Here we are, both sitting on my couch, two months from the day Shawn Mendes disappeared out of my life. 

He looks at me, his eyes are bloodshot. The sharp scent of alcohol coming from his body. I don't know what to do or what to think.

'For you to understand, I need to tell you about my past...' He sighs.

'Just talk Shawn!'

My emotions are turned off somehow. I don't feel heartbroken, I'm not angry, I'm not sad. I'm just interested in the story. What happened?

'When I was younger I lived with my mom, dad and sister in Ontario, Canada.' He starts.

I nod, biting my lip in anticipation. It feels like I'm watching a thriller on television, but make it a million times more interesting.

'My mother was a stay at home mom and my dad had a shitty job at a tech company.' He inhales sharply. 

'Aaliyah and I grew up very fast and my dad wasn't financially stable enough to take care of us and buy us the things we wanted. At a very young age, Aaliyah loved music and she knew she wanted to make a career out of it.' He moves his leg up and down, pausing for a second.

Shawn looks into my eyes, hoping I will tell him to stop telling his story, but I won't. I want to hear it and I want to know what I have to do with it, and why he left me.

'Buying music stuff wasn't the problem... When she was ten years old her right kidney failed, the treatment and the transplant cost a lot of money, so my dad had to find other ways to get the money.'

'That's terrible.' I frown. 

'She got better right? I mean, she's touring the world and all.'

Shawn nods quickly before continuing.

'My dad's best friend Three was there for him, but not the way he should be.' His eyes darken.

'Wait, his name is Three?' I ask.

'Yes. Not his real name, but his alias.' Shawn says.

'He gave him small jobs so my dad could earn some money in a fast way. This is exactly how it happens in all the movies, but the ending is different in our story.'

'Drugs?' I ask.

'Yes.'

I shift on the couch and pull my knees to my chest when Aristo jumps onto the couch, sitting next to me. He growls at Shawn for a moment, but when I pet his head he lays down with his eyes closed.

'Two years later my dad got pretty caught up in their world and it was clear there was no way out.'

I wonder where he's going with this. As far as I know, his family is still alive, so what the hell happened that's so terrible?

'We were living a good life. We moved into a bigger house, I got everything I wanted, Aaliyah and my mom got everything they wanted and my dad started his own company. It made a great start and later on, he was making so much money he didn't need the extra money anymore - if you know what I mean - but as I said, there was no way out.'

'How old were you when this happened?' I ask.

'I was fourteen, almost fifteen.' He responds. 

'Anyway... my dad tried to get out of that world since he didn't need it anymore, but Three wouldn't let him. He was... the boss... so he could've easily let him go without any fuss.' I see tears welling up in his eyes. 

'And then one day I was walking home from school and I got pulled into a van with a bag over my head.'

Flashback Shawn's POV

My heart is beating in my chest, I don't know where I am and where they are taking me. The zip ties around my wrist are cutting my skin. The bag on my head makes it hard to breathe.

I can hear the guys who kidnapped me whispering to each other and I hear my name a few times, along with my dad's name. 

A few minutes later a strong hand grabs my arm and pulls me out of the van when I hear the door slide open. A door unlocks and I almost trip over something that must be a threshold.

'This is him right?' A low voice asks, pulling the bag away from my head.

I almost get blinded by the white light and after blinking a few times, I see a big brown desk in the middle of an abandoned warehouse. I look around me. The space is big and empty and there is water on the floor. Why the hell am I here?

'That's him.'

I look at the person behind the desk... it's Tristan, my dad's best friend... what did I ever do to him? 

I stare at him with a deep frown.

'Tristan, you have to help me! These guys kidnapped--' A fist lands on my jaw and I feel the taste of blood in my mouth.

My braces cut in the soft skin of my cheek and I get overwhelmed by the amount of blood in my mouth. I spit onto the ground and my stomach starts to turn by the strong iron taste.

'Put him down over there.' Tristan points at a spot a few feet away from his desk.

I try to get away from the man's grip around my arm, but I'm not strong enough. His other hand moves to my hair and he pulls at it, making me get down on my knees. 

The water on the ground wets my jeans and I feel the sharp small bricks stinging in my knees. I try to loosen the zip ties around my wrists behind my back, but I end up making them even tighter.

I look at the man standing next to me and I try to talk to him, but he ignores me completely. 

Why am I here? What did I do? I know it wasn't right to cheat on my history test, but that can't be the reason Tristan kidnapped me, right?

'Psst.' I look at the man. 'What did I do?'

'Shut up, boy.' He pulls something out of the back of his jeans.

I see a big gun in his hand and he places it on my temple, forcing me to look at the ground in front of me. 

My heart starts to beat fast and I start to have a panic attack. What if I'm going to die? Please let this not be my last day on earth, I've got so much left to do. I didn't even have sex yet!

'Get Million in here.' Tristan says to the big guy standing next to the door.

The guy nods and opens the door, leaving for a few minutes. 

Million? Who the fuck is Million? I look at the ground and tears start rolling down my cheeks. 

I start to beg for my life and the man puts duct tape on my mouth, making me cry even harder. I let my head hang down as the tears keep rolling down my cheeks.

'Three. Here he is.' The man says entering the building again.

I lift my head and look at the door, wondering who Million is. 

I recognize the light brown jacket of my father and it feels like someone just stabbed me in my chest. 

I try to scream, but it's muffled by the duct tape on my mouth. My dad's hands aren't tied and he looks perfectly fine. Is he in on this?

He looks at me for a moment with pain in his eyes before turning to Tristan.

'I said you needed to keep him out of this world.' My dad whispers.

'I know.' Tristan chuckles. 'But I got a present for you.'

I frown, so does my dad. 

I don't know if Tristan knows, but I've been my father's son for the last fourteen years...

'You wanted out. I told you there was no way out. Well... I was mistaken. I am your best friend and I think you deserve the opportunity.' Tristan smiles at me.

A painful seconds of silence rests in the room and I blink a couple of times, still not understanding what's going on.

'If you want out... kill him.' Tristan points at me.

My heart hurts and my arms start to feel numb. There is no way my dad would even consider that. 

I stare at him, waiting for him to scream "no!" and save me but he just looks at me. I see doubt in his eyes. Is he actually considering this?

'Look at it this way. If he's gone, you can keep on living with your daughter and wife free of this world.' Tristan spreads his arms. 

'No son to take care of. Your company is doing very well and you don't ever have to look back on today.'

My dad still doesn't say anything.

'I am handing you this opportunity... you just have to kill him. After that, you're free, and I'll take care of his body.'

'What will I tell Karen?' My dad asks.

'Nothing. I'll take care of her too. I'm your best friend after all...'

Tristan steps away from my dad and walks to the desk, pulling at the top right drawer. He puts on a glove and grabs something out of the drawer. 

I see a big shiny silver gun in his hand and he hands it to my father. My dad closes his hand around the grip of the gun and avoids eye contact with me.

'All you have to do is pull the trigger.' Tristan's voice echoes through the big space.

The man standing next to me lowers his gun and takes a step away from me. I hear my dad's footsteps coming closer every second. 

I'm terrified my own father is going to end my life... 

I lower my head and wait for him to get it over with. What terrible thing did I ever do for him to consider killing me? I know I'm challenging sometimes, but I never knew he wanted to kill me.

I feel the cold metal against my forehead and I look up at my dad, making sure he sees the look in my eyes. 

It doesn't matter anymore. I don't care anymore. 

If I die today, he's not my father anymore. If he doesn't, I will never forgive him for doing this.

'I'm sorry.' My dad whispers.

I hear him taking the safety off the gun and I close my eyes, accepting my fate...

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