Never Stop

33. Via

Chapter thirty-three

Via

I wake up in a haze, my head pounding like a drum, holding on to a small hand that feels unfamiliar.

My eyes open, and everything is blurry. I take a few seconds to blink the sleep away as I hear whispers fill the room, and the small hand clasping onto mine gives me a gentle squeeze.

"It's okay, Via. You're safe, and we are here."

I'd know that voice anywhere. Ander's mom, Mrs. Kristen. She's always calm in the storm, and her presence brings immediate peace to me.

I sit there for a second, and slowly, everything and everyone in the room comes into focus. Mrs. Kristen, Abbie, Izzy, and Dessa fill the rooms, and their sympathetic, worried expressions all flash my way as I look over the room.

It's the one person I want to see whose absence hit me like a ton of bricks.

Where is he?

Then it hits me. I needed space, and he gave it to me. Judging by the lighting peering through the window, hours have had to pass. Maybe he also needed space and time to think and process everything.

Is he safe ?

I clear my throat and try to speak, but my words come out strangled. "Where. . ."

Everyone in the room's face falls in unison, and Mrs. Kristen forces a grin that doesn't meet her eyes, not in the least.

My stomach curls into knots, knowing that my suspicion is correct and something isn't right. Panic quickly sets in as Mrs. Kristen pats my leg to calm me, and my girls rush to my side.

"V, you have to stay calm," Izzy says, keeping her tone even. Calm?

Something is wrong. I can feel it.

I inhale a shaky breath and give a weak attempt at a nod in conditional agreement. Izzy turns her chin to Ander's mom, signaling her to take the lead, which she does.

"We are sure he's safe, Via. I know that's what you're worried about." She nods reassuringly. "He did come back to check on you a bit ago; all of the guys are out looking for him now—"

I cut her off before she could continue. The words spew out of my mouth as fast as they form in my mind.

"What?"

I shake my head, trying to understand. If Ander came back, something had to cause him to leave, and alone? If everyone is looking for him, that means he's alone.

He's in danger.

"What made him leave? If he had returned and left, and now no one knows where he is, something must have happened. I know him." I gulp audibly. "What happened?" My voice shakes in unison with my limbs.

Everyone's eyes flash to one another across the room as if questioning who would be the one to tell me.

Izzy takes the lead and, in true Izzy fashion, breaks it to me honestly, which I appreciate.

"Liam is a dick, that's what happened. The slimeball motherfucker snuck in while he knew Ander was out and left a threat. Remember the creepy flowers and notes you've been getting, and you assumed they were 'gestures' from Clark? It's been Liam all along. Ander came back to find some here left for both of you. He pieced it all together and then lost his absolute shit. Now the loose cannon is out searching for Liam by himself." She speaks so fast, leaving no room for the others to object to her laying it all out there for me.

Once Izzy finishes, Dessa quickly interjects, just as the panic starts to creep into my heart.

"They're going to find him, V. He will be just fine."

My heart is racing to the soundtrack of the most vicious metal album you could think of.

"I-I. . . " I shout as I start ripping at the wires and machines attached to me, pulling them off of me. The machine behind me starts to hiss as frantically as my heart pumps erratically.

"V! Damnit!" Abbie growls, "You have to stay calm!"

"Calm?" I whisper-shout through the tears.

"How the hell can any of you expect me to be calm? Come on! Be realistic! Look at me!"

My voice is now at a full-blown shout, rebelling against their protest.

"I was the bait! Liam didn't want to kill me; he wanted Ander! Now Ander is going after him, setting himself out on a silver platter! I can't let it happen! I won't!" My words are choppy, barely audible. The sobs rack my body as I stand to my feet, and pain shoots through every fiber of my being, but I refuse to stop.

"I need a phone!" I demand as I start pulling off the hospital gown and frantically pull my clothes over myself, with the help of Izzy and Dessa, who have officially given in and will no longer fight me.

Mrs. Kristen goes to state her protest, but she takes a long look at me with our eyes locked and then nods, handing me her phone.

"He isn't answering any calls or texts. It started going straight to voicemail about a half hour ago."

I release a scream, rattling my bones as it escapes, releasing every ounce of bottled-up frustration I've harbored. It doesn't help. The worries, fear, pain, and sadness are all still there.

This is why I left him, why I pulled away, and why I stayed away.

Not for me, for him .

How selfish am I? I knew better than to allow him back into this chaos. He doesn't deserve this bullshit life that I'm stuck muddling through. He doesn't have to be stuck, and that's all he will ever be with me as long as Liam is alive.

Stuck .

Even after everything Liam has put me through, I've never wished death on him or anyone, for that matter. At this very second, I hope Ander finds him first. He deserves exactly what he has coming for him. What does that mean for Ander? What does that mean for our future? His future ? This whole shithole situation is fucked, and I can't breathe.

Finally, mentally checking back into my current reality, I take a few stumbled steps toward the door and look back over my shoulder at all the women in the room who love me.

"Are one of you going to drive, or am I going to have to do this on foot?" They all sigh simultaneously, and Abbie pulls her keys from her purse. I flash her a soft smirk that says, "Thank you," just as Izzy darts past me out of the door and screams down the hall, "We need a wheelchair!"

Seconds later, a tall male nurse walks in with a wheelchair, "Bathroom, Ms. Foley?"

I shake my head.

"Home. Bring the AMA paperwork, please."

"Ms. Foley. . ."

"Just bring the papers, or she will leave without signing them at all!" Mrs. Kristen barks behind me as she helps me adjust in the wheelchair.

The nurse, whose nametag says Jayden, looks over all of us who are not backing down, and he sighs.

"I'll be right back."

I'm in the front passenger seat of Mrs. Kristen's Tahoe. Abbie is driving, and the others are piled into the back. I grab the phone from the center console and try Ander again, but there is no answer. It goes straight to voicemail.

"Fuck!" I shout as I slam the phone back down on the console, and my scream shakes throughout the SUV's energy.

Izzy reaches for it and begins speaking mere seconds later. My eyes dart to her as she speaks.

"Jett. . . any update?"

Her face drops even more as he speaks through the other line, but we cannot hear his response.

"Where are you guys now?" she asks into the receiver. She nods and looks to Abbie as she continues to speak to Jett on the phone. "Meet us at my parents' house. We will be there in five minutes or less."

Abbie wastes no time. Before Izzy can hang up the call, Abbie jerks the wheel, spinning the SUV illegally around the median in the middle of the interstate and heading back toward the Prairie in Sugarland.

"Is everyone okay?" she asks frantically, looking around at us. As the vehicle stabilizes, she gives the gas all it that it has.

"Izzy, tell me something. . . Please. Why the fuck are we going to your parent's house?" I beg.

She shakes her head, mouth agape before she covers it with her hands, and tears quickly fill her eyes.

"Izabel!" I shout, demanding answers. I can't let my mind wander for a second longer. I need to know whatever it is that she does that's eliciting this reaction from her, no matter what it is.

"Anders truck. . . They tracked it using GPS. It's parked down the lane from your parent's old home on the prairie. We will make it there before the guys do. We are five minutes away, and they are eight minutes out."

Her voice cracks, and everything inside of me breaks. My parent's old home has been abandoned for the past three years since the family that Liam sold it to destroyed it, and it went into foreclosure.

"To be safe, we will wait for the guys at my parent's house."

"The fuck we will!" I declare. I'll be damned if I'll be that close and wait.

"It's three minutes, honey." Dessa chimes in as she rubs her hand on my shoulder, trying to reassure me.

"Three minutes he may not have!"

Just as I speak, Abbie crosses over the bridge that leads to the forgotten prairie. Sugarland isn't huge, so I've known for a while that the prairie isn't what it once was, but seeing it after clearly avoiding it for so long causes a different kind of sadness to form in my heart. Just as we take the first curve and edge toward the lane of the old home, I see Anders's truck sticking out like a neon sign on Broadway.

"Abbie, if you guys don't want to stop, that's fine, but if you don't slow this tank down and let me out, I will jump out while you're going full speed."

"V," she attempts to protest. As we inch closer, I grab the door handle, entirely meaning my threat and content with my decision.

I need to get to him now .

A unanimous sigh breaks out throughout the SUV when Izzy says, "Park behind his truck, Abbie. I'll go with her!"

I look back to my best friend, my platonic soulmate, and flash her a flat, closed-mouth attempt at a grin that says, "Thank you." She nods in return.

"The fuck, as if y'all are going alone," Abbie says as she parks behind Ander's truck and she unbuckles. They all unbuckle, and we hop out and start moving frantically.

"I just texted Jett to tell him we are here and going in; he said they're two minutes out."

Her words are disregarded as I start running down the lane toward the house, leaving them all alone, still searching Anders's truck. We won't find our answers there.

Our answers, my world, are somewhere on the property. I have a feeling I know exactly where they are, and I'll be damned if I'll subject even more of the people I care about to Liam's wrath. If Ander had found Liam here, it wouldn't have been inside the house, and Ander would have been the only other person to know that.

Darting through the now thick brush on the once beautiful property, I run with purpose.

I am ignoring every flaming ounce of pain that radiates through my bruised and tattered body. I have to get to him. I need to know he's okay. I need him to be okay. The path here is somewhat cleared out, and by the looks of the stepped-on bushes and cracked twigs, there are apparent signs of foot traffic, so I know someone's been here recently. Liam must have been squatting here.

How fucking long has he been out of prison ?

As the old barn where Liam spent most of his pathetic days as he aged comes into view, I slow my footing. This is one of several barns on the property, but this specific one was always Liam's spot.

Everything is eerily quiet.

Too quiet .

I pull at one of the large barn doors, and it lets out a loud creek in disapproval of being moved, which causes me to jump. Then, I hear it before I can see anything.

His laugh.

His sick, sadistic fucking laugh.

"Well, sister . This is the last thing I expected." Liam's callous voice sent a shiver of panic coursing down my spine slowly, one vertebrae at a time.

On impulse, I cringe and become rooted where I stand as Liam steps out of the shadows and into my view, bloody and bruised. He's limping, dragging his left leg. This tells me a tussle went down, and he's hurt.

Good .

As he steps into my line of view, he smiles from ear to ear as if pleased with my arrival.

"I'm glad you're here, Olive. Now, you get to watch!" He says gleefully as he raises a gun and points it directly in my face.

"Liam, you don't have to—"

"Oh, but dear sister, that is where you're wrong." He lets out another dark chuckle as he steps closer, mere inches between us, and nudges me forward with the gun. With his right hand, he swipes a trickle of blood from his creepily turned-up mouth.

I shake my head and force Liam to look me in the eyes.

"No, Liam. I'm not playing your sick fucking games anymore!" I shout as loud as I can.

"If you want to fucking hurt me, then do it, you coward! Hurt ME ! Only a true little bitch would hurt others to get to me!"

I turn the tables, grab the barrel of the gun, and place it directly to my forehead, daring him and wishing he would at this point. I am done with his tormenting, and I am refusing to be his scared victim any longer.

Liam's mouth falls agape, and his jaw ticks as he scowls at me, gritting his teeth.

"You stupid bitch!" He shouts as he pulls the gun back and passes a hard slap across my face that catapults me to the ground.

He leans over me as I stumble to get up, feeling every ounce of pain from my already aching body screaming at me to stay down.

"You aren't going to die, Sis," he growls." Not by my hands, at least, but you will wish you were dead. That's the point, don't you get it?" He laughs as he pulls me to my feet and attempts to drag me by my arm.

I don't fucking let him.

I rear back with everything in me and collide my fist with his jaw with as much force as I can muster.

He doesn't fall, but he does falter. He stumbles a bit but only laughs harder as his jaw ticks. That is when I lose all of my senses and see nothing but red as I lunge for him. I don't stop. Finally, it happens .

The gun falls from his hand and flies across the barn's ground.

Time stands still, but I don't.

I continue unleashing every pent-up emotion I've suppressed for many years. Emotions that this asshole that was supposed to be my brother, my family , has singlehandedly caused. Emotions that have caused me to go numb for years.

Unfortunately for him, I can feel again—and I feel fiercely. Right now, I feel nothing but rage and empowered.

Still swinging, my shouts get louder as Liam gets weaker but still fights back. He plants a punch to my ribs, where he knows I'm already hurting, and I give in, keeling over to my knees.

"Ander!" I scream as I see Liam steadying himself, attempting to make his way for the gun.

I still haven't been able to spot Ander through the dark barn. I can't hear anything over the sounds of Liam and me.

Something tells me Ander isn't coming to save me; I have to save myself, and I have to save him .

Thinking fast, still gasping and trying to catch my breath, I look around for anything in reach and notice an old, worn-out two-by-four lying near the hay near my side.

I inhale a deep breath as I rush to stand and pull for the board, all in the same motion. I swing it to the back of Liam's leg, which is already injured. I don't stop swinging even after he's down.

"Ahhhhh," I scream as another blow of the wood hits him, and he starts to cower in, barely moving.

"I wanted a b-brother," I choke out. "I wanted to love you! THEY loved you, and you killed them !"

The shouts keep pouring from me as my voice shakes almost as much as my body. Liam lies there, not moving. Adrenaline pumping hard through my veins, I rush over to the gun and grab it. Then I return to stand next to Liam, who lies on his stomach, face planted in the ground, and coughs viciously.

"Oli—" He coughs out as I turn him over onto his back and point the gun at his head.

"You don't deserve to live!" I scream guttarly. I lean down, pushing the gun into his forehead.

"How does it feel, Liam? To feel helpless? To realize you have no control over your own life?" I rasp out, my voice broken and cold, just like I feel on the inside.

"How does it fucking feel, you bastard?"

My ears ring, and I'm unable to hear anything. My hands are trembling; I pull back, open the cylinder of the revolver, assuring there's a bullet in place, and then I place it right back in its rightful position on Liam's forehead. Liam's eyes shut as he lies, barely breathing below me.

My finger hovers over the trigger, ready to end it all. I'm prepared to end this part of my life.

End him .

As my index finger grips its place on the trigger, I feel a hand snake around my arm, pushing the gun away. I can barely hear his words in my ear through the ringing, but I can feel the coolness of his minty breath dance across my skin.

As my arm swings and the gun goes off, shooting a bullet into the wall, I spin around and see Ander through my tears.