His Dangerous Ways✔️

Chap. 41 Dad

Cat's POV

I tried to steady my shaking hands as I looked my father in the eyes. My knees were weak and I was holding down the multiple screams that were clawing their way up my throat. I'd killed two people. I'd killed my mom. The very thought made me want to throw up, and now that my father was right in front of me stoically looking at the love of his life dead. Because of me.

Confusion and curiosity fought for dominance in my head regarding why my father was here, even though Katherine had mentioned him multiple times tonight. But one emotion reigned supreme.

Guilt.

I felt my airways closing.

The gun in my hand grew heavier by the second.

My dad wordlessly dropped Mason's unconscious body with a low thud. He had a huge bump on his head that was bleeding. Liam instantly ran to him.

Without warning, my father wrapped his hands around River's throat and held him against the wall and used his other hand to hold a gun to River's head. "What the f**k did you do?" He yelled, pressing the nozzle deeper into River's head, tears welling up in his eyes. "I told you not to do anything until I got here and now she's..." he trailed looking at Katherine before anger overtook his features. "I'm gonna kill you, you son of a-"

"It was me!" I yelled, causing my father to pause.

"Don't lie to protect him," he seethed. "He killed your mother and now he must pay."

"I'm not lying, dad," I pressed. "I...I did it." The words tasted like poison as they pushed past my lips. "And she's not my mother-"

"Don't you dare talk about your mother like that!" My dad yelled as he angrily punched the wall next to River's head.

"Cat, stop-" River warned but I ignored him.

"S-She was going to kill him-"

"And you should've let her," he snapped, causing my heart to drop as a look of shock and hurt flashed on River's face.

"What the hell, David?" He lowly asked, causing my father to shake his head.

"I like you, kid, but I have worked too hard to get my family back together. Too hard trying to find my wife. Too hard for all of us to be together again. And not only did you waltz into my daughter's life and turn it upside down, but you've also put her life in danger more times in the mere months you two have been together than I have been in my lifetime. And now you drove her to this..." he trailed, his eyes going from the gun in my hand to Katherine's dead body which was mere yards away from Kenny's. "My wife's gone and so is the boy she thought of as a son." He reaffirmed his grip on his gun. "And it's all your fault, Riverdale."

"Dad, no! I-"

"Cat, sweetie, I'm giving you, Liam, and Mason a chance to leave and spare yourself seeing me blast this punk's brains out. But I will do it whether you're here or not. I hope you're smart and choose the not."

"David, please you don't have to do this," Liam begged as he held Mason. "Cat was telling the truth, it was all Katherine and-"

"Shut up before I shoot you too," my father snapped, though his eyes never left River's.

"Dad-"

"Cat, just go!" River snapped.

I felt tears well up in my eyes as I looked between my father- who I refused to shoot- and Liam, who was feverishly trying to get Mason to wake up. Then River...he was looking at me. His eyes were silently telling me everything is okay, though I could see fear.

He knew my dad was actually going to kill him.

The realization shook me to the core. "D-Dad, please," I begged as I slowly approached him. "She didn't care about you? Don't you see that? She even said that you were a means to an end. She was more concerned about her revenge than she was about you-"

"Shut up, Cat," he snapped. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"But I do," I pressed, as I kept advancing toward him. "Don't you remember that she's the one who kidnapped me?"

"Yes, Cat. Actually I do. How do you think I know my way around this place? I'm the one who orchestrated the coup."

I swallowed. "So you're telling me...y-you knew that they were going to shoot up the party and you still let me go?"

"I know, Cat. But they weren't going to hurt you-"

"You didn't know that," I spat. "I could've been caught in the crossfire. And I saw people die, dad. You know how that feels to see life drain out of people's eyes, you've been in war. And Mason...he's like a brother to me and he almost got killed-"

"It was a necessary evil," he gritted out, getting annoyed. "And I made sure he got better, didn't I?"

"Dad that's not the point-"

"That's exactly the point, Caterina!" He yelled, his hands getting tighter on the gun, causing River to slightly flinch. "That could've been you! And when push comes to shove, it was still River's fault-"

"What is wrong with you?" I screamed as tears rolled down my cheeks. "Mom was the same way. Both of you blame everything that's wrong in my life on River. On Liam. On even Mason for goodness sake, but you know what? It's your faults. Both of you. All of you. You're so obsessed with getting your so called revenge on River that it seems like I don't even matter to you."

"Caterina, don't-"

"No, dad. I'm sorry, but it's my turn to vent now. You two are always calling them barbaric and murderers and all around terrible people, but what have you done? Your wife killed Gracie and Bryce and Matthew and Mason's siblings and countless others then you're over here calling the meat-death of one of my best friends a 'necessary evil'. It's just death after death after death with you guys. Why can't you just talk it out like the civilized people you claim to be?"

I looked my father, River, and even Liam in the eyes. "I'm tired of all of this," I said, my voice breaking. "I'm tired of the death and the trauma and the pain, aren't you?"

My father's jaw clenched as he let a breath out through his nose. "I'm sorry Cat," he said as he pressed the gun deeper into River's head.

"Dad no!" I screamed as I tried to pull his arm away from River, but he merely shoved me away as his gun went off. Suddenly, I felt a pain move through me. I looked down. There was red leaking from my abdomen at an alarming rate.

River screamed as he rushed toward me, but it was as if I was underwater and looking through a foggy lense.

All I saw were blurry figures accompanied by screams as my legs gave out and I was swallowed by darkness.

***
Hey you guys. Sorry for the short chapter but I couldn't write a super long one because of this writer's block I'm having. But I hope you enjoyed this chapter nonetheless and if so, then please vote and comment. Thank you for all of your kind words regarding my mom and uncle, I greatly appreciate it.

Fun fact: I've almost killed Mason multiple times throughout this book, but I didn't because he's one of my favorite characters. But who knows, I still might...and there'd be nothing y'all can do about it😈

Keep your eyes peeled.

Love y'all- Jordan

PS What do y'all think of Cat's dad? Do you sympathize with him? Do you hate him? Tell me your thoughts in the comments. Also, which character are you like most? I'm definitely a mix of Kenny and Mason. Love them both to pieces.