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“What are you waiting for?”

“Nothing,” he quickly mumbled, racing inside, then running outside the front door to bring in two paper bags that DeeDee had left in the back seat. The liquor bottles inside clanked together at the unsteady way he was holding them, the soreness in his arms and shoulders setting in.

“Don’t forget to take a hot bath,” Anthony informed him as he got in the front seat of the stolen vehicle.

“I won’t,” Dom whispered, as if Lucifer could hear him from inside the house.

As Dom used his hip to close the car door, Anthony started the car, silently rolling the window down next to him.

“Loose lips sink’s ships,” the enigmatic character told him ominously.

Dominic pressed his lips together at Anthony’s meaning, giving him a silent understanding.

Carrying the so-called groceries inside, an overwhelming feeling hit him for the first time in his life …. He might have just made a friend. But not just any friend, a secret friend whom Dom felt would be in his corner. Even if it was only the two of them who knew.

Dominic could deal with that, it was one more than he had ever had before.

Five

The Little Secret Held In The Barrel

Dominic, Age 10 - 11

Dominic sat in the darkness, blindly reaching into his jean pocket. He pulled out one of the pieces of candy he kept on him at all times. Unwrapping the foil, he popped it into his mouth, slowly sucking on the cherry flavor so he could make it last as long as possible.

It was a trick he learned that day so long ago. His old teacher, Mrs. Smith, had called his father right after school, concerned that Dominic might not be eating enough at home. He would never forget when he came through that door to find Lucifer waiting for him. He had dragged him into the closet to sit for another night without food or water.

The candy his teacher had given him had saved him, and since then, he hadn’t gone a day without a few in his pocket. Whenever he ran out, he stopped by the gas station and bought them with the change he managed to scrounge up around the house. Change was the one currency his father didn’t bother to count, so he never noticed when a few nickels went missing from his pockets.

Sucking on the candy until the last sliver disappeared on his tongue, Dom stood in the tiny confines of the closet, stretching his legs, before he began a set of exercises. He kept it light, careful not to sweat as he did sets of ten jumping jacks, high knees, squats, pushups, sit-ups, and even pull-ups on the wooden pole that once held the old suits.

Letting go of the rail, his feet hit the ground in the darkness, and then he decided to pass the time in the only way that kept him sane. Dominic lay on the cold floor, having to scrunch his legs to his chest more over the years as his legs grew. He felt bad for finding his own sort of peace in here, where he was safe from his father. Where all the responsibilities he placed on himself for caring for his brothers were gone. He hated that about himself, that a little part of him liked it when he was locked away while Angel and Matthias were forced to fend for themselves. And while that had it’s allure, he hated it more each time he was forced to visit the closet, when he was forced to look within himself. It might’ve been black in here, but the mirror on his reflection was visible in the darkness ….

Dominic’s tenth birthday wasn’t like any other ten-year-old’s. There was no cake or celebration, not even a “happy birthday” from his father. Instead, Lucifer saw the day not as a day to celebrate but as a milestone that Dominic was mentally capable for what was next in his training.

“Anyone can shoot a gun,” Lucifer told him as he took a seat at the old kitchen table. “And just because you can hit some fucking target a few yards away, that doesn’t make you special.”

That was a saying he heard almost every day. His father constantly reminded him just how un-special he was, no matter how many times he hit a bullseye or how far out the targets were placed.

“But learning how to care for your weapon, knowing what every piece is for … that makes you a master.”

Nodding, Dominic listened carefully, prepared to memorize every step he was about to teach, because if he failed, the punishment would be severe.

“Cleaning your gun seems easy, but this is where men make the stupidest mistakes, because it’s supposed to be simple. It’s also where you’ll pay the biggest price if you accidentally fire a gun in your home. So, when you sit down to clean your guns, safety first. You unload it, then check the chamber.”