Domination

Chapter 8

The smell was the first thing to hit Lorelei. It was the stench of something rotting with the hint of something moldy. She had not even fully stepped into the apartment and she was already fighting the urge to gag. She chewed on her lip to stop herself from having her jaw open in shock.

There were piles of junk everywhere. They had struggled to open the door because stacks of garbage blocked the way. Take out containers, coffee cups, papers, and other food wrappings littered the unit. A thin path was cleared to the hallway with the bedrooms. The only thing not covered was a reclining chair that was facing a small television. The walls were yellowing with cigarette smoke.

Jesse let out a deep breath. He pinched the bridge of his nose as he shook his head.

"Mom," he said. "This is awful."

"What are you talking about?" Christina asked.

"It hasn't been this bad since I was in high school," he said.

Christina scowled. She shoved her hands in the pockets of her robe and looked around at the mess. Lorelei wanted to comfort Jesse, but she was still in shock. Her eyes kept finding new piles of junk to focus on.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Christina said. "It's an easy fix."

"No, it's not. This is going to take days."

"Well, when are you going back to Toronto?"

Jesse pressed his lips into a line and narrowed his eyes.

"That does not matter," he said. "This should have never happened again."

"Are you going to bitch at me or help me?" Christina snapped.

Lorelei's eyes went wide. Jesse crossed his arms over his chest. He furrowed his brows. He curled his fingers into the sleeves of his hoodie. Christina put her hands on her hips, cocked her head to the side, and tapped her foot while she waited for Jesse to respond.

"I don't have to help you," Jesse said.

"You have to," Christina said. "Marlowe refuses to help. One of my children must care about me."

"Marlowe cares about you, Mom," Jesse said. "You just have to learn to take care of yourself."

"I can take care of myself."

"Clearly not."

Christina scoffed and rolled her eyes. She lifted her hand and pointed toward the door.

"Get out," she said.

"Mom-" Jesse started.

"I said get out of my house!" she cut him off. "If you don't want to help just go."

"I want to help."

"Clearly not!"

Jesse uncrossed his arms. He pushed past Christina to the reclining chair. She stumbled and struggled to catch herself so that her wobbly legs did not fall. He lifted an empty bottle of vodka off the seat.

"How quick did you go through this?" he asked.

"Jesse, I've had that for weeks," she said. "Don't be ridiculous."

"A week?" he asked. "Because this usually only lasts you a day if you're having a good day."

Christina ripped the bottle out of Jesse's hands. She pointed at Lorelei and her hands were shaking. Lorelei's chest tightened as she watched them fight.

"You brought your girlfriend here just so you could have an audience to embarrass me in front of," Christina said. "How could you do that to me?"

"Don't bring Lorelei into this," Jesse said. "She's here to help."

"I don't need either of you two's help."

"Then why did we fly across the country to Vancouver."

Christina shook her head. She tossed the glass bottle into a pile of junk that was a mixture of laundry and books.

"I need you to leave," she said.

"Mom, how are you going to clean this?" he asked. "You know you're going to lose the apartment if you don't fix this."

"Get out," she said.

"You really want to live on the streets?"

"Jesse Aiden Madden, get out of my home!"
Lorelei reached out and put her hand on Jesse's arm. He turned to look at her. She forced a smile to try and comfort Jesse, but it wavered.

"We can come back," she said.

"I don't want either of you back here," Christina said.

Jesse let out a huff of breath. He lifted his chin to gesture toward the door.

"Let's leave," he said.

"Good!" Christina yelled. "Get out of here!"

Lorelei turned and opened the door. She struggled to get it open enough so that she could slip into the hallway. Jesse was close behind her. Once the door was shut, he pulled off his toque and ran his fingers through his hair as he groaned.

"That couldn't have gone worse," he said. "I was hoping she wouldn't be drunk."

A scream came from behind the door before the sound of shattered glass. Jesse turned to go back into the apartment, but Lorelei grabbed his hand. Christina was upset and continuing to fight with her son was not going to help the situation.

"Give her some time," Lorelei said. "Emotions are high right now."

Jesse sighed before nodding. Lorelei tightened her grip on his hand and pulled him down the stairs.

They stepped outside and Lorelei took in a deep breath of fresh air. The stench still lingered in her nose. Jesse pulled Lorelei close and they hurried out of the neighbourhood. They headed back to the hotel and Jesse had a crushing hold on Lorelei's hand.

--

Jesse did not let go of Lorelei until they got to the hotel room. He let go and sat on the foot of the bed. He buried his head in his hands. His knee was bouncing and he shook his head. Lorelei sat next to him and put her arm around his shoulders. Jesse leaned in and put his head on her shoulder. Lorelei rubbed his arm.

"I'm sorry I brought you here," he said.

"I am glad I came," she said. "I want to be here for you."

"My family is fucked up."

"Isn't everyone's?"

Jesse chuckled. He groaned as he lifted his head from Lorelei's shoulder. She leaned in and kissed his cheek.

"She'll come around," he said. "We just need to wait."

"Let's do something fun then," she said. "Get your mind off of things."

Jesse smirked. Lorelei rolled her eyes and smacked him in the shoulder.

"Not everything has to be about sex," she said.

"We don't have to fuck," he said. "There is a hot tub in this hotel. I don't think I have ever seen you in a bikini."

Lorelei giggled and stood. "I think I packed one."

She winked before turning and going for her suitcase.