"Dennis doesn't lie. Come down, we just want to talk." Koi stepped out of the shadows.
"Fuck you," I spat and instantly regretted. One wrong word and they'd rat me out. I slid down the fence and turned to face them. "What do you want?" My eyes raked over the handsome boys. They were cute. That's why they got away with everything. Everyone saw them either as innocent boys being boys or potential boyfriends. I was able to see through that, because no boy, let alone one as good-looking as any of them, would look my way twice. I was nobody important.
"You're..." Koi looked me up and down, pausing at my feet. I shifted my short leg behind the long one, hiding my shoe that helped with my leg length discrepancy. A wave of embarrassment washed over me as he was aware of my shorter leg.Everyone knew about it."Fabian’s little sister. Your Dad owns this place."
"My family owns this place. My dad is dead.” I corrected. “What about it?" My heart panged as the image of my late father flashed in my mind.
"What are you doing?" Swayze asked. His deep, ocean-blue eyes darkened as he looked me up and down. "Running away?"
"Maybe." I crossed my arms under my chest. "And what if I was? Are you going to tell on me?"
They glanced at each other. They hadn't been expecting me to confess so quickly. What else could I say? I'd been caught red-handed.
"No. I mean, unless you want us to. Is this an attention thing because of your dad?" Koi asked.
"No, I want to leave as quietly as I can." I said, reaching for the fence.
"Is it because of your sister, Marisol?" Swayze asked. "Because she's more popular?"
I laughed. "You think I'm leaving everything behind because she's prettier than me? You guys really are stupid."
"I didn't say she was prettier. I... just never see you much at the park. She likes to talk. Says you're jealous of her." He looked around as if expecting lights to pop on and expose us.
I snorted.Jealous? I could never be jealous of someone so horrible. So cruel, so…
Koi nodded, as if hearing my thoughts. "She's a brat. I can't stand when she comes to the park. She's always trying to be the boss."
She's preparing. Now that Dad's dead, she'll own this place someday, and I don't want to be here when it happens.
"Look, I can't stay. How about this. I won't tell anyone that non-camper employees are in the park after hours, and you won’t tell anyone that you saw me leave."
"If you're leaving, you'll have no one to tell," Swayze pointed out.
I grinned. "Exactly. Deal?"
He chuckled, and the dimples in the corners of his mouth appeared. "Sure thing. Your name… it's Domino, right?"
"Yeah. You two never saw me. Promise me." I paused. "Wait, can I do one last thing before I go?" Something about them being the last thing I see of the park left me feeling... sad. I lifted the camera and quickly snapped a photo of the two of them. Without another word, I turned back and climbed over the fence. This time, I made it over the top and dropped down onto the grass. My body hit the hard ground with a thud and the breath left my lungs. My short leg radiated pain, but I ignored it.
"You alright?" Koi asked. They rushed to the gate from the other side. His eyes went to my short leg. "Are you sure about this? You're just a kid. You've got it good here. Your family's rich."
"Money isn't everything." I stumbled to my feet, brushing the dirt off. I stepped back from the gate and shook my head. "My half-sister and brothers can have this place. I want nothing to do with any of it. You know what, Swayze, Koi, if anyone asks, tell them to take my name off the wall. You know the one with the family tree? I don't want to be a member of the Risky family anymore. Got that?"
On the other side of the fence, with the highway just over the hill, I felt brave. Nobody was going to scale that fence just to get me. My life wasn't worth it.
"You got it, Domino. It was nice knowing you, I guess." Swayze nodded, and they backed away from the fence. "Good luck."
I gulped, nodded, and then fled toward the highway.
My luck had never been good. Perhaps leaving the Risky empire behind would be my first good stroke of it.
Rule 2 - Domino
It doesn’t matter how much time has passed.
Age 19
"Georgie! Is that you?" A scratchy voice from across the park made both my Black Lab and me turn our heads to see our old friend, Johnny Blue. I stood and let Georgie run to him while I waved. My friend laughed and waved back. "And you! It's so good to see you!"
