Chapter 15
Love
“Twenty hours,” I wait twenty hours crying on Rian’s arms until Dominik returns.
Rian wants to kill Dominik. Josh wants to torture him to death.
Aiden wants to slowly take every joy from his life.
But if Dominik didn’t lie. I’m the joy. So I must retreat.
And after thinking and rethinking I can’t just let this slide.
Our relationship has been beyond unconventional.
I’m too involved to let him go, but I’m too upset to give him a free pass.
After I see Dominik outside I wash my face and get out of Rian’s room into the living room and am greeted by Dominik.
“Hi,” he says insecure, he knows he screwed up.
I’d never leave him alone in a moment like this.
I’d never do it if he hadn’t broken my heart.
And as I look at him I know I can’t do this.
Dominik is giving the child up for me. He’s always wished for a family.
He has his brother’s daughter now and he can’t give her up.
“Go with her,” I say what I fear he wants to. “You always wanted a family, you got the baby now, go with the baby. Get out of this world,” I say giving him all the space and words he needs to let me go.
“I’m not leaving. I do want a family. But I don’t want a family if that means I won’t have you,” he whispers and takes one step towards me, I take one step behind. My trembling hands shake just like tree leaves with strong wind.
“I’m not holding you back,” I say, Dominik looks baffled.
“You’re not holding me back. You saved me.
You keep saving me every day you choose to be by my side.
My life is chaotic. I was the fucking definition of chaos.
Rage was creeping inside me more and more.
I was falling into a hole I could’ve never gotten myself out of.
I was turning into the man my father wanted, for Satan’s sake-”
“Go praise Satan elsewhere, this is a house of God,” Aiden says passing to the living room with popcorn.
“Don’t mind me, I’ll watch silently, seeing Dominik desperate is so entertaining,” he sits on the couch looking our way.
When Dominik is about to lunge at him, I grab his hand and go upstairs to his small drawing cave.
“Sorry for Aiden, he has no boundaries,” I apologise for him, he’s like family so I feel obligated to do so.
“I couldn’t care less about him right now,” he says and I notice there are new drawings.
Only a few. Dominik doesn’t sleep much, I caught him exercising or drawing several times at night.
It’s not like I’m obsessed with him or something.
But I actually am. “Tell me how to get you back,” he says and approaches me, I take steps behind until I’m trapped between Dominik and a wall.
“Be with me,” I start and Dominik tries to touch me but I stop him, “You didn’t tell me what happened-”
“I didn’t want you to worry,” Dominik quickly replies and I can’t contain a nervous laugh, I’m laughing but tears stream down my face.
“You can’t protect me from everything. And you seriously need to stop protecting me all the time.
How do you think I feel now? Not worried?
I’m desperate and I don’t know what else you might be hiding for what you think is my sake.
If you want me, you’ll have to learn to trust me.
And not worry about how I might feel about something if it concerns you,” the last words that leave my mouth are only a whisper, barely audible.
“Fine. But it goes both ways. There’s no hiding anymore, Love. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you,” I know what he means, why I felt rage in his voice, I hid Spencer’s situation from him for two years, I’d be mad as well.
“No hiding anymore,” I agree and Dominik hugs me, he hugs me and I’m reminded how good it feels to be in his arms.
“Did you mean it when you said you have a good aim?” Dominik asks and I laugh not knowing where this is going.
“Better than a sniper,” I wink at him.
“You just got one hundred times hotter,” Dominik says and grabs a piece of paper.
“Do you mind modelling for a bit? You’re looking as angelic as anyone can be,” I look at him pouting.
I’m kind of mad and turned on that he finds me angelic.
I don’t see it in me, but I see it in his every drawing of me.
There’s something about the blue and red details that makes it seem both godly and unholy.
“Perfect, don’t move!” Dominik requests and I look at him, wondering how long this is going to take.
I feel naked as he draws. All I see is him looking at me and back at the paper repeatedly for what seems to be an hour.
By the time Dominik ends, I myself have the perfect image of him in my head.
Big neon sharp green eyes, just as sharp blond eyebrows, a caved-in jaw, a perfectly symmetrical nose, small yet slightly wide, his lips bottom bigger than top, which is on the smaller side, and of course is handsome blonde hair, almost straight but with some random wavy twists. He couldn’t be more perfect.
While he was drawing his muscles were tense and I could really see how sculpted they actually are.
I could see and almost feel every movement of his hands.
I was the one being drawn but I was definitely imprinting the image of him on a small bench, knees slightly bent, working on top of one of his legs. His eyes shining like never before.
“Can I see?” I ask him when I see him let go of the pencil.
“It’s lacking colour,” Dominik says and hides the sketchbook against his body while picking a blue and a red pencil from a table.
“Come on-”
“It’s not perfect,” he replies and I decide to let him keep painting and sit across from him with my legs tired. I check my phone and it is blowing up. What the hell is happening?
Sammy: Hellooooo @notyourlove ? We need you!
I look and there are no earlier messages. And then I check and I’ve been added to another group called “Gossip talk”
Josh: Do you guys know he’s sending his niece away?
Damian: Don’t talk about it here, someone might read it.
Maya: Niece? Is that why he ditched the mission? What an asshole. @notyourlove where are you?
Marcus: Getting the d with the prick.
*Josh left the chat*
*Damian added @dominik-ricik*
*Maya changed groups name from “Dominik the prick” to “Gossip talks”*
Sammy: I bet Dominik seduced her with that look.
Rian: What look?
Maya: The one he only gives her. If only any of you boys understood it.
*Marcus left the chat*
*Damian left the chat*
Maya: Care to explain what everyone’s hiding? @TheDarkSeed
*Rian has left the chat*
Sammy: And we’re alone. Good job, Maya.
I look back at our girl group and archive the other group.
Me: I’m modelling.
Sammy: Naked?
Maya: OMG, what?
Me: Not naked, in my nightgown.
Maya: Basically the same, it’s see-through.
Me: Well, thank you for the warning. And I have a coat.
Sammy: Wait, you’re modelling for Dominik? Is he a photographer or something?
Me: Not sure I can disclose.
*Maya removed you from the group*
Well that was fun?
“What’s that face?” Dominik asks me and I laugh.
“We have a bunch of nosy friends, you know?”
“A bunch of idiots to be more precise. But why do you say that?” Dominik asks still adding details and not letting me peek.
“Look at your phone,” I tell him and he shakes his head.
“Can’t. In the zone. Tell me,” Dominik says and I explain to him the conversation.
“Tell me again, why are we friends with them?” Dominik asks and I look at him trying to seem mad, but he looks adorable when he’s annoyed.
He has these eyes like he really wants to kill you out of spite. Kill them in this case.
“We like them,” I remind Dominik but he mouths “You like them”. I look out of the window, and when I look back at Dominik he seems to be finishing up. I peek at the time, three hours have passed.
“It’s done,” Dominik says, “Still need details, but you can-”
I don’t let him end the phrase, I grab the notebook from his hands and am in awe.
“You drew us?” I ask him looking back at the wall I stood against it’s a mirror, that’s how he saw himself.
For the first time I see him appear clearly in his own drawings.
And the moment is almost perfectly crystallised in time.
The blue and red details make me seem like an angelic creature, wings included, Dominik looks like the devil himself, and has red shadows around us, especially surrounding him.
And then I see a small inscription at the bottom of the page.
“The angel to my demons,” I read it aloud and when I look at Dominik I can’t help but smile.
“My demon,” I whisper into his lips before crushing mine into them.
Dominik’s phone buzzes and I wake up, he’s not in bed next to me anymore. “Dom?” I call and he doesn’t answer. I grab his nearest shirt and shorts and walk outside with his phone in my hand. When I open the door there’s smoke everywhere, it fills my lungs and I start coughing hard.
“Dom?” I call again and a figure surfaces, but it’s not Dominik, it’s Aiden.
“We need to go,” Aiden says ripping his coat’s sleeve and putting it over my mouth, it becomes slightly easier to breathe.
“Where’s Dominik?” I ask him unmoving. He tries to scoop me in his arms and take me out of the burning house but I don’t let him.
“I don’t have time to explain it. You’ll have to- trust me he’s fine,” Aiden says and I follow him.
We walk through every corridor and there’s no way out.
“Ok, we’re going to carefully climb down to the ground,” Aiden says and I instantly think he’s gone insane.
When he leads me to a balcony I know he’s not joking, we’re climbing down the building to the floor.
“I can’t do- this,” I affirm coughing, I try to breathe but the smoke is increasing. “Where is Dominik?” I question again yet Aiden doesn’t reply, not to that question.
“You can do this. Follow my steps,” Aiden says, I look down and see everyone but Dominik waiting on the other side of the street.
“Where’s Dominik, Aiden?” I insist when he slides out of the balcony to a pipe. “Aiden?”
“I’m sorry,” is all Aiden says and I walk to that tube and walk down it with Aiden. When I get to the ground I fall to my knees. My whole body shaking. “Where’s Dominik?” I ask Josh when he scoops me in his arms and takes me away from the succumbing building.
“Dad is at the hospital,” Josh says and I look at him tears threatening to fall.
“Where’s Dominik?” I question again.
“Dominik found out about the attack earlier than any of us. He stopped most of the attackers before we even knew something was off. Dominik must’ve known we weren’t the target.
He went to our parents' house, but Mom didn’t make it.
Dad was slightly injured,” he says and I hold him as if he could just disappear.
I hold onto him and see Rian move inside another building.
“Who killed mom?” I ask Josh, he seems uncomfortable. He sits me inside his car and circles it to get to the driver’s seat. He locks the doors, I watch Damian and Marcus go after Rian. “What are they doing?”
“Giving Dominik a chance to bail,” Josh says his hazel eyes fixated on someone by Damian’s side, Maya and Sammy. I try to open the car door but Josh doesn’t let me.
“Let me out,” I order but Josh doesn’t let anyone boss him around, never did, never will.
“Dominik killed our mother, Love. He needs to get the hell out of here before dad is conscious,” he killed my mother?
“Was it an accident?” I ask Josh and he shrugs.
“Does it matter?” he’s right, our father will never forgive him, accident or not. “I’m never seeing him again am I?”
“If you want him to live, you'd better pray you don’t,” the end of an era I refuse to believe. Mom is dead. Dad is injured. Dominik is gone. Or needs to be. For his own well-being, I hope he does.