by H. Q. Frost
"What the fuck is the plan, Dom?" Leo argued as they drove toward the nearest town. "Tell him our friend attacked him?"
"I don't know right now, just shut up. Fuck." Dom hit his hand on the steering wheel.
He wanted to go back and pick up Nyla and Jeff and get the hell out of there. And if there was no Nyla, he would have participated in beating the hell out of Reese, then would have grabbed his brother and got the hell out of there and left them all to kill each other.
Pulling into a gas station, he ran inside while Leo tried to smack Reese into consciousness. They waited for an ambulance and when the accompanying officer wanted to go back to the cabin to look around, Dom nervously agreed. He led the officer up the path and the only thing that swam around his head, was that jail time for killing an officer would be life in prison. Not that he'd do it, but he wouldn't put it past Boney, and then Boney would kill him for bringing the cop.
Jeff and Mark had lines cast in the pond. Nyla, Kaitlyn, and Renee sat at a picnic table preparing food. Boney was nowhere around.
"Where'd he trip?" the officer asked, questioning the story Dom told him at the gas station.
Dom's eyes went to Nyla and saw her grab Boney's gun from the table, quickly putting it into a cooler.
"Here," Leo said walking him over to the bloody log that Boney split across Reese's forehead.
"How long you kids sticking around here for?"
"Just the night, Sir," Leo answered.
"Where's his sisters?" The officer looked over to the girls at the picnic table.
"Right there." Dom walked him over. "Kaitlyn, Renee." He pointed.
"Reese Avondale your brother?"
"Yes," Kaitlyn spoke.
"What happened?"
Dom closed his eyes. They'd all been each other's alibis at one point or another. The group knew how to avoid authority and getting in trouble, but if their stories weren't consistent, there was a chance they were all going to be apprehended for questioning. The last thing Dom wanted was for Jeff to have to go to the police station.
"I wasn't around when it happened," Kaitlyn spoke up and the officer looked at Renee.
"Me either." She shrugged.
"Well, what'd they tell you happened?" The officer's annoyed tone carried.
"Nothing. They were rushing Reese out of here before we got any answers," Kaitlyn responded. "He gonna be okay?"
The officer's narrowed eyes shifted to Nyla. "Who are you?"
"His girlfriend." She nodded toward Dom.
"Who else saw what happened?" He looked at Dom.
"I don't know. Like I told you, I came from the pond." He pointed. "And I saw him hunched over the log. I called my friend over and we loaded him into my truck because none of us could get service out here." He looked at his cellphone that was in his hand.
"He was drinking the minute we got here," Renee spoke. "Wouldn't be surprising if he tripped and fell."
"I want everyone's phone number and addresses." He pulled a notepad out and while his attention was directed down, Boney walked around the side of the cabin, halting when he saw the cop.
Dom discreetly waved him away and he slowly backed up then took off in a run away from the cabin. When the officer approached Jeff, he stepped behind Dom.
"Give me your phone number," the officer barked at him.
"He doesn't have a phone. He's my brother and we live together," Dom responded for him.
"I'm talking to him, son, not you."
"He doesn't want to talk to you." Dom stood taller and clenched his fists.
"He doesn't have an option and is evading an investigation. I can arrest him. You too, if you don't move."
"He doesn't like police." Dom's already deep voice took on a darker tone as anger started guiding his words.
"And I don't like punk kids that show up in our town with a guy's brains splattered on the outside of his head. Step to the side or you're coming to the station with me." The officer challengingly stepped closer.
"Dom, make him go away," Jeff said hiding behind his back.
"Our dad was a cop," Dom grit out. "And our dad used to beat him and our mom. He doesn't want to talk to you because you're a cop." Red faced and jaw muscles visibly tense, he stood his ground, willing to go to any length to protect his brother.
Nyla approached and took Jeff's hand. "It's okay, Jeff," she compassionately said as she began walking him away.
The officer almost stopped her but he turned back to Dom. "Is he slow or somethin'?"
Kaitlyn quickly stepped in. "Did you call my mom?" she asked, taking over from where Dom left off.
When the officer left, Dom went searching for Boney. Nyla tried, but couldn't persuade him not to wander into the woods at dusk, looking for the man she considered a threat. Reese was a forgotten subject, buried under the pile of fucked up incidents that haunted each of them daily. They hoped what they'd learned that day about the Avondales would be a forgotten topic.
When Dom found Nyla at the picnic table, she latched onto his arm. "Where were you?"
"Just talking to Boney." He raked his fingers through his disheveled hair.
"We already ate. I tried finding you."
"Just don't wander around here alone, okay?" He glanced toward his brother.
"I was with Jeff." She grabbed him a plate then took a cold hot dog from the grill.
"We're all fucked when Reese tells them what happened." Letting out a stressed sigh, he sat at the picnic table.
"He won't," Kaitlyn spoke up then directed her attention to Renee while loudly saying, "He won't tell the police he was fucking his sister in the woods and his friend attacked him."
Renee jumped to her feet and bolted for the cabin.
"Mark and Leo, you're in the cabin tonight with Renee. I don't want Boney in there." When Leo tried to protest, Dom turned toward him and growled, "Who invited her and Reese?"
"I did," Mark quietly admitted.
"This is your problem. If Boney snaps, he'll fucking kill her."
"He will." Kaitlyn mumbled, "Fucking psycho," as she walked toward Jeff at the pond.
"Unless you want a dead girl in your cabin, you're watching her. I'll be outside with Boney." He started walking away but turned back. "And someone's paying for the gas I put in my tank for this piece of shit weekend."
The planned evening of drinking and lighting fireworks was replaced instead with quiet fishing, while Mark stayed in the cabin with Renee, and the other two girls tried their hand at setting up the tents.
"Well." Nyla smiled after the third tent was up and still standing. "They might collapse in the night, but we did it."
"We should take a picture before those spoke thingies go flying and they deflate." Kaitlyn grinned and pulled her cellphone out.
Looking at his cellphone, Dom walked up. "Hey, we'll take off first thing in the morning."
"This weekend sucked so bad," Kaitlyn muttered walking away to find Jeff.
"Did you guys put these up?" He grinned at Nyla who proudly smiled at their handy work.
"If they collapse, no. If they don't, then yes."
"You're a camping expert." Pulling her against him he leaned his forehead to hers. "I'm sorry about this shit. About my friends," he whispered against her lips. "I never wanted you to have to deal with this kind of shit. They're some fucked up people. We all are. I'm not excluded from that."
"They're questionable," she agreed grinning before offering a soft kiss. "But you're a good book. I only care about what's in your heart."
"What if it's only blood, Nyla?"
Her arms wrapped around his neck. "It's not. I know you're sweet and caring. I knew that the minute I saw you with your brother. I had my doubts when you were stalking my house that night." She chuckled. "But I think there's more to you than what you surround yourself with."
He lifted her off the ground and pressed his lips to hers again, applying more pressure with each angle he locked her lips in. His hand slid into her messy ringlets whil
e his arm around her back, held her tighter. He didn't want to stop, he wanted to take her in the woods far enough away that no-one would hear them. But he wouldn't do that to her. If she were any other girl, he wouldn't have thought twice, but he had more respect for her than that. Putting her on her feet, he stepped back, needing to put distance between his straining dick and her body.
"I was hoping tonight we could be alone." Her hand slid to his side while she closed the gap.
"Me too. But with the shit that happened, it's not a good idea to leave any of them alone. We'll have our own tent though." He nodded toward the tents.
"I'm not sure how quiet I can be." She chuckled against his jaw.
He groaned and pressed harder against her stomach while pushing his face into her hair and muffled out the words, "As much as I want to test that out, I can't."
"What if I can promise to be quiet?" she whispered in his ear as her hand slide down his stomach.
Stopping her hand before it reached the point of no return for him, he said, "I can't." Watching her features drop and brows furrow in confusion, he sighed and looked away from the disappointment on her face. "I'm trying to be the good book you need, La."
"You are." She cupped him when he let his guard down. "We can still have sex and you be a good book, Dom. Are you going to dump me after we have sex?"
Gently removing her hand, he grit his teeth a minute, mentally talking himself out of taking her inside the tent.
"I'd never do that." His hands slid into her hair and he kissed her forehead before pulling her into a hug that expressed covetousness instead of lust. She didn't expect the libido-dousing move, but it brought on a different set of feelings she didn't think she was ready for with Dom yet. Then his next words drove the feelings of love a little closer to her heart. "I want to be with you, but not here. Not after this shit day. You'll never understand what you mean to me if our first time is in a tent, trying to be quiet so my friends don't hear us."
"Our first time is going to mean something to me no matter the circumstances, Dom. You're really important to me and no matter when or where it happens, I won't think you're using me."
"I'm not." His eyes skimmed her skin that was exposed in short shorts and a tight tank top; he dropped his head to avert his gaze. "I can't today, though. I'm sorry."
"Then let's continue what was going to happen in the bathroom." Her hands went to the button on his shorts but he stopped her.
"I don't want to ruin shit by doing this too soon in our relationship."
"We've known each other over a month, Dom. It's not too soon."
"We've only been together for like a week, Nyla. I haven't even taken you out on a date or something. Never even bought you flowers."
"I don't care about that stuff. I care about how you treat me, and you're sweet and respectful and I'm the one trying to take our relationship to the next level." Her hands tried again, but when he stopped her once more, she paused. "Wait." She stepped back. "Do you have an STD?"
His eyebrows shot up. "No! I've always used condoms. I've never been tested. But, I'll get tested. Who does that shit? A doctor? Like a regular doctor?"
She placed her hand on his chest, feeling the rapid beating of his heart and calmly asked, "Then why won't you at least let me touch you, Dom?"
"I want to." Grabbing her hips, he pulled her close again. "I do." Walking her over to the tent, he got in after her and zipped it. Before she could say anything, he was hovering over her, kissing her so her enticing words didn't take things further than he wanted to that night. His hand slid down her stomach. "Just, let me write this page, okay?" he whispered before his hand slipped into her shorts and his lips covered hers once more.
Her back bowed when he slipped a finger inside and she let out a quiet moan that was muffled by his mouth. Pushing another inside, he curled his fingers and started to rub slowly at first, gradually building pressure and momentum, and when he saw the sign of her release, he quickly kissed her to muffle the cries of her orgasm. Sedate and sleepy, she lay lifeless a few minutes and he stayed close, noticing the way her scent changed and he wanted to explore further. Take it to the end. Straining in his shorts, he had to get out of there before he changed his mind about waiting.
"I'm gonna find, Jeff. You want to come?" He kissed her jaw.
"I don't think I can move yet," she purred with a giggle. "I'd like to repay the favor." Her hand slid to his shorts and he jumped back.
"Later," he lied and kissed her once more before climbing out of the tent. "Shit." Standing in place a minute, he bounced a little to get blood flowing everywhere else before he was comfortably able to walk again.
The fact that that was his biggest feat was pathetic to him, but he was proud he saw it through.
With her fast asleep when he went back to the tent, he didn't have to deny her advances to please him. At ten the next morning, the sounds of Mark packing his car to get Renee home woke them. With Renee gone, Boney wasn't as high strung so he coerced everyone to go to the stream before heading home in a few hours, like they had planned the day before. When Nyla declined the beers Boney tried to hand out -she thought it was unfair to the drivers if everyone else was getting drunk- it took him a minute to back down and ultimately agree. With no added substances to cloud judgment, they were just a group of friends hanging out sharing genuine laughs while having a good time. Dom couldn't remember the last time he laughed with Boney without the aid of alcohol or drugs. Those were the friends he wished would go home from that place. Carefree, young, no worries about the harsh realities that surrounded them daily. He knew better though; once they crossed the threshold back into the neighborhood they were all rotting away in, they would all be drowning in their fucked up lives again.
"Kait, you want to stay at my house tonight?" Nyla asked as Dom turned onto her street.
"Uh..."
The shock on Kaitlyn's face made Nyla frown. The girls had connected over the weekend and turned a potential frenemy situation into a friendship. She hoped Kaitlyn would be comfortable enough with her to accept the shoulder to cry on, or the listening ear Nyla was offering.
"You sure that's cool? You don't gotta be nice to me just because my family is fucked up."
"Ouch." Nyla's disappointed glare stayed on her as she said, "I wasn't just being nice to you because you're having family problems. You're not the bitch you were when we first met and I thought we became friends over the weekend. If you were only faking it because I'm Dom's girlfriend, that stings."
"I wasn't," she meekly replied as the shame showed on her face. "I'd love to stay over. And maybe we can go up to the theater tomorrow?" She took Nyla's hand as an apology and gave it a squeeze.
"I know I can get you a job." Nyla's smile widened.
With a quick hug, not to linger on her appreciation, she said, "Let me run in and grab some more clothes."
Dom watched her run into the house through the front door. Before Nyla could speak, his lips crashed to hers, his tongue slipped into her mouth, and he held her against his chest expressing his feelings in an adulated kiss he hoped she could decipher.
Pulling back, he panted, "Thank you. For talking to her."
It took her a minute to compose herself as she fanned her face before she giggled and said, "She can be cool when she's not trying to be a bitch."
"Yeah, but she can still be a bitch, so thank you."
"I'd do anything for you, Dom." Staring into his eyes she smiled the smile he fell in love with the minute he saw it. The smile that told him everything he knew in the world wasn't all there was.
His mouth opened to tell her he loved her but the words hid behind his tongue and deep in his throat; instead he leaned in for another kiss.
When Kaitlyn pulled open the truck door, they stopped making out and Nyla quickly wiped her lips, holding back infatuated giggles.
"My mom talked to the cops." She glanced at them after getting in then stared at her lap. "Reese was flown to a closer hospital, he's in a
coma or something."
"He'll be okay." Nyla touched her arm.
"I don't want him to be okay. I want him dead."
Dom started the truck while Nyla wrapped her arm around Kaitlyn's shoulders, wondering if they all had no regard for human life. She agreed what their brother did was heinous, but death wasn't a punishment she ever wished upon anyone.
As they pulled up to Nyla's, the first thing Dom saw through the dark was the burning end of Austin's cigarette while he sat on his porch. Cutting the engine he got out and grabbed Nyla's backpack from the truck bed.
"Hey, Nyla," Austin called out and her shoulders dropped with a sigh before she pushed a smile on her face and turned in his direction with a wave.
"Hey, Austin."
"Who's your friend?" He hung over the banister of the porch.
"This is Kait."
"Hey, Kait."
Dom pressed his hands to both their backs to move them along faster. Going in through the back door, Nyla took them to her room.
"Dom, don't touch Goliath," she warned before leaving them in her room to wake her dad and tell him she was home.
"Why can't you touch the cat? Does it bite?"
"I'm allergic," Dom said scooping Goliath up.
"You're so stupid." Kaitlyn chuckled shaking her head at him as she looked at her cellphone, "Thanks, Dom. Nyla's cool."
"I know." He scratched under Goliath's chin but when he heard Nyla approaching, he quickly tossed the cat to the bed.
"You guys hungry?" Nyla smiled at him.
"I gotta get home. I want to make sure Boney brought Jeff home and right before we hit the city the truck started running hot. I needa check it out."
"Can you take us up to the theater tomorrow?" she asked and he dropped his head inhaling a breath, holding it. "Dom?" Her head dipped to look him in the face. Before answering her, he let out a sneeze and she groaned. "You touched Goliath."
"We're buddies." He laughed before sneezing again.
"Buddies don't almost kill you." Not until she said it did she realize it was the wrong thing to say after that weekend.
"She doesn't want to kill me," Dom said, choosing to ignore it and pet the cat again. "Yeah, I can take you guys up there. What time?"