“You know what to do,” said Willa, looking at Dominic.

            The two of them, and their friend Noemi were sitting together at the local coffee shop. Dominic was ready to break up with his boyfriend Jonah later that day.

            “I know, but we’ve been together 3 years,” he said.

            A voice from nearby calls out, “Order for Noemi!”

            It was one of the baristas, and friend of the threesome, Melisa. She had been friends with the girls and Dominic since elementary school when she took a dodgeball to the crotch in the hopes of saving Dominic from getting eliminated.

            “Thank you, Melisa.” said Noemi.

            Melisa replied, “Don’t mention it. It’s all on my tab today, especially with what y’all have been talking about. Dominic needs a break.”

            Noemi comes back to the table with the coffee, saying, “Dom, he hurt you. Willa and I don’t want you stay if he’s gonna keep doing that.”

            “Fine.” Dominic said shakily.

            The three friends finished their coffees and were preparing to leave.

            Noemi grabbed Dominic’s hand and said, “See you tomorrow?”

            “Yes,” he replied. “I’ll call if anything changes.”

            They walked out the door together and went their separate ways. Dominic was headed back to his house over in the expensive side of town, where the college was located. He bypassed the main roads and walked through the park, which was a straight shot to his house.

            “Hey!” said a gravelly-sounding voice.

            Dominic turned his head, and it was Jonah.

            “What do you want?” replied Dominic.

            “Just checking in on ya. I’ve tried calling three times.” Jonah said.

            Dominic replied, “I was at the coffee shop with the girls.”

            “Of course, you were,” snapped Jonah.

            They kept walking towards Dominic’s house, and Jonah began to hold Dominic’s hand. Dominic then leaned his head on Jonah’s shoulder. 

            As they were walking past, the Raskin’s neighbor, Jennifer was on her front porch enjoying the midday hours in the early autumn.

            “Hello boys.” said Jennifer.

            Dominic replied, “Hi Jen!”

            “What fun things have you seen today?” Jonah asked.

            “Not a whole lot, to be quite honest with you.” She replied.

            Dominic asked, “Heard anything strange?”

            Jennifer replied, “Other than some of the college freshman doing some dumpster diving, no.”

            “Well, I guess we’ll see you later.” replied Jonah.

            “It helps that I’m only across the street. Bye boys!” said Jennifer.

            Once they reached the house, Dominic noticed something off.

            “What the fuck?” said Dominic.

            The front door was wide open, with the window broken and the knob bent.             Dominic told Jonah to stay outside the house. Dominic went inside and saw the house trashed.

            “Mom? Dad?” he said.

            Dominic walked to the kitchen where he saw his dad John leaning against the island bleeding profusely.

            “Dad, what happened?” he asked. John was unconscious.

            He then ran upstairs to the bathroom. The shower was running when he opened the door. His mom Yasmin was laying against the shower wall also bleeding.

            “Mom?” Dominic asked.

            Yasmin replied, “Dominic, call 911.”

            “What happened?” he asked. Yasmin said, “We were shot. I couldn’t see a face. The person was wearing a black hoodie and black sweatpants.”

            Dominic said, “Mom, please stay with me!”

            “Go. Do as I asked,” said Yasmin.

            Dominic then called 911 and gave the operator the details. He then went back outside and was looking green.

            Jonah asked, “Babe, are you okay?”

            Dominic replied, “No. The police are on the way.” He then leaned over the porch railing to vomit.

            “Dom,” replied Jonah. “What happened?”

            “Mom and Dad were shot.”

            “You’ve gotta be fucking kidding?” asked Jonah.

            Dominic replied, “No.”

            Jennifer then raced across the street to see what the commotion was about.

            “Dominic, what’s going on, bud?” Jennifer asked.

            Jonah replied, “His parents were shot!”

            “John and Yasmin? Shot?!? That’s insane!”, replied Jennifer.

            “But Jennifer, what could have my parents done to get themselves shot?” cried Dominic.

            Jennifer said, “I don’t know.”

            The police and EMS then arrived at the house and cordoned off the porch. Jennifer stayed near the house as Dominic and Jonah called Noemi and Willa and told them what happened and that they need to meet at the barn behind Noemi’s house.

            One of the police officers walked over to Dominic and said to him, “Mr. Raskin, your parents are in a critical condition. The paramedics are taking them to the hospital to rush them into surgery.”

            Jonah turned and said to Dominic, “Babe, these are your parents! You need to be with them.”

            Dominic then went over to one of the ambulances and went to the hospital. His parents were rushed into surgery, but the medical staff then told him to wait at home, as his uncle and aunt had arrived. Dominic then called Jonah and asked him to pick him up and take him to the barn.

            Once the boys arrived, Noemi asked, “Dom, are you okay?”

            “No.” Dominic replied.

            Willa said, “Who the fuck could’ve done this?!?”

            Jonah replied, “We don’t know.”

            A few minutes later, Noemi’s roommate Anna showed up. Noemi had texted her after the boys had called.

            Anna said, “Dominic, the front yard of your place looks like a war zone. There are so many first responders.”

            “I just don’t know what my parents did to have warranted this. I just don’t understand.” Dominic replied.

            “Dom, we probably won’t know for a while.” said Willa.

            “Though my mom did mention one thing when I found her. She said the person that shot them was wearing a black hoodie and sweatpants.” Dominic replied.

            Noemi asked, “Did someone want to rob your house?”

            Willa replied, “Again, we won’t know for a while.”

            The group then waited with bated breath by Dominic’s cellphone. They waited for what seemed like 10 hours but was only 2 hours. Dominic’s phone finally rang, and he answered. The officer on the other end said to him, “Mr. Raskin, I’m sorry to tell you. Your parents are dead.”

            Dominic hung up and dropped to his knees. He screamed in anguish, as the group rushed over to him.

            “Babe, I’m so fucking sorry.” said Jonah.

            Willa turned Dominic’s head towards her and said, “Dom, I feel your pain. I sobbed for days when my dad died. It was awful.”

            Dominic, still in a state of anguish and shock, called his aunt and asked her what the doctors had told them. His aunt them proceeded to tell him that his parents received multiple gunshot wounds across their bodies. His father was shot in the abdomen and the chest, near the aorta; whereas his mother was shot in the left arm and her legs. The surgeons had tried to repair the wounds, but the damage was done. His father died in surgery, and his mother died on the way to the operating room. As his aunt described the events, tears streamed down his face. He said goodbye to his aunt and then hung up the phone.

            “I need to go tell my parents. They have no idea what happened, as they did go to high school with Dominic’s dad.” said Anna.

            She then grabbed her things and left in a hurry.

            Jonah said, “What’s her problem?”

            Noemi replied, “I don’t know. She’s been a nervous wreck since she got here.”

            “Where am I going to stay? All my stuff is still at the house, and there’s no way I can get it with the police there.” said Dominic.

            “I can figure something out. Remember, my dad was the police chief before he died.” replied Willa.

            Jonah chimed in, “Why don’t you stay with Willa for the next few days. You two have been friends since you were babies.”

            “That’s sound like a good idea.” said Noemi.

            At this moment, Dominic’s phone started ringing again. It was Jennifer calling him. He picked up the phone and answered it.

            “Dominic.” Jennifer said.

            “Yes?” He answered back.

            She continued, “The police told me to relay back to you that they have retrieved all your belongings and clothing. Everything you own.”

            Dominic asked, “Where is it?”

            She replied, “They are sending it over to your friend’s house.”

            “Thank you, Jen.” said Dominic.

            “You’re welcome. I’ll talk to you later.” replied Jennifer.

            Willa’s mother Felicity then entered the barn and proceeded to get Dominic, Jonah, Willa, and Noemi to retrieve Dominic’s belongings from the police officers situated outside the house. The group soon finished getting the last of his belongings and put it all in his new bedroom inside Willa and Felicity’s house. Dominic and Willa then began to discuss what Anna’s issue was back at the barn.

            “Willa?” asked Dominic.

            She answered back, “Yes, Dom?”

“What was Anna’s problem?” Dominic replied.

            Willa said, “I don’t know, but something seems off with her. It’s almost like she doesn’t want to be around us.”

            The two friends turned housemates continued to discuss Anna’s abrupt exit from the barn until Willa left the room to let Dominic take a nap as he was exhausted from the day’s events.

            A few hours later, he was awoken by a text message from Jonah. As he sat up, he grabbed his phone and read the message.

Babe, you need to come to the coffee shop immediately. It’s very urgent.

            Dominic sprinted down the stairs and rushed over to the shop. As he walked in, he approached Jonah.

            “Jonah, what the fuck happened?” He asked.

            “It’s Em. She’s gone missing.” Jonah replied.

            Dominic answered back, “Em?!? When did she go missing?”

            Willa chimed in, “Apparently, it happened this morning around the time your parents got shot.”

            “What?” shouted Dominic.

            Melissa, the manager of the coffee shop handed Dominic a latte and said, “By the sounds of it, she could’ve been kidnapped. And if so, her parents did not hear a thing.”

            Jonah replied, “That’s insane. If she was kidnapped, shouldn’t some sort of alert have gone out?”

            “That’s the thing. An alert never went out.” said Melissa.

            Willa said, “I’m in shock. She was one of the nicest people in high school, and now this happens.”

            Then at the same time, Dominic and Willa’s phones began to chime with a notification. They both grabbed their phones to read it.

            “Did you just get that too, Dom?” Willa asked.

            “Yes.” replied Dominic.

            As he unlocked his phone, Dominic gasped at the message he received.

            Good things come to those who bitch. Keep quiet or else...

            You don’t want all the secrets to come out.

            - Z

            The group gazed at the phone screens, slack jawed and confused at the message. Dominic squeezed Jonah’s hand as tears welled up in his eyes, knowing this was a sign of worse things to come.

            “What do we do now?” asked Jonah.

            Dominic replied, “Don’t say a damn thing. It’s bad enough when your whole world comes crashing down around you.”

            “I guess from here, everything changes.” said Willa.

            Jonah replied, “You’re right, Willa. Now, let’s go find Noemi and see if she got the same text you two did.”

            Willa said, “Let’s go.”

            The three friends got into Jonah’s car and drove off to Noemi’s house to ask about the text message.