.4.
Dom wandered along the “Secret Cove’s” shore, his surfboard under his arm, and his dog at his heels. The briny ocean water was still dripping off his lengthening russet hair and the black T-shirt he wore.
The sun felt good, warm and soothing as its rays caressed his face. The sand felt good beneath his bare feet. There was a cool breeze coming off the salty ocean, and he closed his eyes and filled his lungs with the scent of it. For just that moment, he felt as though everything was good, even though his father did not know he was there.
He planted himself upon a sand dune, and Chewy sat beside him, panting softly with his bright pink tongue lolling out of his mouth. Dom grinned crookedly grabbed a handful of the thick fur on the nape of Chewy’s neck. Tugging playfully at it, he sighed, “I sure wish things could stay like this forever, buddy...”
“Dom?” said a voice from behind.
Peering over his shoulder, Dom saw it was Cal, and masked his melancholy with a hearty grin.
“Didn’t expect to see you here,” Cal remarked, setting down his board as he sat beside his friend, “You’re wet already? Wow... how long have you been here?”
“Few hours,” he replied.
“Hmm...” Cal sighed, “Is something wrong?”
“What would make you think that?” Dom asked quickly, almost too quickly.
Cal only shrugged, “Well... as long as I’ve known you I’ve been able to pick out some things that you do.”
“Like what?” scoffed Dom, shaking his head.
“Well... when you’re lying you get defensive... when you’re trying to hide something, you get defensive, and when you’re thinking about something, you come here to think about it,” he replied, “You also come here when you don’t know what to do about something you’re thinking about.”
Dom was quiet.
“And you get quiet when you know we’re onto you,” Cal added.
A gossamer veil of silence fell between them, and Dom brought his knees into his chest and hugged them tightly. Cal was the one to tear down the veil.
“You can tell me, Dom,” he said softly.
Saying anything would ultimately cost Dom. Some how, Nate would find out he told. As much as he longed to tell, he knew he could not suffer anymore than he already had to.
“Not this, Cal,” he whispered, stretching out his legs and then standing up, “I have to work...”
Cal felt his temper rise suddenly. He could not understand why Dom was being so secretive, so obstinate. They shared plenty of secrets, so why was this one so different? He wanted to run after him and force him to tell. But he sat still and watched helplessly as Dom walked toward the secret path they had found that led from the road to the beach.
Sheryl looked up when her son walked onto the veranda unannounced. She smiled at him, and setting down her coffee press, she said, “Hey, darling! I wasn’t expecting you here.”
“Sorry, I’m just here to pick up some board wax and my other camera,” he explained, “I won’t be long.”
“Dom, you don’t have to leave,” she told him.
“Dad’s picking me up in an hour at the Bean,” he said quickly, “We’re going up to the Cove... Legally this time.” He grinned half heartedly, but it faded away almost as quickly as it had faded in.
Sheryl sat down on one of the wicker chairs and patted the one closest to her. Although he hesitated, Dom sighed and seated himself onto the cushioned chair. The wicker creaked softly under his weight.
“Your bruises are gone,” Sheryl remarked after a long silence.
He pressed his lips together, nodding.
“Dom...” she began to say.
“I can’t, mom,” he interrupted, his gaze not meeting hers.
“You don’t deserve this,” she said firmly.
He hugged his arms around his slim waist, a poor attempt to keep himself together. He knew she could see what no one else could see in his eyes, and she could hear it in his voice as well. She knew everything.
Moving closer, she put a hand on his trembling shoulder.
“You can’t keep living like this, Dom,” she whispered, “You know you can’t... I can’t either. I can’t sleep at night knowing you’re either hurt or going to be. Dom, he’ll kill you, he’s only going to get worse unless-“
“He wouldn’t do that!” he shouted, springing to his feet. He wheeled around, his eyes flashing like blue steel, “He loves me!”
“Baby, hurting you isn’t love!” she cried, trying to remain calm and collected as she rose to her feet and put her hands on his quivering shoulders, “beating your face into a pulp isn’t love!”
“He’s trying!” he yelled, stamping his foot, “He went to a meeting last week... He’s helping around the apartment... He’s trying, mom!”
“I know you’re angry, Dom, you have every right to be,” she said in a low, yet patient tone, “But you’ve got too be reasonable. Your father is never going to change. You’ve got your hopes up way too high. He’s only going to disappoint you again and again and again until you either get it, or until I’m visiting you in your hospital bed or, god forbid, standing in front of your grave.”
Hot unshed tears glistened in his eyes. Dom shook his head, “You don’t know him like I do.”
“And you don’t know him like I do!” she exclaimed, her heart breaking for him.
“I’m just gonna get my things and go,” he muttered, “If I’m not there when he’s there he’ll-“ He stopped himself from saying anything further and bit his lip.
Sheryl covered her mouth with a trembling hand, realizing what must have been crossing his mind just then. He shook his head and picked up his satchel. He went inside the house for a brief moment, and strode back out without saying another word to his mother.
Despairing, Sheryl watched as he stalked around the corner with Chewy trotted along behind at his heels. She could only pray things would clear up before they got anymore out of hand.
.5.
“Did you know ‘Dominic’ is derived from the Latin ‘Dominicus’?”
Dom looked directly into the merry green eyes of the girl named “Red”, surprised, yet somehow, relieved.
She wrinkled her nose, smiling, and he realized his feelings were not so discreet as he had hoped.
“It means ‘lord’,” she continued, “Or ‘ruler’. ‘The dominant one’.”
A sardonic grin curled onto his lips, and he shook his head as he poured a to-go cup full of coffee and snapped on the lid, “Then I was mislabeled. The only things I rule are the coffee machines and the rag I use to wipe off the counters.”
She rested her chin on her elbows, observing him with a coy smile on her lips as he passed the drinks he had just finished making to the customer, who paid and tipped him before walking out.
“Can I get you something?” he asked Red.
She shrugged and shook her head, the bottle cap necklace and matching earrings she wore jingling softly, “Not at the moment... And I don’t think you’ve been mislabeled.”
“Oh?” he chuckled.
“You are you, aren’t you?” she queried, cocking her colorful head to one side.
He grinned unsurely, “I don’t see what you mean.”
“Well, if you are you, then, you rule yourself,” she explained, “And if you rule yourself then you can rule the world.”
He raised his brow.
“I suppose you have to know who you are before you can rule yourself, though,” she sighed, smiling at him.
“So... You know who you are?” he asked.
“No,” she said, “I’m just having fun as I learn.”
He could not help but smile at her.
“I have to go,” she said, “But I’m sure I’ll be coming back here before long, so... Goodbye, Dom.” She leaned over the counter and kissed his cheek before turning and walking out.
Dom found himself wanting to call after her, and ask her to stay longer. But for some reason, his tongue was paralyzed, as well as his body and his lungs. He could not breathe. His heart was pounding within his chest with the ferocity of a freight train.
Two meetings and already she had him falling, yearning to be like her, to have her courage. He groaned inwardly as she continued to walk out the door, and he watched her dainty person continue on her way long after she was out of sight.
Nate answered the door, puzzled to see Cal standing there instead of the repairman he was expecting. Cocking his head, Nate asked, “Can I help you?”
Cal rubbed the back of his neck and said softly, “I was just wondering if Dom was here.”
“No... He’s still at work,” Nate replied, “What is it you need to tell Dom?”
“Oh, nothing, I just wanted him to come with me and the rest of our friends to the beach,” he replied, “He hasn’t been coming around lately, you know. I saw him yesterday morning at the Cove, but not since...” He stopped when he saw Nate’s eye darken. He felt suddenly as though he had told something he should not have.
The repairman, a large, greasy middle-aged man, walked up saying, “I got a call about a leaky faucet.”
Nate nodded, and allowed him inside, and then he returned to Cal, who squirmed uneasily.
“How is Dom?” Nate asked.
“He’s been acting kind of strange lately,” Cal replied, feeling as though he was forced now to speak or suffer a consequence, “He won’t come surfing or anything, and sometimes when I do see him around he’s got a bruise or two on his face. And he’s really, really defensive. At least more than usual.”
Nate gave another nod and sighed, “You know what? I’ll talk with Dom. But right now I’ve got some business to take care of.”
Cal bit his lip and nodded, unsure if what he had done was the right thing to do suddenly.
Dom walked down the hall toward his apartment, dreading every step he took.
The neighbor’s apartment door creaked open, and the woman who lived there stepped out, a baby on her hip and another small child clinging to the leg of her sweat pants.
He grinned but she seemed worried.
“Is something wrong?” he asked.
“I wouldn’t go home if I were you,” she said in a soft voice.
He swallowed and glanced at his door.
“That man’s been drinking,” she told him, her face pale, “I don’t mean to say I pry or listen in but it’s hard not to know what goes on in that place. He’s been ranting and raving since five o’ clock.”
Dom paled, but smiled, “I’m sure he’s calmed by now, ma’am.”
Her silence made him think otherwise.
“I’ll call the cops if I hear anything tonight,” she said, “And I mean it this time, Mr. Valerius.”
Dom was not used to being called only by his last name, unless the matter was grave. And he knew she was more serious than he thought her to at first be.
He said nothin, but walked quietly onward to his apartment door, and slipped inside.
Nate was in the kitchen doorway.
“Where’ve you been?” he growled.
“Picking up dinner,” Dom replied, holding up the plastic sack of Chinese, which he set on the dining table.
They stood there for a long while. Nate glared at him, his eyes flickering with hatred and violence. In one hand, he clutched a broken broomstick, and in the other, a half-empty bottle of gin. Dom knew the neighbor woman had been correct.
Dom slowly reached into his satchel, and took hold of his camera. Before he could think, he had thrown his most valuable possession into his father’s face and was dashing down the hall for the safety of his room. But Nate was upon his in mere seconds, and he broke the bottle over Dom’s skull, sending glass and liquor into Dom’s flesh.
Screaming at the burning sensation, Dom tumbled to the floor, huddling into the fetal position as soon as his wit returned to him. He clenched his teeth together when he felt the heavy blows of the broomstick and his father’s harsh tongue.
He did not hear all of what he said, but he did know he was yelling, and that the woman next door was calling the police.
Tiring of the stick, Nate threw it down and snatched Dom up by his shirt. He slammed his back up against the wall, roaring, “What did you tell him!”
“Tell who?” Dom gasped, his body screaming for mercy.
“Don’t play stupid!” Nate bellowed, slashing Dom’s face open with the broken bottle, which he still held.
“I didn’t tell anyone!” Dom cried, pushing weakly against Nate’s chest.
Nate shook him savagely, yelling, “You did! You did! You told that friend of yours! You gutless little liar! You lied to me! YOU LIED TO ME!”
“I’m not lying!” Dom pleaded, “Dad... Dad, I’m not lying! I didn’t tell! I swear! I swear!”
Nate’s gaze cleared just long enough to really see the damage he had done. The blood, his son’s blood, was everywhere, including his own hands and splattered on his face. Breathless, he allowed Dom to drop unconscious to the floor, his shirt tearing off in his hands. Beneath the shirt, he saw the bruises and the welts he had given him the other night and the night before, and now that night. He began to tremble and sank down onto the floor.
“Oh...” he breathed, covering his mouth with his hand, “Oh...”
The door busted down and four policemen rushed inside. Two pinned Nate down before he could do anything, while the other two carefully dragged Dom to safety.
Dazed, Dom opened his eyes. They widened at the sight of the officers.
“You’re safe now,” said the woman, touching a hand to his face, “There’s an ambulance downstairs. But, we need to know if you have any more family we can notify. Aunts, uncles... Where’s your mom?”
He only stared at her, his eyes filling with tears.
“You’ll be okay,” she assured him, reaching into his back pocket and pulling out his wallet. After looking over his I.D, she gave it to her partner and turned her attention back to Dom, “See? Here come the paramedics.”
He could only watch as they dragged his screaming father out of the apartment, and listen to him as they carried him down the hall and finally out of earshot.
