"To answer your original question," Dad says, "yes, we're the reason Marco is after you and Sebastian. It's also the reason we... pretended to be dead." His brown eyes stay on mine. My head keeps throbbing, and suddenly I'm not sure I want to know anymore. "It was all because Marco, though, Crystal. He had a son. And the cartel we worked for… well, they asked us to plan a way to kill this son. He was not a good person," Dad adds quickly. "He deserved what he got. He was hurting innocent people and we needed to get rid of him. Anyway, so we planned the killing as we always did. Our boss asked us to map out the details, and when we got them for him, he asked us to accompany the hit squad--just in case. So we did. It was just a formality, though, because Marco's son was supposed to be all alone in his house at the time. It was supposed to be a quick job. Get in. Kill him. Get out. But… well, it wasn't." Dad looks at Mom, then back at me. "Our hit team died, Crystal. All of them did. We were waiting in are cars when the explosion went off. Apparently, the door had been booby trapped, and so the second they stepped inside, that was that. Your mom and I, we started to race out of there and abort the mission as we were supposed to in case anything went wrong, but then we saw Marco's son running out of the building, still alive but totally alone, and we looked at each other and knew what we had to do. And so we killed him," Dad continues without a hint of remorse. "Shot once in the head. He was dead in a second. And then we left. Marco has been out for revenge against us as soon as he found out we pulled the trigger, and we've lived these last two years in hiding because of it."
"But remember, his son deserved to die," Mom adds. I turn to her. Her voice is sharp and condescending, and her eyes are filled with annoyance as she places her wine on the table beside her. "I'm telling you, Crystal, we did nothing wrong. Look at all those men he killed. Look at all the bad things he did. Look at what he could've done as Marco's successor to our rival cartel. We helped people, Crystal. Don't forget that. We helped people because we killed his son, and so he needed to die."
My whole body is shaking. I can't believe this. I can't believe any of this.
My parents are still alive.
My parents work for a cartel.
My parents are murderers and they don't even regret it. Not like Sebastian does.
"Why do you get to decide if someone deserves to die?" I whisper. The rage keeps on boiling inside of me, white hot and passionate. "What makes you any better than Marco's son, if you killed him in cold blood?"
"Crystal--" Mom starts, the same infuriating disappointment in her voice. "You don't know what you're saying."
I throw my head back and laugh, annoyed. "Really? Because I think I know what I'm saying more than I ever have before."
"No." She steps forward. "You don't. We aren't bad people, Crystal. We're just trying to do what's right, so we can provide for you."
"You've never cared about me," I hiss. My head is throbbing so hard I swear it's about to explode.
"Crystal--"
"Just tell me what happened next!" I scream. My throat is so strained that the raw skin is sore and biting, and all of the rage and the tears and the pain from the last years keeps bubbling up inside me, unleashed on the two people who caused all this.
"Okay," Mom says quietly, that innocent look in her eyes. My hands clench. I've always hated that look. I've always hated how she pretends to be innocent, to be the good guy, when we all know she is anything but it. "So Marco hated us," she continues, "for what we did to his son. For a few weeks after, we left the country, telling you it was just another business trip and we'd be back soon. We were… desperate, I guess. And scared. We knew that he'd be after us, that he'd know who was behind it and want revenge, and so we fled. But he didn't actually find us until he sent his hitman after us once we returned home." I feel Sebastian stiffen beside me, and suddenly it all makes sense. My stomach constricts, because I know and dread what she's about to say. "Sebastian was the hitman," she says quietly. "He knew we'd have to come home to you sooner or later, so he waited outside our house, he told us, for several days. He followed you around to make sure you weren't secretly meeting with us, and when we finally came home from our trip, he was ready. You weren't there. And he… he was going to kill us. But he couldn't. Because of you, Crystal. He didn't want to kill your parents. So he took us with him, told us he would save us and fake our deaths but we had to run now, and when we asked where we'd go, he told us about this place… about his secret apartment. We've been living here in hiding ever since. We were too afraid to contact you, until last night when Sebastian told us you were here, and we made him let you go. We decided it was time that you know the truth." She drops her voice. "I'm sorry, Crystal. For everything."
My whole body keeps shaking. This can't fucking be real. I keep thinking they're lying to me or something, because there is no way Sebastian would betray me like this, would hide my parents from me even though he knew how much not having them hurt me. "But why did he save you because of me? He didn't even know who I was until a few months ago."
Sebastian steps forward, his eyes intense and fiery as ever. I turn to him. I feel the heat from his body pulsing throughout the room, making everything so much more intense, more real. He clears his throat before he speaks, looking oddly nervous. "I knew you, angel," he says in a rough voice. "I knew you long before you knew me. When I was following you to make sure you weren't secretly meeting with your parents, I… well… I became fascinated with you. I followed you to your dance recitals, and I watched from the bleachers. And I remember thinking how you were just so elegant. So beautiful and strong and innocent and graceful. I loved how you danced. I loved watching your body move. But more than that, I loved the peace it gave you, the confidence, because I knew how hard your life was without your parents around and yet… you still found peace. You amazed me, angel. You were so light and happy back then, and you made me want to be a better man. You made me regret who I was." Sebastian drops his voice, reaching out a hand to touch my hair again, but I back away, still shaking. No no no. No! No! No! "I fell for you when I was supposed to kill your parents. I'd always done my job without question before you, killing whoever Marco said to kill because he told me they were bad, that they needed to die, and I told myself it was right to kill them. But when the time came for me to pull the trigger on your parents, I just couldn't do it. I couldn't hurt you like that. I couldn't kill your own parents. I already loved you too much, and so, I let them go and dressed up two… earlier victims… to take their place. I risked my life all because of you, angel. And when Marco found out, he tried to kill me, but I got away just in time. I got this when the bullet clipped me." He points to the scar on his cheek, the one he's been so protective of. "I didn't have the guts to approach you until I saw you at that club a year and a half later, and I couldn't contain myself." He steps forward, dropping his head down, looking sadder than I've ever seen him before. "I'm sorry," he whispers. "I'm so sorry."
I hold my breath. I feel like I'm dreaming, like none of this can be true. My whole body is shaking so hard and as I look between my parents and Sebastian, the only people I've ever trusted, I feel so painfully betrayed. My heart hurts and hurts, and the rage boils inside of me.