NEVERLAND

by Melissa Jane

  “If I remember correctly…” he bared teeth, “… when you first walked through my door, you were on the verge of whoring yourself out. I gave you a job you had no experience at and paid you well. I made you a star in a prestigious club. All I expected from you was loyalty.” He lowered his face to hers, breathing his hate into her ear. “And what the fuck have you given me in return? You hand in your notice and decide to fuck me over?”

  Blaze shook her head as best she could given Dominic was holding her firmly in place. “I haven’t done anything. I promise you, Dom. I haven’t.”

  “Fucking liar!” he snarled, callously sprawling her onto the plastic. Instinctively, I moved to help, but it seemed Dominic had other plans. He wrapped my ponytail around his hand and dragged me kicking and screaming away from Blaze until my back met his legs. Anton watched on, smiling at the scene unfolding before him. Relishing in Blaze being broken emotionally and physically, and me fighting the monster I could never defeat.

  “And you,” Dominic spoke with contempt. “Are you a part of this simply to get back at me?”

  I stared up at him and although I was trembling, I wasn’t going to allow anything to be pinned on us. “I have a lot to get back at you for, but I’m not a part of anything and neither is Blaze.”

  “Do you see?” Dominic laughed. He seemed humored as he addressed Anton. “Do you see the level of disrespect and ungratefulness?”

  “It’s written all over their guilty faces,” he agreed.

  Pig.

  “And let’s not forget where you came from, darling Lucy.” Dominic’s tone was not unusually spiteful. “Or should I remind you of everything I’ve done for you over the years? Of how I pulled you from the depths of your own personal hell and gave you a chance at life.”

  He couldn’t be serious.

  I couldn’t hide my dismay. “You pulled me from one hell and dropped me into another, Dominic. You didn’t save me.”

  His neck turned a bright red. “I gave you life! I put you on top.”

  He was very serious.

  “You think this is life? You think I’m better off than when you found me? This…” I seethed, my emotions out of control, “… this is my own personal hell, and you love every minute of my pain.”

  He smiled victoriously, like my words were music to his ears. And then he made a promise I knew he’d fulfill. “You ain’t seen nothing yet, babe. I’m only just getting warmed up.”

  He released me in the same fashion he did Blaze, sending me sprawling onto the plastic. Her hands were sweaty when she took mine, helping me to my knees. And then she froze, the sound of a safety latch unclicking. Wide-eyed, I could see her terror as clear as I could see the Glock being held against her temple. The tears slipping down her cheeks were nothing compared to how devastated we were for each other.

  “I like my bitches on their knees but only when their mouth is attending to my cock. What I don’t like are two lying fucking bitches on their knees feigning innocence. So I’m only going to ask you this once and if I don’t get the truth, one of you will wear the other’s blood.”

  He waved the Glock between us and we flinched with each turn. Blaze broke down sobbing hard, snot running from her nose. I gripped her hands with a reassurance I struggled to muster.

  “Whatever has happened, you have the wrong girls,” I said to Dominic, hoping he could see some sense. “We’ve been working all night. We swear.”

  His eyes flicked to Anton and moments later a fist I didn’t see coming smashed against my cheek. The pain wasn’t unfamiliar, but the force was hard enough to turn my world momentarily black, and as I lay dazed on the cold plastic, blood trickled down my cheek until I could taste it on my lip.

  A boot nudged its way under my ribs, forcing me to roll onto my back. When the darkness faded, the chandelier above started to take form. The crystals glistened and glowed so pretty, like the stuck-on stars on the Neverland treehouse ceiling.

  “One day, Lucy, there’ll be a star with your name on it, and it will be the most beautiful.”

  Romeo, where are you? I need you… I need you so much.

  Reminiscing of the boy I once loved, tears slipped down my temples stinging my open wound. I missed the boy who promised to always protect me from the evil world. The boy I hadn’t seen since I was torn away from the only home I knew.

  The beautiful stars disappeared, a dark silhouette taking its place.

  “Remember where you are, Lucy,” he cooed.

  I blinked, still trying to gather my wits. Dominic smiled down at me, a leg either side, his boots digging into my ribs.

  Tilting his head to the side, he considering me a long moment. “You always look so beautiful when you’re the most vulnerable. Almost angelic.” Dominic leaned down, his sadistic features taking shape. I could smell the alcohol on his breath. “This is why I jerk off while watching you sleep.”

  Blaze sobbed, a sliver of the relationship Dominic and I shared now revealed. From somewhere in the room, Anton laughed. I swallowed the need to be sick. He watched me every night and I could do nothing about it because Dominic Salvatore came with consequences. Every time I destroyed the cameras, a new one would be installed the next day. As punishment for interfering with his voyeurism, furniture, including the bed would be stripped from the apartment. Once, I’d been so angry over his control, I continued to destroy the newly installed cameras until there was no hot water, no towels, no bed, pillows, or comforter. When I used the small amount of clothing I had to make a soft base, the next day every single item was gone. Only the bare-bones of an apartment remained. When I finally broke down on the bedroom floor, trembling from the cold in the heart of winter, knowing Dominic was watching, did I beg and plead. When I finally returned to work, everything had been restored to how it was.

  He’d taught me a lesson. He’d made a point of showing me how he could continue to break me down even outside of the club’s cruel behavior. He possessed ultimate control and if I fought against it, or didn’t acknowledge it, I’d soon learn the punishment of my insubordination.

  And now he was proving another point—that he could give us ‘life’ and take it away in a heartbeat.

  Dominic’s fingers raked through my hair, hands fisting until he pulled at my scalp. His tone changed from taunts to something more sinister.

  “You’re not above being taken from this world, my dear Lucy. You may be my favorite of all my whores, but I will snap your neck in a heartbeat if I’ve found you’ve betrayed me.” Releasing me, he grabbed the duffle off his desk. “This…” Dominic announced, dropping it between us. It was unzipped and opened on impact, revealing at least two dozen men’s wallets, “… was found in your locker, Lucy. So tell me, which one of you money-hungry bitches is responsible for thieving from my valued customers?”

  Chapter 6

  THEN

  “Fifty-one, fifty-two…” My mother quietly counted coins, using her index finger to slide each coin off the table and into her palm. It’d taken us an hour searching the house for any coin we could find, while trying our best not to wake my father. We were hungry, starving even, and a loaf of bread was going to feed us for a couple of days.

  “Here,” Mom said. “Ask Mr. Hopkins if he could put milk on our bill.” Without another word, she turned away from me, hooked one frail leg over the other, and placed a tea-towel filled with ice on her bruised cheekbone. While my father spent most of his life in a drunken stupor, my mother spent hers in a comatose daze.

  “Ready?” I asked Romeo when I left the kitchen. I found him in the living room standing over my father who lay haphazard on the sofa. Even asleep, he reeked of alcohol, an empty bottle of Jack Daniel’s still within arm’s reach. Romeo’s expression was one of disgust and hate.

  “Your mom barely scraped together enough money for bread, and yet…” he kicked at the bottle, “… he wastes his pension on this liquid diet. Miserable sack of shit.”

  If anyone understood the life I lived, it was Romeo.
I also understood how tempting it was for him to smother my father’s face with the worn pillow. “Come on, let’s go,” I said, taking his hand. Leading him out the front door, I asked about his parents, “Has your dad found work?”

  Romeo tore off some leaves from an overhanging branch as we walked down the road. “He can’t even seem to get through the door. As soon as they see him, they say the position has been taken despite people still waiting to be interviewed. And Mom’s had her shifts cut. They argue all the time—”

  He stopped short, out of concern, and I wished he hadn’t. His problems were just as relevant and I wanted to be as empathetic to him as he continually was to me. The truth was, we lived in a town that had nothing better to do with its time than to target people for fun. It was a town the governor seemed to have either forgotten about or placed in the too hard basket. And extreme racism was at the forefront of its problems. In the Sanchezes’ case, the locals weren’t going to be happy unless they drove them out of town. The problem was, this was their third move only to face the same discrimination.

  “I’m so sorry, Romeo.”

  “Don’t be. One day I’ll earn enough money to make sure they never have to be in the position of being treated like that again.”

  A bell chimed as we walked into the corner store. Mr. Hopkins glanced over his wire glasses and instead of greeting me with his usual wide smile, he took one look at Romeo and his mouth barely twitched. “Hi, Lucy,” he greeted.

  “I thought he was a mute. He’s never once greeted me,” Romeo said under his breath.

  “Hi, Mr. Hopkins,” I replied quietly, feeling Romeo’s sensitivity. We wandered to the fourth aisle and looked for the cheapest loaf of bread, my stomach grumbling as I passed the heated food display. Everything smelled amazing when you’re starving.

  Romeo returned holding a carton of milk he’d need to take home and pulled a loaf of bread from the shelf. We approached the counter and handed the bread to Mr. Hopkins who just didn’t seem to be his usual self. He’d normally chat up a storm to the point where I’d have to excuse myself because it would be getting dark out. Now, however, his continual clearing of his throat told of his agitation.

  “Two dollars,” he said, no sign of animosity toward me. Handing over the last of the money we had, I moved aside and let Romeo pay for his. Mr. Hopkins scanned the milk and bread, placing each item back on the counter with more force than necessary.

  “Eight dollars,” he said, holding out his hand.

  Huh?

  I looked from the Turkish Delight bar I’d been salivating over to a man who was starting to show his true colors. Knowing he was being taken advantage of, Romeo was bristling.

  “Eight dollars?” he asked, incredulous.

  “That’s right.”

  My gaze flicked between the two, the tension palpable.

  So this was what Romeo had been talking about. It might seem like a small issue on the surface, but when those small issues tallied up, it was downright hurtful.

  “That seems a bit excessive,” Romeo stated flatly.

  “I don’t think so.”

  “I have the same brand of bread as Lucy. And the milk is two-fifty. That’s four-fifty in total.”

  “Not for you it’s not.”

  “You realize what you’re doing is discrimination and it’s illegal?”

  Mr. Hopkins didn’t flinch. “I don’t care what name you call it. Pay or get out.”

  The door chimed and a familiar scent wafted past before I saw who it belonged to. Mr. Hopkins experienced yet another personality shift, his shoulders straightening, eyes resentful, when he saw who’d entered and who was now standing behind me.

  “Mr. Salvatore,” Hopkins greeted.

  Dominic’s father.

  There was no response, but I watched as he stood next to Romeo and proceeded to indecently leer at my body the same way he had in Principal Rosser’s office. The same way his son did every time he saw me.

  “Eight dollars or return the items,” Mr. Hopkins barked impatiently.

  “Asshole,” Romeo muttered, snatching the milk and bread. He gestured for me to follow and I abided, feeling awkward and intimidated by Dominic’s father. How he looked at me was sickening, illegal even, given my age. Sticking close to Romeo’s side, we walked back down the aisle to the row of fridges along the back wall. The men up front started talking, voices terse and defensive. I watched them in the round security mirror hanging in the top corner, their hands wildly gesticulating.

  Although he stood at the fridge, Romeo didn’t replace the milk as intended. Instead, he scanned his surrounding, biting hard on his bottom lip, nostrils flaring in anger. He paced back and forth like an antsy bull.

  “Just give me the money and I’ll pay for it,” I placated.

  “Fuck him! He doesn’t deserve my business. And besides, he’ll still charge you the same knowing you’re giving it to me. Racist asshole. Does he know I was born here?”

  This time I was biting my lip with nerves, worried we’d be heard, and worried my best friend would end up doing something he regretted.

  “Well… what are you going to do?”

  He glanced over the aisle and then back to me, his anger having turned to mischief. “Whatever the fuck is going on between him and Salvatore has got him distracted.” His eyes glistened. “It’s now or never, babe.”

  He left me standing there, determined to leave the store with everything his mother asked for. I snatched at his wrist before he got too far ahead.

  “You can’t steal this!” I whispered.

  He winked. “Watch me.” He turned but I stopped him again.

  Taking a deep breath, I couldn’t believe what I was going to say. “Give me the bread, you take the milk.”

  Romeo shook his head, hating the idea. “Nah-ah. This isn’t on you.”

  “I know it isn’t, but you walking out looking like a pack horse is going to look a little obvious, don’t you think?”

  “Maybe,” he conceded.

  “Give it to me.” I snatched the bread and aligned it with the loaf I’d purchased. From side on it wouldn’t be noticed. Opening and closing the fridge door for effect, we headed back down the aisle and bypassed the counter. It felt weird not saying goodbye to Mr. Hopkins, but when I glanced at the men who were still engrossed in a heated debate, I watched a resentful Mr. Hopkins hand over an envelope, the top opened enough to reveal a thick wad of cash inside. The doorbell chimed and I felt a rush of panic. I’d never stolen anything before, and this was by far, the worst thing I’d ever done. However, Mr. Hopkins’ behavior toward Romeo and his family was completely unacceptable. Especially if he’d been consistently overcharging them all these years.

  “Hey!” Mr. Hopkins clued on quick. Too quick for our liking. “Come back here with that bread,” he shouted.

  “Shit,” Romeo cursed wishing he’d been firmer with me. “Lucy, run home. Now!” But I couldn’t. Frozen firmly in place, Romeo had to shove me into action. “Go, now.”

  I turned and ran, sprinting for the corner that would take me the long way home. I was never meant to make it very far, a pedestrian knocking shoulders with mine, both turning the blind corner. I rebounded and grazed my back along the bring wall.

  I apologized before looking, and then I wished I hadn’t.

  “What’s the rush, little Lucy?” Dominic asked, giving his trademark smirk.

  I couldn’t answer because I was shocked over the state of his face.

  “Oh, this?” he appeared amused, although I didn’t know why. “This is nothing compared to what I’m used to.” He bit his lip. “I guess we have that in common.”

  I never would have thought Dominic Salvatore and I would have such an awful thing in common. But then, it kind of made sense. He left eye was badly bruised and swollen, it was sealed closed.

  He glanced down at the incriminating loaf of bread and smiled. “You better run, Lucy.”

  I’d wasted enough time, although I didn’t kn
ow why it seemed to matter. Mr. Hopkins knew where I lived, as with Romeo. Romeo lived in the only Mexican-looking house in the neighborhood so that much was obvious.

  Dominic winked with his one good eye and disappeared around the corner. I turned in the opposite direction, only to meet a brick wall of the human kind. A large hand wrapped around the back of my neck and forced me against the side of the parked SUV, the two loaves of bread falling in the gutter. My cheek burned on the car’s heated panel and my attempts to wriggle free were met with more force.

  “Let me go!” I yelled to the man who had no right in man-handling me.

  His cologne was heady, his mouth grazing my ear. “I’m a thief, too,” he said. “I like to take what’s not mine simply for the thrill of it. I’m just smart enough not to get caught.”

  “I’m sorry,” and I was, a single tear sliding from the corner of my eye and over the bridge of my nose.

  “Don’t be. I never am.” Mr. Salvatore released his hold and while I righted myself, he retrieved the two loaves of bread handing them over.

  “Here.” Mr. Salvatore reached into his pocket for the envelope Hopkins had given him back in the store. He pulled free some green bills and held them out. “Two hundred. Take it.”

  I shook my head. “I can’t take your money, sir.”

  “Sure, you can.” When I refused, he stepped closer, pulled my shirt to the side and stuck the rolled-up bills under my bra strap, his knuckles grazing my bare skin. “We can make this our little secret.”

  ~~~

  “What do you have to say to Mr. Hopkins, miho?”

  Mrs. Sanchez stood with her arms crossed firmly over her chest, cheeks reddened with embarrassment. Mr. Sanchez seemed more annoyed that Mr. Hopkins stood in their entry demanding something of them.

  “He was trying to rip me off, to rip us off,” Romeo explained. “He charged me more than twice what he did Lucy, and…” Romeo turned his anger toward the shop owner, “… we all know why. So why don’t you tell my parents why you’ve been ripping us off?”