Belonging - an adopted by Hamilton sequel

18th of November, 2023: Opening up

[A/N: I've had this chapter up my sleeve for a while, but I've just been reviewing it over and over again. I'm pretty sure it's ready now. It's a long one. Enjoy!🌿]

18th of November, 2023

It is a Saturday morning, and I had woken up to the sounds of sirens outside my apartment. It had been years, but somehow they still awakened every bit of worry within me. Especially when I wasn't prepared. I could feel my chest tightening up by the noise, and I instantly turned my head around to see that Dom was still asleep next to me. The sight of him made me feel relieved, because it meant that the sirens weren't for him. I tapped and blinked over and over again until I could barely hear them anymore, and my heart rate could drop as I began to breathe again.
I turned to my bedside table to check what time it was.
06:34. It wasn't too early, even though we had gone to bed quite late last night.
Actually, it was one of the better sleeps I'd had in this apartment.
I usually slept better when Dom stayed the night.
Even though I sometimes also didn't.
I rubbed my eyes, and sat up straight before putting on my knitted woolen socks, and walked to the bathroom. Upon seeing myself in the mirror, I realized how tired I looked. My hair was messy, and I had bags underneath my eyes. Maybe I hadn't slept too well after all.

In all honesty, it had been a long week at work. The small publisher that I was working for was great for a starting position, but it also meant that I had to be available all the time during the week. And sometimes on the weekends, as well. On top of that, my OCD had been flaring up during the last month. I had tried so hard to keep it away from work, and focused on trying to manage to live on my own, that everything just had caught up with me. However, it was manageable. And that was all I could ask for.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.
Part of me wanted to go back to bed, curl up next to Dom and sleep.
But part of me also knew I had several articles to look at and proofread before Monday.
So, therefore I washed my face in an attempt to wake up.
As I reached for my toothbrush, I noticed something.
Another toothbrush in the toothbrush cup, next to mine.
It was bright red, one of the toothbrushes that you bought in a multi pack.
It was something new that was so small that anyone would've found it insignificant.
But its placement bothered me.

Dom always kept his things in his toiletry bag.
Why had he suddenly not?

I don't know why, but the sight of the toothbrush in the cup made me feel uneasy.
I took mine, and quickly brushed my teeth, counting every second so I made sure I reached two minutes. Yet, my eyes were still stuck to the sight of his. In my toothbrush cup. The silly, flowery, cup that I had found at a Goodwill before moving into college. I just couldn't leave it there, all alone on its shelf. In my mind, it belonged to a set of other flowery cups that you would use for your morning coffee. But I used it for my toothbrush. And now Dom had put his in there. The thought made my stomach knot itself.

Right before going back out, I brushed through my hair, and put it up in a bun. I also put on my hearing aid. The sounds got clearer. But the ambulance was still gone. As I opened the door to try to and sneak out into the combined living room and kitchen, I realized that I had woken up Dom.
"Come back to sleep", he said, his voice all raspy and quiet. I could hear that he wasn't fully awake.
"I've got work", I quickly told him, quicker than I usually spoke to him.

The toothbrush was still on my mind.
Why had he put that there?
He wasn't supposed to.
He didn't have to.
He was just staying over.

Dom yawned loudly, his face burrowed in his pillow as he looked at me, half-asleep.
"Darling, it's a Saturday. Just come back to bed", Dom continued to tell me, but I just walked out the door and closed it behind me. I could hear him turn around in the covers behind me, hopefully trying to get back to sleep.