Page 38 of Gemini
I carefully maneuvered around toward the dresser. I sat on the edge of the bed then tried to stand. My legs shook, the pain burning the worst up my left side. I wanted to cry again but instead I stumbled over to the dresser and grabbed my bag. With gritted teeth, I hobbled back to the bed and plopped down with a groan.
Rummaging through my bag, I found my phone and turned it on. I let out a sigh of relief when I saw it was only seven in the morning. Quickly, I typed out a message to Jana, letting her know I wasn’t going to be in due to a medical emergency. With that out of the way, I checked my other messages. Nothing from family thankfully, and only a few posts from friends.
I dropped my phone and sank back on the bed. I knew I should get up, look for the twins. But the pain was making it difficult for me to want to move. I lifted my hands and pressed at my stomach then my ribs, flinching when I felt a dull pain. I touched my face too and noticed a slight swelling. I could imagine how bad the bruises must look.
I closed my eyes and started to doze off again. In the distance, I thought I heard a door open and close but nothingmore. I didn’t think I slept much longer but when I woke again, feeling much better than before, I checked my phone and saw it read ten in the morning.
I forced myself to sit up again, realizing how dry my mouth was. I looked around and noticed someone had come in and turned the light off next to me. My bag was also back on the dresser along with my leg braces and a pair of clothes.
There was something else I noticed leaning against one wall—a pair of crutches.
Looking at them made my throat tighten. I didn’t want to use them but I also knew I probably didn’t have a choice.
On shaky limbs, I slid down to the edge of the bed. I let the towel still loosely wrapped around me drop, then carefully righted myself. I went to the dresser first and grabbed my leg braces and the clothes. Sitting back on the bed, I put on the braces, wincing as I tightened them. Making sure they were secure, I checked the clothes next. It was a pair of black gym shorts and a T-shirt with the sleeves cut. On the front, it said HEALTH in big red letters with a picture of a rat. I realized it was a band shirt.
The clothes were too big on me, but thankfully the pants had ties and could be rolled up while the shirt covered my chest without issue. It was better than nothing and they were at least comfortable.
Hesitantly, I grabbed for the crutches. My left leg was much worse than my right in terms of pain so I opted to use my right as the dominant leg. Once I was able to stay standing and use the crutches for leverage, I slowly made my way out of the bedroom and down the hall.
The living room and kitchen were empty. I headed to the bathroom and used it, making sure to avoid the mirror, still not ready to see how bad I looked. After, I went searching, noticing another room next to the bathroom. I knocked but no oneanswered. Curious, I opened the door and revealed a darkened room like the bedroom. At the far end was a large computer station. I recognized it right away. Dom’s computer was set up almost exactly like I remembered it from back at the church, his laptop sitting right next to the desktop.
Light from the monitors penetrated the dark, a low hum coming from the motherboard. I hobbled inside and stared at the desktop monitor. On the screen was a set of video feeds. Different places I didn’t recognize save two. One was a view of the entrance to my work. The other was a clear shot of my apartment.
I could only guess how long Dom had been watching me. Was it since graduation? Or was it even further back? I had only been in the apartment a short time, but from the no name texts I received, he could’ve been keeping tabs way before I got to the city.
I didn’t know how to feel about it. It felt kind of violating. But somehow it also made me feel…oddly safe. Maybe because I knew he was looking out for me.
Still, in the back of my head a warning signal went off. He was a gang member. So was his twin. They were gang leaders capable of incredible violence. I’d seen the way they had looked after they’d returned from Severfalls. I saw the blood. I let them in thinking I was safe once…only for that to be shoved back in my face. Like getting close to a friendly looking dog, only for it to snap and bite you. They were taking care of me now and I was grateful. But how long before Dom grew cold? Or Leslie snapped? Just like that night he took Eve.
I wanted to believe I could trust them. But that trust was still severed ever since that night. I was nothing like them. They were a different breed of human. Their traumas different than mine. Even Cassidy had said it clearly back at the church. I wasn’t one of them.
It had only been a matter of wrong place and wrong time that I had even ended up in their presence. It was only because of Eve that I had to keep the secret of their existence. Those kids who had gone through unspeakable horrors, now all grown up and…wild…untamed…and unstable.
Ignoring the sinking feeling in my gut, I left the room, shutting the door behind me. I went back to the kitchen and grabbed a water, drinking it down until my mouth was no longer dry. I grabbed my phone then sank down on the couch in the living room, groaning as I did.
I saw Jana got back to me, telling me to take all the time I needed and not worry. Clearly neither she, nor anyone else had seen me get jumped and thank fuck for that, I didn’t think my ego could stand it.
As I was looking through the last set of messages, a news alert popped up on my phone.
Bar fire on Cass Ave. Local hangout destroyed.
My brows furrowed. The sinking feeling deepened considerably. I tapped on the news feed and brought up the article. As I scanned through it quickly, the blood rushed from my face.
No. No he fucking didnot.
I pulled up the local news video connected to the article.
“The fire started at a local bar called The Locust a couple hours before closing,” began the reporter. “Local officials are calling it a gang related attack as several people were severely injured, some by the fire, others by gunshot or knife wounds. At least two are confirmed dead. The main victims were part of the infamous gang known in the city as the Brotherhood of Serpents once called the Serpent Kings. They were said tofrequent the bar often, the owner rumored to be in connection with them. No one knows who started the fire and there are no details yet on who the assailants were.”
Several images of the bar showed a pile of burned rubble. Smoke wafted up into the early morning sky while firefighters on the scene made sure the fire was out for good. Another set of images showed the bar up in flames from earlier in the night when they were trying to put it out.
The memory of Leslie’s words last night came back to me. He’d stormed out and Dom hadn’t stopped him. I’d been in such utter shock last night that it hadn’t fully registered to me how serious he was about what he was going to do. He had said he was going to obliterate someone but I hadn’t believed he actually meant it. Didn’t think he’d go through with it. Not to this magnitude.
My stomach twisted, my hand covering my mouth as I cursed in disbelief. “What the fuck.”
As I sat there staring at the images, the door to the apartment opened. Dom stepped inside carrying a brown bag and a couple drinks in a cup holder. He kicked the door closed with the back of his boot as he came toward me. Setting the bag and drinks down on the coffee table before me, we locked eyes and the little smirk he had for me in greeting dropped, his expression now full of concern. He sat down next to me and signed, “What’s wrong?”
I shook my head, swallowing hard. His dark eyes skimmed my face. His hand rose, fingers brushing against my cheek. “Is it the pain?” he signed with his other hand.
