Coming Home: Chapter 2

by Kerrin Watter

The phone rang, and Domino picked it up, before the answering machine kicked in.

"Hello?"
"This is the manager of the National Bank. Is Ms Ridge there?" Domino hesitated for only a moment before answering.
"Speaking."
"Ms Ridge. As you know, we’ve been more than lenient with your mortgage repayments, in view of your circumstances. But this is the third payment in a row that has been late. Either you find a way to come up with the money, or we’re going to have to repossess the house. I’m sorry, Ms Ridge, but when you signed the second mortgage you knew this was a risk…"
"How much exactly do I owe?"
"Two hundred thousand dollars in total. You’re six thousand behind your repayments. Ms Ridge, please. We’ve been sending you the notices for weeks now. We’ve given you as much time as we can, but…."
"I know. Thank you." Domino’s voice was cold as she hung up the phone.

‘Shit, Suze. I knew things were tough, but… And you’re insisting on putting me up, when you’ve already got problems. I knew things weren’t rosy, but…’ Domino shook her head, lost in thought. ‘So what can I do? I know you won’t take the money, and if I pay it off, you’ll kick me out. Stubborn woman. So, what does that leave?’

****

Dinner rolled around, with Domino not mentioning the phonecall. She didn’t want to approach the subject without having a solution. Halfway through dinner the phone rang, and Susan reached over to answer.

"Hello?"
"What are you doing calling here…" the words were hissed out, and she snuck a glance at Jo, who hadn’t noticed.
"No, I can’t…. Robert…."
"Okay…. Goodbye."

She hung the phone up, and Susan blinked back the tears. She couldn’t let the others know how much the call had upset her, so she took a deep breath before turning around, a bright smile upon her face.
"Wrong number," she announced cheerfully, before turning her attention back to Jo’s exploits of the day.

"Why was Robert calling?" Domino asked, as she dried the dishes.
"Shh. Jo will hear." Susan checked to see if he was out of ear-shot, then turned back to her sister, a steely look upon her face. "He called to see how we were doing. I said fine. End of story."
"Suze, what did he want? Money? To see Jo? Is there some kind of trouble that I should know about?" Domino’s voice was concerned, as she slipped into her role of the protective elder sibling, her eyes travelling around the kitchen, unconsciously looking for threats.
"Nothing, Sarah. It’s just as I said. He wanted to know how we were going." Her voice was calm and reassuring, and her eyes wore a tired amusement, mixed with a familiar message - ‘I’m a big girl, Sarah. I can look after myself.’

Domino knew she was lying. Susan knew she knew. Susan smiled, then turned back to the dishes, switching the conversation topic entirely.

He was watching from the window above
While the sweat fell on her kid glove
Young and naieve such a delicate thing
He moved fast he justified each swing

An hour later, Susan pulled on a dark pants suit, ignoring the warning voice that spoke quietly in her mind. She was only going to meet with Robert, nothing more. She knew that no matter how hard he said he was trying to change, he hadn’t. And she was smart enough to realise that he never would. But hell, what choice did she have? Either she went to see him, or he’d be around her house at two in the morning, standing in the garden, drunk and hollering until she called the police. Jo didn’t need to hear that again, and Sarah certainly didn’t need to know. But Robert needed to be told, albeit again, that there would be no more handouts, no more bail-outs. And made to understand that if he ever came near her or Jo again, she’d put a restraining order on him.

Susan walked down from her room and found Domino and Jo in the lounge, a game of snakes and ladders underway.
"Sarah, I’ve got to go out. There’s a meeting tonight that I can’t miss. Can you watch Jo for me?" She stood in the doorway, a bag slung over one arm, the other holding a clipboard and her car keys.
"Sure. Are you sure you know what you’re doing?" Domino’s steely gaze locked with Susan’s, and surprisingly Domino backed down first.
"Don’t wait up."

Domino watched her go, a sense of uneasiness in the air. ‘Be careful, Suze’ she thought, before getting Jo ready for bed.

****

Look at him girl, take a look at him girl
Now take a look at yourself, look at the state you're in,
look at the state you're in....
Danger the first time she sinks like a stone
He lies to her and carries on saying
It's only natural that you should breathe with me
But it's not natural the abuse she recieves
No it's not natural, no it's not natural to me.

The shower started earlier than usual, Domino noticed sleepily. ‘Suze must have an early start.’

Susan stepped out of the shower, drying herself off gently, avoiding the patches of bruised flesh. The bruises ran down her arm, across one breast and down to her stomach, livid against her pale skin. She turned away from the mirror, and silently crept into her room, where she pulled on a turtleneck, the high collar hiding any marks, and a pair of slacks. She then headed for the bathroom where Domino kept her make up. Looking through it she found the industrial strength concealer that Sarah used to disguise her patch, and dabbed it on around her eye. Five minutes later it had dried, her bloodshot eye the only legacy of the punch that had caused the bruise.

She finished her make up, and went down to the kitchen to make coffee. The marks were all covered, she wasn’t even limping badly, and the bloodshot eye would be passed off as allergies again. She had ten minutes before she had to wake Jo up, then the day would unfold as it always did.

****

"Aunty Sarah?"

Domino groaned, rolling deeper under the covers. In her dream, tiny pixies were floating around, calling her name over and over in a very familiar voice. That in itself was disturbing enough to wake her, and as she opened her eyes the voices (or voice, as she now realised it was) grew louder.

"Wha….?" Her question ended in a yawn as she stretched, her eyes settling on Jo, who stood beside her bed.

"Mummy said I should wake you up."

"Thanks," she responded dryly, as Jo clambered onto the bed for his morning hug.

"Is there a reason your Mum wanted me up early?" Domino asked, smothering another yawn.

"Prob’ly ‘cause she’s gone, and you have to make me breakfast."

"I can do that," she responded with a smile, before asking the obvious question. "Gone where, Jo?"

"To work. Whenever she goes early, she isn’t very happy."

The last fragments of sleep were brushed away from her mind as Jo made his innocent observations.

"Mummy wasn’t happy today?" she asked casually, her eyes narrowing slightly as Jo shook his head.

"Are there any other times when Mum isn’t very happy?"

Domino watched as Jo’s face scrunched up in thought, her hand reaching for the glass of water by her bed.

"Well, whenever she sees Daddy, and when she comes in late. She’s never happy then."

"And mummy wasn’t happy this morning?" Domino asked, needing the confirmation to Jo’s earlier statement.

"Nope. Your eye’s funny." Bored with the topic, Jo’s fingers prodded the dark skin that surrounded her left eye.

"It is, isn’t it," Dom replied with a grin, as she got out of bed. "I usually put some make-up on it, so no-one can see it."

"Does it make you sad?"

"Not really, Jo. Why?"

"Mummy’s sad whenever her eye’s like that," Jo replied as he led the way to the kitchen. His chatter continued as he hopped down the steps, not noticing that Domino had stopped walking and had covered her face with her hands, her eyes shut in anguish and sorrow. ‘Suze, what the hell have you gotten into?’

******

Domino left the note on the kitchen table, and drove to the next town to confer with a local broker. By four p.m., she had set up a substantial trust fund for Jo, and had a sizeable amount ready for transfer into Susan’s account. That done, she began the long drive home, her hand searching for the mobile next to her.

"Susan? It’s Sarah. I’m going to be home a little late, and I’ll pick up some takeaway on my way in. I’ll be back by six."

She hung up, having left the message on the answering machine, and cruised down the highway, enjoying the drive back home.

The house was dark when she arrived, and she pulled into the drive, turning the headlights off quickly. Susan’s car was in front of her, and her hand touched the bonnet as she walked up to the door. It was still warm.

She was climbing the few steps up to the porch when the tingling started. A sense of uneasiness that started at her neck, and ran down her spine. She knew it was more than her ‘luck’, it was something that she shared with her sister, something almost tangible that was still present after all the years. It grew stronger as she approached the house, and she mentally cursed herself for not carrying a weapon as she slowly opened the door.

****

The lights were off inside, and Domino placed the takeaway food on the cupboard. She paused, her violet eyes narrowing as she concentrated, listening for a sound. The ceiling creaked, and she looked up. It wasn’t Susan - the footfalls were heavier, more deliberate, almost as if someone was stalking….

She grabbed a knife from the kitchen as she made her way quickly up the stairs, her ears straining. She passed Jo’s room, and heard the sound of a television coming from inside. She tried the handle - locked.

The sounds were getting louder, a thump followed by a crash. Domino crossed the last three steps at a jog, and flung the door open.

The lamp was shattered on the ground, a broken vase next to it. One and a half metres up the wall was an indent, then a smear of blood which in turn led onto the carpet. Her eyes soaked up the details in a fraction of a second. She turned and saw Susan, blood dripping from her face, her blouse ripped, the bruises from last night contrasting to her milky skin. She snarled quietly at the man who stood over her, her threats low so as to not let her son know what was happening to Mummy. Domino’s face turned into an ugly snarl, as she saw the man strike her sister, forcing her onto the bed.

"Stop fightin’ bitch. You’re mine, and you’re gonna give me what I want…"

The man’s words were cut off as Domino launched across the room with an inarticulate snarl. Her hands found a hold on his throat and she hauled him backwards, choking him at the same time, as her knee connected in the middle of his back.

"Get off of her, you bastard."

The threat wasn’t shouted, it was growled, as Domino swung him round, her punch connecting squarely with his nose. She hit him again, the other hand pulling him back towards her as she pummelled his face repeatedly.

Robert hadn’t had enough time to realise what was happening, until the pain stopped, and she dropped him to the ground.

"Get up."

Her command was followed by a kick to the stomach, and he grunted in pain, his anger beginning to grow.

"I said get up, you sorry son of a bitch."

He stumbled to his feet, and Domino folded her arms in front of her. He didn’t see the danger in her eyes, or the way her body vibrated with tenseness.

"You little bitch…"
"You want to have a go at me? Try it." He swung, and she blocked him, turning and snapping his arm on her leg. He opened his mouth to cry in pain, and she knocked him onto the floor.

"Shut the hell up, and stay there. Don’t move!"

Domino turned slowly, getting her fury under control. If he made one more move, she wouldn’t be able to stop herself from killing him. How dare he? How dare he hurt her sister.

Domino moved quietly to the bed, where Susan was wiping her face with the edge of a sheet.

"Susan."
Her eyes were full of shame and defiance as she looked at Domino, then turned her face away.
"Susan, please." She reached her hand out, and Susan knocked it away.
"Don’t. Just…don’t. Why did you have to see this… Why did you have to know…?" She turned away, her face a mask of shame.
"Suze, it’s not your fault. God, this is *not* your fault."
"Sarah, just go. You were never meant to know…."
Domino knelt beside the bed, her eyes taking in the pain, the guilt, and the shame that she knew Susan was feeling.
"Please, you don’t understand . . . "
"I know what it’s like to be hurt, Susan. I’ve been there. And I’ll tell you now, I’ll do everything I can to keep you from that."

Domino stood up, her eyes making sure the flesh wounds were only superficial, before moving to the drunken heap that was Robert.

"Get up." The command was delivered in a steely tone, but it was the lack of emotion that frightened him.

Robert whimpered as she hauled him to his feet and tied his hands together, before frogmarching him out of the room. Once they were down the steps, she threw him against the wall, and started him in the face.
"If you ever, *ever* hurt my family again, I will kill you. Do you understand me?" Her voice was loud enough to carry up the stairs, to provide what little comfort the threat could to the woman who still cowered in the bedroom.
He nodded, his face reddening as her fingers slowly cut off the blood supply to his head.
"Now, we’re going to go for a drive. And I’m going to make sure you never see them again." She watched with satisfaction as his eyes widened in fear, and marched him out to her car.

Two hours later, she returned, the passenger seat empty. Her face was expressionless, her eyes terrifying. She let herself into the house, locking the door behind her. The smell of cold Chinese food hit her on the way in, and she bypassed the kitchen, heading for her sister’s bedroom.

The lights were off, and Domino saw the figure huddled in the corner.

She mentally cursed herself for leaving Susan in that condition, but she’d needed to make sure Robert didn’t come back. Ever.

"Suze?"

The figure in the corner shuddered, and Domino knelt down beside her. Susan had showered and changed, trying to find some part of the situation that she could control. But tonight she’d finally broken, and Susan’s breaths came in gasps as she tried not to cry.

"He’s gone, Suze. He’s never coming back. I promise."

Domino looked into a face that could have been a mirror image of her own. One eye was blackened, and the face was drawn into a mask of pain, and loathing and hatred that distorted her features. But there was also sorrow, something that Domino had never allowed herself to feel. She wasn’t strong enough to deal with that aspect of it. But Susan was.

"You’re safe, Suze. He’ll never hurt you again."

She wrapped her arms around her sister, and could feel her shaking as she began to cry; Domino’s silent tears mingling with Susan’s sobs.

She helped her into bed an hour later, and then went to check on Jo. She found him, sound asleep, oblivious to the nights events. She left quietly, heading for her own room. She sank onto her bed, feeling that the belief she’d placed in the ability of someone to have a normal pain free life had just been betrayed.

Domino sighed and lay down to sleep, knowing that the nightmares, which had been kept away while she’d stayed in the house, would be coming back tonight.

She was watching from the window above
Her life pass with each push and shove
I looked up, her eyes were jet black
She looked at me and I won't forget her cry.

Part 3

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