The Sound of Summer

15. You Know Don't You?

Dom doesn't come to rehearsal on Monday. We wait and wait for him, but he doesn't pitch. No one has heard a word from him since Saturday, which actually starts to piss me off.
I know that he's upset with me and has every right to be, but why take it out on the others? Why not have the decency to even text?

"I can't believe he didn't show up. First he ditches Iman and I at the party and then this? Has he always been such a prick?" Monte says, and I can tell he's upset about it as well. He and Dom have grown really close I totally understand why he's feeling that way. I feel the same way.

I've been carrying this guilt all weekend, and he doesn't have the decency to show up today?

Iman stands up and shrugs her shoulders before speaking.

"I'm sure there's a good reason he's not here. Let's just get as far as we can today and reconvene tomorrow yeah?" A part of me is glad she's defending him. She's being super reasonable. Dom hasn't been unreliable before today, so he probably does have a reason.

Though everyone tries to give their best, the mood is too grey and they end up breaking for the day after about an hour and a half. They agree to meet again tomorrow, before everyone goes back home. I feel so guilty for wasting their time. I'm the reason he isn't here today.

"Sifiso, I'm so sorry. If I hadn't fought with him, I think he would've been here," I say, doing that thing when I take all the blame and responsibility for things.

"It's not your fault. Dom is a grown ass man. He makes decisions for himself. Don't let it get to you," he says it and gives me a kiss on my forehead before going into his room.

It's on my mind the rest of the day, so I decide to send Dom another text before I go to bed.

Idk why you didn't come today, but if it's because of me you're an asshole for taking it out on the others. They deserve better than that.

I leave the message there and switch my phone off as soon as I hit send. It takes a long time for me to fall asleep.

The next day I wake up late, and hear the chattering of what I can only assume is the band. God I'm so nervous. If Dom doesn't pitch today, they'll be devastated. I will too.

I turn my phone on as I brush my teeth and look to see if he sent a response. I'm surprised when I see one notification from him. My stomach drops before I open it.

You're right.

That's all it says. He sent it at 3:04am.

God, I don't know if I've been this annoyed with someone in a long time. That's all he can say for himself? I decide to take a quick shower and put on a comfy body-con dress for the day.

When I go outside, I see everyone deep in discussion about something.

"Maybe we shouldn't go as far as looking for a replacement guys, what if he had a good reason not to pitch?" Iman says in his defense.

"Two days in a row? You know how strict our contract is. I don't want to say it, but if Dom isn't serious about this, then we have to replace him and that's the end of it," Sifiso says, clearly incredibly stressed about the whole situation.

Claire sits beside him with her head on his shoulder, carefully massaging his hands in hers. My stomach sinks and I start to feel annoyed. Then I remember our last conversation about it. She's my best friend, if she says nothing is going on between them, I'm going to trust her.

"You're seriously thinking about replacing him?" I ask, and everyone's heads shoot towards me. Claire tries to sneakily move her hands away from Sifiso. I brush it away in my mind.