"Grund genug" - Madeline Juno
🎵 Ich stopf das Loch in meinem Herz / Schluck noch 'ne Pille für den Schmerz / Will keinen Schlaf verlieren / Zeit für 'nen Zug von dir 🎵
Five hours.
For five long, torturous hours, I was trapped on a train headed to Nordwestmecklenburg with none other than Dominik: a.k.a. the Most Angsty Teen in all of Germany!
We sat in complete silence in one of the passenger compartments. It was really tiny and cramped, reminding me a lot of those trains that I've seen on the Harry Potter movies that take the students to Hogwarts; but instead of a magical school, my destination is some random town! I sat on one side of the tiny compartment (that wasn't even as big as my bathroom at home), keeping my rabbit backpack tight in my clutches in front of me. My phone had been foolishly left in Alaric's van (thanks Dominik), so I really had nothing to entertain myself. I mean, I did have my inhaler in my backpack, so maybe I can take a few puffs and get high?
Does it work like that?
Dominik, being his usual weirdo self, quietly fumed on the other seat. His big arms were crossed in front of his large chest, and he impatiently tapped his foot over and over in the tiny room. The little pitter patters of his shoe kept sounding out, almost in tune to the gears that I heard being sputtered from the train. A deep frown was set on his face, and every so often, his yellow eyes would dart over to me, making me gulp.
I may not be psychic, and I really suck at reading people, but if I were old enough to place bets, I'd bet my whole piggy bank back home in Canada (CA$34.21) that Dominik did not like me. Like, at all.
In fact, the poor dude looked like he was kind of in pain, like even being near me sent him over the edge. For real, his pale face was getting redder by the kilometer, and he tried so hard to keep staring out the window. Speaking of which, he'd cracked it open on his side, and he made sure to lean against the wall so that he constantly got a rush of fresh air.
I know that I didn't smell... I doublechecked and I'm B.O. free, so maybe he really just didn't like Old Spice's Wolfthorn— the commercials made it seem like everyone loved it! Whatever, I really don't know what his damage is, but it was getting really uncomfortable. Seriously, I felt as if I could cut the tension with a butter knife, and every time I'd clear my throat to strike up a conversation, the weird teen would flinch as if I'd startled him out of his daydreams of murdering me.
At this point, if Dominik does kill me, I just hope he doesn't slice up my face. I want an open casket. I did not stick to a strict skincare routine just to have it all F'd up by some brooding guy.
"Um," I mumbled, the tension really starting to give me a headache.
Again, Dominik seemed to wince, and he narrowed his gaze at me.
"Have you, um, have you ever been to Nord-west-mec-klen-burg?" I asked, having to say the town's name slowly in order to pronounce it close to correct, and hoping to fill this dead space with even the stupidest of smalltalk.
"Ja," Dominik huffed, before turning his attention back to the scenery outside. I think we were getting closer to our accidental stop because I could begin to smell the salty stench of the ocean, and I know that Nordwestmecklenburg is a coastal town.
I just nodded, irked that my attempt at smalltalk was destroyed in under five seconds. Wow, get good at talking, Dumb-inik. I couldn't help but chuckle at my little mental joke.
This summer really sucked butt. For real, I feel so childish for complaining nonstop about being left out and feeling alone, but damn! Emilia was attached to Sofia's hip whenever we visited Dad; and even back in Canada, she wanted to hang out with her friends and pretend that I didn't exist. I mean, I guess she's older and doesn't want her baby brother cramping her style or whatever, but still, it would be nice just to watch TV together or something! And then Dad has been all over the moon with Alaric, acting like some cheery couple on some cheesy rom-com, always with each other and ignoring the rest of the world... which unfortunately included me.
A part of me felt selfish for wanting more of my family's attention. I mean, I guess I should be happy that they're happy. After all, Emilia did look forward to summer all school year, eager to hang out with Sofia; and I did get to see Emilia all year instead of just a few months. And Dad had been so lonely and sad after Mom left, so maybe Alaric wasn't too bad. He made Dad feel loved, after all.
But am I a bad person for wanting more?
Emilia would go hang out with friends, leaving me all by myself. Dad would go with Alaric on their dates, leaving me with Emilia, which usually turned into me being all by myself.
I'm tired of being alone. I guess the smart thing to do would be to branch out and try to make more friends, But I don't speak German too well. I can get around, but it's difficult forming a social group when I can barely communicate. And sure, a lot of people speak English here, but then a few don't.
And of course I didn't envision myself and Dominik becoming friends, but damn! We'd been trapped on this train together for hours, and he'd barely said a single thing! Maybe he was mad at me since it was technically my fault that we were going to Nordwestmecklenburg. That's probably it.
Sighing, I figured that maybe I should do the mature thing. Ugh, why am I such a good person?
"Sorry," I mumbled, my head hanging low in shame.
Out of my peripherals, I could vaguely make out Dominik sitting up straight. "For what?" he asked, his deep voice sounding less angry.
I bit down on my lower lip for a second before raising my gaze, taken aback for a brief second at the way the other guy looked at me.
Dominik's yellow eyes were wide and they laser focused in on my face; but instead of looking annoyed or irritated, his eyebrows were raised in an almost sympathetic fashion. All of the creases that had been on his face earlier, like when I'd first met him at that awkward dinner party, were gone. His face was smooth, and his mouth was pulled slightly into a frown. But again, and I cannot stress this enough due to how surprising it was, Dominik didn't look like he wanted to murder me for some reason.
Instead, he looked... concerned?
No, that couldn't be it. But still, the longer he stared at me, the more I couldn't pinpoint the emotion that was being shown in his large eyes.
"I, uh," I stuttered, "I know that it's my fault we're on the wrong train. So, I really just wanted to say that I'm sorry."
The guy sighed loudly, his broad shoulders rising and falling with the motion. He reached up and rubbed at his temples, that annoyed expression making a "miraculous" comeback onto his face. "Shit happens," he huffed, his yellow eyes darting back towards the window to examine the scenery that whooshed by.
I mean, I guess that means he accepts my semi-apology... right? Meh, I'll take it.
We sat in awkward silence for what felt like an eternity. It was torture! I quietly sat on one side of the train cabin, lazily swinging my legs to the beat of the wheels, while Dominik scowled on the other side planning my slow, painful death.
"Um," I mumbled, hoping to break the ice, "what's your favorite color?" It was an innocent enough question that I've seen loads of people ask on TV.
Dominik glanced over at me, his yellow eyes narrowing as they stared me down. His jaw clenched, and I could kind of make out the slight stubble that was forming on his teenage face. Dude looks like he'll have a thick beard like Alaric when he's older. Come to think of it, he looks a lot like Alaric in a multitude of ways. Sure people always say that sons tend to take after their fathers, but I don't look anything like Dad (thank God). Dominik and Alaric seem to have a lot in common. They're both super tall, really buff, a little bit on the hairier side of the spectrum, and they both ooze this sort of aura that makes them seem really tough. But, whereas Alaric seems more like he could be the leader of the German Justice League, Dominik looks more like he could be an edgy villain in a made-for-TV movie.
"Rot," Dominik spat. Red, like blood!
"Oh, cool," I murmured. "I like purple, or uh..." I couldn't remember how to say the color in German. Wow, I really need to brush up on my vocab.
Dominik snorted, a small smirk forming on his gruff face. "How do you live in Deutschland and you can't speak Deutsch?"
I frowned, but shook my head. "I'm visiting," I corrected him.
Dominik straightened up even more, looking like he was about to bolt out of his seat. His frown coming back again, but deeper this time. "From where?" he asked, a sense of urgency behind it.
"Vancouver," I answered.
The other guy scrunched up his thick eyebrows in confusion. "Where's that?" he asked, talkative all of a sudden.
"Canada," I said, matter-of-factly. I thought that Vancouver was one of the great cities and that everyone knew where it was.
Dominik's frowned deepened and I could've sworn that a slight rumbled emanated from him, but I think it was just the rusty gears of the train.
"Um, so...," I mumbled, looking for a way to change the topic, "who's your favorite singer?"
A look of pure disappointment still plastered all over his face, Dominik took a deep breath. "Rammstein," he huffed.
I'm not big on hard rock, it's a little too tough for my taste. "Oh, cool cool," I nodded. "I love Mariah Carey."
"Mariah Carey?" Dominik repeated, cocking his eyebrow at me.
"Yeah," I chuckled. "I am such a lamb. I love her and I always try to match her amazing whistle-tone. Check it: I had a vision of love / and it was all that you've given to me / I had a vision of love— AAAHHHH!" As I totally, no lie, nailed the note, I even put my hand to my ear as I've seen Mariah do in her concerts that I've watched over and over on YouTube.
Dominik winced, looking pained. "Yeah, that's, um, quite the voice you've got there..."
"I know."
He was quiet as he thought for a sec, his yellow eyes focusing on me. "So, I take it you like der Hasen," he grunted, nodding towards my backpack.
I looked down at my stuffed animal backpack that was in the shape of a rabbit. It was Oreo colored, black and white, with large black circles around its eyes, making it look sort of like a panda hybrid. It was shaped in such a way that it looked like I was giving it a piggy back ride, its long white ears having lost a lot of their elasticity, so they flopped around uselessly.
"Rabbits are my favorite animal," I said, feeling my own face grow a little warm. I know that it's dumb, but whenever I've admitted that in the past, a majority of guys would claim that it's a girly animal for a guy to like. But whatever, I like rabbits! Sue me.
"Der Hasen," Dominik chuckled to himself. "Wölfe fressen Hasen." Huh?
I nodded, again. "I heard that there's this island town in America, called Langley," I explained, excited to share the research news that I'd learned through my studies, "and it's known as 'Bunny Island' because there's tons of rabbits that live there. Like, they've taken over the town. When I grow up, I'm totally moving there." My mind's already been made up. I'm still a tad unsure about what I want to be career-wise, but I was leaning towards veterinarian. I love animals, and if I moved to the illustrious Bunny Island as a veterinarian, then it'd be a dream come true!
Dominik's frown made a comeback, again. "Well, there are a lot of rabbits here in Deutschland," he... growled? Seriously, it sounded almost like he growled like a dog would. His frown set deep on his face, he stared back out the window, pouting for some reason.
I looked back out the window too, looking down further along the tracks. From where I was sitting, I was able to see the upcoming setting. A little ways down, I could see a tunnel coming up in the far distance, reminding me of the little game that Emilia and I would play when Dad would take us on the train in the past.
"Hey, there's a tunnel coming up," I said, perking up the littlest bit.
Dominik just nodded in silence, his arms still crossed in front out him as if he were pouting.
Whatever, I'll just keep talking to fill this awkward space. That's the best thing to do in such a situation, I've heard. "If you hold your breath the whole way through, then you get to make a wish," I explained, watching as the tunnel grew closer and closer. It went straight through a large green hill, but it must've been deep since I couldn't see much light shining from within it.
"'A Wish'?" Dominik almost scoffed, giving me the side eye.
Maybe he can wish for a better personality? "Mm-hmm," I hummed.
Dominik's frown deepened momentarily, but then he sighed. Microscopically, the right side of his mouth pulled up. "How will I know that you're not cheating?" he almost-smirked. "Will you hold your breath the entire time?"
A tiny part of me was scared that he was trying to offer to choke me out the whole time the train was in the tunnel. "Um," I mumbled, "well come here and you can make sure I really hold my breath then."
I patted the space on the seat next to me.
In a flash, Dominik lurched from his spot across the tiny cab, and plopped himself down right next to me. He sat so close that our sides were pressed tightly together.
Huh, I guess he takes tunnel wishes extremely seriously.
Again, being next to the dude, I couldn't help but marvel at how massive he was! For real, he's crazy tall... well, I mean, I am also kind of short; like, when Dominik rested his arm on the back of the seat behind me, it wasn't touching my shoulders. Instead, it just hovered over me, his high body heat radiating off of him like a space heater. No wonder why he was all too ready to loan me his hoodie. Speaking of which, I was still wearing it and it was begrudgingly comfy. Maybe it's the fabric softener that Alaric uses, or maybe Dominik just bought one of those fancy cotton hoodies. Regardless, I was toasty warm in it (that, and with the guy practically shoving me against the side of the train with his bulk) and it was hard not to cuddle up inside of it. A part of me was considering "forgetting" to return it to Dominik. I hope he won't mind if I steal his hoodie.
Even now as I balled up my fists in anticipation as the tunnel approached even more, my small hands were totally covered by the super long sleeves.
Dominik looked down at me wearing his hoodie, and I swear that his smirk grew a little more.
I didn't have time to figure it out because the train was mere seconds away from the tunnel. "Okay, get ready," I said. Already the front section of the train was engulfed in the dark shadows of the tunnel, and it was rapidly approaching our section on the last cart.
"Eins, zwei, drei," Dominik counted down until the sunlight from the outside was completely blocked out as we entered the dark tunnel.
Out of childish instinct, I quickly took in a big gulp of air and plugged my nose to ensure that I'd get whatever wish I wanted. Plus, in order to prove to Dominik that I wasn't a dirty, rotten cheater, I leaned in closer to him so that he'd be able to tell that I wasn't breathing.
It was pitch black inside the small cabin, so I couldn't see a single thing. But I could feel the guy next to me tense up, his whole body going rigid as if he were made of steel. Huh, maybe he was afraid of the dark? I wouldn't have pegged an edgelord lookin' dude to be a chicken in the dark. Weird.
Still though, I'm not heartless.
In the past, whenever I'd been afraid, Emilia would hold my hand and give it a gentle squeeze. That little action had always let me know that everything was okay. Hence, I reached up with my free hand, blindly feeling along the cool wall of the train for a moment before my fingers grazed Dominik's rough skin. Once I made contact, I grabbed a gentle hold of his hand that was attached to his arm that rested behind me. At first, I cringed at how clammy it was, but Dominik flinched. He paused and tensed up even more, and I could even feel his crazy heartbeat speed up in his muscled chest from where I sat.
Oh shoot, did I make a mistake—?
Dominik quickly interlaced our fingers, tightening his grip on my hand.
Aww, poor guy. He really must be afraid of the dark, judging by the how tightly he held my hand (ouch). I won't tell anyone, but thinking about the tough guy shaking at the thought of the sun setting made me want to laugh, which made holding my breath that much harder.
The rumbling of the train wheels filled the silence in the dark cabin. I tried my best to concentrate on holding my breath so that I wouldn't lose, but my chest started to ache with need a tiny bit. Instead of thinking about how delicious a mouthful of oxygen would be right now, I tried my best to think about my wish.
Sure I know that it's just a childish game and that there's no magical properties surrounding a whole in the hill... but what if there was? That lingering belief in magic made my childish mind scramble over the multiple possibilities regarding what wish I could make.
A buh-jillion dollars? That could be nice. Ugh, but I don't even want to think about the taxes that I'd have to pay for that amount. Gross.
To be skinny? Emilia's always wishing for that, but I already think I look pretty good. Like, seriously. I should be on the cover of magazines, so why waste a wish if I'm already fabulous?
Hmm, what on earth could I wish for?
I tried to think about what I wanted the most. Then it hit me! This whole ass summer I've been moping around, feeling lonely and like I didn't have anyone around who cared about me. It really sucked, and the more I thought about it, the more I realized that loneliness is trash. I've felt sad before; like I was sad when Mom and Dad split up, I was sad when my pet rabbit ran away, I was sad when I was left out at school for being "weird", I was sad when my other rabbit ran away, I was sad when I found out that Santa Claus wasn't real, I was sad when my third rabbit ran away (rabbits don't like me for some reason), and I was sad when my best friend moved. And yet, all of those seem to have loneliness as a common denominator.
I could wish for Emilia or Dad to pay more attention to me. But then again, a small part me, no matter how selfish I really want to be, couldn't yank them away from their own lives. As stupid as it sounds, Emilia is happy with Sofia and their boy toys, and Dad is happy with Alaric (no clue why though). I love them, so I don't really want to get in the way of their own happiness.
But, that does give me an idea. I mean Emilia/Sofia and Dad seem to have found happiness and cure their loneliness with the help of a man. Hmm, I could technically wish for a man... or two, or ten.
I could barely begin to make out a slight spark of light as the tunnel began to come to an end. I need to make my wish soon!
Without a second thought, I closed my eyes and focused all of my might on sending this wish out into the universe, praying that it'd come true... and in my haste, my immaturity totally seeped into it too.
I wish I had a ton of guys totally in love with me!
Nice.
Dominik gave my hand a gentle squeeze, and the temperature in the cramped cabin must've jumped hella degrees as he leaned into closer to me. His arm fell from the top of the seat, resting completely atop my shoulders, almost as if he were trying to yank me closer to him.
The sunlight poured into the small cabin, blinding me for a brief second. I made it! I immediately let go of my nose and began to sputter for precious air.
Dominik exhaled sharply, smiling down widely at me. "I won," he smirked. I wonder what he wished for? Probably a yo-yo.
I've never seen the angsty dude smile so big before, so it was almost alarming, and I was wondering if I should seek medical attention for him. But that became an afterthought the more I saw his pearly whites. The guy obviously took great care of his teeth, but holy crap! His canine teeth were massive! They weren't like cartoonishly big, but still. I swear, if he wanted to, Dominik could totally lean down and rip out my throat with his large, sharp teeth. Oh yeah, that too! They're crazy sharp! For real, the dude had knives for teeth, it seemed.
My eyes widened the more I looked. "Dude," I couldn't help but muse, "you got vampire fangs..."
Dominik's smile fell ad he scrunched up his face. "'Vam-pi-er'?" he repeated, looking confused. "Like, ein Vampir?"
I only know from crushing hard on Robert Pattinson that "Vampire" in German is "Vampir". I just nodded.
Dominik's face went from looking confused to looking like he'd hurl chunks all over me in a matter of seconds. "Ein vampir?" he practically sneered, acting as if I'd just called his mother a hoe.
I guess he must be Team Jacob, which I mean, fair. Honestly, I liked both.
"Or ein Werwolf," I hurriedly added, trying to hold both of my hands up in surrender... but my left was still locked in Dominik's grasp. I guess werewolf was more accurate, seeing as how even his bottom canine teeth were pretty big too. With vampires, I think it's just the top row of teeth that has fangs... right? I'm not a dentist, so I don't know for sure!
Dominik flinched again, and I could feel the large muscles in his body tense up a second time. He looked away from me, a pinkish color forming on his face. "Werwolf," he snorted, acting annoyed, but there was an odd shaky quality to his voice for some unknown reason.
Before I could ask what was up, an announcement rang out on the loudspeakers.
"Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren, wir heißen Sie herzlich willkommen im Nordwestmecklenburg," it said, the speakers still making the voice sound really staticky and broken up.
My eyes stayed glued to the guy next to me, waiting for him to translate.
Luckily, despite his evident irritation with me, after one look at my curious, wide-eyed face, Dominik's yellow eyes softened the slightest bit. "We're here," he muttered.
On cue, the train gradually began to slow and the squeaking of the brakes echoes out. A small station pulled into view through the window, and beyond that, off in the distance, I could see the bluish-green of the Atlantic Ocean. Little flecks of white were dotted here and there, indicating the small waves. I've been to the beach a few times back home in Canada, but the Pacific Ocean is ice cold! So I didn't like to wade in it at all, but I still love to go to the ocean because it's always filled with a day of delicious treats, searching for seashells, and just having a great time with my family.
"Ooh, if there's time before the train back to Bedburg, can we go to the beach?" I asked Dominik, turning back to face him so that I could try putting on my best puppy dog eyes that I try with Dad whenever I want something.
Dominik looked down at me, his face going blank.
"Please?" I added, upping the ante.
The pinkish color on the guy's cheeks deepened. "O-of course, mein Hase," he breathed, a dull smile forming on his previously annoyed face.
Huh? His what? His bunny?
Granted my German wasn't the best, and I'd learned a majority of it online and through textbooks, I wasn't completely up to date on slang. Therefore, I was unsure as to why Dominik referred to me as "Bunny"; and not only that, but "His Bunny". I don't get it...
Oh well. "Do you promise?" I asked, making sure that he wouldn't back out and try to force us to hang out at the train station the entire time.
The other guy's face was still reddening (not in a mad way though), and he slowly nodded. "O-okay," he coughed.
It was my turn to frown. "You can't say 'Okay'," I countered. "You have to promise. Otherwise, it's not real." I held up my free hand, my pinkie sticking up for him to take.
There'd been dozens of times in which Mom or Dad would make a promise, and when I'd ask if they'd actually truly promised me that they'd do something or whatever, they'd shrug it off with the "Okay" response, which is such a gross cop out, honestly. They'd might as well have just declined.
Without a moment's hesitation, Dominik hooked my pinkie with his. His blush deepened even more, making him look like a cherry. "I promise," he whispered so low that I had trouble hearing him.
As I puzzled over it, the train finally came to a complete stop. There was a loud hissing noise that rang out throughout the compartment as the automatic doors slid open. Out of instinct, I made a move to stand up, but Dominik kept me trapped to him.
His trademark frown coming back to his eerie face, his stood, yanking me up to my feet alongside him. He let go of my hands, only to wrap a secure arm around my waist, keeping me stuck right next to him.
"Stay close to me," he ordered, his deep voice full of authority like Alaric's when he'd been addressing the whole table at the dinner party. "I don't want you getting lost..."
Oh, how nice of him.
"...again."
What a dick.
Rolling my eyes, I tried to stay in step with the older guy as he led us off the train. However, due to the large height difference between us, his legs were a lot longer than mine, hence his stride was immensely bigger. While he seemed to take a relaxing Sunday stroll off the train, I was virtually sprinting to keep up with him.
We exited the train, and instantly, I was blown away with how cold it was outside. Sure, we were closer to the ocean, and Germany was not even remotely known for its heat, but damn! A gust of wind blew over the train station, penetrating the hoodie I wore, making me shiver and wrap both of my arms around my skinny (*wink) body.
Dominik paused, looking down at me, his yellow eyes filled with what looked like concern again. Maybe he's not feeling well? I mean, there's no way this scary dude would be worrying about little ol' me. For real.
"Are you cold, Hase?" he asked, giving me that cutesy nickname again.
Instead of grilling him on it, I just nodded, looking pathetic as my teeth even began to chatter.
He let out that weird growling noise again. "Come here," he grunted as he yanked me in closer to him. He wrapped both of his large arms around me, pulling me into his buff chest.
Almost immediately, I felt loads warmer huddled up to Dominik. I have no idea what it is, but the dude seemed to be part volcano or something, because his body heat was degrees higher than any other dude I've met. That, and whenever I seemed to be next to him, I didn't shiver anymore. I just hope that the guy doesn't mind being my personal heater while we're stuck in Nordwestmecklenburg.
It took a bit of figuring it out, walking with both of Dominik's arms snaking around me, but we managed to make our way towards the ticket booth.
The young woman behind the glass looked at us a bit weirded out, cocking her eyebrow. However, she shrugged it off, forcing a plastic smile onto her bored looking face. "Hallo, wie kann ich Ihnen heute helfen?" she asked.
I have no idea what she just said.
Dominik seemed to straightened his poster for some reason, his grip on me tightening. He pulled me in tighter to him, and I could feel his chiseled abs pressing against my back. Damn, he must work out a lot. Or he eats a lot of steroids.
"Wann fährt der nächste Zug nach Bedburg?" Dominik asked, his voice deep and full of manly bass, almost as if he were trying to act more mature, or possibly, menacing. I swear the dude was trying to flex on the employee, but why?
I heard him say "Bedburg", so I assume he's asking when the next train is. At least, I hope he is.
The ticket woman typed away at her computer before looking back up at us. "Der nächste Zug fährt in drei Stunden," she said.
Dominik frowned for the millionth time... dude needs to be careful, that causes wrinkles. "Können wir bitte Ihr Telefon benutzen?" he asked, blushing a little bit. "Wir sind in den falschen Zug gestiegen und müssen unsere Eltern anrufen."
It was sort of neat listening to Dominik speak German. It's a naturally guttural language, that seems to have the speaker sound like they're constantly angry. That's no different when the angry teen speaks it, too. For real, his voice seems deep and commanding, and whenever he pronounces some of the "S" sounds, it sounds like he's spitting with malice. I couldn't help but think of the scary yakuza that I've seen on some of my anime shows whenever Dominik spoke, making him appear all the more tougher to me.
Shoot, meanwhile, I have a totally Westernized accent whenever I attempt to speak German, leading to a lot of the locals laughing at me. It's hard, okay?
The woman nodded and reached for the black corded phone that was on her desk; whoa, retro! She handed the receiver to Dominik. "Wie lautet die Nummer?" she asked.
Dominik responded with a string of numbers, since European phone numbers are hella long for stupid reason. And kudos to him for memorizing whatever number the needed to dial since I didn't even know my own parents' numbers by heart.
The woman dialed the number while Dominik held the phone up to his ear with one hand, while his free arm was secured tightly around me, warming me up the slightest bit. I couldn't help but huddle up closer to him as soon as a gust of salty ocean wind blew by, and I swear Dominik tightened his grip too. His arm even moved up and down in a comforting motion, and I could feel his chest rumble with what resembled a purr.
Huh?
"Hallo? Vater?" Dominik asked, speaking into the phone as soon as the other person, Alaric apparently, answered.
I could hear the roar of Alaric on the other line, and Dominik winced, his broad shoulders falling.
"Nein, es war ein Fehler," Dominik muttered, his noice not as tough-sounding as it had been mere seconds ago.
I could vaguely make out Alaric saying something on the other line.
Dominik sighed loudly. "Fine," he muttered, handing the phone to me. "He wants to talk to you."
"Why?" I wondered aloud, still taking the phone from him and putting it up to my ear. "Um, Is Emilia mad?" I know she is, but I just hope she doesn't want to kill me. Or if she does, I just hope it's fast!
"Max," Alaric greeted in his deep voice, taking on a much gentler tone than he had with his own son, "Emilia is fine. She and her friend took the train to Frankfurt. I just wanted to check in with you and make sure that everything's alright?"
At first, I was a bit weirded out that Alaric would be nicer to me than his son, his own flesh and blood, but I shrugged it off. I mean, I guess Dominik was in his rebellious teen phase and any parent would get annoyed by that. As if to prove my point, Dominik rolled his yellow eyes, somehow able to hear every single thing his father said on the phone with me.
"S'all good," I coughed.
Alaric sighed with relief, and then I heard him talk to whoever was with him. I could tell that his words weren't directed at me since they were quieter and more muffled, like they weren't spoken into the receiver.
"Er ist in Sicherheit. Würdest du mir bitte zuhören?" he said to whoever was with him. I couldn't exactly understand what he was saying, but I assume he was saying that I was alright. The second part, I had no idea.
What was going on?
I could hear a frantic voice in the background... Dad? I swear I heard Dad's voice yell out in the background, but it sounded off. Kind of like he was freaking the F out, even more than he had when I'd accidentally swung the Wii remote into the TV, wrecking the screen.
"Lass mich mit ihm reden!" Dad panicked in the background, his voice high and alert, like he was worried about something.
A muffled sound echoed out, indicating that the phone was being snatched away from Alaric.
What the hell is going on?
"Er ist in Sicherheit. Ich liebe dich, mein Schatz. Bitte sei nicht böse!" Alaric cried in the background, his usual authoritative voice cracking, coming off as desperate and pleading. "Ich habe versprochen, dass ich dich beschützen würde. Das gilt auch für Emilia und Max. Ihr seid jetzt alle Teil meines Wolfsrudels."
It sucks not being fluent in German sometimes. I could tell by the adults' tone that something serious was going on. Dad sounded frightened and worried, and Alaric sounded sad and worried... but more so like he was worried that Dad was worried. And I'd clearly heard my name and my sister's name, and I'd heard the word "Wolfsrudels". It was a phrase that had been uttered over and over again at that dinner party at Alaric's place, where I'd first met Dominik, and where a lot of the partygoers had been super strange.
And speaking of strange, Dominik looked worried now too, his brow furrowed as he was deep in thought. His grip on me tightened to an extreme level, as if he were afraid I'd blow away in the wind. I know I'm skinny, but damn.
"Max?" Dad breathed into the phone, sounding like he was out of breath. "Are you okay? Are you safe? Where are you? What's happening?"
Whoa! The barrage of questions gave me a headache, and I wondered what on earth was going on with him. Just earlier this morning, he'd been all heart-eyed over his new man, Alaric, but now he sounded like it was the worst day ever. Maybe they were having an argument?
"Y-yeah, everything's fine, Dad," I answered, completely lost as to what was up. "Um, are you alright?"
"Where are you?" Dad asked, ignoring my question. Rude.
"Nordwestmecklenburg," I hurriedly said, afraid of making my Dad's 'tude worse. "I got on the wrong train, but it totally wasn't my fault! The conductors must've put the wrong train on the tracks or something. I'm innocent, I swear!"
Dominik rolled his yellow eyes. Whatever.
Dad was silent on the other end, and I took that as a sign that he was planning my punishment— most likely grounding me until I turn thirty. Damn it.
"I'm fine though, Dad," I added, hoping to lessen the anxiety he was obvious feeling. "I'm with Dominik, and he's—"
Dad's gasp was loud enough that it cut me off. His voice was further away with his next words, letting me know that they were directed at Alaric, not me.
"Ist er auch ein Wer—?" he began to ask his new boo thang.
"Ja," Alaric interrupted him, his voice low and shameful. "Ich liebe dich..."
"Nein!"
I looked up at Dominik in confusion, wondering what was going on.
The other guy just knitted his eyebrows as he looked down at me, holding out his free hand for the phone while keep a strong arm wrapped around me.
Dad was worried, and something was clearly wrong. My father was usually calm and collected, nothing ever getting to him. But the panic in his voice and the urgency in his words let me know that something was wrong. That, and the way Alaric seemed to be trying (and failing) to calm him down let me know that the lumberjack looking dude was to blame. I didn't really have a strong opinion of Alaric, to be honest. That being said, if he made my dad cry or feel bad, he'd one-hundred percent be on my shit list. I don't play that way.
Still, I handed Dominik the phone, unsure of what to do otherwise.
The tall guy held it up to his ear. He bit down on his lower lip for a second, tightening his grip on me some more. "Ich verspreche, dass ich für seine Sicherheit sorgen werde," he said into the receiver. "Ich bringe ihn nach Hause."
He's talking about me, I know it. Dominik's talking about me in German to my scared Dad, but I can't exactly tell what he's saying. It's something about bringing me home, that much I can translate. But I'm clueless about the rest... just as I'm clueless as to what Alaric had told Dad regarding me and Emilia.
Dominik handed the phone back to the woman, who looked about just as lost as I did. He said something to her in German, and then snatched his debit card out of his pocket with his free hand, making sure to never loosen his hold that he had on me.
I don't know if it was the worry I felt over my father being panicked, or the irritation I felt over not understanding the language of the land I was in, or the fear I felt over being trapped in a foreign place with a virtual stranger— but I could feel myself leaning in closer to Dominik, feeling some sort of inane comfort in his hold.
I was not even close to being an expert at hiding my emotions, hence I'm sure my face was a clear giveaway that I was worried that Dad was evidently worried.
Dominik grabbed two tickets from the employee and led us away from the window towards a wall where there were scattered benches for passengers to wait for their train. He loosened his hold on me, making a motion for me to take a seat.
"Our train leaves in three hours," he said. "That gives us enough time to go to the beach." He glanced over at one of the analog clocks that were positioned in sporadic places along the train station.
I quietly nodded, taking a seat onto the cold metal of the bench, my brain still fixated on my panicked Dad. I was slightly relieved that Emilia still got to have her European shopping spree, so she probably won't kill me; she'll just bitch me out for the rest of my life. But still, Dad was clearly scared about something, and it seemed as if Alaric were to blame. A part of me screamed to call 112 for the polizei to do a welfare check on him.
Yeah, I'm the kid and he's the adult, but I was really worried about my dad. And if something bad happened to him, I didn't know what Emilia and I would do being stuck in Germany.
"Hey," Dominik muttered, giving my shoulder a light nudge, breaking me out of my daze.
I looked up at him, almost startled by the worry that was on his face too. His eyebrows were knitted together, yet he was forcing a small smile onto his usually pissed off face.
"I'll take care of you," he smiled warmly down at me, almost as if he could read my frantic thoughts, holding out his pinkie. "I promise."
I don't know what it was, or why I did it, but I felt my arm practically move all on its own towards Dominik. I took his pinkie in mine, offering him a meek smile.
In response, Dominik's own smile grew to large proportions, stretching out his lower face. His large canine teeth even poked out over his lips a little bit, and I could tell that it was a genuine smile by the little lines that even reached his yellow eyes.
"I'm going to use the klo," he said, gesturing towards the blue sign that had a large "WC" on it. "Stay here, okay?"
I just nodded.
Dominik's smile faltered a little bit, but he let go of my pinkie and walked towards the public washroom.
I sat alone on the bed, twiddling my thumbs as I tried my best to not think about Dad.
More and more passengers got off the train, and a large crowd of people seemed to swarm by the bench as they went to venture in the German coastal town.
I looked up from my hands, trying to distract my worried brain with the view of the shiny train, but then my eyes caught something else.
Not too far away, maybe a few meters, was a tall man. Normally, I wouldn't give two shits about some random stranger who I'd never ever see again, but his dude and I legit locked eyes on accident, making it hard to look away.
I'm not going to lie: if I were a few years older, then I definitely would've been trying to put the moves on this dude. Not only was he tall, but he was wide too. He had muscles for days, his impressive chest threatening to tear his navy blue shirt to shreds. Plus, he wore a deep v-neck, offering a sneak peek at his pec cleft. Not to be outdone, his toned legs were donned in nice tight pants, making it look like this stud didn't neglect Leg Day. He had thick blond hair that was nicely combed to the side, but it wasn't in a nerdy manner. It more so was styled in a way that let me know that the guy cared about his appearance, but it also wasn't Numero Uno on his list of priorities (couldn't be me). He had a chiseled, square jaw that was covered in manly stubble, much more than Dominik had.
However, just like Dominik, this man had stark yellow eyes that pierced straight through the crowd, his line of sight directed exactly at me. His mouth was wide open, as if he were shocked; and again, like Dominik, this man had large, sharp canine teeth too.
His stunned, agape mouth pulled into a smirk and he began to shove his way through the crowd, making his way towards me.