chapter 5

"One of those casinos in town. Lima II"

Halo's eyes went wide. "You work at Lima II?" Lima Enterprises were the most successful casino moguls. The founder, King Jamal Abdulkareem owned the longest and largest chain of casinos and had a net worth of over eighty billion dollars. Working in any of the Lima casinos depended largely on good luck or inside connections. If Dominic worked there then he either had the best luck or he knew someone who knew someone.

"Yeah, and?" why was he not as excited as she was? it was great that he finally had a job, it was better that he worked at such an incredible establishment. She wished they could trade places.

"That's great Dom. I'm happy for you," And she genuinely was but he looked like he didn't share the same sentiment. He looked like something had happened that he wasn't telling her about, "Are you good? You're acting a bit off"

"I'm fine. I need to get to work"

He walked over to the front door and stepped out, not even bothering to close it properly or return his sister's goodbye.

Halo shook her head and muttered to herself, "Fucking asshole sometimes I swear"

He let out a long exhale when he thought of his sister, it was exhausting being an older brother. Ever since the passing of their parents, He had wanted to prove himself worthy of being able to care for her and take up the role of parent. A fine dream but one that eventually began to drift far from him when addiction wrapped its tentacles around his ankle and dragged him down a deep, black hole.

While he was drowning in his sea of self-loathing, she was fending for the both of them. She worked at a bar that she shouldn't be working at to help pay for rent and still put herself through school. He watched her become the parent that he swore he would be through a mental fog. He could hardly think straight during those times but it still made him feel even worse.

Eventually, he had found the will to do better by her but every time he tried he would somehow believe that he had wasted so much of his life and there was no point trying to do anything now.

Those thoughts had helped him in losing every job that he had managed to get. He believed that he wasn't worthy and would never be. He believed that Halo thought him a disappointment and Rosie would never be able to look at him without so much disdain.

Those thoughts prevented him from feeling too bad each time that he acted badly toward his sister. After all, he meant nothing to her, right? Even then, deep down, he wanted her to look at him and say that she was proud of him. He just wanted to hear her say it.

He walked a few blocks from his house, the bus stop was just around the corner and his bus would soon arrive. He walked down one side of the road and past a man talking to a hooker, his hand on her thigh. Dominic kissed his teeth, he hated it here.

The first time that he and Halo moved here after he became old enough to appeal for her custody he had promised her that they wouldn't stay there for more than a year. It had been nine years since then and it clawed at his heart. No wonder she didn't love him anymore, he had made her a promise and broke it.

He hated that she lived here. It was no place for a girl like Halo to live with drug dealers and prostitutes at every turn, and it was one of the reasons why he was secretly thankful for Daniel and Rosie even if he hated how Daniel looked at her and how Rosie had no filter and made him uncomfortable.

Dominic reached the bus stop, the empty bench waiting for him to sit upon it and wait for his bus. He rubbed his face and looked around for nothing in particular.

"You can't keep doing this to yourself, Dom! you can't keep wasting your life like this" Halo had said one night when she had gotten home from work and met him in his room surrounded by chip wrappers and dirty laundry.

"Could you leave me alone? I told you I was going to get a job didn't I?"

"Did you even leave the house today?"

"Yes, I did. Are you happy now?"

She stood there watching him for a moment, there was so much more that she wanted to tell him but she just stood there looking at him. He had gotten uncomfortable with the stare and the silence and had gotten up and shut the door in her face.

Who was she to look at him that way? he had asked himself back then. She had no right to judge him, he was her older brother. Despite his anger, he still knew that he had to do something. At least to get her off his back. He had stumbled upon a job application on the internet and decided to send an E-mail so he wouldn't feel guilty when next Halo asked him if he even filled out any job application.