I feel myself smiling. All of the betrayal was real, of course. I hated Sebastian, for a little while. But I also know I love him too much to stay away. I know I'll do anything for us to be together--and that's exactly what I did.

Even though he didn't want it.

It saved us both.

He holds me close now, his lips pressing against mine, and the hurt in my heart that has been there since I started living with Marco fades away, heals, just from his kiss.

Sebastian would never hurt me.

Sebastian would never disobey my trust.

I would never have left him after I learned that he was hiding my parents, if it hadn't been for that plan.

I would never leave Sebastian.

I kiss him harder and harder, loving the feel of his body against mine, his erection pressing against my inner thigh. But even in the victory, even in the silence of the night, I freeze. I look past Sebastian, at my parents, at them, at all they did to me, and I realize then that there is still a hurt in my heart. There is still that same pain that has been bothering me since childhood.

And I am done with pain. I just want happiness. I just want Sebastian.

"What's wrong?" Sebastian whispers suddenly, feeling my body stiffen up, but I'm not looking at him anymore.

My gaze has shifted to my parents, who are still standing at the top of the staircase, free after all they did. Free and happy and not caring about the pain they caused me, the years of abandonment and neglect, the almost killing me.

And suddenly, I know there is one thing left to do for me to be truly happy.

"Kill them," I say quietly to Sebastian. The words slip out of my mouth before I can stop them, but they feel more right than anything I've ever said before.

Sebastian stiffens up, lets me go. "What?" he asks. "Angel, what are you--"

"Kill them," I repeat, louder this time. I keep my gaze trained on my parents, who have started backing up against the wall.

Sebastian's fiery blue eyes burn into mine, and he grips me, searching my eyes to see whether or not I'm serious about this. "Angel, what are you talking about?" he whispers. "Kill them? They're your pare--"

"I said fucking kill them!" I say, choking out a sob, letting all of the pain out that has been festering over the years. "They ruined my life, Sebastian! They abandoned me when I needed them most! They gave me life, and then they took everything for me. I almost died because of them! I sure as hell lost everything I cared about! Kill them, Sebastian. Just fucking kill them. Kill them so I can be happy again." I shove my gun into his hand. Tears pour out of my eyes and I just want to scream at the memories of my neglect, of the thought of being on that roof again, wanting to die, all because my parents abandoned me.

"Angel, are you sure?" Sebastian whispers. "I'll do anything for you. You know that. But they're your parents. You don’t kill your parents, even if they ruined your life. You just don't."

My hand starts shaking now. "I don't care!" I scream through the tears, because before I know what's happening, the rage has surged back. "I don't care whether it's wrong! I just want to be fucking happy for once in my life, Sebastian. Is that too much to ask? And I can't ever be happy with them"--I choke out another sob, staring at them both--"with them still in my life. Kill them, Sebastian. Just please, end this for me."

Sebastian holds me tight, his muscle tensing as they wrap around my body, but he doesn't protest either. He holds me, just holds me, in the cold wind in the dead of the night, and his body warms every part of me.

"Okay," he breathes into my ear. "Anything for you, my angel."

Then, he pushes back and turns around, loading his gun and approaching my parents.

"Crystal!" Mom shrieks desperately as she sees what's happening. The fear is palpable in her eyes, but I know longer even care. They're dead to me, even if they aren't quite dead yet. "Crystal, don't do this!" she shrieks. "Crystal, please!"

But I'm not listening. Or looking. I just start walking away, plugging my ears, even as I hear Sebastian grunt as he pulls the trigger, even as the gunshot rips through the air, even as I hear them scream one final time.

The last shard of my past is ripped out of my side, and now I'm a new person, ready to take on the world. 

Epilogue

10 years later

What am I supposed to say about me and Sebastian? That we're married now? Because… we aren't. That we have tons of kids? Because… we don't. That we have tons of friends and family who love us, or will soon? Because… we just won't.

But that doesn't matter. Not really. Being married with kids and a happy, perfect family is not who Sebastian and I are, or will ever be. We're criminals in love, and nothing is ever going to change that. Nothing is going to split us apart, either, however. Sebastian and I are meant to be together. We complete each other, heal each other in ways no one else can. He is mine and I am his, and with him is right where I want to be.

No more secrets.

No more lies.

It's just Sebastian and me and our love for one another.

After that night, Sebastian and I fled the country. We left for an isolated house in Maine, and we've lived there ever since. We've found a way to put back together the shards of what we once were. We ended everything, and now we've disappeared to the rest of the world, slipped between the cracks, gone where no one else can find us. We're living in hiding and have been for ten years now, but it's not like we're ever going to get caught. No one is going to find us here, if the police are even still looking for us. And we're together. Together, forever.

Sebastian serves me a glass of wine as we sit at the small wooden table in the hut in Maine, smiling at one another. A few candles are positioned in the middle of the table, and a small fire burns in the corner of the room, making me feel so warm despite the snow falling outside.

"I propose a toast," Sebastian says to me, deep blue eyes trained on mine. He's wearing a t-shirt and baggy shorts, his dark hair a disheveled mess of curls across his head from the sex we had earlier. He's so much more relaxed than he used to be, so much less angry. We have nothing to fear anymore. We have nothing to hide. We just have each other, and I couldn't have asked for anything else.

He keeps smiling at me--a small smile, but so real and strong and beautiful. He smiles with such genuine happiness, it makes my heart feel warm. "A toast to ten years of living with you. And let me tell you, angel, they've been the best damn ten years of my life."

I raise my glass of red wine and clink it to his, grinning. A small radio is positioned in the corner of the room, and quiet melodies escape from it, mixing with the fire from the corner. Everything is so perfect here. So empty and cozy and just… just painless. It's perfect, really. A life with the man I love. After so many years of suffering, I've finally found happiness.

"To the shards of the people we once were," I say, raising my glass again. "And to each other, for putting them back together."

"To our shards," Sebastian repeats, clinking his glass against mine. He takes a sip and smiles at me again. The reflections of the flames dance on his face, more carefree than ever, and as I sit there, I find myself staring at him, just staring at him, and sighing because my life has turned out more perfect than I could ever imagine.

To Sebastian.

To love.

To happy endings, even in the gravest situations.