Chapter 24: Loss


    -Dominic-


    "Hold on Dominic!"


    Like a sister. That''s what she was to me. She understood the feelings I didn''t have to exin. She


    made me experience what I had always wanted as a child. Away from the bullying, away from the


    people who thought I was too boyish to be a girl but too girly to be a boy. That my eyes were too


    ghoulish. My strength a w.


    "You''ll be okay!"


    Of course, I was. Although she had made me think I could finally be normal that I could finally fit in and


    be epted- who would want that anyway? Hah, I was crazy to be sofortable around


    something...something so peaceful.


    "Breathe! They''re going to help you!"


    Arthur had always raised me to be cautious about everyone. I never had friends, I had enemies so that


    instruction became an instinct to me and although weughed, although we did our make up together,


    although we watched movies together, although we walked and danced together, I carried a gun on my


    waistband.


    And when I saw her draw her gun, pointing it right at me despite hugging me only moments before, I


    knew. I watched her shoot before, she was urate, she was precise. She was better than me at


    shooting it despite her telling me through a smiling face that she hadn''t done it before. It was a lie of


    course but sometimes you like to hope.


    Regardless, I knew that I had to protect the people I loved and if it was her that they had to be


    protected from then I wouldn''t hesitate. For their sake, I was prepared to shoot the one person who felt


    like the first female friend I had ever had. For their sake, I shot her first.


    I saw it, when I pulled the trigger, the fear that ran through her eyes, the tremble in her hands, the


    nce she took at ke and how she was about to redirect her aim but I stepped forward and caught


    her attention again. She shot less than a second after me but it was out of fear.


    She wasn''t a liar.


    She had told me that her father forced her to join his gang, that she was forced to see people killed and


    that she hated it. I watched her breakdown whilst describing how she had to sit through people being


    burned, being stabbed, being shot. She was tortured by watching others. It was a punishment her


    father gave her for wanting to escape and that punishment continues every time she remembers their


    faces of pain and agony.


    She was the exact opposite of me. An Angel she was, wanting to escape the hell she was trapped in


    while I was a Demonfortable in my ring. She healed those imprisoned by her father when he


    wasn''t around while I beat those who stood against me.


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    ''My father''s gang couldn''t just ept a defeat from people like you,'' she had said. If I were to guess he


    probably wanted her and Jordan toe to us on purpose. He probably told her that destroying us


    would finally set her free.


    And I told her I would help her.


    That fearful look that stained her face as my bullet hit her chest, will forever be engraved in my head, in


    my heart.


    Her bullet had hit my stomach at that time. I guess it was only fair. A life for a life.


    When she copsed I stumbled towards her, "I''m sorry," I had said and she shook her head, her eyes


    slowly closing.


    "Thank you.." her voice delicate and almost at a whisper, "Thank you for giving me the freedom my


    father never did,"


    And like that, my sister was gone.


    I leaned against ke, having a hard time standing, as he kept reassuring me that people were on


    their way and that I''d be helped soon. His voice was desperate and panicked though. We were at a


    loss as well and we both knew it. Both of our hands on top of the bullet wound that wouldn''t stop


    bleeding.


    "JAKE PLEASE HELP US!" The pain in his voice was unbearable.


    I had only just found out that I could be pregnant. Missing my periods was normal because of my fights


    but because I hadn''t fought in a while, my periods were stable again until this month. I had all of the


    symptoms and the timing would have been perfect for it.


    When I told ke, he was ecstatic, shouting out in joy as if he had wanted it forever. I joked that I''d


    rather have my abs than the baby but now when we were losing it, I would do anything to be able to


    save it.


    I couldn''t hold it in. I let out a scream of pain.


    ---


    "Dominic?"


    I looked up from my stomach to the door where Jordan stood. He wasn''t on his own, I noticed. Nick


    and Arthur had both been standing by my door this whole time and now stood just behind Jordan that if


    he tried anything he was in arms reach.


    When we caught eyes he immediately started tearing up, the flowers in his hands were dropped and he


    went to cover his face. "I''m so sorry. I didn''t know I swear-! And your b-"


    I clenched the bedsheets on top of me and stopped him from continuing. "Jordan," I say, voice stern


    but there was weakness in it. When I caught his attention he stared at me, his eyes also in pain. "We''ve


    both lost people dear to us today," I gave him the best smile I could conjure. "I''m sorry." He shook his


    head but didn''t say anything further, picking up the dropped flowers and putting them at the end of my


    bed before slowly taking his leave.


    When he was gone both of my brothers let out a sigh before letting silence consume us for a bit.


    "Where''s ke?" Nick finally asks.


    I turn to the window which had a view of a nice canal where some parents and children yed by,


    feeding the ducks and having pics. "He''s grieving."


    When I got to the hospital he had been at my side, he didn''t leave until he made sure I was okay and


    that everything was taken care of. I had drifted off to sleep due to theck of blood and thest I


    remember was him kissing my forehead before leaving the room.


    Considering how happy the news of my pregnancy made ke, I knew that this event made it that


    much harder for him. "Want me to get him?" Arthur asked but I shook my head negatively. He would


    need time. I would need some time too.


    Later that evening, after I convinced my brothers to go home for the night, I started getting dressed and


    walked out of the hospital. I had started to get ustrophobic and needed some air. Besides, it wasn''t


    like I didn''t have experience getting shot, the healing process wasn''t an issue.


    I then walked out to the canal that I had seen by my window and kept walking under the stars which


    reflected so beautifully against the water. I listened to the water swaying and the silence of the streets.


    This would have been the perfect night for a fight.


    "It''s dangerous out here on your own." A familiar voice called from behind me which made me smile.


    "I didn''t know you were still around." I could hear him let out a breath before walking towards me,


    wrapping his arms around me from behind, immediately engulfing me in the warmth I had been missing


    all day.


    I breathed in his scent which rxed me instantly. "I couldn''t just let you be alone. Not at a time like


    this." I closed my eyes and let him support me, "Besides if I wasn''t here I''m pretty sure you would have


    gone and gotten yourself involved in something violent."


    I chuckled at his words, "You know me well, ke,"


    After that we stayed under the night sky for a bit longer, thinking about what could have been but


    thankful that we still had each other.