Under The Wildflowers | ONC 2024

Chapter 2.

"What are you doing here? How the hell did you find my house?" Dominic's disbelief was evident.

The night air had become laced with tension and charged with unease from the unexpected visit, the echo of Dominic's confusion amplifying with the nocturnal gust.

"I kinda followed you home. I know it's weird but hear me out," Key told him.

Hard lines permeated Key's forehead, his tone careful as he tried his best to diffuse the tension. He wrapped his arms around himself in a futile attempt to shield himself from the cold but it did nothing to stop the violent shivering of his body.

When Dominic didn't protest, he continued.

"I don't remember anything. I don't even know where I'm from, when I was born, my parents..."

"And you're telling me this why?" Dominic asked, clearly exasperated.

He hadn't meant for it to sound so harsh but these days frustration was the quickest emotion to accompany his tone. It was easy to get angry. Especially now, in the wake of an unexpected visit from a stranger he had met by chance in a cemetery.

"Well, because after I met you and that girl, you know, Celia? I kinda started to remember a few things and I feel like you're a big part of that," his auspicious tone was countered by a chilly gust, contrasting his sanguine with the whistling and howling of an ominous symphony.

"Me? Brother, I have never seen you a day in my life before today. Look, I'm sorry you're going through a hard time, but so am I. You need to leave. Like right now! My granddad isn't a fan of guests."

"His name is Joel, right?" Key stated confidently.

"How did you-" Dominic had begun to ask when his attention turned to the headlights barreling down their street.

He cast a brief look at his watch, and the sight of 10:30 pm sent a wave of panic surging from his stomach to his throat. A lone vehicle traveling down this street at a time like this could only be one person. After all, this was the only house on Belbrooke Road.

Joel had laid down a few simple rules since Dominic's arrival. Firstly, the attic was off-limits, and secondly, no one should know where he lived.

Worried he might see Key, Dominic instinctively pulled him inside.

"Look, you're not supposed to be here okay? Follow me to my room and don't you dare make a sound," he emphasized as he shut the door behind them.

Responding with a nod, Key quickly trailed behind him through the dimly lit hallway. The old house revealed its age with every echoing step of their footfall as the pair took the stairs two at a time.

Dominic's room was perched at the pinnacle of the stairs while his grandfather's was farther down the hallway, neighbored by the sole bathroom in the house.

As they dashed inside the room, hurriedly shutting the door behind them, the front door's creaking hinges could be heard from below.

The silence was almost deafening as Dominic leaned an ear against the door to listen. The heavy steps of his grandfather's boots against the wooden floor were especially nerve-wracking tonight, his guilt a cord around his neck.

He heard the usual rattle of his keys as he pulled them out and placed them on the kitchen counter and then the familiar hum of the refrigerator as he plucked a beer from one of the doors.

He knew all about his grandfather's nightly routine even when done out of sight; the diminishing supply of Bud Lights a silent witness to Joel's nightly habits.