“That’s his father?” someone else asked.
“How could he aim from there?”
“How did no one know he was here?”
“He’s ruthless for a kid. Can you imagine what he’d be like?”
Words.
About him.
Rushing all around.
Over him.
One word.
On repeat.
No. No. No. No. No.
?
?The next course is ready when–”
It was the sound of his mother’s voice that pulled Tristan’s head up.
Oh god, what had he done?
Tristan saw as she came to a stop in the doorway, her eyes on him.
“Tristan, what are you doing here?” she asked, her eyes angry as she came towards him. Turning to the Boss, she started speaking, “I apologize for him, Mr. Maroni. He’s just a kid. He doesn’t know what he’s doin–”
Her voice cut off abruptly as her eyes fell on his father, the words choking in her mouth.
Tristan saw as her hands came up to her lips, tears streaking down her cheeks as a sound escaped her chest. His jaw started to hurt from the way he'd clenched it.
"Who?" her mother's voice wavered on the word.
The Boss stepped forward towards Tristan. “Your son.”
His mother’s eyes snapped up to his, disbelief etched on her face. Tristan let her watch him silently, watched the disbelief change in horror as she saw the truth on his face. The horror he saw in her eyes killed something inside him. His jaw trembled as he stepped towards her, wanting to rush into her arms and have her tell him everything would be okay.
She jerked back from him, her mouth agape in terror. “Get away from me.”
Tristan stilled.
His mother looked at him for a long time, shaking her head. “Why?”
"I.. it..." the words stuck in his throat, lodging there, unable to escape.
She took a step back. "You lost your sister. Now, you've killed your father. My husband. My daughter."
Tristan clenched his hands to keep from reaching out to her, not uttering a word. There wasn’t anything he could say.
"My son was a sweet boy," his mother whispered almost to the door now. "You're not him. You're like them. Monsters."
Something broke – damaged beyond repair in his chest.