DOMINANCE

"You come from a long line of powerful women, Elizabeth. We didn’t let people walk over us,” Wendy, my mother, berated through clenched teeth, with a big frown on her face, her fists tightly balled on the table.

I bit my nails, my leg dangling mid air from a stool possibly taller than me. I stared at her through tear-filled eyes from across the mahogany table.

She was mad. I knew that, because she fisted her fingers so hard that they whitened, and her words were practically spat out through clenched teeth.

I didn’t know what I did wrong, but I knew it had something to do with the bruise on my left eye and my sticky pigtails.

“You shouldn’t stand up for someone beneath you or let anyone stand up for you. You are a powerful woman, Elizabeth. You fought for yourself, you took your position, you taught people who didn’t respect you a lesson, and they never did it again. You know what I did to paupers who didn’t know their level when I was your age?” she asked. I shook my head, waiting for all that to be over so I could go to my room.

“I paid a couple of big boys in my class to beat them up, and I always showed up a second after the incident so they knew who did it and why. You hear me?!”

I nodded, the tears finally spilling over.

“Good. Now, finish your dinner before your daddy comes back. I expect you to do something about that little poor brat that did this to you. I'll give you extra lunch money, okay, sweetie?”

I picked up my fork and absentmindedly stabbed it into the pasta.

I was just six years old. And I knew what she was implying.

---

I waited in the empty basketball hall with Big Jamie. We called him Big Jamie because, well, he was big—a whopping 6 '1. He still had braces, which was weird, and I wondered how the school could allow him there. He looked like he should be married with kids by now.

Big Jamie threw the ball into the hoop and shouted a yes. His tone died down when I looked up from my phone to shoot him a glare. The door swung open, and Enzo walked in with his bunch of friends, tossing a ball back and forth between them. I guessed they were there to play a friendly match.

Okay, I wasn’t guessing. I knew Enzo and his friends used the basketball court a few minutes before lunch break was over, so there I was.

The moment he saw me, his whole face changed. Shocked. He almost turned to leave, but I stood up, catching his attention. “I’ll fucking end you if you walk out of here!” I yelled, loud enough to stop him in his tracks. His friends looked between us, uncertain. “You lot, scram,” I barked.

They didn’t even hesitate. They knew exactly who I was and what I was capable of. Without a word, they shuffled out, leaving Enzo alone with me and Big Jamie.

I walked up to him slowly. “Kneel,” I breathed out an order, obviously not getting the excitement I imagined I was going to get last night after dinner.

He looked at me, his face pleading, but after a moment, he reluctantly dropped to his knees.

You taught people who didn’t respect you a lesson, and they never did it again.

Big Jamie approached, holding a chair in one hand and a bat in the other. He set the chair down for me and stepped back, gripping the bat tightly. I took a seat, crossing my legs as I looked down at Enzo.

“I noticed you didn’t show up for dinner last night,” I said coolly, scrolling through my phone. No one noticed—not my mom and definitely not my father. He opened his mouth to respond, but I didn’t give him the chance. It was going to be the usual excuse anyway.

I had a match. I was practicing. It was past my curfew. I was grounded.

Liar, liar, pants on fire.

I waved my hand, and Big Jamie stepped forward, raising the bat. Before Enzo could even register what was happening, Jamie swung, hitting him hard in the back. He cried out in pain, collapsing to the floor. Jamie didn’t stop. He hit him again. And again. Each strike harder than the last. The sound of the bat cracking against his body echoed around the empty court.

I scrolled through my phone, ignoring the scene in front of me, barely acknowledging the sound of his groans and gasps. By the time Jamie was done, he was on the ground, bloody and beaten, barely able to move. He looked like he could die any minute.

Not like I cared.

I glanced up from my phone and sighed. “Eh, unfortunately, this might be the last time we see each other since we’re moving soon. So, consider this our official breakup. You must be devastated.”

He coughed, his body twitching slightly, but he couldn’t speak. I smiled at him, then pulled out a small piece of paper from my pocket. I handed it to Jamie. It was the contact for a dealer I knew—the one who had exactly what Big Jamie needed. “You’ve earned it.”

He grinned, nodded at me, and walked off without a word, leaving me alone with Enzo.

I dialed the number for the school’s medical office, still staring at my nails. The moment the call connected, my voice changed. I sounded panicked, on the verge of tears, like a completely different person.

It's one of the things you learn if you want to survive, trust me.

“Hello? There’s a guy in the basketball hall. He looks terrible, like he’s about to die. I don’t know what happened, but you need to hurry. Please.”

“Okay, okay. Can you tell me what hap—”

I hung up, taking a sharp breath as I slipped my phone back into my bag. Without even glancing at Enzo again, I stood up and walked out of the court, leaving him to be found, broken and bloodied, before anyone could see me.