Elemental Fear (4 page)

*****

I opened my eyes, wincing at the pain I felt at my shoulder, back and ribs. I couldn’t even bring myself to acknowledge the burning between my legs. I gripped at the sheets, fisting clumps. I wanted it to stop. The cotton under my hands felt soft and warm, familiar. I inhaled deeply, adoring the safe sensations the aroma of my clean sheets created. Willing myself to focus, I turned my head, noticing a figure sitting on the edge of my bed, near me.

“Hey
.” Dominic turned his torso toward me, lifting his hand to stroke my hair away from my face.

I half smiled. Blushing profusely at the situation, I
tried to sit, but Dominic’s hands wrapped around, me pressing me against him.

“How...”

“Sorry, I didn’t know what to do, so I brought you here. Your mum and dad are still out. I texted Alan to tell him what happened. We should really get you to a hospital...”

“No!” I said, raising my voice slightly. I winced at my sudden movement.

“Okay, okay.” He held his hands up in a surrender sign. “But you could have seriously damaged something, Eve. God, you were so bloody pale.” He nodded towards my body.

Stunned
, I stay silent for a while. I hated lying to him, but who would believe Elliott had done this,

and worse the shame of explaining it? I'm just thankful Dominic came by when he did
. I just didn’t know what he knew. Had he heard –

As if hearing my inner thoughts
, Dominic spoke, quietly, almost a whisper. “I heard you...you sounded in pain, so I called to you, but you didn’t answer, and then I heard a thud. I ran up the steps to the house and heard you scream out. I’ll never forget that sound, Eve...” He paused as if recollecting the incident. “You didn’t move for so long, Eve, you were beyond pale. I thought...”

“I’m
okay, just clumsy.” I laughed weakly, hoping he would believe the lie.

He looked pale himself and I noticed the worry in his eyes
. He looked exhausted. He’d discarded his jacket and rolled his shirt sleeves up. His top button was open and his tie tugged loose. He was captivating to look at, like a piece of priceless art you were afraid would vanish if you didn’t memorise every aspect. His light brown hair stood in messy spikes, as if he had sat constantly running his fingers through it, and his daily growth of facial hair left a dark shadow along his jaw. He turned his head. A small reassuring smile caused his little cheek dimple to appear, making me blush at the thoughts that elicited.

“I'm sorry...for causing you to panic
.”

“I’m sorry I did panic. I didn’t know what else to do. You were out of it
.” He truly looked lost. I hated that I had put that vulnerability in his eyes.

I couldn’t speak, I certainly couldn’t look at him. I fought to get the covers from me, wincing with the shooting pain as I moved. Dominic looked startled and tried to hold me back without hurting me. He still had his back to me on the bed
, so I shuffled behind him to the base of the bed, while Dominic twisted to try and catch me.

“Please don’t
, Eve,” he begged

I pushed him away, struggling to gain some balance as I wriggled from his grasp. I needed to get out. I looked for the door.

“Arrrgh
!” I cried out, feeling my shoulder resist under the weight.

“Eve, stop. I’m trying to help you
.” He was beginning to panic.

“I don’t need your help
,” I snapped, angrier than I meant to be.

He grabbed my hand
. “Yes, you do.”

“No
.” I pulled my hand free. I needed to get to the door. I struggled away, clumsily throwing myself from the bed and reaching for the door handle as I opened it a crack. It banged shut. I looked up to see Dominic’s hand above my head. I stared at the door, my body shaking, my heart hammering so loud I heard nothing else. He was so close, I could feel his warmth, but he didn’t touch me. The safety I always felt with Dominic faulted. My brow beaded with sweat. I needed out.

“Stay, please
. I’m begging you.” Dominic’s soft voice whispered against my ear.

I
panted, gasping for air to fill my lungs. My hands shook as I placed them against the door, followed by my forehead against the cool glossy wood. The familiar haze was coming, ready to take me again. A warm, strong arm circled my waist, fingers splayed across my stomach, pressing me backwards against a firm torso. Warm calming breath blew across my shoulder and up my neck. A smooth face pressed against my cheek.

“Shh
, Eve, come back to me. I didn’t mean to frighten you,” Dominic whispered. A warm feeling spread through my chest.

His heart beat
against my back, his steady breath against my cheek. He held me to him, calming me. Our bodies becoming almost one as our rhythm mirrored the other. The haze dissipated, calm replacing it. I leaned my head back against his shoulder, closing my eyes. His nose stroked up and down the sensitive skin near the pulse on my neck. He pulled me closer, and I could feel his hands trembling. Without thought or reason, I removed one of my hands from the door and placed it over his on my stomach. Dominic let out a long sigh, his breath fanning across the soft area under my earlobe.

“Dominic
,” I whispered, breathlessly.

He held me against him, connecting me to him. “Please stay
. I won’t ask any more questions. Just...stay with me...please.”

I shook my head in disbelief.

“I cannot let you go. Please, Eve, let me...allow me to hold you. We don’t have to talk.” Desperation streaked his voice. I wanted to cry. Tears welled in my eyes. His plea seemed so genuine. “I’ve texted Elliott. He’s on his way to see you. I promise I’ll leave when he gets here.”

I turned
to wrap my arms around his waist and pulled him closer to me. Then I buried my face in his chest and listened to his heart hammering within his chest. The sound soothed every inch of my body. He exhaled a loud sigh as he hugged me tighter to him. We stood like this for seconds, minutes, hours maybe? I couldn’t tell, but while his arms were around me, the world ceased to exist. Finally, his arms shifted, and he lifted me to silently carry me to the bed. He laid me down before running his fingers through my hair and pushing it away from my face. To his word, he never asked a question. We lay in perfect serenity. Why couldn’t my life be like this always?

He sat down in the chair next to my bed and let out a weary sigh.
His chuckle broke the silence.

I lifted my head and frowned at him “What?”

“You do realise I just begged you to stay in your own room.” He turned and dazzled me with a full smile, both dimples showing.

I couldn’t help it
, I smiled a genuine smile back at him. He always had the ability to bring me back from the gloom I found myself in.

“That’s definitely a first for me
.” He shook his head and looked down at his tie.

“What is?”

He looked at me, a small reddening of his cheeks. He almost looked shy. “Begging a woman to stay in her bedroom with me. I'm usually doing the running.” He winked and held my gaze for a while before I couldn’t stand it and closed my eyes, laying my head back on the pillow.

We stayed in companionable silence; I remained on the bed, Dominic in the chair. He turned the TV on at some point to check through the news and shares on the teletext. He let out a few disgruntled noises as he flicked through pages and pages of names and numbers I didn’t understand.

“What does it all mean?” I asked, noticing the quick jerk of his shoulders.

“Jesus
, I thought you were asleep. You made me jump.” He snorted an amused sound.

“Sorry
.” I smiled, lifting my head and resting it on my fist.

“You mean the shares
?” He pointed the remote at the TV. I simply nodded. “Well, high and low means what the highest price went for, and low means the lowest it dipped during the stock market day. The number on the left is what price it closed at.” He turned to me, checking to see if I understood. “Obviously, the higher the price the more your share investment is worth. I was just checking what Ealing was priced at today.”

“And?”

“2.84, which isn’t bad. It’s slowly rising, so that’s good. It’s currently the highest it’s ever been. I’m just debating whether to cash any in and pay –“

“You have shares?”

“Hmm?” He turned again to look at me. “Oh, yeah. I joined as soon as I was eligible to. It’s a good savings plan”

“Do you...how much does one have to pay in...?
I mean, would I be able to afford it?”

“Well
, whilst you are living here, it would be a great way to save for a deposit on your own place someday. Even then, it would benefit you to do the share scheme to save lump sums to pay off a mortgage or do renovations, etc. You cannot access it straight away, it’s kind of a long term plan, but highly beneficial.”

I nodded
. “Could you help me with it?”

He
smiled at me and nodded. “Happily.”

He turned again to the TV
, and I rested my head back to the pillow, watching his face. The lights from the TV reflected against his skin, forming shadows and making his hair seem darker and his features more pronounced. It had gotten dark outside. I turned to check the clock on my nightstand. 7.27pm. Mum and Dad should have been back by now. Just as I was about to say this to Dominic, we both heard the front door slam, and Dad call out to us. He obviously knew Dominic wouldn’t leave me. A few moments later, Mum appeared at my bedroom door with Ellie close behind.

“Hi, sweetie. What on earth have you been doing
?” She walked towards my bed and sat down beside me. She turned, stretched out her hand, and cupped Dominic’s cheek in her usual warm greeting. “Hey, sweetheart, thanks for watching my baby.”

Ellie jumped on the bed and scrambled to my side
, laying her head on my chest above my heart and squeezing her arms around me tightly. I tried not to wince, but I admit, it hurt like hell.

“Ellie
, darling, you’re hurting her,” Mum said, trying not to alarm Ellie.

“I'm fine
. Honestly,” I croaked.

“I know what
’ll make your poorly better, Evie-beevie.”

I smiled at my little sister’s nickname for me. You would have thought Eve was simple enough
, but she said she liked how it sounded.

“What’s that?” I asked
, smiling at her adorable little face.

She looked at
Mum guiltily, and I knew it was going to be something Mum would ordinarily disallow. She crawled further up the bed and cupped her hand to whisper in my ear. “A DVD. We can put our pyjamas on and watch it here.”

“Ellie May
, you little sneak.” Mum laughed, shaking her head.

“It’s for Evie –“

“Ellie, you know it’s a school night, and –“

“But
Muuuuuum. Eve has a poorly.” She pouted, literally pouted, sticking her plump little lip out.

Mum
started to say something as Dad came into the room with two hot mugs of tea. “How’s my baby girl?”

“Daddy, Evie-beevie has a poorly and
Mummy won’t let me make it better.”

O
h, here we go – Daddy’s girl was bringing out the big guns.

“Ellie
,” Mum warned as Dad looked to Mum and asked, “What?”

“The little monkey here wants to watch a DVD in Eve’s room with her
. She says it’ll make Eve’s poorly better, but she also knows it’s a school night,” Mum said, pointing her finger at my little sister, who was currently curled up by my side, seeking refuge.

Dominic sat silently, but not without a huge grin on his face. He took his drink from
Dad and started sipping. I knew, by the lift of his shoulders, he was trying to stifle his laughter.

“One late night won’t –“Dad silenced immediately when he caught
Mum’s death glare.

“We could just watch half –“Dominic attempted to mediate
, but went silent just as quickly as Dad did when Mum’s glare turned his way.

“You’ll watch it too
, Doe-Doe?” Ellie jumped up excitedly.

“Oh
, for Heaven’s sake. I give up,” Mum said, throwing her arms up in the air and leaving the room in a huff.

I looked up at
Dad, then to Dominic and turned to Ellie.

“
We won, didn’t we?” she asked, smiling.

We all burst out laughing.

*****

“What
’re we watching, little buddy?” Dominic asked, leaning over to look at the DVDs she’d brought from the living room.

“
Tangled
or –“

“Whoa
, whoa, whoa! I thought we’d discussed this. I don’t like Rider. He’s not –“ Dominic started. “He’s handsome. Mummy says so,” Ellie argued.