by C. L. Parker
It was like being thrust into a cold shower, and they immediately broke their kiss, laughing at the situation.
“I did it?” Kerrigan’s voice was mixed with excitement and uncertainty.
“Yeah…you did.” Dominic’s pride was evident in his smile.
Their moment was broken when a gurgled, high-pitched cry came from the direction of their friends. “Help! Somebody help me! I’m drowning!”
It was Gabe. He was screaming and thrashing around in the water, and the rest of their friends were down the beach a stretch. Fear gripped Kerrigan’s insides at the thought of her best friend drowning and his lifeless body being washed ashore. Dominic sensed her panic and jumped up, racing down the beach as quickly as he could. But as he ran out into the water, a lifeguard jumped in front of him and went about his business rescuing Gabe.
As the lifeguard gathered Gabe up into his arms and carried him onto the beach, Dominic stood confused. He was standing in the exact same spot where Gabe had been, but the water was only up to Dominic’s waist, which meant that Gabe could’ve just stood up at any time and been perfectly fine.
Kerrigan and the rest of their friends made it to Gabe just as the blond-haired, blue-eyed lifeguard made it ashore carrying his limp body. He laid him down and knelt beside him as he went to work.
“Oh, Gabe,” Sydney cried with her hand to her heart in concern.
Kerrigan placed her hands on her hips and watched. She happened to know that Gabe was on the swim team when he was in high school – because he liked to watch all the boys in their Speedos – so, she knew he was perfectly fine and only trying to get the attention of the buffed up lifeguard. That wasn’t the first time he had ever run the scam. When the others looked at her, aghast by her lack of concern, she raised a hand to signal them to wait a moment.
The bronzed object of affection made his preparations to give her best friend mouth-to-mouth. Just as he was about to start the first round, Gabe opened his eyes, and his head shot up. A very capable hand reached into the pocket of the fanny pack he was wearing.
“Hold on, Mr. Baywatch.” He sprayed a breath freshener in his mouth, replaced it in the pocket and lay back down in the same position. When the lifeguard didn’t start the resuscitation, Gabe peeked one eye open. “Um, hello? Drowning victim here? Where are my smooches?”
The lifeguard shook his head in astonishment and disgust at Gabe’s manipulation. He stood, grabbed his preserver and made his way back to the lifeguard station.
“Fine!” Gabe yelled after him. “There are plenty of bigger fish in the sea. Don’t think I didn’t feel your little minnow when you grabbed me from behind. It ain’t all that, sweetie! Shit, I needs me a Moby Dick.”
Kerrigan looked down at him. “Desperate much?”
Gabe laughed sarcastically and gave her a SuFi, Dane Cook’s super finger.
Dominic’s movement from her peripheral vision caught her attention. She turned to look at him, her snickering coming to a halt. He strolled out of the water, clad only in his wet jeans, the sun casting a rainbow-like reflection off his wet hair. Everything around her crawled to a standstill as he made his way toward her in slow motion. The way he had to lift his legs to step through the water made his hips rock back and forth, the little “V” of muscle flexing and relaxing with the swagger of a man who knew his worth. She wished she had even an ounce of the confidence he exuded.
“Uh-uh. Where are the cameras?” Gabe started rummaging through his fanny pack again. “I don’t want to be on TV with sand all up in my hair.”
“There aren’t any cameras, Gabe,” Olivia laughed. “What are you talking about?”
“That boy looks like a walking Calvin Klein commercial, girl,” Gabe answered. Kerrigan didn’t have to look at him to know he was referring to Dominic.
His vibrant green eyes never left hers as he stepped forward and asked if Gabe was okay.
Having lost all control over her own voice, she nodded her head.
Dominic dropped his head and looked back up at her with that sexy smirk. “Are you okay?”
Kerrigan sighed. “I am now.”
Crisis averted, everyone went back to their previous activities. Only this time, Gabe actually took his boogie board and joined the others for some lessons.
Dominic was worried about Kerrigan. In addition to the energy she had used to push the surf back, she had also expelled quite a bit of energy trying to get to her friend when she thought his life was in danger. As much as she wanted to try to use her gift again, he convinced her to take it easy and soak up the sun for the rest of the day.
They sat in comfortable silence for a while, but then Kerrigan started thinking about how much she didn’t know about Dominic. Her curiosity was getting the best of her. She really wanted to know where he came from, if he had any family, how he came to meet her grandmother. What led him to her?
Kerrigan cocked her head to the side and looked at him thoughtfully. “You know, I’m putting a lot of trust in you, and I just realized that I don’t really know you at all,” she started, catching him off guard. “What’s your story, Dominic Grayson?”
Dominic looked out toward the ocean, the sun in his eyes causing him to squint. “It’s a boring story, not really worth telling.” He leaned back on his forearms and crossed his ankles.
“I’d still like to know.”
“You might regret saying that.” The weight of his words hung thickly in the air around them.
Kerrigan leaned in toward him and lightly ran her fingers through the jet black hair at his temple. She pressed a soft kiss to his lips. When she pulled back, she looked into his eyes. “My life hasn’t exactly been perfect, but I wouldn’t change anything about it because it led me to this moment…here with you. I’m asking you to trust me.”
“What do you want to know?” he relented.
She launched into a series of questions like she was conducting an interview of sorts. Not once did she flinch when he told her about how his mother was an alcoholic and had died by the bottle, or about how he had never known his father, but he noted the sadness in her eyes. He didn’t want her to feel sorry for him.
Kerrigan could sense his reluctance to open up to her, and at times, he almost sounded like he hated himself.
“Do you have any brothers or sisters?”
His face lit up. She knew she had finally touched on something that had been good in his life.
“One brother, Colton. He’s younger than me and I had to take care of him, which is probably the only good thing I’ve ever done in my life.” He paused and looked out over the ocean, lost in thought. “I’m so damn proud of that boy. He’s going to be a doctor, you know?”
“Is that where he is now? In med school?” she asked, wanting to keep him talking about his younger sibling since it brought him so much happiness.
“Yeah.”
“When was the last time you talked to him?”
“It’s been a while,” he said with regret.
“You should call him.”
“Yeah, I should.”
“And, what about you? Did you go to school?” It was an innocent question, but given his circumstances, Dominic’s hackles stood up defensively on the back of his neck.
His tone was harsh when he answered her. “I just told you that I had to take care of my alcoholic mother and my baby brother. How in the hell do you think I would’ve managed to make time to go to school as well?”
“I’m…I’m sorry.” Kerrigan felt stupid for being so thoughtless.
Dominic cursed under his breath when he saw her hurtful expression. He hadn’t meant to make her feel bad. She was asking normal questions; questions any normal person would be able to answer without going off on a wild tangent.
“No, I’m the one who’s sorry. It’s just that I had to do some pretty bad things to support my family and make ends meet when I would’ve preferred to have been in school doing something with my life. I guess you could say I’m a little bitter about th
at, but I shouldn’t take it out on you.”
She ran her fingertips along his arm in a soothing manner. “You’re a good person to have sacrificed what you wanted to take care of them.”
Dominic sat up and jerked his arm away. He didn’t deserve her attentions. “You wouldn’t say that if you knew what I’ve done,” he said, disgusted by himself. Without warning, he stood up and walked toward the water.
Kerrigan followed after him, watching him pick up shells and throwing them back into the ocean with force. Dominic could sense her there, he always sensed her, always knew her proximity. It was like a sixth sense to him.
She stood just off to the side behind him, giving him space. “Tell me,” she said.
He was about to launch another shell when her words stopped him. He dropped his arm and hung his head low. There was a silent moment between them before he spoke, his voice somber and filled with self-loathing.
“My demons are my own, and not a day goes by that I’m not haunted by them.”
“Maybe talking about it will help exorcise them. You’re a good person, and there’s nothing you can say that will make me think otherwise.”
Dominic scoffed and turned his full gaze on her. “You really want to know?”
The intensity of the regret and hatred in his eyes seemed to take on a life of its own and attempted to push her away. But, she knew it wasn’t meant for her, so she stood her ground, determined to prove her commitment to him. She decided then and there that no matter what he had done in his past, it didn’t matter because she had seen who he had become.
She nodded again. “Tell me.”
“Fine. I worked for a Cuban street gang,” he started. “I’ve sold drugs, I’ve beaten people within an inch of their lives; whatever I had to do to take care of my family and make sure my brother got to live up to his potential, that he got to be somebody.”
“That’s not so bad,” she said, attempting to downplay the horrible things he had done.
“I’ve murdered people,” he growled with a frightening edge to his voice, causing her to flinch. He held his hands up to make a point, but the way he looked at them, it was like he was seeing something there for the first time himself. “People have died by these hands. My hands, Kerrigan. Don’t you get it?”
“I get it,” Kerrigan said with purpose as she took a step toward him and took his hands. “You did what you had to do, but that’s not who you are now.”
Dominic took a step away from her and pulled his hands out of her grasp, ashamed to be touched by someone so pure when he was so evil.
“Don’t do that,” Kerrigan said, a lonely tear sliding down her face. For the first time since he had come into her life, he looked broken, uncertain.
“Don’t do what?” he asked, looking away. He couldn’t stand to see the understanding and sincerity in her eyes.
“Don’t pull away from me,” she pleaded. Her voice was agonized as tears pricked at her eyes.
He crossed his arms over his chest, and she moved toward him again, but he held his place. When Kerrigan tried to look into his eyes, he pulled his head away.
“Look at me, Dominic,” she ordered him, cupping his face in her hands.
He lifted his celadon eyes to meet hers, all resolve melting at the sight of her tears. “Don’t cry for me, Querida. I don’t deserve your tears, and I don’t want your pity.”
“I owe you so much,” she said and put her finger over his lips when he started to protest. “You took care of my grandmother when I wasn’t here to do it. You took care of me when I was attacked by that spirit. I could’ve died, and I likely would have if it hadn’t been for you…”
“Never,” he growled, cutting her off. “I will never let any harm come to you.”
Her thumb swept over his scruffy cheek. “I know. That’s my point. And, you’re still taking care of me now. You’re helping me, not hurting me, and maybe even countless others. We don’t know how many people my gift might help. It might be one, or it could be millions. But, it will all be thanks to you…for simply being here and helping me to develop it.”
He shook his head, not wanting to believe what she was saying. If anything, the good he had done should be considered atonement for his evil deeds.
“You have a beautiful soul, Dominic.”
He wished he could see himself the way that she did. If she thought his soul was so beautiful, then maybe it would be better if he left it in her hands before he lost it completely.
“Take it. Mi alma es tuya. I told you that before, and you asked me what it meant. Do you remember?”
“Yes.”
“My soul belongs to you. That’s what it means.” He uncrossed his arms and put them around her waist. “It’s been beaten and battered, but if it’s in your hands, maybe you can bring it back to life and use it for good. Will you take it?”
And because she knew the symbolism of relinquishing his soul to her would somehow make him feel better, less loathsome maybe, she accepted his gift with a simple nod of her head.
Dominic put a hand to the back of her head and hugged her to his chest, holding tightly to the only person still living that made him feel like he was worth a damn. Regardless of what he saw looking back at him in the mirror, in her eyes, he was good. The drug dealer, the thug, the murderer – the freaky monstrosity. All those images faded away, and he morphed into something worth being when she looked at him.
Only she didn’t know about the monstrosity part, and he couldn’t bear to tell her just yet.
As if reading his mind, Kerrigan pulled back and asked, “Hey, one more question. How is it that you came to live with Grammy?”
A shiver of dread ran down his spine. It was too much to reveal in one day. He didn’t think he could do it, but he knew she wouldn’t back off if he was hesitant about telling her. He was trying to come up with something that was close to the truth, something that wouldn’t be a complete lie, when an unlikely savior interrupted them in the form of Gabe.
Tyson was carrying him up the beach toward them and stopped in front of the lifeguard’s shack before sitting him down. Gabe was whining and crying in pain as he cradled his foot to his stomach.
“It hurts so much,” he whined. He put his hand to his forehead, as only a diva could, and exaggerated cries of agony. You would think he was dying.
Kerrigan rolled her eyes, but started toward him, convinced it was just another ploy to get the attention of the lifeguard. Talon came back with the guy, who just looked down at Gabe with a disgruntled huff.
“What now?” he asked.
“He’s not faking this time,” Olivia answered for Gabe. “He got stung by a jellyfish.”
“Oh, God, I’m dying. Kiss it and make it all better,” Gabe whined with a pouty lip.
The others were trying to hide their amusement.
“Sure thing,” the lifeguard said. “Let’s just get you inside where we’ll have a bit more privacy, and I’ll make it all better.”
“See? I knew you’d come around,” Gabe said, still wincing in pain as the lifeguard picked him up and started toward the shack. “I was just joking about your minnow, by the way. I knew you was packing an eel, but you hurt my feelings, boo-boo. And when my feelings get hurt, I start acting all ugly. Now, I know that God don’t like ugly, but he don’t like teases either.”
He never once stopped talking until he made it inside the shack. Once he was out of earshot, the rest of them burst out laughing. Tyson was doubled over, while Dominic and Talon were nearly in tears, fist bumping each other like they were at a frat party.
“Bro,” Tyson said through fits of laughter. “I only wish I could see the look on his face when ol’ dude pulls his pecker out and pisses on him instead of what Gabe thinks is going to happen.”
“I swear, it’s just like an episode of Friends gone horribly wrong,” Kerrigan said, trying to catch her breath.
Just then, a hair curling scream pierced the air from inside the shack, causing another round of la
ughter.
“You guys,” Sydney laughed. “It’s…so mean…to laugh at his pain.”
“Yeah,” Olivia agreed, trying to stifle her laughter and failing miserably.
Moments later, Gabe limped out of the shack, shrugging off the lifeguard’s assistance. He snapped his head toward his friends and shot a dirty look toward them before bowing his head in shame.
“Bye, honey,” the lifeguard called to him in a faked girly voice as he blew a kiss at him.
“I…have just been violated!” Gabe screeched and stomped off toward the cars the best he could with his injury.
“Well, I guess it’s time to go,” Kerrigan said, snickering one last time.
Gabe spoke to no one the rest of the evening, which was highly unusual. It was the only sign that proved he had been traumatized. He did given a few choice gestures to Tyson each time he commented on the stink in the room whenever Gabe passed him by. But he kept walking with his head up, shoulders back, and strutting his stuff like a proud peacock. If he was ashamed that he had been urinated on by another human being, he wasn’t about to show it. It didn’t change the fact that he still considered himself better than the rest of them.
Spectral time came quicker than Dominic had realized, and he found that he was relieved to be able to be alone for once. After admitting so much about himself to Kerrigan at the beach, he felt self-conscious. It might have been all in his mind, but he could have sworn the way she looked at him was different. Perhaps with a bit more pity. She should have been disgusted with him for the heinous crimes that he had committed against humanity, or at the very least, afraid for her own safety. But she wasn’t, and that just didn’t make sense.
Then again, Kerrigan was so much like her grandmother that she was only capable of seeing the good in people even when they didn’t deserve it. No matter how much he succeeded in helping others out, it would never be enough. He was damned for an eternity. His spectral state was proof of that fact and served as a constant reminder.
Over the next couple of weeks, Kerrigan and Dominic had practiced her ability on a daily basis. She was growing stronger with each passing day, but each time she went to her “place”, it was always some variation of Dominic in her surroundings that brought her peace. On one day in particular, she tried to make a white rosebud bloom. In her inner sanctuary, the green leaves and sharp thorns had become a representation of Dominic’s rough edges. Beauty with a hint of danger. But she could never fear him. She accepted his thorns as part of his make-up, and as Dominic stood behind her, she imagined herself resting on the soft petals that unfolded with the exhalation of the cold breath that blew across the sensitive skin of her neck. It was on that occasion that not one, but all of the still closed buds in Grammy’s garden bloomed wide and welcoming.
