Rule 28 - Domino

Age 12

"Domino, get ready. You"re going on a trip with Uncle Carlos." Mom opened my bedroom door and barked at me. I jumped, startled. I sat up on my bed and put my book down.

"A trip? Where to?" I was never invited to things. Trips, parties, random errands. Unless it was required by law or was meant to be a punishment, my stepmother pretended I didn"t exist.

"It doesn"t matter. He asked you to come with him, so you"re going." Her beautiful face turned angry at my question. Still, it didn"t make sense.

"Is Marisol going? Or Mattias and Fabian?"

"No, just you. You complain all the time that you don"t get to do fun things. Should I tell him you don"t want to go?" She dangled the threat over me. "Or should I make you tell him? He thought you"d like to be the one to see your dad"s childhood home. You call him and say you don"t want that."

"Dad"s old home?" The mention of my late father was a sharp stab into my lungs that made me lose my breath for a moment. Did I want to see a piece of my Dad"s life? Of course, I did.

"Yes. It was supposed to be a surprise, but since you couldn"t stop asking questions, you"ve spoiled it. Now get packed because it"s an overnight trip. He"ll be here in thirty minutes."

"How far away is it?" I asked and immediately snapped my mouth shut. I"d seen that face before, many times. She was on the verge of coming further into the room, snatching me up by my head and beating me until I cried. "I"m sorry, I won"t ask any more questions."

"Good. And don"t tell your brothers and sister. They"ll just be jealous and I don"t need to hear their whining." She slammed my door shut, and I hurried to do as told. When I was ready, I grabbed my camera and went to wait by the front door. Uncle Carlos came in without knocking. He went straight to Mom and pressed a kiss on her lips. I blinked, confused. Since when did they greet each other that way?

"Ready, Mija?" He turned to me and smiled so wide; it made me uncomfortable. He extended his hand, but I stood on my own and gripped my backpack straps. I could walk on my own. "You look very pretty today."

"Go, and don"t tell anyone where you went when you come back," Mom snapped at me. She waited until I nodded silently before storming away to yell at someone else. By the direction she took, it was probably Lolita, our housekeeper.

"Come on, we"ve got a long drive. We should get on the road."

I"d never gone on a trip like this with anyone, let alone Dad"s brother. I didn"t know him all that well. He only came around for holidays and a few times in the summer when he visited the park. He was unmarried and had no children.

On the drive, he turned on a country radio station and tried to make small talk with me. He asked about middle school, things I liked, things I didn"t. I answered with one-word answers, focusing on the fact that I was on a trip to see a piece of my dad that he never got the chance to show us before he died.

"What about the boys? You have any boyfriends at school, Mija?" He laughed and reached over, placing his hand on my thigh. I flinched away, pressing my body to the door.

"No. I"m not interested in having a boyfriend, Uncle Carlos."

"Oh, you will be. Soon, I"m sure. You"re too pretty to not have a boyfriend soon. Much prettier than your sister. You"ve already started developing faster than her. I would almost place money that you"ll have more men wanting you than her."

I trembled as I tried to keep calm. I knew something was wrong about this. Mom never let me do things like this. I"d barely been allowed to sit with them at his funeral, why would she allow me something no one else got from our dad?

"How much longer?" I asked, avoiding the questions about boyfriends. He wasn"t just a friendly, interested adult. If he was, I would have told him about that night when Fabian"s friends came over, but he didn"t actually care about me. Something was wrong here.

And she knew about it.

The look on her face, the kiss she gave him, all of it. This was a setup. I'd been betrayed. But why?

"Why, you tired?" He chuckled. "We can pick a hotel now." He pulled off the highway and took the nearest exit. We parked at a hotel and he got us a room. I stayed a few paces behind him, and when he wanted to take the elevator, I raced to the stairs.

"It helps my leg to take the stairs." I wiggled my short leg at him. I bolted up before he could protest. I was at the hotel door before he was. He scowled down at me.

"Let"s put our things down and go to dinner."

I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw two beds.

"See, I don"t know why you"re acting so worried." He shot me a dirty look as I tossed my bag on a bed and followed him back out. He tried to touch my thigh when we got back in his truck, but I shoved it roughly off. That pissed him off, and he promptly got out, demanding I do the same.

"We"ll eat at the bar here," he snapped. We went back in and walked to the restaurant. He promptly ordered a beer and a shot of tequila.

"Cuervo and a bowl of limes, please."

I ordered a hamburger and fries and sat quietly, watching him down shot after shot, chasing it with his beer. He ate his food and then pulled my plate toward him when I was too full to eat more. He didn"t speak much to me, other than to gripe about me not being excited enough about the trip.

I kept my head down and hands twisted in my lap. I didn"t want to spend the night with him.

"What did you say?" Uncle Carlos, now close to belligerent drunk, glared at me. My head shot up. Had I said that aloud?

"I"m not comfortable with you like this."

"Like what, Mija?" He laughed dryly. "Drunk? When you get older, I bet your tone will change. Waitress, another beer, please!"

"I"d like to go upstairs and sleep now," I said.

"So early? I"m not ready to sleep. You go up and be in your pajamas when I get up there." He dug the key card out of his pocket, and I slid out of the booth and took the elevator up to the room. I locked it behind me and went to the bed. I stared at his bag. My hands shook as I unzipped it. There were clothes and a black box inside and nothing else. I turned the box over. What were condoms? I read the instructions, and I dropped it with a gasp.

I knew it, but I didn"t want to believe it. He was sick. He was twisted. As reality hit me, I crumpled to the floor and pulled my knees in, sobbing with fear and anger. There was no childhood home. I would be getting no new memories of my dad. I"d been taken here to, to... no.

I wiped my tears, stood, and braced myself. I grabbed my backpack and camera and left the room, taking the emergency stairs. I left the hotel on foot and vowed never to step inside a vile place like that. How many other people my age or younger were being taken to hotels to be harmed?

I walked until I found a fast food place that was still open and asked to use their phone. I didn"t have many people I could trust, so when I was handed the phone, I froze. Risking him hanging up on me, I called my brother.

"Mattias?" My voice cracked when he answered.

"Domino? Where are you? Mom said you were at a sleepover."

"I"m—I don"t know. I want to come home." I sniffled.

"Hey, don"t cry. We"ll come get you. Where are you? I"ll wake Mom up."

"Don"t!" I panicked and asked the front counter person where I was and then told Mattias. "Please, don"t tell Mom. Just come get me."

He didn"t speak for a long time but then agreed. "Sure. Okay, whatever. I"ll find a way to get you home. Just stay there and don"t talk to anyone about any of this."

I hung up, promising I wouldn"t. I wouldn"t tell a single soul about this night ever.