IT WAS AS if the world wanted to constantly rub it in my face that a whole year had passed by. Today was one of those days where it hit me just how much had changed and despite my best efforts to find some sense of normalcy, things were very different now.
Dad had hit the road earlier this morning for work and would be gone for a week. When him and mom had still been married he took mostly local jobs as often as he could, only choosing out of state gigs a few times a year. But since it had been just him and Mikey for a while and Mikey was practically an adult now (though I begged to differ), dad had opted for long distance trucking full time.
I couldn't help feeling a bit down over the fact that he would be gone for a week when I had just gotten him back. But the pay was better than the local gigs and we needed the extra cash now that majority of the expenses was on him.
But the most shocking surprise was that Mikey was also working. Yup, things had definitely changed.
"You have a job?" I asked Mikey Sunday afternoon after he had rushed downstairs, right past me and into the kitchen complaining about how he was late for work. "Since when?"
"Since that big hunk of metal outside needs gas to get places." He poured cereal in his mouth straight from the box and then chugged down some milk which trickling down his chin.
I made a face of disgust at the very piggish action. "How'd you manage to pull that off?"
He shrugged, loudly chewing his mouth full of food followed by a loud swallow. "Dom got his dad to pull a few strings. Turns out he's done some legal work for one of the investors of that nice gym down in Newport."
"How are you managing work, school and soccer?" I knew that Mikey needed the money for his car but he also wanted to impress the scouts so he could play college soccer which required him to have passing grades. I imagined it would be hard to do all three successfully.
"I usually work part time in the evenings for a few hours during the week. Except on Sundays I work a full shift which is why I've got to go." He rushed out of the kitchen.
"What am I suppose to do all day alone with no car?" I followed behind him.
"Sounds like a personal problem." He shrugged casually before shutting the door behind him.
Goodbye to you too.
I let out a huff of annoyed air. There was no Dad, no Mikey, no car and no Kee today since she spent Sundays with her family who were very sweet people but slightly overly strict.
Great.
The next several hours were spent reorganizing my room, then the living room and the kitchen. By the time I was done with the whole house I still had half the day left to myself before anyone would be home.
Having a spotless house didn't change the fact that it was still depressing to be here all alone. I considered walking to the market to buy more groceries for dinner but the closest market would still be quite a long walk and carrying those bags on foot in this California heat would not be fun.
But just when I had put that idea to rest, the front door swung open and Dom slumped onto the couch that I was currently lounging on.
He hadn't stayed over last night which was rare but I guess he had to go home sometimes.
"Looking kind of lonely Sam." He noted casually.
"Mikey's not here."
He nodded, obviously already aware of this. "He's down at the club. Carlos and Dix are there too."
"And why aren't you?" I asked, although I wasn't really interested in his answer. Knowing him he had probably been too busy hooking up with a girl or something.
He switched his focus to the tv screen that was not turned on. "I was."
"Why'd you leave?"
He shrugged nonchalantly. "Why would I stay?"
I knew Dom well enough to know that he was deflecting the question with a question.
I faked an awe. "If you wanted to hang out with me you could have just said so."
He fake gasped in shock. "How'd you guess?"
"It's obvious." I shrugged casually.
He chuckled lightly. "And here I thought I was doing a good job at being subtle."
"Mikey sent you to check up on me didn't he?" I already knew the answer because it was such a Mikey thing to do. I wasn't sure if I should be flattered that he didn't want me to be all alone or annoyed that he sent Dom as a babysitter so I opted for the latter.
He faked a pretend surprise. "What? Psht... No." He had an underlying smile on his face which I responded to with a glare.
"Well you can go back to Mikey and tell him I don't need a babysitter." I stood up and headed towards the staircase stubbornly.
Dom followed in suit. "Alright, I'll just go then..." He took several steps towards the front door and reached for the handle. "With my car... Which I can travel anywhere in."
He stopped for a moment and looked back at me expectantly. It made me want to wipe that knowing smirk off of his way too handsome face.
The doorknob turned.
"Wait," I murmured, letting out a sigh of defeat. "You're taking me somewhere."
He raised an eyebrow in amused question. "And where is that exactly?"
"Just wipe that smug smirk off your stupid face and give me a minute." I didn't wait for his response as I ran up the stairs in twos, exchanged my fluffy slippers for flip flops, grabbed my wallet and ran back down to meet him.
"Let's go!" I tugged on his forearm as I led the way out the door, letting him deal with locking it.
He looked at me with amusement as he walked around the side of the car to the drivers seat. We pulled out of the driveway and we're heading towards the main road when he finally spoke.
"You know I kind of need to know where we're going for this to work."
I smirked at him. "Just drive straight."
He complied but not without a few smart ass comments.
"Turn left," I instructed as ignoring his remarks. It had been a while but I still remembered these streets like the back of my hand. "Then a right at the light," I continued.
I was about to tell him to make one more right when he already turned his flicker on before I had the chance to, realizing where I wanted to go.
I smiled with excitement as we pulled into the parking lot of Bobby's Place.
An old, classic retro style diner that had been around since before we were even born. They had the best coffee in the world and home-cooked meals that left you craving more. I had dreams about this place the whole time I was away.
Bobby's had always been the spot everyone always went to, it was the jewel of our town. Sometimes we would spend hours here after school or during the summer slurping on a classic vanilla milkshake after spending the whole day either at the beach or the park.
Dom looked at me with amusement as we headed towards the two large metal front doors and I spotted a familiar man sitting outside on the floor all the way by the outer edge of the diner.
The inside was as crowded as usual, filled with the delicious smell of classic burgers and fries mixed with the sweet aroma of the best coffee in town. We walked up to the counter and a middle aged man approached us from the other side of the bar.
"Hey Dom! How's it going?" He smiled at us. "Who's this pretty lady you're with?" He asked as he winked at me lightheartedly.
"Oh come on Bobby it's only been a year," I responded lightly.
His eyes slightly widened in shock before his smile brightened with joy.
"Sam is that you? I can't believe it! James told me you were coming home but my God you've grown up."
He walked around the counter of the bar and gave me a hug which I happily accepted. Bobby Jr. was my dad's oldest and closest friend and the closest person I had to an Uncle.
"It's so good to see you Bobby," I said once we pulled away from each other.
"It's good to have you back kiddo. How's Emily doing?"
I shrugged my shoulders in response. "You know how mom is, New York definitely wasn't ready for her."
He laughed loudly at that. "Oh I can imagine, she's always been a firecracker, your mom. The stories I never got to tell you about her and your dad from back in high school will leave you weak in the knees. Those two trouble makers were a match made in heaven."
I couldn't help the ping of pain I felt at the reminder of my parents together and happy once upon a time ago, it wasn't something I liked to be reminded of.
I mustered a weak smile in response, not trusting my voice to speak.
"Could I get the usual Bobby?" Dom interrupted.
"Oh sure! You two don't want to grab a booth? I can have some food sent over to you." Bobby walked backed over to the other side of the counter and started punching things into the register, the stories of my parents forgotten for the moment. I glanced over at Dom, he was focused on Bobby but I had a sneaky suspicion that he had interrupted on purpose, although I think I had done a good job at hiding just how much my parent's divorce actually bothers me.
"Not today Bobby. I was just hoping for one of your delicious coffees, a cream cheese bagel and a water to go please." I said, grateful for the distraction.
"You've got it! Coming right up extra special for you." He winked again jokingly.
I reached for my wallet but Dom beat me to it, handing the cash to Bobby. "Thanks."
He nudged my shoulder in response.
Bobby was quick in getting us our orders. We said goodbye to him, promised to stop by soon and were heading back towards the door when a girl I didn't recognize approached us.
She had long platinum blonde hair and looked like one of those models on the magazine covers. The type of girls who had high cheek bones and plump lips and slightly too much makeup on but still managed to make it look effortless.
"Hi Dominic," she spoke in a flirtatious tone with a smile that was obviously fake and calculated.
Dom visibly cringed. If this girl knew anything about him she would know that Dom didn't like the use of his full name as it always felt too formal to him and made him feel out of place in casual situations.
"Hey Nat," he responded, although his tone was nowhere near as excited as hers had been. I couldn't help noticing how uncomfortable he looked which was strange. Dom was rarely ever uncomfortable, especially around girls.
She took a step closer to him as if I wasn't there.
"I've hardly seen you all summer. Where have you been hiding?" She looked like she was about to purr like a cat.
He was probably hiding from you. I thought. I had been around the guys long enough to know they didn't do serious relationships and most girls typically didn't get the message.
He shrugged. "Guess we've just been missing each other," he glanced over at me. "Uh this is Sam, Sam this is Natalie." He awkwardly acquainted us.
Natalie slowly looked over at me, clearly no longer able to pretend that I didn't exist. She had a challenging smile on her face that didn't fool me once. I returned the look with my own daring expression.
She didn't say hello and when it was clear she didn't plan on greeting me with common curtesy I ended up just rolling my eyes. "I'll meet you at the car."
I didn't bother to wait for Dom's response as I walked out the door. I had no patience or tolerance for snobby girl who thought the world revolved around them. It wasn't really much of a surprise, growing up around Mikey and Dom I'd grown accustomed to girls trying to send me to my grave with glares that were all bark and no bite. Unfortunately for them though my bark also had a pretty mean bite.
I headed over to the side of the diner towards the familiar figure I'd spotted earlier. "Hey Ozzy how have you been?"
The man sitting at the corner, covered in slightly old mismatched items of clothes looked up and gave me a toothless smile. "Sam I've been okay, I can't complain. You're back?"
I squatted down to be at eye level with him. "I got in a few days ago and had to come see you. Have you been staying out of trouble?"
He nodded happily. "Yeah, I'm still at the shelter down by the docks. It's pretty good there but you know I like to spend my days here."
I nodded in understanding. Ozzy has been sitting at this same spot for the past three years, one day he just showed up from out of town and never left. The poor man's wife had passed away several years ago and he ended up spiraling out of control and losing everything. Yet another reminder that love wasn't worth it in the end.
Thankfully he stayed at the shelter at nights and they took good care of him for the most part. I spent countless times trying to help him work towards getting a job but he had grown accustomed to this lifestyle and seems genuinely okay. Who was I to judge how one chose to live their life?
"Well I got you something," I handed over the bagel bag and water bottle which he took gratefully.
"Bless you Sam, you know you don't have to keep doing this?" He smiled widely at me and I could see the genuine gratitude shine in them.
The shelter fed him and provided him with a place to sleep but I knew it wasn't the most ideal situation and everyone should have the privilege to enjoy Bobby's toasted bagels.
"I'm just glad to see you're okay Ozzy. I'll see you later okay?" Giving him a reassuring smile, I headed back over to the car just as Dom exited the diner.
"You ready to go Dominic?" I teased as we got into the car.
He scowled at me. "Absolutely Samantha."
Now it was my turn to scowl at him. "Touché."
Dom chuckled lightly. "Where are we off to now?"
I made a dramatic gesture with my hand, signaling straight ahead. "Off we go!"
He shook his head with laughter as he reversed out of the parking spot. "Aye, Aye Captain."
Several hours later I was in the kitchen making Chicken Alfredo as Dom had disappeared to a different part of the house after I had banned him from the kitchen for continuing to try to eat the raw Alfredo sauce.
This left me alone in the kitchen with my airpods on, jamming to an old school Backstreet Boys song because— well, why not?
I poured the sauce into my sizzling pan of chicken and it smelt so delicious as it began to bumble and sizzle. The smell of my creation gave me an extra boost of energy as I attempted a weird and not so cute grooving movement to the beat of the music followed by a variation of the moon walk. I turned in a sharp spin which led me face to face with a cackling Dom standing by the doorway with his phone in hand.
"Dom!" I pulled my airpods out and was met with his roaring laughter, if this were any other time I might have found the sound brilliant to hear.
"This will come in handy one day." He explained, wiping away the tears that had escaped his brown eyes.
"You better delete that," I warned.
He shook his head, pure amusement still evident on his face. "Not a chance."
I marched towards his larger frame and attempted to snatch his phone out of his hand. Unfortunately, he was both faster and taller than me. "Give it up Dom!" I barked as he held up his phone over his head.
Once it was clear that my pathetic jumping and clawing was doing nothing but bringing him more amusement I let out a huff of defeated air.
"You know what? Keep it. Enjoy watching it in bed, you perverted pig." I remarked, hoping to make any kind of dig towards him.
His chuckles came to a sudden holt, eyes widening at my suggestion.
That'll show him.
"Oh I definitely will," he responded with the most confident smirk I'd ever seen on that smug face of his.
My dumbstruck expression had him laughing even louder than ever and his face was now turning red as he bent over in full cackles.
Mikey suddenly walked into the room, halting as he looked back and forth between Dom and I.
"Why does Sam look like she wants to throw the kitchen knife at your face?"
Dom, still unable to control himself, wordlessly handed the phone over to him.
Mikey's confused expression gradually changed as he watched the video play through and soon enough him and Dom were having a full on laughing-fest.
"Oh that's going to come in handy one day," he repeated Dom's words from earlier.
I glared at the two of them. "You know what? Screw you two. Don't you even think about touching dinner tonight."
"What are we suppose to eat then? I'm starving." Mikey questioned.
I shrugged, proceeding to stir my delicious creation and allowing the savory smell to spread throughout the room. "Order pizza for all I care."
Mikey and Dom glanced at each other for a brief, serious moment. They had both already grown accustomed to me cooking and looked forward to it.
After their silent exchange, Dom finally turned and smirked at me. "Worth it."
Brilliant.
Of course they ended up eating it regardless. I was outnumbered two to one.
Author's Note:
What do you guys think? This was a more simple and slower chapter but I wanted to show more of Dom and Sam's dynamic and relationship away from everyone else.
Please like and comment! I would love the feedback!
Thank you!
Next Chapter will be posted on Thursday so stay tuned! :)