Rule 49 - Domino

Icrouched on the pile of ashes and ran my hand through the black dust. I'd just been let out of the hospital and brought back to the park. Something caught against my skin. I dug it out and found a single photograph. I stood and brought it up to the sun.

Tears stung my eyes as I took it all in. It was just a picture, but it was more than that. This single photo, charred at the edges, was a symbol of everything I"d lost. I blinked my emotions back, stuffed the photo in my hoodie pocket, and went back to kicking and digging through the remains of my cabin. Something shone in the sun, and I picked it up. It was thick plastic. I had to brush the ash off before reading it, and once I did, I gagged. It was one of Swayze"s gross condoms, still in its wrapper. The foil hadn"t melted. I turned away and tossed it on the ground in disgust.

Boots stepped into my vision and I looked up to see Swayze, of all people. I rolled my eyes and shook my head.

"I can"t believe I ever liked you."

"Can"t believe you liked me or that you let me inside you?" He snickered.

"Both. I was perfectly fine going about my life solo without you or Koi. I don"t know what I was thinking." I turned away, but he snatched my shoulder and spun me back to him. He pulled me to his chest and squeezed my ass.

"You liked it. In fact, I have picture proof of you enjoying all the things we did together."

I furrowed my brow, but then it flashed in my memory. That night on the Ferris wheel. He"d taken my photo. My eyes drifted up to his face, and the grin on his face confirmed it.

"Where"s my camera?" I demanded.

"Why would I give it to you after you accused me and Koi of being murderers?" He let me go, and I stumbled back. "You"re not going to find much in the rubble. I found the best thing last night." His hand slid down and unhooked the handcuffs from his belt, waving them in the air. "You never know when these could come in handy."

Fear traveled down my chest, settling in my stomach. I licked my lips and stepped back slowly.

"Why did you do it?" I blurted.

He cocked his head. I studied his intensely handsome face. Those brooding eyes, his chiseled jaw, the dark hair I tugged in moments of pure passion, all of it, a farce. A beautiful mask.

"Did what?" he asked.

"Try to kill me. And the others. I know you did it. Why did you kill them?"

"I didn"t try to kill you." He brushed past the other accusations, focusing on the first.

"But you did kill the others?" I raised an eyebrow. I didn"t want it to be true. I pleaded for him to tell me no, that it wasn"t true. My gut was wrong, but he didn"t. instead he repeated himself.

"I didn"t try to kill you."

I bit down on my lower lip until I tasted blood."You"re a bastard." I spat, blood dripping from my mouth. I wiped it away with my sleeve. Any trace of amusement fell from his face and was replaced with anger.

"A bastard who loves you. Those people wanted you dead. If they hadn"t been stopped, then they would have. Do you not remember Ruth? You were supposed to be in her place. Or Blane, he had plans to snap your neck the first chance he could catch you alone. Or Chitra, she was going to sell you out for money."

"Chitra?" My hands went to my mouth.

He sighed and rolled his eyes to the sky. "No one told you. They found her the night of the fire."

My chin trembled, and I took another step back. I looked around, trying to figure out an exit plan. It didn"t matter which direction I ran; Swayze was faster. I couldn"t run.

"Domino…" Swayze hurried over, cupping my face as tears streamed down my cheeks. "My perfect little doll. Don"t do this. I love you, even after what you said."

"You"re a killer," I whispered, again, pleading for him to tell me otherwise.

"I"m going to do whatever I need to do to keep you safe. I"m not the monster."

I shoved him away. "Maybe you don"t see it that way, but I do. Why don"t you go tell your followers all about it? I"m sure they"ll love seeing your murderous tendencies way more than I do."

I turned, despite knowing how dangerous it was to have my back to him, and started walking away, not sure where I was going as the place I"d been living in was burned to the ground.

"I won"t let anyone hurt you!" he called to me.

"Too late!" I stuck my hand in the air and flipped him off. "I"ve been hurt by far more people than you can ever imagine, Swayze." I turned, now a distance away. "I"m not sure what game is being played here, but you killed off the wrong players. Ruth, Blane, and Chitra were just pawns. Do you want to get the real monsters, the ones that are controlling everything? Start with the ones at the top of the hill." I turned my head toward the trees, where on the other side, a mile away, was my family"s mansion. Where Uncle Carlos and Monica sat, safe and protected.

"Just say the word," he said, his voice low and deep. There were twenty feet between us, but I could hear the growl in his throat. His hands fisted at his sides. The handcuffs in his hand shook.

"Swayze," I shifted my weight. "Go to hell and take everyone else who"s hurt me with you."

I left, knowing he wasn"t going to follow. I was sure someone saw me on one of the many park security cameras, but I no longer cared. I found Georgie with Mitchell and Mattias and thanked them for watching him while I"d been in the hospital.

"Sure, you okay? I heard about your breakup." Mitchell eyed me with an exaggerated frown.

"I"ll be fine. I didn"t need them before, and I don"t need them now. Thanks," I snapped and stormed off. I hated gossips. When the sun set, I snuck into the med office and locked the door. I looked around the room. There was a bed, a sink, and a mini fridge. It was better than ninety percent of the shelters I"d had in the last seven years; it"d work for now. I laid down, pulling the stiff, scratchy hospital blanket over my body and tried to sleep. I"d just closed my eyes when there was a knock on my door.

"It"s me," Marisol said from the other side. "I"m not going to murder you!" she added when I didn"t answer right away. I got up and let her in.

"What?" I asked. "Here to confess about all the people you asked to kill me?"

"No, that"s too long a list," she shot back. She plopped down on my bed and stared at the wall. "When you were gone, I envied you for getting out of this hell hole. That was why you left, wasn"t it? Uncle Carlos?" She looked up at me, her eyes shiny. I nodded.

"I knew it. He came to my room a week after you ran away. He raped me. Did he rape you?"

I swallowed the lump in my throat. "No. Marisol, I"m so sorry. I ran before he could."

She stood abruptly. "But you knew. You knew what he wanted and didn"t tell anyone. You wanted him to touch me. To rape me, over and over again until I was nothing. Until I hated myself and was willing to give my body to the first boy who took interest. You know I gave Swayze that ring just to pretend I was normal? That it was a real boy who liked me and not my disgusting uncle who had taken my virginity? And you just ran like a fucking coward." All the while she was screaming, she was pushing me into the corner, trapping me.

"I"m so sorry. I didn"t know."

"Bullshit!" she spat. "And that"s exactly why you don"t deserve any of this. My spirit died when you left, and now I think it"s your turn." She backed away, allowing me to breathe. "I"m not going to kill you tonight, but if it"s me or you, I"ll trip you to save myself. Like you did to me." She left then, leaving me to my dark thoughts.

I tossed and turned all night, trying to accept my role in her ruined childhood. It hadn"t been me to touch her, but I could have saved her had I stayed.

In the morning, I took Georgie for his morning walk and decided to go to my family"s house to try to talk to Marisol, but when I stepped through the gates and onto the property, I screamed. Hanging from the third-floor balcony were the bodies of Uncle Carlos and Monica, nooses around their necks, completely naked, with a slice through their bellies, and their entrails spilling to the ground.

Dead.