When Lucifer gave him the revolver to shoot his first shot, he had blown the remaining bits of the Coca-Cola can back a foot. After that, he was able to practice shooting every day, with a gun.
Over the next few years, he was given different guns, mastering them all, one by one. The targets got harder, farther, and smaller. Dominic had become so proficient that he outshot the cowboys in his favorite movies, and it was all because of patience.
That was the one and only good thing his father taught him.
Coincidentally, those were the last three months of peace for Angel and Matthias, before they were smacked across the room.
Three
A Big Ol’ Meanie
Dominic, Age 7
Making himself a bowl of Fruity Pebbles, he accidentally splashed some of the milk on the counter, too excited to get back to the western he heard coming back on TV after the commercial break. It was a Saturday, and his twin brothers were passed out in their room after their lunch, so he could actually watch his show without keeping an eye on Matthias to see if he was about to do something that would get him in trouble.
Plopping himself onto the dingy, green plaid couch, he took a ginormous bite of the sugary candy-like cereal that caused some milk to drip down the corner of his mouth. He wiped it off using the back of his hand before picking up the spoon to take another huge bite.
The front door opening didn’t even have him looking away from Clint Eastwood on the fuzzy screen.
“Go to your room,” his father ordered after shutting the door behind him.
Dominic looked over to see that his father had brought his new girlfriend over.
Girlfriend was what the kids at school said, but that wasn’t what he’d call the women who came over to see his father. You were supposed to like your girlfriends, and Lucifer didn’t like anyone. Not even his own children.
Lucifer slightly raised his voice for him to hurry. “Go on.”
“It’s almost over. Can I please watch the end and finish my cere—”
“I said, get your ass to your room now.”
He didn’t understand. They always went upstairs to his father’s room, and it wasn’t like he hadn’t been around Lucia the past month. She wasn’t the nicest woman who had hung around his father, but she definitely wasn’t the worst.
Taking one last, huge, sweet bite, he was about to jump off the couch when Lucifer crossed the room in a flash, snatching him up off the couch and spilling his bowl of cereal everywhere.
“I was just taking one more bite! I was going to get up!” Dominic yelled when his father started dragging him across the floor, first by his hand, then he stopped to grab him by the neck of his oversized T-shirt.
“Lucia, clean this shit up,” he told her over his son’s wails.
Quickly, a terrified Lucia jumped to pick up the mess.
Seeing her face right before being dragged down the hallway, Dominic realized something was different. He had never seen Lucia like that. He had seen her jump once when Lucifer had raised his voice at her, but she had never looked scared. She had the same look Carla did before she left for the hospital to give birth to his brothers.
He wanted to scream at her to run, but he was scared himself. Not for his sake, but for Angel’s and Matthias’s. If anything happened to him, he wouldn’t be able to protect them.
It clicked for him then. Putting on a brave face, he no longer fought his father as he was dragged into a bedroom, then dropped. Closing his eyes, he waited for his father to hit him. Instead, he heard a door creak open.
Opening his eyes, he saw Lucifer throwing out old, dusty suits from a closet and onto the floor. When he stalked toward him again, Dominic was sure he was going to hit him now, but then he was shocked when Lucifer dragged him into the closet by his shirt.
“By the time you get out of here, boy, you’ll be asking me how high when I tell your ass to jump.”
When the closet door slammed shut and the darkness enclosed, the sound of the lock pushing into the doorknob surrounded him, echoing off the walls in the tiny space.
He guessed he was supposed to be scared, but he wasn’t. Darkness didn’t scare him. It was peaceful, a gift that kept you from seeing the horrors of the world. Small spaces didn’t scare him, either. It was cozy, and the best part about it was, if he was in here, then that meant his father was out there, unable to touch him.
“A girl!” He heard his father roar so loud it came all the way from the living room.
Quickly, Dom put his ear up to the thin wall, trying to hear better. There was some shuffling, and then Lucia screamed something at him, but he couldn’t make out what she said through her tears.
“You either get rid of it, or I’ll help get rid of it for you.”
Dominic pulled his ear from the wall, knowing what was going to come next, before the gunshot even rang throughout the house. It was quiet for a split-second, and then the fear finally set in for Dominic when he heard the twins crying from their bedroom.
Lucifer hated when they cried. Angel had learned quickly, like Dom had, after having their little legs pinched. Poor Matthias, it only made him cry harder. His boney legs were covered in purple and blue bruises.
Wondering if he would be strong enough to knock the door down, he contemplated if escaping would be the right thing to do, scared it would only anger his father more, or worse, keep him locked up in here longer, unable to protect his brothers. A small amount of hope arrived when Angel stopped crying, and he never heard his father’s footsteps travel down the hall.
He didn’t know how long he had been in there when he heard the front door open, then DeeDee’s loud mouth.
Letting out a sigh of relief, Dom was happy their so-called babysitter was there. At least she would care for the twins and keep Matthias from crying.
Yawning, he lay down on the dusty, cold, wooden floor, rubbing the hand that Lucifer had snatched him up by. It was slightly sore, but it was fine. Dominic found that strange, but before he could figure out what was strange about it, darkness had not only surrounded him but his mind as he fell fast asleep.
The light glaring on his face like a thousand suns had him waking up from his deep sleep.
Lucifer studied him hard for a moment, as if looking for something before he walked away.
“It’s Monday; you got school.”
Monday? Shakily, Dom stood still, trying to get used to the light after being in complete darkness. He walked out of the room and into the bathroom, quickly relieving himself and cleaning himself up after spending what he couldn’t believe was the rest of his weekend in that box.
Getting dressed and grabbing his little backpack from his room, he went back down the hall and into the living room, seeing his brothers playing on the floor with some old blocks.
“Bubba!” they excitedly screamed, jumping up to run and give him a hug.
Angel stumbled over some words. “W-we misses y-you.”
“I missed you too.” Dominic gave them both a big squeeze. “I have to go to school, but I’ll be back later. Now go back to playing with your blocks, okay?”
“Otay.” Angel grabbed Matthias’s hand, making him go back to playing blocks like his older brother had told them.
Noticing the new, brown leather sofa, Dominic hadn’t even thought about what had occurred in here two days ago. Even though he was young, he wondered what that said about him at his age.
He had heard the term “like father, like son,” and right now, he didn’t give much thought to Lucia and her death, but to how hungry he was.
Going to the kitchen after hearing his stomach roar, his father, who was making himself a cup of coffee, stopped him.
“You’re going to be late.”
Dom’s stomach could be heard rumbling on cue again. “But I’m hungry.”
“That’s why they feed you at school. Now get going, or I’ll have to come up there and tell them to mind their business when they ask me why you’re always late.”
He hung his head low. That was the last thing he wanted; even the principal looked at him with fear in his eyes. The only adult there who was nice to him was his teacher Mrs. Smith, and if his father visited the school, she might not be nice to him anymore.
Dominic walked out the door sullenly, quietly closing it behind him and beginning his journey to school with not even so much as a sip of water.
He never minded walking to school, not having to spend the time with Lucifer. Even though they lived in the poor part of town they called Blue Park, no one bothered him, mostly because everyone on this side of the train tracks knew who his father was and, just like at school, everyone gave him a wide berth. No one even cared to know Dominic; they got all the information they needed simply from his name.
Passing the gas station that he walked by every morning, he stopped to contemplate going inside and stealing something to eat since he didn’t have any money on him, but then his eyes were drawn to a woman who sat outside with her young child. He had seen them around town through the years, always either baking in the sun or freezing in the cold. Today, they were covered in filth, and he never noticed just how skinny they were until his own hunger pains ate away at him.
Looking at her helpless son, who looked a couple of years younger than him, reminded Dominic how hungry he could get.
Dom had only gone a weekend without food; how long had the mother and son gone? He hoped to never know. So he put his head back down and continued to school, unable to steal food or eat for himself knowing they were going hungry too.
Kicking a rock, he watched it skip across the cracked sidewalk, only thinking about the fact that he was starving and not his father’s crimes.
Realizing this, he muttered, “Maybe they’re right to stay away from me.”
The walk seemed to last forever, and by the time he made it to his class and took his seat at his desk, he practically fell down into his chair.
“Dominic, are you feeling all right today?” Mrs. Smith came over before class started and placed her hand on his sweaty forehead to feel if he was running a fever. “Should I call your father to come pick you—”
“No!” He quickly rubbed the sweat off with the back of his hand, trying to think of what to say. “I-I just forgot to eat breakfast this morning before walking to school, is all.”
Mrs. Smith studied him for a minute. He was thankful when she didn’t question him further. Instead, she went to her bag beside her desk then came back, handing him an unopened bottle of water and a box of candies.
“Sometimes my sugar likes to drop on me if I don’t eat a good breakfast. This will help, but don’t eat them all at once, okay? Just try to suck on some and tell me if you don’t feel any better before lunch. I could go to the cafeteria and see if I can get you something.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Smith,” Dominic said, as the bell rang and she had to get all the students to their seats.
It took everything he had not to down the water as he opened it and put the liquid to his lips. He made sure to only drink half, not wanting to alarm his teacher. Unwrapping the candy, it was like heaven when he tasted the sugary cherry piece. He let it coat his mouth for minutes, sucking on the flavor until it became tiny and his patience for not eating it had worn thin. He felt better instantly, as if the little candies were medicine to cure starvation.
All morning he ate the candies one by one until there were only a handful left. As the hand on the clock was about to reach lunchtime, he was afraid someone would steal his box of candy—after all the envious looks he got—so he shoved the foiled-covered pieces carefully down his little jean pocket, then threw away the box as they went out the door in single file.
Getting to the lunch room and smelling the food made his stomach growl all over again. He wish he had gotten up fast enough to be in the front of the line instead of the back, but he patiently waited until he got his tray of low-budget food and sat down.
It wasn’t his favorite school meal, but it definitely wasn’t the worst, and it definitely wasn’t DeeDee’s nasty cooking. He practically inhaled his chocolate milk and Salisbury steak with gravy mashed potatoes. He even ate his peas, though he thought they tasted like mushed vomit. He saved his little fruit cup for last, savoring it and not inhaling it like the rest, wanting it to wash down the gross food he had just eaten.
When their teacher came to pick them up at the cafeteria, she looked at his empty plate. “Did you get enough to eat, Dominic?”
“Yes, Mrs. Smith. I’m feeling better now.”
“Good.” She smiled at him sweetly before addressing all the kids. “All right, single file, please. It’s time for recess.”
Excitedly, all the kids lined up, but Dom didn’t care where he was in line this time. At recess, he always had to ask to play any of the fun games, like tag. They always let him play, but it was never fun because they let him win. Even if they were on teams, his team always won.
So, when he got outside today, he did what he usually did and played on the jungle gym by himself. Going up to the huge silver dome, he began climbing the bars to the top, to his favorite spot he liked to sit at. Going over the little curve, he saw a boy already sitting up top. He was about to sit on the bar where he was when the boy’s eyes went wide once he saw him. The kid hadn’t even given Dominic the chance to tell him he could sit there before he quickly moved, climbing back down the structure.
Maybe it was Dom’s fault? He could have tried harder if he wanted, he could have yelled out to him that he could sit with him, but he didn’t. Instead, he just kept his mouth shut and took his favorite spot.
At the top of his dome, he looked out at all the kids laughing and running around. Maybe I’m bad too.
“It’s your fault we lost!”
Hearing a boy yell right underneath him, Dom looked down to see a blond kid bugging Bristol, a girl who was in Mrs. Smith’s class with him.
“Nuh-uh! You threw the ball too hard at me! I couldn’t catch it!” The girl shook her head so hard her blonde pigtails swung in the wind.
“You’re so stupid!”
Bristol gasped like he had just called her a bad word.
“That’s right; you’re just a”—the boy smirked, clearly glad he had hit a sore spot, and said his next words so harshly that he practically spit all over her cute face—“dumb … stupid … blonde!”
Something inside of Dominic snapped when he saw Bristol’s eyes well with tears.
Grabbing the monkey bar underneath him, he swiftly swung down and let go of the bar. His feet hit the ground with a thud, causing a little puff of dust to rise as he dropped right between them.
“If blondes are so stupid, then what does that make you?” Dom asked, standing face-to-face with the bullying boy. “Or are you that freaking stupid you forgot the color of your own hair, Kayne?”
The kids who had gathered around the outside of the jungle gym, all said, “Ooooo.”
Kayne’s gold eyes that matched his hair turned into slits. “Everyone knows dumb blondes can only be girls.”
Dom crossed his arms. “Says who?”
“My dad!”
“Well, your dad is just as stupid as you if you think the color of your hair makes you dumb.”
“And your dad is crazy!” Kayne’s gold eyes glowed in the sun as he took a step forward, right up to Dom’s face, even though Dom was bigger than him. “That’s what my dad told me! He said I should stay far away from you!”
Dominic looked down at him, square in the eyes. “I guess he’s not as stupid as I thought, then.”
The blond kid stared up at him for a minute, clearly deciding on whether or not he wanted to “fight,” like the kids surrounding them were yelling. Then Kayne finally walked away with a clear promise in his eyes; next time, he wouldn’t be the one to walk away.
With a longing sigh from the students surrounding the dome, they all walked away.
Dom turned to Bristol. “You okay?” he asked.
Bristol sniffled. “Yes.�
�
“Sorry. Kayne picks on girls because he’s too afraid to pick on someone his own size.”
“It’s okay.” She wiped the tears off her cheeks with the back of her hand. “Boys only pick on you when they like you.”
Dominic’s brows drew together as he wondered where the heck she’d heard that. “No, it just means he’s a freakin’ bully.”
“Really? Because that’s what my momma told me.” Bristol’s bottom lip poked out. “So, it doesn’t mean Kayne likes me?”
“If he liked you, he wouldn’t have called you stupid. You wouldn’t call your friends mean names, would you?”
“No, I would never do that.”
“See,” he told her, wondering if the women around his father thought the exact same thing. However, he knew why Lucifer was mean to them, and it wasn’t because he liked them. “You shouldn’t let boys be mean to you, even if they do like you.”
Finally, with the way he had put it, she realized how stupid her mom’s words were. “Wow. So, Kayne really is just a big ol’ meanie?”
“Yes.” Dom laughed. “If he’s ever mean to you again, you just tell me and I’ll make sure he never messes with you again.”
“Thanks, Dominic.” Bristol gave him a big smile, revealing that her two front teeth hadn’t come all the way in yet. “Do you want to come play hopscotch with me?”
“Uh …” It was the first time in a long time someone had asked him to play, and if it were last Friday, he would have said yes without a second thought, but today, he found himself at a crossroad. He was just about to say yes when he heard Lucia’s final scream in his head.
I’m afraid I’ll hurt her.
“I don’t like hopscotch, but thanks anyway.” Dom grabbed the closest bar, running away from her before she offered to climb with him. It made him feel really awful to watch a sad Bristol walk away as he climbed to the top of his dome.
Reaching his spot, he sat down and took a long, deep breath. Then, slamming his eyes shut, he began repeating the words to himself quietly, “I’m not good. I’m not good. I’m not good.”
Dominic (Made Men Book 8) Page 3