Dominic (Made Men 8)

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.