The Way You See Me

Chapter Twenty-One

I wake up to the sound of the front door opening. I sit up in Dominic's bed, waiting for him to come in. When the sound of footsteps approaching grows louder, I smile. I had missed him.

To my surprise, Nick walks through the door, looking madder than ever. I scream, scooting back on the bed as he storms toward me, hands reaching for me. 

I wake up to Dom's frantic face, his strong arms shaking me as he shouts, "Wake up!"

Panting, I try to catch my breath as he assures me that it was just a nightmare. My eyes look up to meet his and I frown. 

He climbs into the bed, sitting beside me, and pulls me to him as I lean against his chest. "Sorry," I murmur. 

"Calleigha, it's okay, really. Don't keep apologizing to me." He pauses. "What was the dream about?" He asks tentatively. 

I hesitate, thinking about whether or not to tell him it was Nick. I bite my lower lip, closing my eyes. "It was nothing," I reply. I didn't need to give Dom another reason to want to kill my brother.

Obviously he knew better than it being 'nothing', but he didn't push me to tell him. I was thankful for that. 

"How was Max?" I ask, tilting my head to look up at Dominic. He looks back at me and smiles. 

"He was great, ate all his food, went out back for a little, then I brought him- along with his food- back here. He's in the bathroom right now, I stuck him in there when I heard you screaming," He explains. 

I nod slowly. I missed my boy. Well, my boys. I missed them both. It was a weird feeling, missing someone other than my dog. Of course I missed my parents, but... Missing an alive person was a different kind of feeling. Missing someone who won't ever physically come back is more of a longing. 

I hear Dom sigh at the same time his chest rises and falls. "What're you thinking about?" I ask him, my eyes wandering back up to meet his own gorgeous, deep pools of green.

He looks at me and he looks so tired still. Which would make sense, considering he probably hasn't slept in a day or more. 

I start to think he isn't going to answer when he finally does. "Well, where are we going to go from here? Nick wasn't at your house while I was there, so where is he? I doubt he'll just move on and forget about me or you. He's probably livid about the fact that we were even together, let alone making out." He says. 

I don't reply as my mind races. What am I going to do? Nick would probably give me another concussion- this time on purpose- if he found out I was staying with Dom. Then again, I'm definitely not going home alone. 

That's the best feeling. No longer feeling safe in my own home. What the fuck. 

"Listen, I don't want to pressure you anymore than you probably already are, but you have to do something about him, Cali. He can't do this shit to you," Dom adds.

I know. I know. I know. I'm just too scared to do anything about it. 

Dom is a good guy. I don't want him to be tied down with all the bullshit going on between me and Nick. I don't want him to be tied down with me in general. I have so many problems that can only be fixed by me. Like, mentally. Things that Dom probably wouldn't understand. 

I tilt my head away so he can't see that I'm crying. Why am I even crying? I'm such a wuss. I just want a normal life, where I can do what I want, be with who I want. Without having to worry about an insane brother getting in the way of it all. Is that too much to ask for?

Dom's hand gently turns my head back towards him. "What's wrong?" He asks, his voice barely above a whisper. 

How did he know something was wrong? Like...