Liam places a gentle hand against the other man's back to get better control of what he's about to do, Hector's bony physique alarmingly apparent beneath Liam's athletic tone. He absent-mindedly wipes away blood with his thumb with all the restrained affection he gave in caring for the wounds on Abraham's back. This was unearthing memories he didn't want to revisit, and when that steel tip meets Hector's flesh, whatever Liam had been feeling mercifully evaporates into nothing. He completes his duty quickly and easily, having lived too long in a job that required him to turn himself off while he worked. Having become no different than Irving and Alexander and everyone else he had once claimed to hate.

LYING had been the easiest to write, with the straightest lines and the least amount of letters. At the very least, Hector seemed to have been honest with him, here.

When it's over, Liam has no tears for Hector. He slams the knife on the table with finality, hoping to signal that no more hurt would come to them. But Hector was right - this was just the beginning. This was untenable for anyone who wasn't already a monster. Liam stares down at the pairs of bloody knives, at a loss to explain what any of this had accomplished.