Adaline (The Wallflower Series Book 3) (9 page)

The newfound friendship made her beyond happy to go to school again. He would smile at her in the hallway now. And she would watch him with his friends as they played football on the green quad or as they rambunctiously teased one another in the dining hall. Though she sat alone, it didn’t feel that way so much anymore. Watching him made her feel a part of the world she had always felt excluded from. He became her bridge to a world of the hearing that accepted her. And, one day, she got up the courage to cross the invisible line she had placed for herself.

Dominic was standing alone at his locker when she shyly walked up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder. When he turned around, Adaline smiled warmly and signed,
“Hello, Dominic. Are you going to the game?”

She could tell from his wide gaze, he was more than surprised to have her not only speak to him publicly but to communicate via sign language. He opened his mouth to respond but Adaline jumped as a big, muscular guy in a tight V-neck slammed his palm against the locker by her head.

“Who the fuck do you think you’re talking to, retard?”

Adaline recognized the student as one of Dominic’s close friends. Not bothering to look in his direction, she scurried away. Discretely, she looked back and read the boys lips as he smiled at Dominic, “What’s up with you, Dom? You can’t encourage a stalker dude,” he laughed. “She watches you all the fucking time. It’s creepy as hell, man.”

She never bothered to read Dominic’s response.

As Adaline sat back down with Lucille, she forced a small smile onto her face. Yes, Dominic and she had a friendship for some time. But it was always something he kept behind closed doors. Because he was obviously ashamed of it. A trait she had conveniently forgotten in the happy haze that had characterized her experience in Boston thus far. Adaline could only sigh in defeat; she really only had herself to blame for holding out hope.

He had had his doubts about dating again, and now they were more than confirmed. Audrey’s statements mortified Dominic, and he could understand why Adaline walked away after giving him more than a few nonverbal choice words through her gaze and insulting Audrey in return. He remembered how much her disability had affected her confidence in social situations. And it seemed that she was still battling with those feelings. There had been a definite mix of both anger and hurt in her dark eyes when he had finally been able to look at her once more.

Dominic was dealing with his own precarious confidence at the moment- just in the relationship realm of things. But he had decided to take the plunge after coming across Audrey downtown. There was no denying her physical attractiveness, but she was not his usual type. He had found himself comparing her slim, lithe look to Dina’s more curvaceous figure. But as soon as the thoughts infiltrated his mind, he rejected them and simply said yes to her offer of dinner. He didn’t want to find a substitute for his broken heart. He needed something new to at least feel like he was moving forward.

Now, here he was after only being on a few dates with her. If he were honest with himself, he would admit that her insensitivity and lack of intelligence was no surprise. Their conversations were characteristically vapid at best, but Dominic figured he at least needed a rebound. But now look where that logic had landed him?  As soon as Adaline had turned around, he recovered from his shock and embarrassment enough to turn to Audrey with a look of absolute disgust.  Not wanting to cause a scene, he grabbed her forearm and led her out the front door. Dominic was rarely one to get angry, but it seemed that within these past couple of months, that was the only reliable emotion he had.

Audrey gasped at his uncharacteristic behavior, trying to get her arm out of his strong grasp. “Dominic, let me go! What the hell! Aren’t you going to do
anything
about what that bitch just said to me?”

He ignored her until they reached his vehicle. Opening the passenger door without a word, Dominic motioned for her to get in.

“What? Why are we leaving? We just got here!” Audrey looked up at him, exasperated. But she received no answers from him. In fact, Dominic’s gaze was distinctly hard and emotionless.

“Get in the car,” he gritted out.

Audrey quickly obeyed him, never having seen him look so serious before. She watched him warily as he went to take his seat behind the wheel. Eyes narrowed, she waited for him to finally reveal what the problem was. However, Dominic remained rigid and silent until she found herself in front of her apartment again. Her pouty lips opened in shock, it finally registering that he was cancelling their date.

“Wha-”

“You can take the tickets; I really don’t give a shit. What I will not tolerate however, is someone who is so completely fatuous. It was sign language by the way. And no, Adaline is not mentally fucking challenged. You seem to be if you think I would ever consider dating someone who would insult my friends. Now get out of my car,” Dominic ranted. He didn’t even bother looking at her as he finally let out his frustrations and anger.

“Fuck you, Dominic!” She yelled, snatching the tickets from the cup-holder and exiting his car. But even as she walked to her door, Audrey waited to hear him yell out an apology and come crawling back. Instead, she heard the distinct sound of wheels skidding on the street before fading into the night. She turned back to the road and he was no longer there. Her cheeks began to redden, having never been rejected so coldly. But she tried to regain her composure, assuring herself that he would come right back to her in the end. And she would be more than satisfied to close the door in his face!

Dominic had zoomed into traffic with complete tunnel vision. He debated with himself whether he should go to his apartment and sleep off what had amounted to the worst rebound in his life, or return to Adaline’s place to apologize.  His mother had apparently trained him well because he found himself heading to the latter. Even if people were still there, he would wait to get her alone. There was no excuse, bringing such a disrespectful person into her home. But, more than that, Dominic needed to see for himself that what had transpired hadn’t destroyed her social confidence. It was very big brother of him- he knew that. And while he wanted to keep a safe distance from Adaline as he dealt with his changing personality following the incidences with Dina, Dominic couldn’t help but worry for her.

In his mind, she was still that young high school student afraid to say a word because of her accent. Those times they spent on the bench had been important to her, and even then he had been fully aware of that. The crush she had developed for him… he knew it was only temporary and had never given it a second thought. But now, even as he wanted to keep that image of her as a young girl in his mind, seeing her at the wedding and then again at the Lizard Lounge was starting to conflict with that. She was most assuredly a woman now; her many physical attributes a testament to that fact. But he shook his head, warding off the same feeling that had overwhelmed him after taking her out of the lounge and staring down into her eyes.

Speaking of which, what the fuck was that?
He snorted in disgust at himself, blaming it on his tumultuous emotions following his break-up with Dina. Everything was out of sorts. But he didn’t have to pull Adaline into or affect her with his fucked up life.

When he finally re-entered their apartment an hour-and-a-half later, it was emptied of all the hustle and bustle of before. Instead, he found Adaline cleaning up in the kitchen. Carter and Teagan were doing their part in the living room, in between affectionate kisses and hugs. With a quick smile their way he approached Adaline, watching her for a minute.

Though she had on a simple outfit of jeans and a t-shirt, it only helped to maintain the dissonance that characterized his perception of her. While he wanted to treat her the same as during their high school years, every interaction solidified the impossibility. Even now, he appreciated the way the material of the jeans hugged her bottom and accentuated her waist. She had a more athletic build than he remembered, but it was softened by her natural hourglass figure. Realizing where his thoughts were leading, Dominic silently chastised himself. He needed a rebound and soon.

Clearing his throat, he stepped up next to her and reached out to help clean the kitchen counters with the extra sponge.

“Hey,” he said, feeling sophomoric and socially inept in that moment. He was definitely not used to needing to apologize to anyone.

Adaline, in her own world, didn’t even bother looking his way. Gently, Dominic placed his hand on hers as she was wiping the counter to halt her movements. Eventually, she looked up at him, and there was the same distinct hardness there from earlier. She didn’t greet him with a smile. Not like she usually would. In fact, he could even feel her hand tense under his. Taking that as his cue, he released her and took a tiny step back.

“Can I talk to you?”
he asked.

“Why bother using sign language now? Isn’t it still embarrassing? Aren’t you afraid someone will come in and see you?”

Dominic told himself not to be surprised by the venom in her voice. Instead, he persisted,
“I need to talk to you.”

Sighing in exasperation, Adaline threw the sponge in her hand into the kitchen. Carter and Teagan were sitting comfortably in the living room, now watching television. So Adaline turned to her room for them to have privacy. Dominic couldn’t help but to inspect the intimate space once he crossed the threshold. There were photographs he assumed she had taken on the walls in thoughtful geometric patterns. One in particular caught his eye. Dominic walked over and looked at the bench where they had first met. It had been taken at such an odd angle that at first he hadn’t even recognized it. But now he could see with familiarity the rose bush and large tree that bathed the wooden bench in shadows. The photo reminded him of her talent and keen eye for photography.

“Have you looked into selling your work?” He asked her.

Adaline hesitantly walked over to him. Her heart began to race when she realized which photo had captured his attention. Of all her photos, that was one she would never get rid of. It meant too much to her. Thankfully, she hadn’t displayed the one photo she had taken of him at the peak of her childish infatuation. While it had come out beautifully, it was another one that held far too much sentimental value for her to reveal to anyone else’s eyes but her own. Least of all the very man modeled in the image.

“I haven’t had much time to consider it,” she replied simply.

“Well, you should. You are very talented, Addy. I always told you that.” He looked down at her with a warm smile.

Adaline could feel the familiar bodily response she always had to his closeness and warm gaze. Frustrated with herself, she took a step back and crossed her arms.

“What did you want to talk about?” she asked abruptly. She wanted to get him out of such an intimate space before she did something mortifying.

“About earlier…” he paused and took in a deep breath. “I owe you an apology, Addy. I’m sorry for the things Audrey said. If I had known she was that type of person…I never would have brought her into your home.”

Adaline grunted in exasperation. “You don’t get it, do you Dominic? I don’t need you to apologize for her. I need you to apologize for
you
!”

At that, Dominic’s brow scrunched in confusion. “What are you talking about?”

“You stood there and said nothing…I could care less what she said. I don’t know her and frankly I don’t care to. But
you
…” Adaline grew more irate at the memory. She could feel tears beginning to form in her eyes as she became overcome with pent up emotions. “You are supposed to be my friend, Dominic. And you didn’t say anything to her. You stood there, silent.” Adaline took another small step away from him. “It was almost as if you agreed. Is that how you feel, Dominic? That I’m not good enough and am embarrassing to be around?”

Dominic opened his mouth to respond, but she interrupted.

“Because that’s how you’ve always treated me. You said at the wedding you wanted to see me when I came to Boston- that you wanted to rekindle our friendship- but you have done nothing to prove-”

“Prove what?” he yelled back at her. Dominic felt like he was being attacked, and while he could understand her anger to a certain extent, he refused to sit back and say nothing.

“That I matter to you!” Adaline found herself saying out loud. And even though her heart skipped a beat as she made herself vulnerable to his rejection, it felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

Dominic’s eyes narrowed at that. “So let me get this straight…you’re mad at me for not coming to your defense in front of Audrey. And apparently, this has always been the dynamics of our relationship- me saying nothing while you are insulted?”

Adaline’s silence was enough confirmation for him.

“Are you kidding me, Addy? Admittedly, maybe I wasn’t as outspoken as I should have been when we were younger but you want to know why?”

She rolled her eyes, “Why?”

“Because you were already too infatuated with me! It was unhealthy, Addy.” At the look of hurt that jumped into her eyes, Dominic softened his tone. “I’m not saying you ever freaked me out…and I never liked those rumors of you being a stalker. I knew you were simply latching onto the first person that treated you the way you deserved. But…if I had jumped to your defense every single time hurtful words were thrown around, you would have further built this perfect image you had of me. I was your friend, Addy. Not your boyfriend. And I felt that I had to make sure you knew the difference.”

Dominic shook his head and sighed, “I handled it badly. I know I did. But I was young and stupid. I didn’t know how to manage a girl with a crush. And today...I won’t deny that you’re right. I should have said something. It may have felt like my silence was a complicit agreement to her words, but you have to know that I don’t think that of you, Addy. You’re not embarrassing to me. If anything, today proves how it’s the other fucking way around. I was mortified by what she said and didn’t know what to say. But I made sure I found my words when I drove her home. You will never see her again because I never plan to step out with her ever again.

“I’m sorry. I’ve been so fucked up in the head lately…and it seems like I just can’t get things right,” Dominic’s eyes glazed over as his thoughts veered away from the conversation. Shaking his head, he continued, “But you have to know that you mean something to me. I was so excited to see you again at the wedding. And what you did for me at the lounge…you’re too good for me, Addy.”

“But what about now?” Adaline asked with shaky breath.

“What?”

Something seemed to overcome her in that moment. She was sick and tired of waiting around for something to happen. If he wouldn’t get the ball rolling, then she would, “You said you didn’t know how to handle a girl with a crush. I’m a woman, Dominic. I’m not a little girl anymore. I know you felt what was between us outside the lounge and I know that’s why you ran away from me. Maybe my crush was based on the wrong things when we were younger but…Dominic, I was hurt you didn’t bother to contact me because I was hoping that when I came here, we could try to move beyond friendship.”