me from opening my mouth. I had too much to live for.

“Fine!” Sarah jerked Nick’s arm and forced him to lift his eyes from the floor. Her voice was saturated with anger and aggravation. “I pick Kevin.”

My body instinctively went into overdrive at the mention of my name. I began clawing even more frantically at Vinny’s arm, my fingers slipping and sliding in my own sweat. I attempted to wriggle my body away from Sarah as she pulled a single bullet out of her pocket, but Vinny’s grip was too strong. All that my struggling was getting me was a restricted supply of oxygen.

“No!” Nick begged, his desperate eyes landing on my face. “Please don’t do this!”

“She gave you the chance to pick.” Tony walked over and pulled Nick away from Sarah. He yanked Nick’s arms behind his back and held his wrists together while keeping his other eye on Brian and Howie.

I opened my mouth to plead my case, but all that came out was a strangled gasp. Vinny was holding me too tightly; it was becoming harder and harder to breathe. I watched helplessly as Sarah opened the chamber on her gun, inserted the single bullet, and gave the chamber a carefree spin.

“I hope you’re feeling lucky.” Sarah grinned as she clicked the gun into position and pointed it directly at my chest.

I squeezed my eyes shut. I could hear Vinny repositioning himself to my right so that he had no danger of being hit. I could hear AJ swearing a mile a minute and struggling against Joey’s grip. I could hear Nick wheezing as he attempted to catch his breath. I could hear Brian and Howie’s voices coming together in anguish. I could hear Sarah pulling the trigger. I could hear the bullet being dislodged from the chamber. I could hear my whole life coming to an end.