No Regrets

Chapter Twenty Five - Not That Easy

KATIE'S POV

   You re driving yourself crazy, you're overthinking. I tell myself. All I have been able to think about during the car ride home is going into the attic and finding proof. Proving to myself that I am letting my imagination run wild. My parents would never hide information like this from me; because there is no reason to hide such information, nothing changes. Dominick is adopted and he is as much a part of this family as all of us.

   The moment Mom hands me the keys to unlock the front door, I leap out of the car and race up to the front door. I throw the door open and practically fly up the stairs; which is quite loud. "No running in the house!" Dad yells from the bedroom.

   I pull down on the rope on the ceiling that brings the ladder leading to the attic down. I begin climbing up the ladder when I hear Mom yell, "Katie, do not go up in the attic! There are loose places we still have to fix!" I obey Mom and descend and push the ladder back up to its place in the ceiling.

  Mom passes me as I walk downstairs, she's going up to take a quick shower before getting back to work. In the living room, I find Mollie in her playpen gnawing on a colorful teething ring. She stares at me for a second or two before turning her attention back to gnawing on the rings. Where's Dominick? I wonder. He better not be asleep! If I am the allowed to take a nap, he is not allowed to take a nap. I consider going up to his room to investigate, but decide to leave it alone.

   Mollie and I hang out for a while, having some more aunt and niece bonding time. I lift Mollie out of her playpen and place her down on the floor on her stomach. I place toys around her to keep her from rolling back on her back. She is perfectly happy for a minute or two before she begins to get fussy. I rub her back and encourage her to try to crawl. I set colorful teething ring just right out of her reach.

  She doesn't attempt to crawl, she only buries her face into the ground and starts crying. "Come on, you can do it." I say sweetly as I rub her back.

  Right as I am about to help her get back into crawling position, I hear the front door unlock. I pick up Mollie, who continues to cry, and walk over to the front door. Who could be at the door? I wonder.

   To my slight surprise, Dominick opens the door. He seems to also be surprised to see me. "Hey Katie." he greets me. "What is wrong with Mollie?" he asks. He kicks off his shoes and looks back at me.

"Tried to do tummy time." I say. Dominick nods his head a bit and starts walking to the kitchen. "Where have you been?" I ask.

   Dominick lets out a long sigh and continues waking to the kitchen, "Don't worry, I wasn't out doing anything illegal or stupid." He answers.

"Dominick." I say irritated. "Why is it wrong for me to ask a question?" I ask.

   Dominick stops and takes Mollie, who has started calming down, from me. "Nothing wrong, I just don't have to tell you everything I do." he says. He begins to walk toward the staircase, "She needs to go down for a nap." He says. He goes up to his bedroom and slams the door shut behind him.

   I start up the stairs to question him further; but stop myself. Replaying what he said in my head and focusing on how he sounded, I realize that he is angry. Not too angry but angry enough that I shouldn't bother him. I sit back down in the living room and turn on the TV.

~~~~~~~~~

DOMINICK'S POV

   Katie didn't even greet me before interrogating me. Not that a nice greeting would have improved my mood. Despite being grumpy, after that afternoon I've had, Mollie is the only one I can stand to be around. I lay her down on my bed next to me and gently prevent her from rolling over. Usually after a few minutes she gives up on fighting sleep and starts to drift off. However, today she is headstrong and refuses to surrender.