A Child's Reality (BBRae AU)

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Stole Away Into the Dead of Night
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**MATURE CONTENT AHEAD**

I walked out of the house bruised with half of my clothes completely charred. Smoke clogged my lungs, trying to suffocate me from the inside out. All I could think about was how much trouble I was in. How I wasn't supposed to be standing in that backyard with burns spotting my skin like rashes. How I wasn't supposed to be looking Domino directly in the face. I mean, of course, that was the initial plan, but things changed. They had to change. But obviously someone feels very strongly that yes means yes.

"Why'd you stay in there for so long?" she asked.

"Ack! Ow..." I didn't realize how bad the burns were. "Because I don't want to do this anymore, Domino."

"What?"

"I said I don't want to do this anymore!" I tried to yell over the fire, or at least, that's what I thought I was trying to do. It wasn't needed in the slightest.

"Why? You sounded so confident about it over the phone." I don't know where she got that from, I was all but confident about my decision because I knew what I was getting into. It might as well have been a deal with the devil. In hindsight, she probably just used it as a tactic to get me to still go with her once she saw that her plan was already going to fail before it even started. She's like Ike in that way. Despite the fact that I don't think I've ever seen him fail at anything (I know Raven has), he doesn't deal with failure well. She and Ike are so similar that I wouldn't be surprised if she is the same way.

With all the time I've spent with her at this point, I know that she'd never admit that. She hates Ike. She kept telling me that if she could get rid of him she would, but their dad sees Ike as a "prodigy". Domino's always been second to him. Except when they were born. Ike came out second.

I stood there looking at her like a complete idiot. I don't even remember what I was thinking. I had totally forgotten that we were on a time crunch. I knew I was already in trouble because I heard the fire trucks and police sirens earlier. If they came back there and found Domino and I, I knew I'd end up doing something stupid.

Domino, ever since I met her, even when I was being friendly with her, reminded me of a viper. Even though I have Raven, I have to admit, Domino is very pretty—her colorful scales. That's what first drew me in (for obvious reasons). The smoke of her cigarette (which for some reason I never saw again) was another thing. It was like the poison; a warning to those who acknowledge its danger, a draw to those who don't know the difference. Her eyes most of all though were strange. They were so much calmer back then. Well, maybe not so much calm as they were careless. Even how she lied to me about how they live with their uncle, all a part of her scheme to draw me in, slither around me, poison, and then choke me to death. Whether it was for herself or for Ike I still don't know.

Raven did know her before I got here after all. They used to be friends if I'm not mistaken. If she told Domino about me then I'm sure she'd know that I was with Rita and Steve and not either one of my parents. But then again, I am thinking in terms of Current Raven. Younger Raven might not have told that much if she even spoke to Domino more than once a week. I've come to learn that the word "friend" can mean many things.

But three months ago was completely different from the elegant snake I had first met almost a year prior. Maybe a viper with her fangs ripped from her mouth? Or maybe a garter snake? Yeah, that seems more appropriate. A garter snake. A snake that most people think can't hurt you. She can hurt you, but she won't kill you like her brother will. At least, not anymore.