Page 83 of Aperture

“Fuck you,” I yell and Johnny sneers. He’s having the time of his life right now.

“I decided to get even closer, so that's when I used Gwen.” He’s actually laughing deeply now, and the sound bouncing off the cold concrete walls is chilling and psychotic.

“I was right in front of you,” he says. “Wyatt suspected Theo. Theo hated himself for what happened with Sophia, and I was behind all of it, pulling the strings.” Johnny stops and sighs loudly.

“I was getting tired of this little charade, though. And you are smarter than I gave you credit for, little Mouse.”

“You’re a fucking psycho,” I spit.

“Indeed,” he agrees proudly, applying the serrated edge of the knife to his bottom lip hard enough to draw blood. He touches his lip and sees the drop on his finger.

“Whoopsies!” he exclaims.

“But now we are in a real pickle, Millipede.” The use of Wyatt’s nickname for me makes me wretch again.

“So, here we are. We are not all getting out of this alive, clearly,” he muses. “So, I am giving you something I never had. A choice. Is it gonna be Theo, the tortured uncle with an unfortunate past and possibly some undiagnosed anger issues?” he asks with a chuckle. “Or Wyatt, the man you love? The man who is quite possibly the worst detective in history, who couldn’t find a serial killer if he shared a meal with him?”

“Me. Kill me,” Theo murmurs again. His voice is so small.

“No, Theo. No one is dying. I’m not choosing anything.”

“Johnny, kill me,” he says devoid of all emotion.

“No, Theo. No! Please don’t do this,” I cry. “You don’t have to do this.”

I’m crying so hard it’s hard to form sentences. Theo is sitting on the dirty gray floor, leaning against the wall, with his head back, looking up at the ceiling. When he lowers his head and meets my eyes there is no light anymore. He looks like a shell of the man I first met.

“You do not have to choose, Millie,” he says robotically. “I am not a good man. Johnny is right. There is some darkness inside me. You have seen it. I thought I killed a woman and I left her there. I hurt you,” he winces. “Wyatt is right about me.”

It’s then that Wyatt finds his voice. “Theo, you are NOT a killer! You are not him. The only person who deserves to die is Johnny.”

“God, this is touching,” Johnny says, clapping slowly. He has his phone out and he’s recording everything.

“Untie me, Johnny,” I scream. “Now!”

“Wow, Millipede, I like this side of you. It’s making me hard.” He adjusts himself in his jeans as he walks over to me. “Alright, I’ll untie you, but I will gut you if you try anything. Capisco?”

“I understand!” I scream.

Johnny kneels at my feet and cuts the zip ties. Next, he goes around behind me and does the same to the zip ties on my wrists.

“I mean, I’m being pretty generous here. You get to decide who dies. Unfortunately for you, you will die afterwards, since that’s always been the plan, but at least you don’t have to watch both men you care about die.”

I jump up and kneel in front of Theo, placing my hands on either side of his face and forcing him to look up at me. For everything he has done and everything he is, I know he loves me, and I know he is not the evil person he has condemned himself to be.

“Theo, look at me. Look at me, now,” I plead. “It’s going to be OK. We can stop all of this. You can get help.” I place my forehead on his and try to steady my breath.

Tears form in his eyes as he leans back to look into my eyes. “There is no help for me, Millie. I’m broken. I never cared about anyone, except Sophia, and I hurt her. And then you, and I hurt you, too. It’s too late.”

A lone tear falls from his eye. It mixes with the blood on his face and by the time it hits the ground between us, it’s like he’s crying blood. My heart is breaking for Theo, for the life he could’ve had if he’d ever been given a chance.

He was just a boy, so badly neglected that his capacity for love deteriorated in that dirty apartment. He watched his mother die. No amount of love the Brissett’s gave him could ever supplant the void that settled in his young heart. He doesn’t understand love like a normal person. He doesn’t understand how to be vulnerable with someone. My own soul is in agony for his family, for me, for Wyatt. It’s all so monumentally unfair.

“You were never meant to be mine,” he whispers.

“You know what you have to do,” he then says, motioning to Johnny who is still recording the scene as it unfolds.

“Theo, NO!” I beg. “I can’t. I won’t. What about your family?” I cry.