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“You’re so stupid!”

Bristol gasped like he had just called her a bad word.

“That’s right; you’re just a”—the boy smirked, clearly glad he had hit a sore spot, and said his next words so harshly that he practically spit all over her cute face—“dumb … stupid … blonde!”

Something inside of Dominic snapped when he saw Bristol’s eyes well with tears.

Grabbing the monkey bar underneath him, he swiftly swung down and let go of the bar. His feet hit the ground with a thud, causing a little puff of dust to rise as he dropped right between them.

“If blondes are so stupid, then what does that make you?” Dom asked, standing face-to-face with the bullying boy. “Or are you that freaking stupid you forgot the color of your own hair, Kayne?”

The kids who had gathered around the outside of the jungle gym, all said, “Ooooo.”

Kayne’s gold eyes that matched his hair turned into slits. “Everyone knows dumb blondes can only be girls.”

Dom crossed his arms. “Says who?”

“My dad!”

“Well, your dad is just as stupid as you if you think the color of your hair makes you dumb.”

“And your dad is crazy!” Kayne’s gold eyes glowed in the sun as he took a step forward, right up to Dom’s face, even though Dom was bigger than him. “That’s what my dad told me! He said I should stay far away from you!”

Dominic looked down at him, square in the eyes. “I guess he’s not as stupid as I thought, then.”

The blond kid stared up at him for a minute, clearly deciding on whether or not he wanted to “fight,” like the kids surrounding them were yelling. Then Kayne finally walked away with a clear promise in his eyes; next time, he wouldn’t be the one to walk away.

With a longing sigh from the students surrounding the dome, they all walked away.

Dom turned to Bristol. “You okay?” he asked.

Bristol sniffled. “Yes.”

“Sorry. Kayne picks on girls because he’s too afraid to pick on someone his own size.”

“It’s okay.” She wiped the tears off her cheeks with the back of her hand. “Boys only pick on you when they like you.”

Dominic’s brows drew together as he wondered where the heck she’d heard that. “No, it just means he’s a freakin’ bully.”

“Really? Because that’s what my momma told me.” Bristol’s bottom lip poked out. “So, it doesn’t mean Kayne likes me?”

“If he liked you, he wouldn’t have called you stupid. You wouldn’t call your friends mean names, would you?”

“No, I would never do that.”

“See,” he told her, wondering if the women around his father thought the exact same thing. However, he knew why Lucifer was mean to them, and it wasn’t because he liked them. “You shouldn’t let boys be mean to you, even if they do like you.”

Finally, with the way he had put it, she realized how stupid her mom’s words were. “Wow. So, Kayne really is just a big ol’ meanie?”

“Yes.” Dom laughed. “If he’s ever mean to you again, you just tell me and I’ll make sure he never messes with you again.”

“Thanks, Dominic.” Bristol gave him a big smile, revealing that her two front teeth hadn’t come all the way in yet. “Do you want to come play hopscotch with me?”

“Uh …” It was the first time in a long time someone had asked him to play, and if it were last Friday, he would have said yes without a second thought, but today, he found himself at a crossroad. He was just about to say yes when he heard Lucia’s final scream in his head.

I’m afraid I’ll hurt her.

“I don’t like hopscotch, but thanks anyway.” Dom grabbed the closest bar, running away from her before she offered to climb with him. It made him feel really awful to watch a sad Bristol walk away as he climbed to the top of his dome.

Reaching his spot, he sat down and took a long, deep breath. Then, slamming his eyes shut, he began repeating the words to himself quietly, “I’m not good. I’m not good. I’m not good.”

Four

One Bad Motherfucker

Dominic, Age 8

Dom narrowed his eyes at the minuscule target that Lucifer had placed in the knot of a tree. He tightened his grip of the Glock as he prepared to pull the trigger.

“Aren’t you afraid he’ll shoot his eye out?”

The voice he heard from the back door didn’t break his concentration. He waited until the bullet shot out before turning.

Dominic couldn’t put a name to the man coming outside to stand next to his father, having only seen him a few times before and always in the dead of night.

The man had never been allowed to come inside, nor had Dom seen him in the day. He looked like a shady character at night, but right now in the light of day, Dom stared at him in awe.