Point of no return
There are rare moments in life when everything goes in slow motion, I imagine this is a way for our brain to process the trauma or the large amount of emotions we feel.
This is one of those moments.
When I approached that little girl screaming in despair, I didn't imagine that I would find her kneeling over Dominic's almost unconscious body.
I don't remember sending orders to my brain before acting.
The next thing I know, I'm kneeling beside him, pressing on a wound in his abdomen that is bleeding profusely.
My fingers are wet with blood when I call my brothers.
“Oh Elena, you’re late” Vicente scolds me.
The girl cries behind me now next to her dead mother's body.
“I’m at a convenience station near the first highway exit,” my voice is cold and controlled, which doesn’t reflect the desperation I feel.
"What happened?" he asks me calmly.
“A robbery, Dominic was shot and is bleeding profusely” I respond and look at Dominic who is looking at me as if he is dreaming.
“We’ll be there in ten minutes,” he says, but I interrupt him.
“We don’t have ten minutes” I say and for the first time my voice breaks.
I hear movement on the other end of the line, the boys are arriving.
I put the phone on speaker and leave it next to Dominic's body, he is pale and his shirt is soaked in blood.
I take off my shirt and use it to put pressure on the wound, he groans in pain.
“You're going to be fine,” I say in a firm tone.
“Of course I will, my angel is with me” he says softly with a smile.
I see movement out of the corner of my eye and quickly point the gun at whoever it is.
One of the robbers is alive, the same one who shot Dominic.
Then a realization dawns on me.
Damn universe.
I understand why my brothers did what they did, what we are willing to do when a feeling of hate and fear passes through us, threatening those we love.
“Hey, little girl,” I call out to the sobbing girl.
She looks at me and I call her here.
“I need you to do me a favor, put your hand here and press with all your strength” I ask her, indicating Dominic's wound.
She looks at me scared and I smile softly at her.
“I'm going to take care of that man, so he doesn't hurt any of us” I tell her and I see fire burning in her eyes.
She can't be more than ten years old, but I see within her the desire for revenge.
"What is your name?" I ask as she replaces my hands.
“Melissa,” she responds huskily.
“My name is Elena, and no matter what, don't take your hand away until I say okay, you're saving his life,” I say, keeping my tone soft.
She looks at me with wide eyes and then focuses on Dominic, who also saved her earlier.
I get up from the floor and walk towards the thief who is crawling to the door. He has a wound on his leg and another on his shoulder.
“Come on, I’ll help you,” I tell him.
If I'm going to kill the bastard, it won't be in front of the girl. She doesn't need another trauma.
I hear my brothers calling me from afar, but I ignore them.
It's easy to become a monster, it's as quick as blinking your eyes.
Your emotions and desires throw you into a hole along with your own demons, until you can no longer tell who is who.
Well, right now I'm this bastard's executioner.
I drag him by his injured leg to the store entrance.
The owner just looks at me and turns his face away indicating that he won't stop me. I knew my choice.
The thief struggles, but I step on his leg and he screams in pain.
“My name is Dennis and I’m a person,” he says, trying to move me, trying to find my human side.
“Dênis, that woman also had a name and a daughter” I shout at him “My boyfriend also has a name and yet you shot them both”.
He cries, the bastard cries as if he's going to change something.
“I’m sorry,” he says desperately.
I press my foot even harder on his injured leg.
“I also have a name and I want you to remember it before you die” I say and unlock the gun “My name is Elena”.
I shoot him twice in the chest and once in the forehead.
The echo of the shot resonates in my ear, while that feeling of hatred remains.
But I don't feel remorse, in fact I feel that he died too quickly, that he didn't suffer like those he hurt.
I move away from his body with the adrenaline fading, my hands are still covered in blood which makes the metal slippery.
“Elena” darkly Lorenzo’s voice.
I turn around and see my brothers standing behind me looking at me.
I expect to see revulsion or judgment in their eyes, but all I find is darkness, the same darkness I'm sure I carry in mine.
“Dominic is inside, he needs to get to the hospital quickly” I say in a distant tone of voice.
Matteo and Nicco run into the store while Lorenzo and the others stay with me.
Giovanni is the one who approaches first, he slowly raises his hands to show me what he is doing.
Gently he removes the hair that is stuck to my forehead, I know he is looking for injuries.
“I’ll put your gun away,” he says before taking it from my hands.
Matteo and Nicco leave the store carrying the unconscious Dominic, Melissa follows close behind, still holding my blood-stained blouse.
I move away from Giovanni and kneel in front of her.
“You did great” I say in a calm voice.
She looks away from me to my brothers and then to the dead man's body.
I hold her chin and make her look at me.
“Do you have any relatives we can call?” I ask looking into his fear filled eyes.
“My aunt, we were going to her house” she whispers before tears fall from her eyes.
“I'll stay with her until her aunt arrives” says Luca, but the girl takes a step back.
"Do you trust me?" I ask and she shakes her head "He's my brother and he's as brave as me, I guarantee she'll take care of you until your aunt arrives."
Melissa looks at me and then looks suspiciously at Luca.
I get closer to his ear then.
“You can take whatever you want from the store until your aunt shows up, my brother will pay for it” she convinces herself with that.
I know it will only be a temporary joy until she remembers what happened and that she won't see her mother again.
“Elena we have to go” Vicente says and I say goodbye to Melissa.
I get in the car and realize that Matteo and Nicco have already moved on with Dominic.
I sit between Giovanni and Sandro, while Lorenzo and Vicente go in front.
My hands shake with the adrenaline that has disappeared from my blood, I don't allow myself to think about what just happened.
All that matters now is Dominic getting well.
And that at some point I can get out of the hole that I didn't care about before I entered.