| 96 | A Warm Welcome

[ S E R A P H I N E ]

I'm skipping my class this morning. I'm too haggard, nauseated, sleep-deprived, and too stressed out to think about anything else but him.

The sky stays a dingy gray and only a little bluish as I approach the front of Dominico’s house, my keys jangling in my pocket. I don't even wanna be here. I'm just gonna stay here all day in case he needs my help.

Every five minutes or so, my brain pictures him all bloody and wounded, riddled with bullet holes, trapped in an old, abandoned warehouse somewhere...

Shucks. I'm trying my best to push those thoughts aside. Can't let these dark thoughts win. But it's a challenge.

Dominico's last text only says he left the detention facility, and that he's meeting someone. The lack of details eats at my peace of mind. I've tried calling him again. But, no luck.

When a car pulls over just outside the gates, my heart jerks. The exhaust doesn't sound anything like the Maserati's, but it's familiar. I stand beside the locked