No Shame (Book 2 - No Regrets)

Chapter Forty - All that Died Within

DOMINICK'S POV

Another week of Tyde and I's new dynamic has come and gone, with no indication of us resuming our prior dynamic. Tyde is often already gone or halfway out the door when I wake up during the week. She calls to talk with Mollie before she's dropped off at daycare. When I get home from school, I go straight to the bedroom to work on my homework and study while Tyde moves Mollie through her evening routine. Dinner, a little bit of play, take a bath if she didn't have one the day prior, and then get ready for bed. I join the two of them in Mollie's time to read a couple books and to tuck Mollie in.

Once Mollie is in bed, Tyde starts getting ready for bed while I eat some dinner. Tyde is already in bed when I come in after cleaning up from the day. She's usually awake and on her phone when I get in bed. We make small-talk about our days, giving the highlights. The most talking we do is if something involves Mollie, payment for the daycare being due, if she needs new shoes, or anything else.

Weekends aren't much different, except for us eating meals together. We takes shifts caring for Mollie throughout the day. This is our new dynamic. We are not ignoring each other, we merely have very little to say to one another. It is clear that I'm not upset with her in the slightest and vice versa.

Mollie is beginning to show she's not entirely happy with the new dynamic. For the purposes of providing her with a sense of normality, Mollie is having a weekend-long visit with Aria. Tyde and I drive back to the apartment with the music coming from the radio to drown out the silence.

"Alright, it is now the top of the hour this Friday evening, April fou" The radio host is saying as I turn down the radio. "Tyde, this has to stop. It's been over two weeks of us hardly talking to one another."

  Tyde sighs, she rests her elbow on the narrow window ledge, leaning the side of her face against the back of her fingers. "I know." She says. "I haven't felt like talking much, there's not much I care to say."

"To me or in general?" I ask.

"Both." Tyde answers. "More toward the later."

"Are you okay?" I ask, sparing a worried glance over at her.

"Yeah, nothing's wrong like that." Tyde answers, she lifts her face up and moves her elbow down from the window ledge. She folds her hands in her lap. "Just have a lot on my mind. Between the new baby brother, my older brother, my mother's continually nagging, the threat of layoffs, and then there's the bills, and-"

"Layoffs?" I ask, I glance from the road back to Tyde, "Are you losing your job?"

"No. I mean, I hope not. The practice is going through some changes and there are just some whispers." Tyde explains.

"How long have you- how could you not mention this before?" I ask tightening my finger around the steering wheel.

"I didn't want to worry you, for starters. You're approaching finals, and nothing would happen for a while. I still have a couple months left to my contract, and they may still be renewing it."

"Tyde, I-" I can't find the words. I take a deep breath. I remind myself that we are working toward improving communication not worsening the situation it by starting another argument. "I would like to be kept in the loop. We're a team, right? You and me. We're in this together, we're a family."

Tyde touches my arm, "Of course." She says.

"We'll manage, no matter what happens." I say. I glance at the clock, it's not even a quarter past five o'clock. "Hey, what do you say we order a pizza and rent a movie? It's a Friday night and we're childfree after all." I take a deep breath, "Then, Maybe later we can talk about Mollie...and make a plan to get her the help she needs."