Chapter 17 | The captors

Cara knew she shouldn't have left Dominic with his father like that. Not in that state. So much could go wrong, so many of her dreams could be destroyed.

She wasn't driving too safe, not quite focused. Her heart thrummed, hands clammy against the steering wheel. If he did it, if he killed him, he'd go to jail or a mental institution. They wouldn't be able to get married nor would she get her hands on his wealth.

She'd have to marry Lou instead.

Beside her, Lou was crying. He had a cloth pressed to the wound under his eye. Only eight years old. She was eighteen. Too old for him. If worse came to worst, she'd have to wait until he'd grow more and—

No, she thought to herself. No no no. Dom wouldn't kill. She'd made him promise. None of that was going to happen. Her plan was going to work implicitly like she'd wanted and she wouldn't have to alter anything.

From the corner of her eye, she caught blood trickle along Lou's cheek. She reached over whilst keeping a hand on the steering wheel and pressed the cloth harder onto the wound. Lou let out a muffled cry.

"The blood won't stop if you don't press, Loubear," she said.

"Don't call me that!"

"Fine. Lou. Luciano. Whatever you like. Don't worry, your brother's coming." She focused on the road again. "He better come back without killing anyone."

When they made it to the beach house Dom had told her to go to, she parked and stepped out and led Lou inside. It was George's in reality, but Dom had the keys and he'd given them to Cara because he trusted her.

Cara turned on the lights as soon as she closed the front door behind. She let her bag slide down her arm and drop onto the armchair, eyes roving around the pale beige walls. Lou followed her in but quickly clambered onto the couch by the window, sitting with his front pressed against the backrest, longingly staring outside.

"Did you guys ever come here, Lou?"

Lou was busy waiting and bleeding. Dom had told him they used to come here before their mom died. He'd been a baby, so he couldn't remember. "No."

Cara eyed the bedroom. She'd snoop around later. She ambled back closer to Lou and sat on the couch beside him, patting the cushion. "Sit straight, let me clean the wound, yeah?"

Lou shrugged one shoulder. "No. I want Dom to clean it. Not you."

"Lou, it'll get infected—"

"I want Dom."

Cara sighed and rolled her eyes. One word from Dom years ago, and Lou still couldn't stand her. He was only a rebel when his brother wasn't around. If she needed to control Lou, she'd have to do it through Dominic.

"Lou, I said sit straight and let me clean the damn thing."

Lou turned just enough to frown at her sharply. "Don't talk to me like that."

"Oh wow, watch the attitude,
mister."

"Señor, not mister," Lou corrected. Just as he was about to ignore her, she gripped his arm and forced him in place. He finally stayed still, scoffing at her.

She reached over for her bag and pulled out cottons and alcohol. She'd stopped at a pharmacy because both Lou and Dom had looked like they'd been to hell and out. Mostly Dom.

She caught the back of his head and patted the wound with the alcohol. It burnt, making Lou flinch and whimper. But then he settled, when he heard the roar of an engine outside, when he realized Dom had come. Before he could race to the door, Cara gripped his arm, forcing him in place, and quickly plastered the wound.

Lou let her only because he wanted to get it over with then jumped off the couch. She followed Lou to the door. As soon as she swung it open, she found Dom standing there, a mishap of torn shirt and dried blood coating his cut face.

Dom didn't acknowledge her. He looked at Lou first like he was the priority, not her. He eyed the plastered wound. Crouching down beside Lou, Dom brushed his fringe aside and mumbled, "Oh, señor, I'm so sorry. I made him pay for what he did—"

Cara urgently cut him off. "Dom." She caught his arm and forced him up, staring straight into his eyes. "What did you do? Tell me you didn't kill him, tell me you didn't."

The edge of Dom's mouth pulled up. He didn't speak for a second. Cara felt her blood boil. She caught his other arm and leant closer, almost bumping their noses. "Dom," she repeated. "What did you do!"

"I did it for us."

"Oh- oh my God." Cara pulled back, hand quickly resting against her forehead, breath momentarily faster. She narrowed her eyes, jabbing a finger in his chest. "I told you, I told you don't do it, dumbass." Plan, plan, plan. All gone to waste. "You ruined everything—"

"I didn't kill him, calm down."

Cara froze, lips slightly parted. Silence. She stared. Her hand fell down to her side again. She tilted her head. "Then what did you do?"

"I made him write his will. Now all his money and property will be mine and Lou's when he dies. He won't give shit to that woman if they get married."

"Oh." Cara slowly relaxed. Then grinned. Without warning, she cupped Dom's face between her palms, heedless of the cuts and wounds, and leant in to kiss his cheek. "You're a genius," she quickly rambled, lips crashing against his skin repeatedly. "This is why I love you, this is why I'll never leave you."

Dom smiled against her. "He's been threatening me that he'll give all his shit to anyone just to spite me. I had to do it today before I lose everything."

Cara pulled back, hands still on his shoulders. She looked up at him. Her smile slowly dropped. Threat. She remembered that George had threatened that he'd throw Dom in an asylum if he made one more mistake. "Dom..." Her voice was low. Her plan seemed precarious right now. She needed to make sure he wouldn't get thrown anywhere because she needed him as much as she needed his money.

Dom frowned. "What?"

"You shouldn't have done it like that. You shouldn't have hit your dad like you did. He said he's gonna throw you in an asylum, and- and then..." My plan will go to waste. "We won't be able to get married, we won't live our dream."

Dom didn't know what to answer. She was right. He opened his mouth to speak but was distracted when Lou tugged at his trousers.

"Dom," Lou whined. He didn't say anything else like he'd only wanted his attention. He just leant forwards, resting against Dom's side. Safety. He felt safe with his brother.

Dom pulled away from Cara then leant down and held Lou's hand. He looked at Cara. "I'm gonna let him sleep, then we'll talk."

Cara nodded. She followed him to the bedroom. Dom sprawled down beside Lou, lulling him to sleep. She took the time to look around the room. On the wooden dresser was set a small box. When she opened it, she found old photographs, yellowing and curled at the edges.

Dom was still helping Lou sleep behind Cara. She focused on the pictures again, fingers fiddling with the corners before finally gripping one and bringing it up.

Dom with baby Lou in his arms and their mom beside him. Years ago. Her finger absently stroked over Lou's face. He'd been a baby. Baby. The one she'd never have. Unless her plan worked.

Cara gasped inaudibly when she realized Dominic had crept up behind her. He asked, "What're you doing?"

Cara shook her head. "Nothing." She showed him the picture then peeked at Lou behind. He'd fallen asleep. "Isn't it weird that Lou looks Spanish but you look American?"

"I mean, come on, I'm tan too. Not that much of a difference between us. He just looks more like mom and I look more like dad." He made a face then added, "Unfortunately."

Cara didn't say anything for a moment. "You're nothing like your dad." Sometimes, she felt bad for him. For what she was doing to him or what she'd already done to him. She focused on his face, on his wounded cheekbone. "Come on, let's clean you up."

Dominic followed her to the living room. Besides the low buzz of the lamp above them, everything was deathly silent. They sat on the couch, facing each other.

Cara pulled her legs beneath her. She reached the cotton to his face, slowly pressing it on the wounds. She was looking at him but not looking at him. Distant.

When he hissed, she widened her eyes, landing back onto reality. "I'm sorry." She tried to smile. And then she genuinely did, when she remembered that she was close to achieving everything she'd been dreaming of. She raised a brow whilst skillfully avoiding eye-contact. "Are you thinking of when we're gonna get married?"

"I don't know when yet."

"When your dad dies. That way he can't bother us." Her words sounded definitive, marked long ago. "You said it, he won't live long." Cara had been staring at his cheekbone but now at Dom's eyes. "It's gonna be a celebration. We'll dance and laugh while he crumples in his grave. We'll spite him for everything he did to you."

"And Lou. He hurt Lou as much as he hurt me."

Cara's hand stopped pressuring wound. The smile turned into a frown. "That's not true. Nothing happened to Lou. You took all the pain for him. You killed yourself to protect him. Like you did today."

"But I couldn't protect him enough, Cara. He had to watch everything happen. He threw himself under the belt just so he'd save me."

"But now that you made your dad pay for that, who's gonna pay the price? Who's gonna get thrown in an asylum? You or Lou?"

"...me."

Cara raised a brow, angling her chin down in a shaming mannerism. "See? You're the one who's getting destroyed. Not Lou. Lou's fine." When she saw the frown on his face, she smiled. The conniving one, the one that implied deceit and manipulation. "But I won't let it happen." She cupped his cheek, fingers splaying out along the side of his neck. "I won't let your dad do that to you. Trust me, I've got you, Dom."

Dom just smiled slightly. Barely. He said, "I can't wait until he dies and we can get married and have our little family."

At the mention of family, Cara's expression faltered. Did he know what kind of family she had in mind? Did he know that she couldn't have a baby?

Of course he didn't. She decided to confess even though it terrified her. "Dom... I need to tell you something."

Dom nodded. Cara slowly dropped the cotton and sighed, gathering the courage. "I... When we get married, we won't be able to have babies. I mean, not normally at least."

Dom tilted his head. He understood, partly, but he wasn't sure. He pushed, "What do you mean?"

"I'm infertile, Dom, that's what I mean. I can't have a baby."

Dom stared. She stared back but couldn't last long. Her gaze dropped. This was the only topic to ever make her feel insecure, inferior. She'd wake up every morning waiting for her period, checking if she'd bled. Years, and it didn't happen. She knew it wouldn't. Her doctor had told her. Still, she cried every time she'd wake up to disappointment.

Cara laughed, still unable to hold Dom's eyes. "Now you're gonna leave me, right? Now you're just gonna find a normal—"

"No." The word was enough but Dom shook his head on top. He repeated urgently, "No. Of course I won't leave you. Why would I? I don't love you because I want a baby from you. I just... love you, uh, the way you are."

When he failed to explain why he loved her, he knew. This wasn't love—it was attachment. Familiarity. Clinging to someone who'd helped him with his anger, clinging to her presence and touch and tranquilizers. Because now, especially after how he'd relapsed when she'd traveled, he knew he couldn't live without her. He needed her.

It was an unspoken commitment, a contract they'd both signed, one unintentionally but the other fully aware.

Cara gradually smiled. "You're okay with not having babies?" She wasn't okay with it herself, but that was why her plan existed. What she just said was a prod, an attempt at getting the words out of him.

"That's not a problem. We can adopt kids. It's not the end of the world."

"You mean babies."

He didn't get why she insisted on that. "Yeah."

It was so easy for Cara to have him initiate this, to have herself seem the innocent and him the creator. "We'll adopt our babies and we'll live far away. Somewhere no one can hurt us. Alone, just our little family."

The passion in her wide eyes was almost startling. Dom just smiled and nodded. Live far away. Alone. He thought of it as out of country, as away from their parents and the judgmental people they'd always been surrounded with.

He didn't know she meant it literally. At least not yet.

Cara was about to talk when they heard a small cry echo. Dominic tensed and snapped his head in the sound's direction. From the bedroom. "Lou," he mumbled, quickly pushing himself to his feet.

Before he could move, Cara grabbed his wrist and said, "Just leave him." She wanted to continue talking to him about their future, sew the idea in his head. "There's nothing wrong with him. Probably just a nightmare. Stay here—"

"I'm not about to leave him like that." Dom jerked away and hurried to the bedroom.

Cara followed him there, stood at the threshold, leaning against it. She watched Dom sit beside Lou and try to wake him up as he tossed helplessly in his bed.

Cara fidgeted. "Dom, just leave him. Let's continue talking, we need—"

"Shh." Dom subconsciously narrowed his eyes at her. "We'll talk later. Can't you see what I'm doing?" Beside him, Lou pressed his face into his ribs, barely awake, cheeks flushed, stuck somewhere in the seams between nightmares and reality. The wound had begun bleeding again.

Cara didn't like that Dom was ignoring her for Lou. "Can you like take care of yourself for a second? Stop worrying about Lou. You're the one who's half dead but he's the one crying. He just has one damn wound. You have tons and we haven't even finished cleaning them."

"It's not about the wound, Cara, it's about what he had to witness." Dom didn't even listen to her anymore. He just kept Lou close to him, one arm around him.

Cara stared. She loved Lou. She really did. Sort of. He was sweet (even though he had an attitude she wasn't particularly a fan of) and young and oblivious. She had a soft spot for him because he was a kid. But he was starting to grow. Starting to come in her way, even if unintentionally.

That was a problem.

Lou held onto Dom's shirt with one hand, tilting his head just enough so he could subtly glance at Cara. Their gazes aligned across the room. Lou grimaced then hid his face again. She gave him weird vibes.

"Dominic, come on. Let's finish cleaning your—"

Dominic frowned. "Cara, what the hell? Why're you insisting? I won't die if I don't get them cleaned right now. Give me a second until Lou gets better."

Cara just nodded defeatedly. She realized that Dominic and Lou were strong together. Too bad she'd have to break that.

*_*_*_*_*

boring chap but it had some super important topics (and foreshadowing) brought up! thoughts on what's going on?

also omg been editing TB and Aaron's breakdown (chap 33) is the REAL cringe. it's so unrealistic and badly written, i edited it but i'm still not satisfied bc it's just a shitty mess. goshh sometimes i feel like deleting teenage baby altogether lmaooo jk i wouldn't actually do that.

Thank you for reading/commenting/voting <33