Out of Oblivion (9 page)

Chapter
13

With Dominic's help, I reapplied for the fall semester. I told him I would go on my own, but he insisted on being there "for moral support." He ended up doing most of the talking, but it turned out to be a good thing. I wasn't prepared to tell them why I left school in the first place—the real reason—but Dominic explained it so there was no room for vulnerable exposure on my part. I was expecting a barrage of questions, but the woman's expression changed to one of recognition. Apparently she saw my story on the news a few weeks before. It shocked me to learn I'd been a newsworthy subject in the week following my rescue. I asked Dominic about it later that day, and he said the media was all over my story, but he and the hospital staff kept them out of my room while I recovered. Now I understood why he insisted on steering me away from watching TV.

Thanks to Dominic's intervention, they reinstated my scholarship based on an extended medical leave of absence, and I could pick up where I left off. Of course, I needed to retake the classes I didn't finished, but that wouldn't be a problem. Now, with that out of the way, I was excited about the prospect of going back to school. I didn't realize how much dreaded that appointment.

My cast came off the week before classes started, which was a bonus. Trying to get around on crutches would not have been fun. It wasn't until the morning of the start of classes that the nerves set in.

"You'll be fine," Dominic told me.

It wasn't the classes that made me nervous though. I was about to face so-called friends who had sided with Alexis and turned their backs on me. I wasn't sure how they would react towards me being back in school, but it turned out most of my fears were unfounded. Most of them saw what happened on the news and apologized for the way they treated me before. They were glad I got away from Kurt and expressed how lucky I was to be alive. It made me wonder exactly what the media told people about me, and I felt somewhat self-conscious. I would be horrified to learn they all heard he had treated me like a dog and some of the things he made me do.

Alexis was another story. Just before my last class of the day, she stalked towards me and grabbed my arm.

"You have some nerve coming back here acting all high and mighty."

I ripped my arm out of her grasp. "What are you talking about, Alexis?"

"I can't believe you're spouting all those lies about being kidnapped. You had an innocent man arrested so you could move in with another man. Why couldn't you break up with him like a normal person? You might be able to fool other people, but you don't fool me. You are nothing but an evil lying bitch, and I'll make sure everyone knows it."

I watched, stunned, as she walked off.

I ended up skipping my last class and going home. Dominic arranged to pick me up after classes, but I walked. I needed time to think and calm myself down. Unfortunately, all the walk did was allow my confusion and hurt to stew. By the time I arrived home, I was sobbing. To avoid facing Dominic in this state, I ran straight to my room and locked the door. With my face buried in my pillow, let out a howl of frustration and anguish. How could she think I was lying? She hadn't spoken to me at all in the weeks before I moved in with Kurt. There was no way she could know what really happened. I didn't know what her problem was, but it was beginning to piss me off. She either needed to discuss it with me or let it go and get on with her own life.

A knock on the door interrupted my thoughts. I ignored him, hoping he would get the hint and go away.

Moments later, Dominic knocked a few more times. "Haleigh, what's wrong? I thought I was picking you up?"

Apparently not. "Give me a minute."

I went to the bathroom, splashing cold water on my face. It didn't help. I sighed as I unlocked the door and sat on the bed. "Come in."

"What happened?" Dominic sat beside me, leaving a comfortable amount of space between us.

"It's not a big deal. I'll get over it."

He frowned. "Good friends listen to their friend's problems so they can offer support. That's kind of hard to do if you don't talk about your problems and pretend everything is okay when it's clearly not."

I sighed and explained what Alexis said.

"Nothing that happened to you is your fault. You realize that, right?"

I snorted. "Except that none of it would have happened if I listened to you."

"I thought we agreed to let that go as long as you at least listen to my advice in the future?"

"It doesn't change the facts." Dominic's scowl inspired me to change the subject. "Besides, Alexis treated me badly before I moved in with Kurt. In fact, it's what prompted the move in the first place. Had she and I been getting along, as we usually did, I would have never considered it. So would it be unfair of me to say it's her fault?"

"How about we avoid laying blame and admit we can't control how people act towards us? All we can do is decide how we will react."

This would have been good advice a year and a half ago. I hadn't reacted well to the situation from the start. I allowed Alexis' behavior to stress me out and intimidate me instead of confronting her about it. Despite being uncomfortable with moving in with Kurt, I stubbornly turned down Dominic's alternative because I assumed he was offering it as a way to keep me and Kurt apart. Then when Kurt's behavior became obsessive and overbearing, I ignored it, believing it was just because he loved me.

"You sound like my dad," I said, my arms folded over my chest.

"He must be a wise man."

I was about to respond with a sarcastic quip, but my concerns over my parents' disappearance silenced me. I hoped they were okay.

"We'll find your parents. Please, don't worry about them," Dominic said, as though reading my thoughts. "So, how are you going to handle the situation with Alexis?"

"I'll just avoid her."

Dominic groaned. "You can't allow her to make you feel you don't have a right to be there. You shouldn't have to tip toe around her just because she has a stick up her ass over something."

"I don't know what else to do," I said, throwing my hands up in frustration.

"Well, when you forgive yourself and stop blaming yourself for everything that happened, I'm sure you'll figure it out." Dominic left me alone again, closing the door on his way out.

I groaned loudly and threw myself back onto to the bed. He was absolutely infuriating at times, but as annoying as he was, he was also right.

*****

My second day wasn't nearly as bad. In fact, I didn't see Alexis at all, which made it great. I ran into Jason though. It was the first time I saw him since returning, but I was sure Dominic filled him in on everything.

"Hey, Haleigh. How've you been doing?"

"Good. You?"

"I've been great," he said, grinning. "Hey! If Dominic gets on your nerves, let me know. I'll take care of it."

I laughed. "He's not so bad."

"He can be a little pushy and preachy."

"Yes, there is that." I said, nodding.

"He's a good guy though and means well."

"Yeah." Suddenly, my face flushed.

It would have been a good time for Jason to look away, but he didn't. He raised his eyebrows. I needed to change the subject before he asked questions.

"How have things been here for the last year?"

"Same ol' thing, except I have a new girlfriend." Jason's grin lit his entire face. "Her name is Bekka. If you join me for lunch at the bistro, you can meet her."

"She won't mind?"

"Not at all. She's really easy going."

"I would love to then."

With that settled, we waved as we headed to our classes.

*****

Jason and Bekka were waiting at the bistro when I arrived just after noon. He waved me over to their table.

"Bekka, this is Haleigh. Haleigh, Bekka."

I held out my hand, but Bekka stood and gave me a quick hug. "I've heard so much about you, I feel like I already know you. You look well."

I stiffened at the contact, but smiled so I wouldn't hurt her feelings. "Thanks. It's great to meet you."

She sat on the bench with Jason, so I took the one across from them.

"I ordered a big plate of nachos for us to share, if that's okay," Jason said.

"Yeah, that sounds great."

Neither of them brought up what happened with Kurt, so I got the impression Dominic told Jason not to talk about it, or they avoided the topic assuming it was something I would rather not discuss. Either way, I was grateful. In the last couple of days, I had old friends, and even people I never met, grilling me about it. I tried to remain diplomatic about the whole thing, but it was getting harder. I hoped the novelty of talking to the former abductee would wear off soon.

Bekka immediately delved into a story about how she and Jason met. Oddly, it had been at the same play party where Dominic initiated his big rescue. She was a very buoyant person and reminded me of Alexis in a lot of ways. They were both social butterflies, but Bekka was more self-confident and down to earth. Unlike Alexis, she didn't hold people to higher ideals than she held for herself. She obviously adored Jason, and it was easy to see why he fell head over heels for her. I was happy for them both.

"Would you like to go out Friday night?" Bekka asked. "Just us girls."

I wasn't sure I was ready to deal with crowds yet. Even being at school was difficult when I found myself surrounded by too many people. I had always been an introvert, but going out never bothered me before. Kurt kept me so secluded, I must have gotten used to being alone with him all the time. "I'm not sure I'm quite ready for that."

"It's okay. I understand. Just let me know if you ever want to do something together."

I smiled. "Thanks. You'll be the first to know."

Chapter
14

Normally, I was excited about my birthday, but this year I wasn't in the mood for celebrating. I still hadn't been able to contact my parents and celebrating my birth without them seemed pointless. I told Dominic I wanted a quiet birthday at home, but it was obvious he was scheming. If he was planning a party, I'd die.

"I have a surprise for you," he announced that morning.

I froze. Kurt had tainted my love of surprises for the unforeseeable future. I swallowed my fear, since I didn't want to explain it to him, and let Dominic lead me to his office. Well, at least I was sure it wasn't a surprise party. There was no room to hide people in that small space. He motioned for me to sit in his computer chair and loaded up Skype on his PC. He started a video call, and I almost screamed when my parents appeared on the screen.

"Mom. Dad. Where… why… I've been so worried. Your number didn't work."

My mom was crying as hard as I was, and my father looked like he wasn't far from joining us. "Oh, Haleigh, do you have any idea how worried we were?"

"I know, mom. I'm sorry."

My father waved his hand. "We're just glad you're okay."

"After your call, we knew something was wrong, and we tried to get the money together to come looking for you, but the bank wouldn't approve our application for a loan. Then our property taxes went up, which forced us to sell the house. We didn't get much from the sale, but it was enough to put down on a house in a retirement village."

"I was hoping you moved and something… bad didn't happen."

After we had gotten reacquainted, and the shock had worn off, I turned to Dominic. "How did you find them?"

"A friend on the police force knows all kinds of neat little tricks for finding people. I contacted them and explained what happened to you and assured them you were safe, but I figured seeing and talking to them would be a nice birthday present. So I helped them set up Skype." Dominic handed me a package he had been holding.

"We wanted to watch you open it," my mom said.

I opened the gift from my parents. It was a new smartphone. They couldn't afford this. I started to object, but my dad cut me off.

"We got a buy one get one free deal and decided it would be a good way for us to keep in touch. We can even talk free on our phones using Skype. Dominic showed us how," my dad said.

"I've added your phone to my account," Dominic said.

When I frowned at him, he mouthed, "Pay it forward".

"Honey, I'm so glad you found a man who obviously adores you," my mom said.

Her erroneous conclusion startled me, and I wondered what Dominic had told them. "We're only friends, mom."

My mom winked. "Okay, you tell yourself that."

Before my face turned a darker shade of red, Dominic handed me another package. "This one's from me."

"You gave me enough." I tried handing it back.

"Just open it," he said, rolling his eyes.

It was a small jewelry box, which made me nervous. When I opened it, I was stunned for a moment. I wasn't sure if I was imagining things. I slowly traced my finger over the pendant then gazed at Dominic. "How did you find this?"

My dad grinned. "When Dominic told us Kurt sold it, he said he might be able to get it back if he saw a picture. Your mom had worn it for our wedding, so she sent him a photo."

"I gave the picture to my friend to hunt down as stolen property. Kurt was stupid enough to sell it on eBay, so it wasn't difficult to track down and retrieve."

I took the necklace out of the box. As Dominic fastened it around my neck, I kissed the pendant. "I'm never losing this again."

"You can wear it to your own wedding," my mother said, winking again.

My dad chuckled.

I sighed. They would never give up.

"We need to go, sweetheart," my dad said. "Have a wonderful birthday."

"Happy birthday, baby," my mom added.

"It's the best birthday," I said. Knowing they were safe, and I could contact them whenever I wanted made it the best day of my life. Even better than the day Dominic rescued me from Kurt. "I'll talk to you guys soon. I love you."

"Love you too," they said together, and the call ended.

"Thank you so much." On impulse I wrapped my arms around Dominic. When I realized what I had done, I put some distance between us.

"You're welcome."

This was definitely going above the beyond the call of duty of friendship. He had saved my life, and now he was giving it back on a silver platter. While I was happy to be so fortunate, I still wondered whether I deserved it.

*****

That night, my mom's constant insinuations that Dominic and I were more than friends played on a continuous loop in my head. Nothing I did gave that impression, and I hoped Dominic wouldn't tell her something to make her come to that conclusion. When I considered it, I supposed he wouldn't need to say anything. It was obvious, even to me, he had feelings towards me. I had been trying not to think too much about it, but it wasn't easy.

The following morning, those thoughts were even harder to ignore when I found Dominic doing laps in the pool. It was something he did every morning, but I never noticed before how his body would glide so effortlessly across the surface as though the water wouldn't dare restrain him. It was the first time I took notice of how his muscles perfectly defined his shape. Most other girls would think he wasn't bulky enough, but too much muscle made me nervous. As fast as he completed his laps, it surprised me he had never been in the Olympics or at least a competition swimmer. Or perhaps he had, and it was a part of his life he didn't talk about. In reflection, I realized I didn't know much about him aside from the fact that he was into BDSM and a web designer.

Lost in my thoughts, I didn't notice when Dominic stopped swimming and caught me ogling him. I looked away quickly, pretending I was getting myself a cup of coffee.

He laughed. "Would you like to join me?"

I no longer had the excuse of not having a bathing suit, since Dominic insisted on buying me one when he took me shopping, but I had never even removed the tags. "I don't like swimming."

Of course, it was a lie. I loved to swim, but it would mortify me if he saw my brand or anything else poking through the suit. It was bad enough the scars from the whip marred my arms and legs, but those were harder to hide. At least shorts and skirts covered everything else. I kept telling myself I didn't want to pursue a relationship with him, but when I was honest with myself, it was more to do with the fact that I feared he would be disgusted by my physical damage. That kind of rejection would destroy me.

Dominic joined me in the kitchen with a towel wrapped around his waist. "You okay?"

I forced a smile. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Hm," he said, but didn't push further.

*****

Dominic picked up the phone. "Hello… yeah." He frowned and turned away from me. "Yeah, I understand… I'll tell her."

"What's going on?" I asked as he hung up the phone.

"You should sit down," he said and headed to the living room. He waited until I was sitting. "That was my friend, Matt. The cop I told you about. He was calling to give me a heads up on Kurt's sentencing because he didn't want you to see it on the news."

This wasn't good.

"Because there was no evidence, aside from your word, that he is involved in that organization, they couldn't link him to any of the crimes associated with them. Also, since he had never been guilty of any other crimes and because he 'appeared remorseful' in court, they gave him concurrent sentences, meaning he—"

"I know what it means," I snapped, and then immediately regretted my harsh tone. This wasn't his fault. "Sorry, go ahead."

"They sentenced him to seven years."

"Seven years for everything he's done?" I buried my face in my hands and sobbed.

Dominic pulled me into his arms and held me until I calmed down. "There is an upside."

I snorted.

"Because of the nature of his crimes, he has to serve the full term with no chance for early parole."

At least that was something, but still. Seven years, and then he'd be out doing it to someone else. It sickened me.

"You okay?" Dominic asked.

I shrugged. "It's unfair."

"I agree, but there's nothing we can do to change it."

"I guess I just need to decide how I'll react, right?" I said, sarcastically.

He raised an eyebrow. "Yes."

I gave him a wry smirk. As tempted as I was to point out his irritating nature, I had this sudden urge to kiss him at the same time. My need to squelch this urge overrode my sarcasm, and I looked away before he saw my desire and mistook it for an invitation.

*****

Logic didn't seem to be winning out in matters of the heart. Then again, did it ever? It wasn't something I would know, since I'd never been in love, and I wasn't ready to admit defeat and talk to my mom about it. The more time I spent with Dominic, the stronger my feelings became. I lost count of how many times he caught me watching him, and worse, I started doing little things for him on a whim. Afterward, I'd want to kick myself for rushing to do these things like an eager puppy, but at the time it seemed natural.

Lately, I had gotten into the habit of getting up in the morning before him and having coffee and breakfast ready, so he could get right to work. It also helped me to be ready for my morning classes too, so I convinced myself I wasn't doing it for his benefit. I also took over doing the laundry. Of course, I told myself it was because I was particular about how my clothes were washed. He insisted we share the rest of the housework equally, pointing out I needed to focus on my school work, but with only the two of us in the house, it wasn't difficult to keep up.

Despite having an excuse for everything I did, at some point he would see through it, if he hadn't already. It was just a matter of time, and as much as I liked him, I still wouldn't be able to handle being in another relationship. Unfortunately, Dominic seemed to show more and more interest in me. It didn't make me uncomfortable, but I dreaded the day I would be forced to tell him we couldn't be more than friends.

"I'll get it," Dominic called out when the phone rang.

I sat down to get back to work on my assignment, but when Dominic mentioned something about Thanksgiving, it distracted me. As close as Dominic was with his family, I figured he'd be spending the day with them. I was looking forward to having the house to myself for the day. I could have a video chat with my parents, since Dominic wouldn't need to use his computer, and I was even considering a swim. It wouldn't matter if I wore a bathing suit if no one was around to see it.

"Yeah, I'll ask her… Sure, I'll see you then. Later, bro." Dominic hung up the phone, then sat down next to me. "Brant's hosting Thanksgiving this year. We usually go to my parents' house, but I they decided they're getting to old. They volunteered him."

I smiled. Holidays have never been a big event for me, so I wouldn't know what it was like to plan for a lot of guests. I wasn't sure I wanted to.

"He has invited you," Dominic said.

My smile faded. "I can't go."

"Why not? I promise it'll be fun."

"It's not that. I'm just not sure how comfortable I'll be in the house where I first met Kurt. It might bring back too many memories I don't want or need, especially around people I don't know. It would be too much."

Dominic sighed and picked up his phone. "Hey Brant… Yeah, so I'll just stay with her here… Yeah, definitely… Okay, see ya."

"You didn't need to do that," I said, frowning.

"I'm not leaving you alone on Thanksgiving."

"It wouldn't be the first time, and it's not a big deal."

"It is to me."

I didn't bother arguing any further. It wouldn't change his mind.

*****

Dominic had planned a feast that would feed an army. It was entirely too much food, but he was in his element, so I kept it to myself. I couldn't help wondering if he had missed his calling.

"You should have been a chef instead of a web designer," I suggested.

He lifted his gaze from the turkey he was stuffing. "Nah, I don't enjoy cooking for strangers. I love to make things for friends and family, people I care about, and I love to take my time with it. I wouldn't enjoy the fast-paced cooking required in a restaurant. Cooking is more of a hobby."

I smiled as I watched him preparing our meal, offering help on occasion. Most of the time he turned down my offers, but it was fun watching him. It was like witnessing an artist put together a masterpiece. When the meal was nearly finished, I set the table. I considered lighting candles, but decided it might send the wrong message.

We ate in silence. The food was too delicious to bother talking, but I barely finished what he dished up for me. I wrapped my plate and helped him clean. There were enough leftovers to feed us for days, not that I would mind.

"Ready for dessert?" Dominic asked as he started the dishwasher.