Domination

Chapter 17

Lorelei was still in Jesse's arms when she woke in the middle of the night. Her head was on his chest, and her leg and arm were over his body. He dragged his fingers up and down her spine. A light shone down on them. She forced her heavy eyes to open as she looked up at Jesse. He turned his phone off and dropped it on the bed. He ran his fingers through her hair.

"Are you okay?" he asked. "Why are you awake?"

"I'm fine," she said. "I don't know why I'm awake."

"Good. You're not experiencing sub-drop?"

"No."

Lorelei nuzzled her face into Jesse's chest. He tightened his hold on her and kissed her forehead.

"Why are you awake?" she asked.

"My phone wouldn't stop buzzing," he said.

Lorelei did not have to ask. She knew Christina was texting and calling him in the middle of the night.

"We're going to her apartment in the morning?" she asked.

"I'll go," he said. "You can stay at the hotel and rest."

Lorelei lifted her head from Jesse's chest. She could not see the details of his face in the darkness.

"Jesse, I am going with you," she said.

"That apartment is so gross," he said. "My life is disgusting."

"The apartment is not your life."

"It was at one point."

Lorelei sighed as she lowered her head. How come Jesse had never talked about his mother before he received that phone call outside Roasters? She knew nothing about his family. She did not even know he had a half-sister until they came to Vancouver.

"What else don't I know?" Lorelei asked.

Jesse let out a huff of breath. He twirled a piece of Lorelei's hair around his finger. Her heart pounded when she waited for his answer.

"I guess I have never talked about my father," he said.

"You haven't," she said. "I did not know he died until today."

"He passed away when I was five. It was a heroin overdose."

"I'm so sorry."

Jesse tightened his arms around Lorelei. It was crushing her, but she did not want to say anything. He was clinging to her for comfort.

"He was in and out of my life a lot as a kid," he said. "He had moved back in with us, and I found him a couple of weeks later."

"You found him?" she asked.

"My mom was out buying cigarettes," he said. "I went to my parent's room, and my dad was overdosing on the bed. I didn't understand it back then. When my mom returned, I told her my dad was asleep, and I could not wake him up. I still remember the sound of her screaming when she went into the bedroom."

"Jesse, that is terrible."

He rolled them over so that she was lying on her back. He stretched his arm across her abdomen. He put his head on his chest. His warm tears rolled onto Lorelei's skin. Her heart ached, and she ran her fingers through his hair. The only time she had seen him cry was after their big fight.

"I'm so sorry I have never asked you about your past," Lorelei said.

"I hate thinking about my past," he said. He sniffled, and the sound broke her heart. "I just pretend it didn't happen."