Becoming His

Chapter 21 - Moving On & Passing Out

Alesha

Have you ever felt so disconnected from everything you become a sort of shell? A transcendent state where things are happening around you and your body is just reacting? Well that's been the past month for me.

He meant it. He wanted nothing to do with me anymore. There were no more calls, texts or unannounced visits to my apartment. With Vasiliev still around, he'd given Ethan and Antoni indefinite posts as my bodyguards. On the plus side, now that it wasn't a secret, they insisted on driving me everywhere. Having 3 buff guys ready to follow and drive me anywhere, that was a whole mood for your girl.

We were on our way back to my apartment after capping off a list of errands I had to do after work.

"You still nervous about meeting Rochelle's dad?" I looked over to Antoni who was sitting next to me, his head popped up from his phone.

"Are you kidding? It means so much to her for him to like me; I just hope I don't fuck this up."

"Maybe you guys can bond over the whole ex-navy seal thing. Just pray to God her sisters don't show up, from what she's told me they're both a piece of work."

"It's cool, she's been soaking our place in holy water, they'll probably burn trying to cross the threshold." The whole car started laughing, even Dom wore a slight smirk.

At 6'7" and 327lbs of muscle, Dominic was easily an intimidating guy for anyone who didn't really know him. Even some of the made-men that worked for Christian, tended to avoid him. I couldn't blame them, I've never seen his sweet, calming and kind demeanor shown to anyone else except me and Dani, but it was comforting knowing it was there. He was a faint reminder of my dad in a way, so since meeting him I preferred having him around.

The hard, emotionless side of him was one I understood and never questioned after hearing how the guys came to nickname him, 'Dome', which I hated.

While he was out with some friends, a crazed ex boyfriend murdered his wife in cold blood.. in their bed. The other man had been obsessed with Dom's wife, Maya, since she left him a few weeks before meeting the sweet giant.

Dom unwittingly got home that night only to catch the psycho in the act. The man launched at him, explaining the poorly healed scar that ran across his face, from his hairline to the top of his lip. They spared me the details on how Dom dealt with him, but told me how he'd suffered a mental breakdown after. Taking pleasure in scalping his victims as torture; when he caught them, his first incision was a clean one around the person's head and from there, between abuses ranging from whippings and electrocutions all the way to dissections, he would pull back their scalp inch by inch, listening to their screams.

They said he was much better now, but I still felt for the poor man. Whenever he was around I tried to make sure the vibe was light and fun, hopefully getting him out of his head for a while. It seems stupid but it worked most times, I've seen him crack his fair share of smiles when he couldn't hold back.

The car drifted back into the habitual chitchat until I asked the usual question that played on my mind. I know the guys were probably bored of the everyday debrief but I needed to get my fill.

"So.. how's he doing?"

Antoni and Ethan turned their head in the direction of the window closest to them, while Dom kept his eyes glued to the road. The silence was covered by sporadic coughs and humming.

"What aren't you guys saying?"

"A, maybe you should go see him, then you'll get your answer." Ethan turned to me, his voice was sympathetic but his eyes seemed guilty.

".. Is he still with her?"

Again, everyone's eyes avoided mine.

"I'll take that as a yes. Listen, you guys don't need to feel weird about it. He's moved on, so should I. If he's happy then I'm happy for him."

"Non so se è quello che chiamerei "felice"." Antoni murmured under his breath, getting a look from Ethan.
(I don't know if that's what I'd call "happy")

I hated when they spoke Italian. I could only pick up on certain words that Chris had taught me, so I was lost in conversation most of the time. Richard had tried teaching me too, but there was no use; different languages were never my speciality, I was still trying to master English.

The car pulled up to the curb and Antoni got out holding the door open for me. As soon as the smell of the vendor's hotdogs hit me, I felt my stomach churn. Running to the closest garbage can, I threw up my lunch. Thankfully, Ethan was behind me pulling my hair from my face and patting my back; I was about to be pissed because I had only just had wash day yesterday.

My stomach settled after a few minutes, but as I stood straight my entire body felt weak and dizzy. Noticing my unbalanced frame, Dom picked me up bridal style. I must've been more worn out than I thought because all I remember was resting my eyes and drowning everyone out.

JJ x