Page 57 of Fighting Shadows

“What the fuck are you doing to my kitchen!” Zander booms, storming past us all in an attempt to intercept a very determined-looking Dominic.

Dominic dances away from the angry-looking Norse god, the box in his hands clattering as he jerks to the side. “It’s called helping. Cupcake is having bad thoughts again,” he says, all of our eyes swinging to her. She sheepishly shrugs, her nails scratching at her wrist above her wound from the handcuffs. “I’m not taking any chances this time, so I’m going to dump them in the lake at her dad’s house.”

“These are thousands of dollars worth of knives!” Zander complains, trying to snatch the box from Dominic again.

“And Cupcake is worth more than that. I’ll buy you new ones, but I’m dumping these in that lake, and I have new ones coming today for everyone! And they match!” he exclaims. His blue eyes are lit up with mischief, and he grabs the last remaining knives from the worktop.

“Dominic,” Autumn sighs, “you don’t have to go this far. I spoke to my therapist, and I don’t think I’m going to hurt myself again.”

“Can you be a hundred percent sure of that Pumpkin?” Atlas asks her; his arm snakes around her waist and pulls her into his side.

Autumn seems to really think about her answer before she replies, and I know the answer before she voices it. Hershoulders slump, and she looks guilty as hell. “ No,” she whispers.

“Dump them.” Atlas orders, his voice brokering no arguments as he stares Zander down.

Zander nods his head, reaching for the final one, and dumps it into the box.

I drive behind the others, following them to Autumn’s dad's house.

When we get there, it's quiet, but her dad quickly appears with a hopeful smile on his face.

“Autumn, I didn’t know you would be coming by,” he says as we all stand awkwardly in the kitchen.

Autumn shuffles from foot to foot, her body shrinking in on itself in his presence.

I feel for her, having witnessed the showdown in the hospital room, wondering if his stab wound is healing well enough.

“I’m here to see Chlo, but I can come to talk to you after. Is that okay?” she asks him, almost looking as hopeful as he is at the idea.

It’s clear she loves her dad and that what happened between them is tearing them both apart.

“I’d like that. I’ll stay here with the boys while you head out there if you want?”

“Is that okay? I need to talk to Noah alone, and Dominic is going out onto the lake, so there’s no need for the others to follow us,” she says.

“That’s fine. Want me to get Mrs. McKay to make some hot chocolate and cookies?” her dad asks.

“That would be nice, thank you,” she says, then nods her head towards the back door, indicating that I should follow her.

Dominic gives me a smirk as he follows us, a skip in his step as he walks ahead with the box of knives in his arms.

Chapter 30

Autumn

‘Hold Me Like You Used To – Zoe Wees’

Nervously running my hands over the soft fabric of my dress, I shake with the urge to claw at my wrist again, but I can’t bring myself to as Dominic strides ahead with all of Zander’s knives in the box.

We arrive at the tree, and the grass around it is disturbed as if someone has been out there. Thankfully, before I panic, Dominic notices and reassures me that my dad has been out here a lot since I moved to Zanders—nearly twice a day for an hour.

Dominic places the box into the small row boat that is tied to the post at the edge of the water, his hand digging into his pocket and retrieving his blade.

The cupcake symbol with the lobster on top was one of the first things he told me about when I got home from the program, hiseyes shining with so much love when he told me that he wanted his two favorite things to come together. He places it in the box, and guilt hits me hard.

It's one thing for Zander to get rid of his cooking knives, but I can’t let Dominic do this. His knife is who he is, a part of him, and one of the things I love about him.

“Dominic, no. You can’t,” I practically plead with him not to do it.

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