Page 69 of Praying for Thunder

I instantly thought of his courage. How he never would’ve done this—given up.

Dio…

His heart, his determination, lit mine on a whole different level of fire.

Dio… I’m here!

I managed to army crawl past all the furniture and old curtains that were burning from the gasoline, but the fire that had just been captivating was now enraged. It was loud, roaring my inadequacy. How was I ever going to make it to the door? My lungs were closing due to the smoke, it taunted. That my muscles could barely move. That I didn’t have a chance in Hell of escaping, it vowed.

“Hellion!” boomed Onus as he stormed inside, shielding his face from the insane heat. “Noooo!” he bellowed, seeing me on the ground.

Running through the growing fire between us, he scooped me up from the wooden floor and ran us to safety. We both coughed, almost in unison. It is peculiar what your mind will focus on when in a life and death situation. Like, once outside, how the night sky accentuated Grandma’s usually tan skin—now white as a ghost—when my eyes opened… and I pointed to her.

Again, I wish I could say I fought Onus’ embrace, that I was trembling from adrenaline and hate. I wish I could say I screamed, “Put me down, you lowlife bastard who demanded my Ani be killed.”

But I didn’t.

I clung to his large hand after he carefully sat me next to a tree, promising to be right back.

Dio hadn’t come, through no fault of his own, but he hadn’t come. And my ‘grandma’ had just tried to burn me alive. Even though she was an abuser of mine, this act was her most extreme. It caused an earthquake effect, rocking all my foundations that had been built by others in my earlier years.

It was as if my mind finally snapped. I started to doubt whether my kind earlier years had ever existed at all. Was Dio even real? Or was he the result of a child’s wild imagination? Up to this point, no one I had met had magical skin or red eyes. It’s no wonder the older child in me, the one under constant attack, decided to hold on to what he could physically touch.

Onus’ hand laid over mine. “I’m coming right back.” His stare burned into mine. “You’re my boy.”

I don’t know if this happens to others, but the memory of Dio saying the same… disintegrated. Fragments of his promises and smiles… broke into pieces—ashes. Those ashes lifted into the night… and floated away.

All that was left was Onus.

Releasing his hand, I sniffled, “Okay.”

Lethargic, and heartbroken that my imagination had epically fooled me, I stayed leaning against the tree, not bothering to close my eyes when Onus confronted his mother.

Yes, Onus saving me from the fire affected me and my future. I was too young to stop it. And, when he tossed his mother back inside the burning house, an even stronger bond was created between us. It was twisted and demented, but there, nonetheless.

As her screams faded, Onus stood in front of the house, motionless, staring into the fire’s allure.

“That didn’t happen, got it, Hellion?”

Exhausted, I got up and went to him. “Yes…” I peered up to him, “Dad.”

An unspoken pledge was made: You saved my ass from your insane mother. I’ll do my best to have your back, too.

Silently, he acknowledged my offer, staring at me, the burning house shining in his dark eyes. I could see when his mind was made up, but I didn’t respond until he gave a curt nod. “Okay,” he said. “Let’s give this a go. You and me. Until one of us fucks it up.”

Poetic? No. Onus was more of a straightforward kind of man.

That was fine with me. At least I knew where I stood with him.

I put out my hand for a shake, but that wasn’t going to be enough for this unhinged individual. He grabbed my hand, sliced it with a huge knife, then did the same to his before meshing our palms together.

As our blood intertwined, I couldn’t help but suspect he knew all along I wasn’t his, but he craved his Rosa back so badly that he was willing to lie to himself. Or maybe because I was a piece of her.

The house engulfed in flames made it impossible to save Grandma’s last victim, not that Dad would have tried. He was a horrid man, but he had killed for me.

And I was grateful.

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