No Regrets

Chapter Thirty-Three - Bigger than Four People

KATIE'S POV

   "So... how are you?" Linkon asks. He's driving me to the hospital, Dominick didn't want to leave Mollie and my parents are on the other side of town. The drive has been slightly awkward. Linkon and I haven't ever been alone together, and I've never been completely alone with a guy.

"Good, how are you?" I ask.

"Not too bad." Linkon replies.

   Another five minutes of complete silence go by. My phone didn't completely charge last night, which means I can't use it because I need to save the battery. Mom or Dad will call me when they're heading up. Plus, Sawyer is going to call to talk about the project. He knows about Mollie being the hospital and has really stepped up.

   I place my hand on the necklace he gave me. I smile, I'm also reminded of the promise I made to Chris. I can't decide if I should consider this necklace as a sign to advance our relationship, or if it was just a friendly gift. Don't let this go to your head. I tell myself.

"K-Tie, I know that you're tired of this but... what happened?" Linkon asks.

I let out a sigh, "I told you, it was just all too much." I answer. "Please stop asking."

 "I'm just saying that last year you were one of the most active eleven year olds I'd ever met, now you hardly leave your house." Linkon says.

"I leave the house." I say in a matter-of-fact tone.

"For something non-school related?"

"Yes, I have a friend. I hang out with my friend sometimes."

"What happened to your twenty friends?" he asks.

"Leave it be, I beg you." I say as I turn on the radio.

   Linkon does leave the subject alone... for three minutes. He rephrases the question but I'm smart enough to catch it. He turns off the radio and swears that he won't ask me anymore if I answer him the one question. What happened to all my friends?

   The pain still feels fresh even though it was over a year ago. I refuse to let the tears come out, "They ditched me. Word got out about some things and... they all left." I say.

   I can tell by Linkon's expression he wants to ask me more, but he keeps to his word. Thank you. I say silently. We drive in silence for a while until we're closer to the hospital, which is probably a good twenty minutes in silence. No radio, just silence.

"Katie... since you confessed something to me. I'll confess something to you." he says breaking the silence. I turn to look at him. He takes a deep breath and confesses a piece of information he's never shared, not even with Dominick; and it is more than shocking.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

   Holding Mollie in my arms again, having her be awake and smile at me, it's amazing. I practically ran in the room and scooped her out of Dominick's arms. I covered her with kisses and held her close for the longest time. Dominick had a good hour alone with her, he could spare ten minutes for me to love on Mollie.

   I create a detailed mental picture of her as she sits on my lap. Her brown hair that is really beginning to grow. In a few months, we might be able to give her little pigtails. Her big beautiful green eyes, Dominick's eyes. Her soft slightly tanned skin. The tiny hands with the fingers that are pulling on my shirt. Her small teeth coming in, which she's using my shirt as a teething-toy.

  "I love you." I say to her. I give her a kiss on the forehead. Linkon is talking to Dominick outside in the hallway. His words repeat inside my head, his confession wasn't what I expected. I was expecting a confession about where his bruises really come from. I swore to never tell anyone, and I won't. It's not my place to tell.

   I look back at Mollie. "You're my number one girl, you know that? I'm your aunt and I'll always be there for you. Even if I'm not physically always there, you'll never have to worry about me turning my back on you. Remember that." I say to her.

   She has more than one aunt. I think to myself. Aria... I've never met her, but I've seen her around a few times. She's a beautiful girl, but she keeps to herself. She's always quiet. I hear stories about her, nothing bad just stories about her being at the top of class or winning a school-contest. "You deserve to have both aunts in your life." I say to Mollie.

   I'll talk to Dominick later about getting Aria more involved in Mollie's life. I know he's been sending her pictures and they've had short-secret visits, but I'm thinking a longer visit is in order. A couple of hours, at least, giving Aria the chance to see her niece.

   My thoughts find a way of going to Ezibell, whether she deserves to know her granddaughter isn't something I can decide. She's Dominick's mother, and he knows her better than anyone in our family knows her. I doubt he'll want Ezibell in Mollie's life. Last I heard, she was in rehab and "discovering herself"... for the fourth time.

 Rehab is court-ordered, and Ezibell always shows improvement, but once the eyes of authority are off her she's back to her ways. Dominick shared a few stories about her, the number of bad stories outnumbered the good.

   One of the few good stories, for Dominick's third birthday she took him to the bakery and let him buy whichever cake he wanted. Afterwards, she took him to the dollar-store and let him pick a present for himself. I think he got a baseball cap.

   One of the many bad stories, Dominick was three years old, Ezibell and he were staying at one of her "special friends" house. The house had deep basement, which had these really bad steep steps. Dominick had been left upstairs, because Ezibell was being a "responsible" parent and not letting her son see her do drugs. He can't remember why he started to go down to the basement, but he did. He ended up falling down at least ten stairs and landed on the concrete floor of the basement. Ezibell only glanced over at him before resuming her drugs. Dominick lied on the floor crying out in pain for an hour. Eventually Ezibell and the "special friend" got annoyed with the crying and took Dominick to the ER. He had broken his arm and had a concussion.

   For a whole hour, Dominick cried out in pain and just lied on the concrete floor. Ezibell, his mommy at the time, not even caring. Who could do that to their kid? I wonder.

   I hear the door begin to open and I see an anxious Dominick step in. He doesn't want to say it, but he wants to say it so bad. I push all thoughts of Ezibell and Aria out of my head, I laugh and say, "Okay okay peasant, I'll surrender the baby." I say as I hand Mollie over to Dominick.

   He looks so happy when he holds you. "Thank you, oh great Katie." he says doing a small curtsy. We both laugh, real laughs. Feels nice.

***AUTHOR'S NOTE****

The more I write about Dominick's storyline, the more I want to give him a hug. I honestly am shocked by what happened to him, and I'm the writer!

The sequel for the story won't be arriving anytime soon. If anything, it will be arriving late this year. Like in the fall. I am busy with school, work, and of course keeping up with my Wattpad stories. I seriously am so behind on lot, because I am so focused on keeping certain ones updated.

I love writing for you all and I love reading your comments. I have noticed so many new readers, and I still get surprised when I realize that people are actually reading my stories. I never thought this story would be so well-received, or become what it is.

I actually read the stories you all write. Many of them have incredible storylines! I am on the edge of my seat awaiting the next update. I usually read and don't vote or comment, but I'll start. I want ALL of you to know that if you put your metaphorical heart on the paper, you will create something amazing. Not everyone will like it, but many will

THANK YOU FOR READING! I HOPE YOU ENJOYED!

VOTE, COMMENT, FOLLOW, do whatever you want.