fires and floods. | dominic fike

22

Summer time. Circa 2016. 3 Years Later.

Celeste Diaz hit another line on the rail; Kickflip into a frontside 50-50 grind, with a pop shuvit out the grind, followed up with a nollie heelflip and elegantly finished with a backside 180. The skaters and small camera crew cheered around her, slamming the tips of their boards into the concrete to applaud her. The (now 21 year old) woman smiled proudly at herself, she was finally able to land the line she had been trying to achieve for the last half hour. She was beginning to feel discouraged after failing so many times, but the camera crew sent with her motivated her to push through.

3 Years had passed since Dominic and Celeste began officially dating and they were still going strong. It had been a rollercoaster but not one that either of them wanted to abandon their relationship. They were still so young, and still growing as individuals; the conflicts they endured were inevitable. After they graduated high school, Dominic relapsed into drugs that summer, and had been struggling on and off during his recovery. Celeste stayed by his side through it all, supporting him as best he could.

Celeste was doing pretty good for herself. She had garnered attention on social media after posting her skate videos. The fact that she was a girl and so good at skating was enough to draw an audience in, with her charming personality to lock them in. She used her videos to express her interest of fashion, sporting baggy clothes and occasionally trying to pull off more elegant outfits for skating. It was a fun experience for the girl, which allowed her to gain 9,465 followers on Instagram, and 5,000 subscribers for her YouTube page. This also gave her the opportunity to collaborate with with fellow skaters and film teams, which opened doors to small brands that would send her clothes to wear for her videos. Through these brands and videos, Celeste was able to make ends meet along with her job at a local skate shop. She even moved out of her family home, with her little sister Catalina. Catalina was now 18, freshly graduated from High school, and pursuing cosmetology school while working alongside her big sister at the skate shop. Together, they managed to live decently. Not exactly comfortably, but decently.

Dominic was doing great with his own art, sharing his music and having shows around Naples. He was becoming well-known in the community for his raps and ability to produce. Celeste would often spend time wherever he was staying at just watching him make music, he was still struggling to keep a consistent home. Dominic would sometimes spend nights at Celeste's apartment, but never really liked intruding on his girlfriends and her little sisters space. Aleida would let Dominic sleep in the dealing room whenever he couldn't find a place to sleep, but he didn't want to always depend on her either.

Celeste sighed heavily, shaking up with some people who were happy to see her finally nail the line. She made her way to where her belongings laid, grabbing her water bottle to take a sip. Tying up her long, wavy hair, she sat down to rest a bit. The camera man for the evening, Will, began showing her the clip he got, a warm smile on the girls face. The moment was interrupted by a voice belonging to Celeste's longtime best friend Karina. Karina ran to the girl, her phone up to her ear, a concerned look on her face.

"Celeste, we gotta go. Dominic and Alex are in trouble with the police."

And with that, the two girls left the skate park right away.

"What the fuck do you mean he was acting suspicious? My brother was literally on his fucking bike, you fucking cat!" Dominic's voice boomed, yells from the altercation filling the random neighborhood they were in. Some people had stepped out of their homes just to watch the whole ordeal.