Page 206 of Ominous: Part 1
Eli doesn’t move.
I do, taking a small step to the right, so the path toward them is clear, the island no longer in my way.
Dominic brings a fist to his eye, bowing his head as his shoulders hunch, but he’s still got one hand by Eli’s head. “She was barely a person when they found her.” He slams his fist into the wall, groaning as he does. He immediately drops both hands, seemingly oblivious to the pain, or numb, maybe, and stares at Eli, Dom’s chest heaving, snot running from his nose. “Did you know something?” He rubs his face with both hands, up and down, fast, like he might scrub free the viewing of Winslet’s remains. “Can you just tell me? She was right behind me, all this time.She was fucking right there.I don’t wanna play this game anymore. Did you know something, man? I just need to know if you… if you saw anything or… or remember it. Even if you didn’t then, maybe something clicked,” he snaps his fingers beside his own head, “in thatfucked upbrain of yours—”
“Hey.”
Slowly, Dom turns to stare at me. I lower my cup down, setting it on the island. I take one step, and notice Eli is fixated on Dom’s neck. Or maybe he’s not even here. He could be a million miles away in that head of his. He certainly doesn’t react to anything Dom has said.
“I know you’re upset, but you don’t need to insult—”
“You need to back off, Eden.” Dom holds a finger up and points it my way. “This isn’t any of your fucking business.”
I take another step. “I understand. But I really think you should head home. Be there for your family.”
Dominic’s eyes narrow. “You have no idea what’s going on here, do you?” He’s still got that finger pointed at me.
Eli continues to be zoned out. Or in. I can’t tell.
“Dom.” My tone is clear, my words even. I keep my hands by my side, and some distance between us. “Nothing good is going to come from you being here.” I glance at Eli. He’s motionless. “Go home, comfort your mom. If Eli knew something, he’d have told the police.”
Dom doesn’t drop his finger. He takes a small step toward me. I thought Eli wasn’t here anymore, maybe reliving the last night he had with Winslet over again, or perhaps simply drowning out Dom’s words with his own thoughts. But when Dom moves, Eli’s eyes move with him. His feet, however, pushed into his white Chucks, stay firmly planted in the same spot.
“Is that what you think?” Dom asks, a snarl pulling at his lips. “You really think ifheknew something,” he talks about Eli as if he isn’t right here, and I feel my temper spike, “he’d fucking tell thecops?”He throws up his hands, then drops them by his side, the muscles in his biceps flexing with the movement as his abs contract. “He’s really got you fucked up, huh?”
I smile at Dom. My body hums with energy but I fight it, staying still. “You should go.” I nod toward the door at his back, down the hallway. “I can see you out.”
Dom presses his lips together. He takes another step. I glance at Eli. He’s keeping up with Dom’s every move while making none of his own.
“Who thefuckdo you think you are?” Dominic’s fists are clenched at his side, blood on his hand from where he wiped his nose. “I guess if you’re anything like your brother, you think you’re something, huh?” He laughs at that, a raspy sound. “Fucking pill head, did you know I stopped by the night he did H for the first time?”
I tense, my heart knocking hard against my chest. I feel unsteady on my feet.
Dom must see my confusion, and he chooses to pick at it. “Yeah, bet you didn’t know that. My buddy thought he was gonna have to drag his sorry fucking ass to a dumpster because he was fucking comatose. Skin got blue.” Dom drags his fingers over his forearm as he shivers, like my brother is disgusting. “You aren’t shit, Eden.” He jerks his thumb to Eli, still behind him, still just watching. “You aren’t shit, and he’s gonna realize it sooner or later. Your brother is trash, you’re fucking trash, you don’t get to tell me to fucking leave, you get it?”
I’m imagining a needle in Sebastian’s arm. Him stumbling home near dawn every weekend. How does he always find his way home? Why doesn’t he just get fucked up in his room? Is he trying to respect our parents? Does he want to die in his bed if he goes?
Heroin?
I never brought it up with him, after Dom and Seb confronted one another outside of the library. Now, it’s thrown in my face, and I can’t run from it. The thought makes me feel queasy, but it’s not that reaction I show Dom. It’s anger.
Trash.One of my worst fears when I started Trafalgar. That I’d be found out, and here Dom is, having already discovered me.
I step forward but leave a healthy distance between us.
I’m not trash, and I’m not stupid.
“Get the hell out.” I keep my voice low, but I don’t whisper. I nod again toward the door. “Get the hell out of here, and don’t come back until you’reinvitedback by someone who actuallyliveshere.”
“Fuck you.” Dominic closes the space between us.
Eli doesn’t move.
My heart thunders in my chest.
“Fuck.” He points his finger to me but doesn’t touch me.“You.”
I slap him, a vicious thing, my adrenaline spiked, my temper even higher. My palm stings, and I know Dom’s face does too, because his head is slanted to the side, his mouth open, like he didn’t expect it. A red handprint easily blooms on his pale face, his skin tone a shade above pure white.
