CHAPTER 16

Over a million dollars. Dominic had gone over the amount in his head over and over again. He just got more than a million dollars because of some old ring? This had to be the best day of his life. He had gotten back home some minutes after 1 pm and he was certain that Halo was in school by now.

The house had been cleaned and he had breakfast waiting for him in the fridge. There was a note on the couch from her telling him that she had left for class and he should remember to eat and get ready for work later.

Dominic chuckled as he read the note. "Work? yeah, right" With the kind of money that was in his possession, he would never have to work a day in his life again. He could open up that restaurant that he always dreamed of and hire other people to work for him. Halo would never go back to some low-level community college and they would have no business living in a neighborhood like this.

He opened up the fridge and pulled out a can of soda and sat on the couch to enjoy his beverage. This time he was certain that he was going to be able to fulfill the promise that he made to his sister and himself. He was going to be able to take care of Halo and give her the life that their parents would have wanted for her.

He hoped that this time she would be able to say that she was proud of him, that she would smile and it would actually seem genuine, and maybe just maybe he could look good enough to ask Rosie on a date.

He shook his head and sipped on the content of the now-open can of soda. Who cares about Rosie? he could get any girl that he wanted now that he had money and they wouldn't be mean to him like she was. Regardless, it would feel nice to rub his newfound success in her face.

He thought about Francis and immediately sat right up. What if that sneaky bastard decided that more than a million dollars was way too much money to part with and sent people after him or Halo? they needed to find a new house as fast as possible. Dominic considered paying for hotel rooms for a short time and hired movers to help get their things to the better place that he was going to get for them.

He was certain that Halo was going to be glad to know that they were now moving up in the world but what he was not certain of was the believable answer he was going to provide for her when she started asking questions about where the money came from. He wasn't going to let that situation bother him now. He had bigger things to handle.

A small breeze that blew past him brought his attention to the unpleasant smell that a lack of a shower was starting to bring upon him. He sniffed his underarms and was not happy with what hit his nose.

"Time to shower I guess." He took off his clothes and walked off into the bathroom nude. It was one of the perks of not having Halo around the house; he could do whatever he wanted. Halo and her friends were kind enough not to use up all the hot water and as such made his bathtime tolerable.

He used his time in the shower to think back on all the things that he had done wrong including creating the opportunity to get himself addicted to crystal meth and abandoning Halo to fend for herself most of the time. He thought back to the moment when he had stolen and sold the ring. Those were going to be the last wrong things that he was ever going to do.

He had never been one to steal anything despite his many shortcomings but he knew that there were some chances that one had to take if they were ever going to be successful. The ring was one of those chances. It was going to change his and his sister's lives and he was going to use this change to become the best version of her big brother.

He turned off the shower and stepped out of the bathroom. He walked to his room leaving a trail of wet footprints behind him.

Bang!! bang!! bang!! the sound of the door being pounded on startled him. He threw on a shirt and wore a sweatpant.

Bang!! bang!! bang!!

"Who is it?" he asked at the top of his voice from inside but there was no answer.

Bang!! bang!! bang!!

"Halo? hey if that's you I need you to say something or you're spending the night at Rosie's place"

Bang!! bang!! bang!! the sound came again and Dominic ran to