Friends & Forever Read Online Free PDF Page B

adrenaline.
Turning, Carmine pounced, swinging his fists without hesitation.
    The crowd backed up, getting out of the
way, as Carmine unleashed his rage. Nicholas had been caught off guard and
could do nothing but try to shield his face, blocking the attack. It ended
almost as fast as it started, the school administration and security stepping
in and tearing the boys apart. Carmine was shaking, furious, as someone dragged
him away from Nicholas.
    "Not cool," Dom said, helping
Nicholas off the ground despite the anger in his voice. Nicholas ignored him,
pushing Dom away, as others shoved him toward the door to get him out of there.
    "This isn't over!" Carmine
shouted, breaking from the grasp as he started for the exit after him. He flung
the doors open and stepped outside as Nicholas casually strode through the
parking lot toward his truck. "You hear me, Barlow? This isn't over!"
    Dom stepped out behind Carmine and grabbed
his arm to calm him down, but he shook his brother off. Fuck being calm.
    Nicholas paused near his truck and turned
around, glaring at Carmine. Blood streamed from the boy's mouth. He was lucky
Carmine didn't knock his teeth out for what he said.
    "You know what, DeMarco?"
Nicholas shouted. "Fuck you!"
    "Right back at you," Carmine
said. "Fuck you and your fucking sister."
    "Yeah, well, fuck your mother!"
Nicholas spat.
    "Don't you talk about my
mother," Carmine yelled. "I swear to God, you mention her again, and
I'll kill you."
    "What, like you got her killed?" Nicholas spat. " Wah-wah ,
poor baby, watched his Mommy die because he was too chicken-shit to do anything
to help her. Does your brother know you left her to die?"
    The words were like knives, leaving gaping
wounds in Carmine's chest as they stabbed at him, again and again. He had told
his friend that in confidence. Nicholas was the only person he had ever
confessed that to—the fear that constantly existed inside of him, nagging
him, tearing him apart, piece-by-piece… the fear, the belief, that he had
abandoned his mother that night in the alley. That he had left her there to die
alone.
    The coldness washed through Carmine again,
but this time there was no stopping him . Nicholas was
in his truck and pulling away by the time Carmine reached his car. He didn't
hesitate, didn't think twice about anything. He was going to make Nicholas pay
for those words. 
    He drove straight to Aurora Lake, raging
simmering inside of him as he went.
    Nicholas's truck was already there was he
arrived, the driver's side door wide open as he climbed out of the cab. Carmine's
tires squealed as he pulled right up to the house, his headlights illuminating
the truck. Nicholas turned to him, eyes narrowed, bitter words right on the tip
of his tongue, but he never had a chance to get them out.
    Carmine reached under his seat and pulled
out the loaded Colt .45 he kept concealed there. Climbing out, Carmine clutched
the gun. Nicholas's gaze darted to it, eyes widening as he froze in terror.
    Raising his arm, Carmine fired.
    Bullet after bullet tore into the truck,
clanking against metal as sparks flew, the sound of gunfire echoing through the
night air. He emptied the gun, expelling every bullet. The last one hit the gas
tank, a sudden spark igniting. Startled, Carmine took an instinctive step back
as flames shot out around the truck. The fire was sudden and explosive, flames
licking at the house and igniting the corner of the porch.
    "Fuck!" Nicholas screamed.
"Oh God! My house!"
    His house. Carmine stared at the flames as he lowered the gun, the sight
of the fire washing the coldness away. "What the fuck?"
    "What the fuck?" Nicholas
echoed, turning to him. "What the fuck, DeMarco?"
    What the fuck ?

 
    * * *

 
    The shiny metal handcuffs dug into Carmine's wrists behind his
back, his shoulders aching as he sat in the hard plastic chair along the far
wall. The police station not far from Aurora Lake was quiet, not the flurry of
activity Carmine had expected. A lone