fires and floods. | dominic fike

07

Dominic sat absolutely defeated.

He didn't know how he could get through this. He was all alone. His home was on the brink of being taken by the bank now that his mother, the only other source of income he had other than his own or Alex.

The clock was ticking, both literally and figuratively. Dominic felt himself going insane by the constant ticking from the old grandfather clock in the living room. It got so bad, he went into Alex's room to grab his baseball bat, swinging it over his shoulder as he stumbled to where the grandfather clock stood. With one swing to its body, Dominic began his destruction. He saw the impact of his first hit, which acted as a domino effect. The boy just kept swinging. And swinging. And swinging.

When he finally stopped, Dominic could feel his arms hurting from the number of hits he swung. His breathing was heavy, he tried his hardest to regain some sense of stability in the mist of his come down from the drugs. The boy sighed once more, dropping the bat before retreating back to his room.

Dominic dozed off, the crash hitting him harder than expected. His 6 am alarm went off, with his phone being at 2%. He quickly scrambled to get it charged, before getting up and showering quickly. Brushing his teeth, he reassured that he looked presentable for the day after applying his hygiene products and walking into Alex's room. He looked for his brothers only suit, the one his mother bought him for the funeral of their grandmother.

With a joint in behind his ear, Dominic headed out the door of the house and into his moms old car. In his hand was the suit, which he hung up in the back. Putting the joint in the cup holder, he sped to the police station, arriving at 7:15 AM. "Hi, I'm here to drop this off for my brother, Alex Fike. He has court today at 11." Dominic explained to the secretary, who nodded, taking the suit from him. "Okay, Ill make sure it gets to him. Thank you." The secretary sent Dominic a warm smile. "Um... could you just make sure he really gets it? It's the only one he has. And if you see him could you remind him I'll be here as soon as school is over?" Dominic looked at the secretary with pleading eyes, he really wanted to make sure Alex got his suit and message from his big brother. "I promise you." The secretary felt bad for Dominic, she knew he was going through a lot but there really wasn't anything anyone could do to help.

Dominic went back home to drop off the car and skated to school. He felt like everything was a ticking time bomb. Everything was ticking and he felt himself become agitated each and every second more that he lived.

Once Dominic got to school, he made his way to the boys bathroom. He went straight to the farthest stall to the wall that was available. Locking himself in the stall, he got his little white bag out. He felt the familiar nerves he felt before getting high, choosing to ignore them since he knew it would be worth it, even if it was temporary. He arranged the powder into two neat lines with his student ID on to the top of the toilet paper dispenser, putting his nose against it and sniffing the white powder. He felt the familiar burn throughout his face, composing himself before going back down for the second line.

Dominic walked out of the boys bathroom like nothing, trying to keep himself at utmost composure after snorting the two lines. He walked to his locker, shaking up with anyone who talked to him. The music in his earphones blasted loudly, trying to drown out as much of the high school commotion as possible. He thought about how school would go if he went with Celeste, and how maybe it would be more tolerable if she was by his side in this hell hole.

In that moment, he felt his phone vibrate. A text from Celeste, right on cue.

let me know if i can help w 2day!!

It was a small gesture, but Dominic felt his chest become lighter at her words. His fingers danced around his screen, sending a quick text in return and asking to hang out after seeing Alex today, to which she agreed.

The day went by intensely slow for Dominic. Although his anxiety wasn't too bad, thanks to the drugs, he just wanted it to be over. This dreaded feeling was eating him up, and it was driving him insane that he was so helpless in this moment. Eventually, Dominic had enough and left before the beginning of his last period of the day. He skated straight to the detention center as fast as his legs could push him.

When he walked in, he went through the usual visitor routine, putting his things in a locker and heading to see Alex and the public defender for the summary of the trial. He walked into the cold visiting room once more, feeling now the part of a visitor. The boy knew these walls too well since he had run-ins with the law as well.

Dominic's anxiety diminished at the sight of Alex, shaking up with him and ultimately bringing him into a hug. The brothers sat down, with the defender in front of them.

The defender was an older woman, dark tan skin, with her eyeliner as sharp as ever. She sat with her hands clasped in front of her over a folder, her long nails perfectly painted. "Hi Mr. Fike, I'm Cristina Barreros. I represented your brother today on his case, You'll be very happy to hear the final verdict."

"They already reached a verdict?" Dominic asked, surprised at how quick this was. Usually his own cases took way longer, forcing him to spend at least 2 weeks each time he landed himself in there. "Yeah!" Alex started, "I'm getting released tomorrow. Cristina was able to get them to give me 1 year probation with community service hours. The car I was in wasn't registered to my name at all, and the drugs weren't on my person, they were just in the glove compartment." Alex explained. Dominic wondered what kind of miracle had to occur for this to be so easy.

He ran a stressed hand through his hair, it all just felt too good to be true. "I'm sure Aleida is going to be so happy to hear your brother is going to be released." Cristina smiled warmly at the two boys, picking up her folder and beginning to get her things together.

Oh. That's where the miracle came from.

"I have another case soon but it was a pleasure working with you Alex. If I see you back in here, I won't do as good of a job like I did today, remember that." Cristina pointed a stern finger at the boy, who raised his hands up in a surrender. "I don't make promises, but thank you." Alex shook Cristina's hand, then Dominic's and left the visiting room.

"Who's Aleida?" Alex asked.

"Celeste's mom."

AUTHORS NOTE!

a bit of a shorter chapter but i'm so sleepy and i was going to make it longer but i can save it for chapter 8😜

peace and love peace and love b safe