SayWhat
On the Prowl
* * * * CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE * * * *
Dominick woke up around 1:00pm. Even with the blinds closed in his room, the sunlight bounced off the walls as if he was standing outside. On a normal day, Derek would have woken up before him, came into his room, and tickled him until he woke up. Today wasn’t a normal day, though.
He grabbed his laptop from beside his bed and logged onto Facebook. There were several comments on his anger-induced update from the night before. It had actually turned into a neat little argument between his friends back home and his friends in Brooklyn.
Lindsey:
I’m sorry, babe!Derek’s Mom: Don’t give up, things will turn around!
Alyssa: Things will not turn around. Come home where you’re loved and feel important to everyone. I love you!!
Derek’s Mom: Way to be positive and supportive, Alyssa.
Toni: Well I would say until you've experienced EVERYthing you came to Brooklyn to experience you shouldn't give up. What you left will still be there down the line...Keep ur head up Dom, it all works itself out
Tessa: Don't give up!! Things will turn around, you just have to keep trying! Eventually everything will work itself out. You didn't move all the way out here, just to give up! Besides we won't let you leave anyways, we kinda like having you around
Derek’s Mom: Dom, you just need to refocus. Remember why you moved in the first place. The drama you left behind is still here, and the real friends that are here are still your friends and will be no matter where you live. When life hands you limes - grab a Corona!
Claire: You are loved no matter where you are.
The whole thing just brought all the emotions from last night back to surface. He was doing a tightrope walk between anger, disappointment, and regret. Suddenly his tattoo became ironic in the biggest ways.
His phone rang and he was surprised to see Jennifer’s name on the caller ID. They had worked together while Dominick was a senior in high school and shortly after. She managed a dance company and had been trying to get him to move to Los Angeles for years to work for her.
“Hey Jen! How are you doing?” Dominick answered cheerfully.
“Dom! I’m great! How about you?” She asked.
“Ehh. Doin’ alright. What’s up?” Dominick asked. They were friendly, but not the type to just call and chat.
“Well I just moved back to LA. I don’t know if you heard, but I was doing a project in Europe for about a year.” She started explaining.
“Oh yeah, I did hear about that actually.” Dominick remembered aloud.
“Anyway, I’m back in LA now and trying to get the dance company up and running again. I was wondering if you were interested in helping out!” She asked.
“That would be great! You mean from LA or here?” Dominick asked. His mind was running wild now.
“Well I still have to look for a house and get settled in LA, so from home for now. But you know I’d love to have you in LA soon!” Jennifer cheered.
“I’d like that, too, actually.” Dominick smiled.
“Oh really? Things not going well in Brooklyn?”
“Ehh. Things aren’t really working out. I need a job.” Dominick evaded.
“Well there ya go. Two birds with one stone. I’ll start e-mailing you stuff today and we’ll work out the pay and details via e-mail, okay?” She sounded thrilled.
“That would be great! Talk to you soon!” Dominick smiled into the phone as she hung up.
He decided to share the good news with Claire. He explained that he’d be doing work for her remotely until she got settled with the intention of relocating to Los Angeles soon. She agreed that it was a better opportunity and encouraged him to go with it. Dominick was genuinely excited.
He stepped out of his room and looked around. The coast was clear. He bolted for the bathroom. On his way out of the bathroom he bumped into Derek, though. So much for that stealthy mission.
“Are you leaving?” Derek asked bluntly.
“Not yet. Why?” Dominick answered.
“Oh. Well you gotta do what you gotta do, I guess.” He said coldly and walked to his room.
That one stung a little. Why would he push so hard to get him to move out here for all this time if he didn’t care at all? What an asshole.
Dominick went back to his room and closed the door. He let out a heavy sigh and stared at the ceiling fan for several minutes. Hating the silence, he finally reached for his iPod. It was a Taylor Swift kinda day.
He got out of bed and started stretching on the floor. It had been a long time since he danced, let alone choreographed anything. After a decent stretch, he was carefully moving to the music. He didn’t want Aunt Cindy to hear him downstairs, so most of his bigger ideas stayed in his head.
His phone buzzed again. It was an e-mail from Facebook stating that he had an unread message from Derek. His heart jumped. Then he scolded himself for letting his heart jump before proceeding back to the computer.
He was surprised at the first sight of the message. It was very long for Derek. He usually stuck to short sentences and two-word responses.
“Soo… It’s easier for me to write things down instead of saying them. That’s why I didn’t say anything when we talked in the hallway. I’ll just go with it now. I’m not really sure where to start, so if this jumps around a lot I’m sorry. I have a lot of respect for you and trust you more than anyone. I knew I could actually talk to you, even if you didn’t like the topic much. I know I owe you a lot of sorry’s and a lot of thank you’s for everything. I can’t say I didn’t see this coming, though. I know you can’t really trust me.
I didn’t say anything about you leaving because it seemed like it’s what you wanted. I’m not going to try to stop you from doing something you want, even if it’s not what I want. If you decide to stay here, great. But if not, I’ll still support that decision.
As far as last night, I wish it didn’t happen but reality is that you can't ever just forget things like that. I wasn't tired, though, and was just waiting to sober up so I could drive normally. I apologize for all that and don't really expect you to get over it.
Anyways, I just hope you do what's best for you and you're happy with whatever decision it is that you make.”
Dominick read the message three or four times. He couldn’t decide how to respond, though. A big part of him wanted to go hug Derek and put it all behind them. But a big part of him was too scared of Derek now.
To be continued...
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