Chapter 4: A Memory

                                    

                                          
You are definitely my happy ending. 
                          
Nick:
                          
Six-year-old me stacked up the small wooden blocks, my eyebrows furrowed in concentration- Caleb was studying colourful stones next to me. His face was alit with a childish glow- one that I envied.
                          
"Master Nick?" Prue- our maid- smiled nervously at me. "Your dad wants to see you in his study. He has another test for you." 
                          
My heart sank and I exchanged alarmed looks with Caleb. We both knew what the 'tests' entailed. 
                          
I swallowed down my nerves and followed Prue through the myriad of hallways in our mansion. My small feet beat down on the well-worn carpet and I stared briefly at the unsmiling oil paintings mounted on white walls. I caught the eye of a serious-faced intimidating man dressed in a suit and shuddered, looking away from his soulless black orbs.
                          
I was snapped out of my reverie when Prue knocked tentatively on the heavy oak door. 
                          
"Enter!" A deep voice boomed. 
                          
"Good luck Master Nick!" Prue whispered, gently pushing me to my doom. 
                          
I swallowed down the fear gnawing my stomach and pushed the door open. 
                          
"Father." I said coldly, standing tall with my hands clasped behind my back. I'd never been in my father's study before, so I took this opportunity to examine it in detail. 
                          
The walls were bare- not a single photo hung on their smooth surface. A window on the right one allowed faint dappled light to shine through, hitting the red carpet and illuminating the room with a warm rosy glow. Dominating the centre, a brown desk was covered in papers organised in neat stacks with a laptop resting on top of it. A miscellany of  dusty books with un-cracked spines lined the bookshelf to my left, next to a drinks cabinet. 
                          
"Take a seat, Nicholas." Father gestured to the wooden chair in front. 
                          
I obeyed and stared at his blue eyes- a carbon copy of my own- with a hint of trepidation. Father is a dangerous man- irascible with no conscience.
                          
"Nicholas, the time has come for you to complete your final test." His voice was clipped. He gestured to the gun resting on the table- one I didn't notice before. 
                          
I picked it up, the familiar metal instantly cooled my skin. I loaded and readied it, my small finger curled around the trigger and stared expectantly at Father. 
                          
"Curtis? You can bring the prisoner in now." He called. I looked behind me in time to see a man dressed in a suit- seriously, what is the family's obsession with suits?!- dragging a figure behind him. 
                          
I inhaled sharply at the woebegone man at my feet. His head was shaved and every inch of his body was covered in blood. I stared at him in horror and Bloodied Man sneered, revealing gaps between his equally bloodied teeth. 
                          
"Shoot him, Nicholas." Father demanded.
                          
My spaghetti arms trembled as I raised the gun. Bloodied Man gazed at me, uncontrollable fear shaking his body. I squeezed my eyes shut and pulled the trigger. 
                          
With a sickening thud, the bullet found its mark. I didn't dare look as Curtis dragged the dead man away. It was my first kill. 
                          
"Well done, Nicholas." Father patted my shoulder, a hint of pride in his tone. "I'm proud of you." 
                          
I didn't reply.
                          
With a gasp, I jolted upright, my heart thudding so hard I thought it would burst out of my chest.