Phoenix ✔️

Chapter 3: Family Force

Her eyelids are heavy, with every ounce of hatred shining in them. Her hair is ratted, like she was electrocuted. Every time she takes a step towards Dom, she sways like a tree during a tornado. One hand is close to her head, and every time that Dom yells back, an unmistakable wince explodes on her face. As Elena and I inch forward, the familiar stench of alcohol stings our nostrils. After all the times that she's come home in this state, it does nothing more than cause nausea and disgust to violently bubble inside me. 

"Elena, how bad do you think it is?" I ask, as I nibble on the last of my ice cream cone. She shrugs, as she wipes her mouth with a napkin we got from the shop. 

"Considering she's screaming at the top of her lungs, and is mixing in random Spanish curses in there, I'm going to go on a hunch and say that it's not the greatest scenario." The shrieking becomes more shrill and witch-like. We can also hear Dom firing back with responses as well, which is anything but good. 

As we slowly step into the living room, we can hear my brother angrily replying back at her. We approach the scene with caution, like we're approaching two hungry grizzly bears that are fighting over the same piece of meat. Elena tucks a section of her dark hair behind her ear, as her eyes remain alert for anything sudden that could happen. 

"Mirror mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of them all? Throughout the town, and all of the land, I shall be the fairest to stand. What? Snow White is fairer than me? Alas, I shall have to kill thee!" Elena mimics, while evilly cackling at the end. I can't help but chuckle as we reach the outside of the dining room. The fact that she was able to make the rhyme that amazing is amusing.

Before we walk into the dining room, I take a deep breath. Every time, the exact same outcome is extracted from the situation. My mom storms off to gosh knows where, probably to vomit some more in the toilet or to shower in the bathroom. "Why wasn't there coffee for me when I came back? I expect you to have coffee for me when I get back, Dominic!" my mom screeches, as we enter the dining room. 

As we do, Elena and I both take a good look at the whole situation. Dom looks like he just wrestled a grizzly bear and barely got out alive because of it. His eyes are drooping, with his thin lips pursed together. He's staring at the ground, with a face as blank as a canvas. He doesn't budge when we enter the scene, and after examining his face, my eyes dart to my mom's. 

Anger, disgust, and hatred is all plastered onto her face. Her eyes, with large, dark bags accenting them, look like they are going to stab Dom in the heart. Her lips are pursed together, with wrinkles indenting her skin and forming an irregular border. Years of alcoholism are etched onto her face, as she stands there and does everything in her power to make our lives hell. 

"Well, what's the point? You never treated us like that, so why should we?" Dom asks, as my mom's face grows angrier. His generally kind brown eyes are hot with anger and frustration. I love Dom for treating my mom the way she deserves to be treated, but he's asking for death right now. Angering my mom is like provoking a hungry lion. Things never end well. 

"Well, why should I treat you to things like that when you're such a useless son? You don't deserve to have anything! You don't deserve to have your girlfriend, or your sisters. I don't know why I had you," she spits at Dom. I gasp, as I can almost feel Dom's heart sinking with the punch of her words. 

He, however, doesn't show any sign of defeat, and keeps the same expression on his face, with his arms still crossed. Elena's hand, which is wrapped around mine, is squeezing mine as hard as it can out of pure fury. I can see the anger intensify in Elena's eyes, as she looks like she's going to rip my mom's throat out at that moment if she doesn't shut her mouth. 

"Don't you dare talk to Dom like that! He's been a better guardian to Nicole and I than you will ever be! You have no right to talk to him like that when he's done so much more than you ever have! You're a horrible mother, and I'm ashamed to even call you my mom!" Elena roars, as Dom flashes her a small smile out of gratitude.