“Why do you think I insisted on driving here? Her driving is even more terrifying,” Tucker chimes in.
I know what the guys are trying to do. They’re trying to make the moment much less scary by being light-hearted and funny about it. And I love them for it.
“Very funny, guys,” I say with a smile as I wipe the tears from my eyes. Looking at Shadow and Tucker, I add, “And thank you, both, so much.”
Sitting on the stretcher beside Dominic, I peek inside his shirt to see the wound. “You should go on to the hospital and let them check that. At least let them clean it so it doesn’t get infected.”
“Okay, but I’m riding with you and Tucker. No need for an ambulance.”
“I need just a minute, Dominic,” I say as I make eye contact with Darren.
“Sophia, don’t,” Dominic says softly, his eyes silently asking me to comply.
“I need to say something to him, Dominic.” Waiting for his nod out of respect, I lean over and kiss him before I get up. “Thank you.”
Slowly walking over to the police car where Darren’s just been frisked, I stop when I get directly in front of him but stay out of his reach, just in case. “You knew I didn’t have much of a family life, how I lost my parents and my brother when I was younger, and how that hurt me. You told me once that I reminded you of your niece and you talked about how much you loved and missed her. How could you disgrace her memory like this? How could she be proud of the man you’ve become?”
His face falls as my words take root in his mind. I turn my back to him and walk away before he has a chance to respond. There’s nothing he can say that would make up for this now. He tried to kill the love of my life– the man who is my whole life –and then he was going to kill our baby and me. And for what? Money?
Dom is standing now, watching Darren with an alarming intensity as I put him behind me and set my eyes on my future. There’s a veiled warning in Dom’s eyes that I think Darren completely understands.
“What is it, Dom?” I ask, knowing there’s always more to the story than what he told me.
Dom looks over the top of head and locks eyes with Darren again. When I turn around and look at Darren, he opens and closes his mouth a few times as if he wants to say something, but he’s too ashamed. Dom wraps his arm around me protectively and possessively.
“Sophia,” Dom says softly as he leans his mouth to my ear. “This won’t be easy for you to hear.”
I brace myself, tightly gripping Dom’s arm that’s around me, covering our baby, but I can’t tear my eyes from Darren’s. Whatever Dom is about to say, I have a feeling it involves what Darren said to him. The cop stands behind Darren, holding his handcuffed hands to make him listen. Holding my breath, I wait for Dom to continue.
“The girl that died in the wreck Shawn had was Darren’s niece, Hope. Sophia,” he pauses, his voice full of dread and pain, “Darren murdered Shawn.”
The screams and tears come simultaneously as I’m overcome with sorrow. I know I’m shouting‘NO!’over and over, but no other words come to me. NO–he can’t be dead. NO–he can’t be gone. NO–we never reconciled. NO–he is only nineteen.
Just. NO.
Dominic is holding me up, as he’s always done and as he will always do. He is my rock, my shelter, and my white knight in a cold, black world. He cradles me in his arms and comforts me, letting me feel everything and deal with it in my own way. Darren watches with tears streaming down his face. He took my brother’s life in revenge for his niece, thinking only of the suffering his family has endured. It’s only now that, as he watches the grief consume me, he realizes Shawn also had a family who loves and misses him, regardless of his mistakes.
“Get him out of here, Officer Jordan.” Shadow says with a cup to the officer’s shoulder, showing his gratitude.
“You got it, big guy,” the officer responds and pushes Darren’s head down as he gets in the backseat of the cruiser.
Shadow walks over to me, his eyes full of compassion. “I’m so sorry, little one,” he says as he wraps his big arms around me. I squeeze him hard, conveying my gratitude for everything he’s done for us and step back into Dom’s arms. “Let’s get Dominic to the hospital to be checked out now.”
Hours later, we’re back home after Dominic’s shoulder injury has been thoroughly X-rayed, cleansed, stitched, and bandaged. They said he will be sore for a while, especially the next few days, but it really was “only” a flesh wound. Now I have the horrendous task of calling my parents to tell them their son is gone.
Gone.I overheard a couple of paramedics talking with the nurses in the emergency room while Dominic and I waited. One of the paramedics said they were trained to never use the wordsgone, passed away, passed on, or anything like that when delivering the worst news a family can hear. They’re trained to saydeadso that there’s no confusion, no misunderstanding, and no hope.
He’s dead.
“Do you want me to help you?” Dominic asks. There’s no need for elaborating, we both know what he means.
“Just be there with me?” I ask as my voice breaks.
“Of course, baby.”
Opening FaceTime on my MacBook, I call my Dad’s cellphone. It’s late, way too late for them to be up, but I can’t hold this news until morning. After a few rings, Dad’s sleepy face fills the window. “Sophia? Dominic? Are you two okay? What’s going on?”
When the phone rings at nearly three in the morning, it’s never with good news. “Hi Dad,” I say, now comfortable with calling him that again. “I hate to wake you but this can’t wait until morning. Is Mom up?”
