Shadows Part VI
Sep. 19th, 2010 07:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
hannah_chapter1Title: Shadows Part VI
Author: hannah_chapter
Pairing: Belldom
Rating: PG-13
Summary: AU. Sequel to Temptation. Dom's POV. Ten years have passed and Dom and Matt have made a life together. But when his past comes back to haunt him, how far will Dom go to keep Matt safe?
Feedback: Always welcome.
Disclaimer: Oh so very, very fake.
I didn't plan on updating so soon, but I'm stuck in a friend's house for the weekend, bang in the middle of nowhere, taking care of her kitten. Well, I say kitten, furry psychopath would be more accurate. It keeps trying to eat me! So I thought I'd knock out a quick chapter between attacks.
How, what - I rub my eyes, thinking he must be a trick of the light, or my imagination working overtime. But no, he's still there and it's definitely him. People always said we could be twins; I have my mother's eyes, or so he always told me, but the rest is all him. Same basic face, same blond hair but he's lost most of his since we parted ways. Automatically my hand flies to the top of my head and the bald spot I just know is forming there. Matt tells me I'm imagining things but it's not like he's got any worries on that score, he's just greying at the temples and it looks good on him-
And I cannot believe I'm worrying about my hair at a time like this. Get a hold of yourself, Dominic! Dad holds out his arms to me. "What, no hug?" I stay where I am and he sighs and lowers them again. "So much for the family reunion. Aren't you happy to see me after all this time?"
"I might be, if I hadn't spent the last few weeks thinking you were dead."
"Oh yeah, that. You shouldn't believe everything you hear, especially when someone like Eddie is doing the telling. For what it's worth, I'm sorry. But it suits me to have certain people thinking I'm dead. Of course you wouldn't know anything about that, would you Dominic? Or maybe that's something I should have asked your partner about when I paid him a visit."
His words send a chill through me. "What did you do? I swear, if you've laid so much as a finger on him I'll-"
"Mind your manners Dominic, and don't raise your voice to me. Didn't I raise you better than that? Didn't I teach you to respect your elders?"
"No, you taught me to screw everyone for all they were worth and then run like hell."
"Fair enough. But I always meant to teach you to respect your elders. Don't worry, your friend's fine - for now." Dad shakes his head in wonder. "He was so easy. All I had to do was tell him I had you and he limped out of there as fast as his fucked up leg could carry him. He practically broke his neck rushing into the trap. But he'll be safe with me, so long as you do what you're told."
He reaches into his pocket and hands me a slip of paper. "I've got a couple of rooms in that town, the one with the whorehouse, what's its name again?"
"Castle Rock."
"That's the one. We're going on a nice, long trip together. It's time for us to get close again, the way a father and son should be. But I'm a reasonable guy, so I'm giving you one day to wrap things up here. I want you at that address by ten tonight. If you're late, even if it's only by five minutes, I'll be gone, tossing pieces of your friend out of a car window as I go."
Dad leaves, my stomach clenches like a fist and I get to the toilet just in time to puke up my breakfast. I stumble over to the sink, washing the taste out of my mouth and splashing water on my face in a vain attempt to calm myself. How could I be so stupid, how could I believe Eddie's lies? I feel a throb of self-disgust. Eddie was always a follower, never a leader and there had to be someone behind him, pulling the strings. I've been out of the game too long, being around regular people has made me soft.
I dry my face and pull myself together. Beating myself up over this won't get Matt back. To be honest, I couldn't care less about our business right now. If I stepped outside and found it on fire I wouldn't look twice. But Matt would want me to be responsible, so I have to go through the motions. Billy's just coming up the street as I unlock the bar. I bring him into the kitchen out back and tell him he'll be running the place by himself for awhile, at least a month, while Matt and I take care of some family business. I hate to do this to him, I know the idea frightens the shit out of him. He looks like I've just told him I'm sticking him in front of a firing squad in the morning.
"Oh Mr. Howard, I don't think I can do this."
"Now we both know that's bullshit. You looked after things before and you did just fine."
"That was just a couple of days here and there, not long enough to really fuck up."
"Relax, you'll do great and you won't be alone. I'll be talking to your family and they'll help you out. The sheriff will keep an eye on you and I'll call and send telegrams when I get the chance. I'll even talk to Hardy and tell him not to bother you. I hate to dump all this in your lap Billy, but Matt's got some problems, family problems and I don't trust him to deal with them by himself. I know he can be a prick but he's still my partner and I have to-"
"You don't have to do that." Billy's soft voice cuts right through my usual spiel.
"Do what?"
"That - being mean to each other, or about each other. You don't have to do it around me. Because I know..." He trails off and blushes.
"What do you know? What is it you think you know?"
There's an empty cup on the table, Billy grabs it, staring at it as his words tumble out in one big rush. "I swear I never meant to snoop. It happened last year. I went home after we closed but I left my coat here, it had my week's pay in it and the carnival was coming to Castle Rock the next day and I wanted to get there early so I came back. When I let myself in I could hear noise upstairs and I thought Mr. Bellamy was hurt or something, I went up and I saw you. Both of you."
He doesn't elaborate but I can fill in the blanks myself.
"And you didn't tell anyone?" Billy shakes his head. "Why not?"
"Because I like you, both of you. You've always done right by me. Thanks to you I have a job, so I don't feel useless, you only yell at me when I've really fucked up and you give me time off when I'm sick." Now he looks at me. "I'm not saying I think what you do is right. But the way I see it, you're not hurting anyone and it's nobody else's business."
Well what can I say, here's to a secret very well kept. Billy is still looking at me with those big, brown eyes, eyes so dark they're often mistaken for black.
"Okay, I'm sorry we lied to you for so long. It's not really like we have a choice. If people knew the truth they'd drive us out of town, and that's if we were lucky.
"I know." He gives me a small smile. "But it gets harder and harder to keep a straight face when you're fighting."
That breaks the tension and I laugh myself. "Is our acting that bad?"
"No, you're good, really good. My Dad's just waiting for the day Mr. Bellamy snaps and uses the shotgun on you."
Now there's a cheery thought to send me on my way. "Well, we both know better, don't we? Look Billy, I wish I could tell you why we have to go away, but I just can't, not right now. But I promise, when we get back we'll tell you everything. How we met, what happened to Matt's leg, the whole thing. Does that sound fair?" He agrees that it does and I leave him to open up while I go see Hardy.
Tell him everything when we get back, an easy promise to make when I don't know if we'll ever see this town again. Hardy's pigs fall over each other to get to me, grunting eagerly, hoping I'll feed them like I did the other night. Sorry boys, I've got nothing today. And I think it'll be a long time before I'll be eating bacon again. "What the hell are you doing on my property, Blondie?" Hardy is on his front porch, glaring down at me. "Need to talk to you. Can I come in?"
He turns his back and disappears inside, which I think means yes. Once again, I'm amazed at the difference between Hardy, who only changes his clothes when he thinks of it and has a bath maybe once a year, and Hardy's house, which is spotless. No joke, you could eat off that floor. We've never been much for small talk, so I get right to it. "Matt and I have to go away for awhile."
"Is Matthew in trouble? He is, isn't he?" My God. All the years I've been in this town, I thought Hardy had only two voices: a scream and a louder scream. This quiet, reasonable voice is a complete shock, as is the way he's looking at me, clear and direct, with none of the usual twitching and eye-rolling. I finally see the real man, the way he must have been before the war rattled his brain and I'm ashamed of the way I've treated him all this time. I didn't dismiss him or make fun of him the way most people do, but I never tried to get to know him either. I only put up with him for Matt's sake.
"Yes he is and yes, before you even ask, it has something to do with the dead guy we brought up here the other night."
Hardy scratches his neck. "Is there anything I can do?"
"I wish there was, but this is something I have to do on my own. You could do me one favour, though."
"Name it."
"Try not to frighten Billy too much. He's already shitting his pants at the idea of running the bar by himself, he doesn't need anything else upsetting him."
"Okay." Hardy sticks out his hand and I shake it. "Bring him back, Dominic. Don't let him get hurt."
Another promise that's easy to make, not so easy to keep. I spend the rest of the day talking to Billy's family, the sheriff, anyone and everyone important. Billy's going to be fine, they'll all support him. He's a hometown boy after all. For all that we've been accepted and welcomed, Matt and I will never be local the way he is.
I'm knocking on a door in Castle Rock, right on time. Dad opens it. "Good boy, I knew you'd do what you were told. Get in here."
I hang back. "I want to see Matt and I want to see him now."
"Sure, why not?" He leads me to a room two doors down. We go inside and I see Matt sitting on a bed in his shirtsleeves, four men guarding him, all armed to the teeth. I start forward, wanting nothing more than to take him in my arms and make sure he's okay, fuck anyone watching, but my father's hand is on my shoulder, an iron grip.
"No. Not one more step, not a single word. I said you could see him and you have." The man closest to Matt puts a revolver to the back of his head and thumbs back the hammer. "Now walk away, or you'll be washing his blood and brains out of your hair for weeks." I want to cry, I want to scream, but what else can I do? I turn my back on Matt and leave the room. Forgive me, my love.
I follow my father back to his room. He points to the second bed. "Get some sleep, we've got a lot of driving ahead."
"Where are we going?"
"New York, where else?"
I should have known. The days that follow are agony. We're a three car, rolling caravan and my father keeps me with him and as far from Matt as he can. If it wasn't for the brief glimpses I catch here and there I'd think they killed him and dumped him somewhere along the road. My father won't talk to me, except to give me orders. Sit here. Eat this. Don't do that. So much for father son bonding. There'll be plenty of time to talk when we get to the city, that's all he'll say.
We finally get to New York and what appears to be our final destination, one of those big houses with four floors and a basement. This one has definitely seen better days. They make me stay in the car while they bring Matt inside. I think he's going in the basement. As soon as they've got him hidden away Dad brings me into the kitchen and tells me to sit at the table. I do what I'm told, it seems to be the safest option. He sits across from me and makes himself comfortable. "We really need to talk, Dominic."
Author: hannah_chapter
Pairing: Belldom
Rating: PG-13
Summary: AU. Sequel to Temptation. Dom's POV. Ten years have passed and Dom and Matt have made a life together. But when his past comes back to haunt him, how far will Dom go to keep Matt safe?
Feedback: Always welcome.
Disclaimer: Oh so very, very fake.
I didn't plan on updating so soon, but I'm stuck in a friend's house for the weekend, bang in the middle of nowhere, taking care of her kitten. Well, I say kitten, furry psychopath would be more accurate. It keeps trying to eat me! So I thought I'd knock out a quick chapter between attacks.
How, what - I rub my eyes, thinking he must be a trick of the light, or my imagination working overtime. But no, he's still there and it's definitely him. People always said we could be twins; I have my mother's eyes, or so he always told me, but the rest is all him. Same basic face, same blond hair but he's lost most of his since we parted ways. Automatically my hand flies to the top of my head and the bald spot I just know is forming there. Matt tells me I'm imagining things but it's not like he's got any worries on that score, he's just greying at the temples and it looks good on him-
And I cannot believe I'm worrying about my hair at a time like this. Get a hold of yourself, Dominic! Dad holds out his arms to me. "What, no hug?" I stay where I am and he sighs and lowers them again. "So much for the family reunion. Aren't you happy to see me after all this time?"
"I might be, if I hadn't spent the last few weeks thinking you were dead."
"Oh yeah, that. You shouldn't believe everything you hear, especially when someone like Eddie is doing the telling. For what it's worth, I'm sorry. But it suits me to have certain people thinking I'm dead. Of course you wouldn't know anything about that, would you Dominic? Or maybe that's something I should have asked your partner about when I paid him a visit."
His words send a chill through me. "What did you do? I swear, if you've laid so much as a finger on him I'll-"
"Mind your manners Dominic, and don't raise your voice to me. Didn't I raise you better than that? Didn't I teach you to respect your elders?"
"No, you taught me to screw everyone for all they were worth and then run like hell."
"Fair enough. But I always meant to teach you to respect your elders. Don't worry, your friend's fine - for now." Dad shakes his head in wonder. "He was so easy. All I had to do was tell him I had you and he limped out of there as fast as his fucked up leg could carry him. He practically broke his neck rushing into the trap. But he'll be safe with me, so long as you do what you're told."
He reaches into his pocket and hands me a slip of paper. "I've got a couple of rooms in that town, the one with the whorehouse, what's its name again?"
"Castle Rock."
"That's the one. We're going on a nice, long trip together. It's time for us to get close again, the way a father and son should be. But I'm a reasonable guy, so I'm giving you one day to wrap things up here. I want you at that address by ten tonight. If you're late, even if it's only by five minutes, I'll be gone, tossing pieces of your friend out of a car window as I go."
Dad leaves, my stomach clenches like a fist and I get to the toilet just in time to puke up my breakfast. I stumble over to the sink, washing the taste out of my mouth and splashing water on my face in a vain attempt to calm myself. How could I be so stupid, how could I believe Eddie's lies? I feel a throb of self-disgust. Eddie was always a follower, never a leader and there had to be someone behind him, pulling the strings. I've been out of the game too long, being around regular people has made me soft.
I dry my face and pull myself together. Beating myself up over this won't get Matt back. To be honest, I couldn't care less about our business right now. If I stepped outside and found it on fire I wouldn't look twice. But Matt would want me to be responsible, so I have to go through the motions. Billy's just coming up the street as I unlock the bar. I bring him into the kitchen out back and tell him he'll be running the place by himself for awhile, at least a month, while Matt and I take care of some family business. I hate to do this to him, I know the idea frightens the shit out of him. He looks like I've just told him I'm sticking him in front of a firing squad in the morning.
"Oh Mr. Howard, I don't think I can do this."
"Now we both know that's bullshit. You looked after things before and you did just fine."
"That was just a couple of days here and there, not long enough to really fuck up."
"Relax, you'll do great and you won't be alone. I'll be talking to your family and they'll help you out. The sheriff will keep an eye on you and I'll call and send telegrams when I get the chance. I'll even talk to Hardy and tell him not to bother you. I hate to dump all this in your lap Billy, but Matt's got some problems, family problems and I don't trust him to deal with them by himself. I know he can be a prick but he's still my partner and I have to-"
"You don't have to do that." Billy's soft voice cuts right through my usual spiel.
"Do what?"
"That - being mean to each other, or about each other. You don't have to do it around me. Because I know..." He trails off and blushes.
"What do you know? What is it you think you know?"
There's an empty cup on the table, Billy grabs it, staring at it as his words tumble out in one big rush. "I swear I never meant to snoop. It happened last year. I went home after we closed but I left my coat here, it had my week's pay in it and the carnival was coming to Castle Rock the next day and I wanted to get there early so I came back. When I let myself in I could hear noise upstairs and I thought Mr. Bellamy was hurt or something, I went up and I saw you. Both of you."
He doesn't elaborate but I can fill in the blanks myself.
"And you didn't tell anyone?" Billy shakes his head. "Why not?"
"Because I like you, both of you. You've always done right by me. Thanks to you I have a job, so I don't feel useless, you only yell at me when I've really fucked up and you give me time off when I'm sick." Now he looks at me. "I'm not saying I think what you do is right. But the way I see it, you're not hurting anyone and it's nobody else's business."
Well what can I say, here's to a secret very well kept. Billy is still looking at me with those big, brown eyes, eyes so dark they're often mistaken for black.
"Okay, I'm sorry we lied to you for so long. It's not really like we have a choice. If people knew the truth they'd drive us out of town, and that's if we were lucky.
"I know." He gives me a small smile. "But it gets harder and harder to keep a straight face when you're fighting."
That breaks the tension and I laugh myself. "Is our acting that bad?"
"No, you're good, really good. My Dad's just waiting for the day Mr. Bellamy snaps and uses the shotgun on you."
Now there's a cheery thought to send me on my way. "Well, we both know better, don't we? Look Billy, I wish I could tell you why we have to go away, but I just can't, not right now. But I promise, when we get back we'll tell you everything. How we met, what happened to Matt's leg, the whole thing. Does that sound fair?" He agrees that it does and I leave him to open up while I go see Hardy.
Tell him everything when we get back, an easy promise to make when I don't know if we'll ever see this town again. Hardy's pigs fall over each other to get to me, grunting eagerly, hoping I'll feed them like I did the other night. Sorry boys, I've got nothing today. And I think it'll be a long time before I'll be eating bacon again. "What the hell are you doing on my property, Blondie?" Hardy is on his front porch, glaring down at me. "Need to talk to you. Can I come in?"
He turns his back and disappears inside, which I think means yes. Once again, I'm amazed at the difference between Hardy, who only changes his clothes when he thinks of it and has a bath maybe once a year, and Hardy's house, which is spotless. No joke, you could eat off that floor. We've never been much for small talk, so I get right to it. "Matt and I have to go away for awhile."
"Is Matthew in trouble? He is, isn't he?" My God. All the years I've been in this town, I thought Hardy had only two voices: a scream and a louder scream. This quiet, reasonable voice is a complete shock, as is the way he's looking at me, clear and direct, with none of the usual twitching and eye-rolling. I finally see the real man, the way he must have been before the war rattled his brain and I'm ashamed of the way I've treated him all this time. I didn't dismiss him or make fun of him the way most people do, but I never tried to get to know him either. I only put up with him for Matt's sake.
"Yes he is and yes, before you even ask, it has something to do with the dead guy we brought up here the other night."
Hardy scratches his neck. "Is there anything I can do?"
"I wish there was, but this is something I have to do on my own. You could do me one favour, though."
"Name it."
"Try not to frighten Billy too much. He's already shitting his pants at the idea of running the bar by himself, he doesn't need anything else upsetting him."
"Okay." Hardy sticks out his hand and I shake it. "Bring him back, Dominic. Don't let him get hurt."
Another promise that's easy to make, not so easy to keep. I spend the rest of the day talking to Billy's family, the sheriff, anyone and everyone important. Billy's going to be fine, they'll all support him. He's a hometown boy after all. For all that we've been accepted and welcomed, Matt and I will never be local the way he is.
I'm knocking on a door in Castle Rock, right on time. Dad opens it. "Good boy, I knew you'd do what you were told. Get in here."
I hang back. "I want to see Matt and I want to see him now."
"Sure, why not?" He leads me to a room two doors down. We go inside and I see Matt sitting on a bed in his shirtsleeves, four men guarding him, all armed to the teeth. I start forward, wanting nothing more than to take him in my arms and make sure he's okay, fuck anyone watching, but my father's hand is on my shoulder, an iron grip.
"No. Not one more step, not a single word. I said you could see him and you have." The man closest to Matt puts a revolver to the back of his head and thumbs back the hammer. "Now walk away, or you'll be washing his blood and brains out of your hair for weeks." I want to cry, I want to scream, but what else can I do? I turn my back on Matt and leave the room. Forgive me, my love.
I follow my father back to his room. He points to the second bed. "Get some sleep, we've got a lot of driving ahead."
"Where are we going?"
"New York, where else?"
I should have known. The days that follow are agony. We're a three car, rolling caravan and my father keeps me with him and as far from Matt as he can. If it wasn't for the brief glimpses I catch here and there I'd think they killed him and dumped him somewhere along the road. My father won't talk to me, except to give me orders. Sit here. Eat this. Don't do that. So much for father son bonding. There'll be plenty of time to talk when we get to the city, that's all he'll say.
We finally get to New York and what appears to be our final destination, one of those big houses with four floors and a basement. This one has definitely seen better days. They make me stay in the car while they bring Matt inside. I think he's going in the basement. As soon as they've got him hidden away Dad brings me into the kitchen and tells me to sit at the table. I do what I'm told, it seems to be the safest option. He sits across from me and makes himself comfortable. "We really need to talk, Dominic."
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2010-09-19 07:54 pm (UTC)Love this, as always! Poor Matt, why is he the one always in the shit constantly? Let Dom get tortured for once xD
Oh, and this line really tugged my heart strings: All I had to do was tell him I had you and he limped out of there as fast as his fucked up leg could carry him. He practically broke his neck rushing into the trap. Oh Matty, you lovesick fool, you.
And bless Billy for knowing and not saying anything, and Hardy? Wow. Very strange behaviour.
Gahhh I want to know what the hell is going on! Excellent, my dear! *hugs*
no subject
Date: 2010-09-20 08:18 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-09-20 08:21 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-09-20 03:02 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-09-20 08:24 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-09-20 04:49 am (UTC)That sneaky man! How dare he threaten Dom that way! Ugh! Poor Matt and Dom. All they wanted was a peaceful life together.
I start forward, wanting nothing more than to take him in my arms and make sure he's okay, fuck anyone watching
Gah loved these lines! So touching!
Forgive me, my love.
*sniff* Ah the love!
Billy is a nice man. So is Hardy.
Loved this as always! Make things better soon!
*hugs*
no subject
Date: 2010-09-20 08:28 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-09-20 04:11 pm (UTC)Awesome chapter, bb. :3
no subject
Date: 2010-09-20 07:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-10-15 10:11 am (UTC)Poor guys!
I absolutly love this fic so far :) You are an extremely tallented writer!
no subject
Date: 2010-10-15 12:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-02-06 08:37 pm (UTC)it's lovely though, again, dom's voice in this. so protective and caring for his man <333
no subject
Date: 2011-02-06 10:46 pm (UTC)