Healing point
You know those cartoons where there's a little angel and a little devil whispering in your ear?
Well, that's exactly what's happening.
My reason is fighting against my anger.
I know they did that to get rid of the Sinclairs, but it was still wrong.
At the same time, I remember that I've made as many mistakes as they have; I've killed people.
Right now I'm sitting on the stairs leading to the back of Dominic's house. He's in a business meeting, and I don't want to interrupt.
His mother arrived a few minutes ago; I can hear her humming in the kitchen.
His words still make me think about what to do.
I let out a grunt of frustration and then stand up.
I take my phone out of my pants pocket and call Angelo.
"Hi Elena," he answers with an anxious voice.
I feel bad for leaving them like this, but they had to understand that they hurt me.
"Are you at the mansion?" I ask in a cold voice.
“Yes, we all are, in reality,” he says and pauses. “We wanted to be here when you got back.”
I remain silent for a while.
“Did you really release them?” I ask quietly.
“Yes, sister, and we’re very sorry for doing it without thinking about how you would feel,” he says, guilt in his tone.
“I’ll be there to talk at dinner,” I say, knowing I have to resolve this.
Hiding won’t make the problem disappear, or quiet the voices in my mind.
“That’s great to hear, we’ll be waiting for you,” he says, and I hang up the phone.
I stare at the sky for a few seconds before hearing Lizandra’s voice.
“You made the right decision,” she says, making it clear she was listening to my conversation, but I don’t care.
“I don’t know exactly what I’ll do when I get there,” I say honestly. “They were wrong, you have to show that it hurt you, but you can’t let it push you away from them,” she says simply.
“I love them,” I say softly, “But I don’t want to get hurt again.”
“Oh, darling, love can hurt sometimes, but what makes it beautiful is its ability to heal,” she says, holding my hands. “Don’t hide inside yourself, Elena.”
She says, and that feeling of security returns.
Lizandra hugs me tenderly as if she feels the same as I do.
“Thank you,” I say, my voice breaking.
I came to this house looking to forget my family and found a point of healing and love coming from where I least expected it.
Someone clears their throat, and I separate from Lizandra.
I see Dominic staring at us with amusement.
“You didn’t even invite me,” he says with feigned hurt.
We laugh at him and simply walk to the kitchen, leaving him there.
I help Lizandra prepare an afternoon snack and we talk about life in Russia and how she met Dominic's father.
The story isn't exactly romantic, but his father saved Lizandra from being sold to a brothel; he actually bought her, but ended up falling in love.
Lizandra then transformed an unscrupulous man into someone with character and a sense of justice.
"Lucky Elena won't have so much work," Dominic comments, and my cheeks flush red.
My God, hide me in a hole.
"Don't embarrass the girl," Lizandra reprimands him, but he doesn't care.
"I think we should go, dinner starts in two hours," I say, looking at my watch.
I get up from the table and hug Lizandra.
"Thank you for everything," my words carry more meaning than she imagines.
"If you need anything, you can come see me, I'll be here," she says kindly. Dominic smiles at our interaction; he seems pleased that I got along well with his mother.
We got in the car and as soon as we crossed the gate I hit his arm.
“You can’t skip class like that in front of your mother,” I scolded him, and he just laughed at me.
“But nothing I said is a lie,” he said, smiling before becoming serious. “I’m going to marry you, and that’s inevitable.”
His tone was serious; he was convinced of it.
And I wasn’t going to contradict him.
“I want to see you say that in front of my brothers,” I said challengingly.
“Don’t doubt me, angel, it’s already destined,” he stated.
I stared at him because it really wasn’t a joke; this boy came into my life certain that he would be my husband.
That he would love me and have me.
We were near the city when the car beeped, indicating that it was almost out of fuel.
Dominic quickly pulled off the highway towards the nearest gas station.
“I’ll be right back,” he said, but then turned around before leaving. “Need anything from the convenience store?” “Some water,” I ask, and he nods before leaving.
Dominic leaves the pump filling the car's tank and goes into the store to get my water.
I watch a couple leave the store and minutes later two men enter.
I find it a little strange that they stopped far from the store entrance, even if they didn't fill up the car.
I follow the movement until I see one of them pointing a gun at the convenience store owner.
Shit.
I open the car's glove box and luckily Dominic keeps a spare gun with him.
I get out of the car, run to the corner of the store, crouch near the wall and peek through the window.
I see Dominic on the floor protecting a little girl who is crying for her mother who is lying on the floor with blood around her. Dead.
Adrenaline surges through my veins and I need to decide what to do.
If I shoot the man who is threatening the owner, the other one will kill Dominic and the child.
And the outcome could be the same in either option. Someone will die.
I'm deciding when I see a subtle signal from Dominic to me.
He indicates that he'll take care of the guy who's threatening them, so I should take care of the other one.
I take a deep breath and get up from the floor.
I hide the gun behind my back and open the convenience store door as if I'm oblivious to the situation.
"Hello, could you give me the bathroom key?" I say as soon as I enter.
The armed man stares at me; he's hiding the gun under his jacket, which gives me an advantage.
The store owner trembles just handing me the key.
"Thank you," I say, and then I point the gun and shoot the armed man in front of me.
In the back of the store, I hear two more shots before the man I killed even falls to the ground.
I sigh in relief before hearing the little girl's desperate scream.