Just Two Cracks on the Wall of Time---Dominic

[NICOLE ANN COOK]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=style, width: 500px; height: 600px; padding: 0px; background: #ffffff;,true][cs=1]	[atrb=width,200] I don't know where I'm at. I'm standing at the back and I'm tired of waiting. Waiting here in line, hoping that I'll find what I've been chasing. I shot for the sky, I'm stuck on the ground. So why do I try-I know I'm gonna to fall down. I thought I could fly, so why did I drown? Never know why it's coming down.
[atrb=width,300][cs=1]	[atrb=width,200] tagged: dominic outfit: here
[cs=2][atrb=width,500] Nicole and Dominic may have their tense moments but they shared a child together. Normally he would be taking her for two weeks but being injured that was a little impossible. Instead she brought Everleigh to his place to spend time with him and that meant she had to stick around to make sure Everliegh didn’t hurt Dominic. She knew her ex-husband was mostly healed but he was still supposed to be taking it easy, including refraining from lifting a lot. While Everleigh was only three that constituted as a lot in this case. So, not only on the weekends but usually when Nicole got done work she brought Everleigh by. If she had class work to grade she’d work on that while she watched over them. The weekend she would stick around for a good five or six hours to give her daughter plenty of time with Dominic. She’d cook the here of them lunch and make snacks but usually sat off to the side to allow the other two time together. Her own gaze and thoughts went in and out. Whatever was wrong with Nicole was slowly getting worse. Not even the things her and Rick did were bringing out any sort of feelings. The only time she felt something related to joy was when Everleigh did something. She loved her daughter and no one should think otherwise but Nicole felt numb literally. No emotions seemed to come over her lately but she did well in hiding this issue from people. As far as Nicole knew, no one had caught on. She could smile with the best of them but the dead look remained in her eyes. Her laughter was just as loud as normal but she hardly found the things she was laughing at amusing. Some might think she was depressed but she would dismiss the thought. She wasn’t suicidal and she enjoyed time with her daughter. To her that meant that wasn’t the issue. Nicole parked her car outside of Dominic’s coastal home. She saw his fishing boat docked in the water as she shut off the car. ”Ok baby are you ready to go see daddy?” Everleigh started to clap her hands and laugh while she babbled on about things she was going to do with daddy. Nicole got out of the car and got Everleigh out of the car seat. It really was about time to switch to just a booster seat. Nicole set her on the ground and grabbed Everleigh’s bag of things before she ran after the toddler to Dominic’s front door. Nicole had a key so unlocked the door before she called out, ”Dom! We’re here.” Everleigh began to run through the house looking for Dominic while she kept going ‘daddy I’m here!’ Nicole shut the door and slipped her shoes off before she moved into the room where Dominic was. It looked like whatever friend checked on him had already come and gone. Nicole had a feeling Brooke didn’t like her too much but one couldn’t really blame anyone who didn’t she had cheated on Dominic, left him for that man and was now marrying the other man. That was plenty to hate. She breathed in deeply as she smiled the best she could. ”How are you feeling today?” Even if they were divorced a part of Nicole was still concerned over Dominic. The accident had done plenty of damage and she felt bad for him. Well, as bad as she could feel with how numb she was. .

TEMPLATE BY ROYALSTANDARD OF ETS AND CAUTION

[DOMINIC ELI BANES]

it had been three weeks since the accident, but dominic still felt like crap. nothing like he'd felt after it'd first happened, but still pretty bad. his whole left side was still sore, though he had pain medications for that, and they helped a lot, but not completely. the worst was when they wore off all together, which only happened when he overslept. dominic could get around pretty well on his own, since most of his injuries were on the upper half of his body, so walking was fine. but he couldn't bend down or pick up much weight, so he had someone come in to do the cooking and the cleaning. another reason to have someone come was because he spent most of his days sleeping. the doctor had told dominic that rest was what he needed most, though even if he'd wanted to stay awake, he couldn't because of the pain meds. he couldn't wait to get back to work and life in general, especially since he missed everleigh so much.

nicole brought her over as much as she could, which was something dominic really appreciated. she didn't have to, but she did it anyway. despite having cheated on him, he knew that there was still some level of care on her side. obviously nothing close to love, but they'd known each other for quite a long time, got married and now had a child together, so she felt something for him. even if it wasn't much. dominic wished he knew why nicole had cheated on him. had she gotten bored with him? with their marriage? or was it another reason all together? he knew guessing as to what it was wouldn't give him the answer, but he couldn't stop himself from asking the questions. of course, all he had to do was asking nicole, but part of dominic was afraid to find out.

a couple of hours before she and everleigh were due to arrive, he'd dozed off on the couch. another side affect of the medication was that it often made him too hot, so he'd removed his shirt before lying down. dominic knew what time to expect them, but hadn't planned on sleeping for so long. his left arm was in a cast and he still had bruising down his side and on his chest. some of the bruises still hurt to the touch, but most of them were half way faded, but ugly looking, all the same.

dominic didn't hear the car doors shut, the front door open, or everleigh and nicole's calls. he was usually a pretty heavy sleeper, but with the added medication, good luck waking him up. it was on the third 'daddy i'm here!', when everleigh had finally reached his side and placed her small hand on his arm, that he finally woke up. dominic had a hard time opening his eyes, still feeling groggy, but managed to do so, and give his daughter a smile. he sat up, wrapping his right arm around her in a tight squeeze. "hey pumpkin." he looked up to see nicole standing there with a bag of everleigh's things, and gave her a small smile. looking back down, dominic only then remembered that he wasn't wearing a shirt. it was nothing either of them hadn't seen before, but it certainly made things a bit awkward, considering. "not too bad, thanks," he replied, releasing everleigh and slowly standing up. "how are you?" she looked beautiful, as always, but dominic tried not to focus on that fact, since he didn't want to stare. plus, he knew if he looked too long, his gaze would eventually find its way to her left hand where she wore her engagement ring. knowing it was there and actually seeing it were two different things.

"sorry about.. this," he said, beginning to move towards his bedroom as he made a small gesture to the fact that he didn't have a shirt on. "i overslept a bit." dominic excused himself before continuing to his bedroom. he didn't bother to close the door, since it wouldn't take him long to grab a shirt. it took him a minute to get it on however, due to his arm, but he managed to do so in the end. it was a bit wrinkled, but dominic didn't really care, and knew nicole wouldn't either.

he came back out, knowing he probably looked like crap, since he hadn't shaved in a while, his hair was messy, and he was tired. not that it really mattered. dominic scratched the back of his head, then rubbed at his eyes a little, trying to get rid of the sleepiness that was still there. he sat on the couch again, engaging everleigh in 'conversation' and laughing at how she said her words. he glanced at nicole a few times, and wondered how her and rick were doing, relationship wise. for her to stay with him for three years and now be engaged, it must have been going well. dominic felt a pang of jealousy, though he tried to suppress it right away. as much as he wanted nicole back, he still hoped she'd be happy with the guy. he loved her too much to begrudge her that.

outfit: here
notes: will make this pretty later!

[NICOLE ANN COOK]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=style, width: 500px; height: 600px; padding: 0px; background: #ffffff;,true][cs=1]	[atrb=width,200] I don't know where I'm at. I'm standing at the back and I'm tired of waiting. Waiting here in line, hoping that I'll find what I've been chasing. I shot for the sky, I'm stuck on the ground. So why do I try-I know I'm gonna to fall down. I thought I could fly, so why did I drown? Never know why it's coming down.
[atrb=width,300][cs=1]	[atrb=width,200] tagged: dominic outfit: here
[cs=2][atrb=width,500] Nicole wasn’t sure what to think about dominic not responding. She knew he was a heavy sleeper but he had to know they were coming. They arranged this ahead of time after all. He could’ve planned sleeping around that. Then again that was nicole’s crazy moods talking. Sometimes she got upswings of rage though she internalized it which just made things even worse. That anger was still there as she laid eyes on his form and shook her head. Nicole refrained from going to wake him herself, instead letting everleigh take over in that department. She set the bag of items on the coffee table. Not like there was too much there. Some toys, snacks and a couple changes of clothes. She knew dominic had stuff here but didn’t know if his friend was helping with the laundry and was getting foods everleigh liked. Nicole herself moved to settle down in a chair. She had brought some papers to grade while she was here. ”that’s good. You’re looking a little better,” she commented though didn’t look at him. These days nicole hardly looked anyone in the eyes unless they were colleagues or students. Everleigh came over as dominic stood up as she wanted some of her things to which nicole started to pull them out of the bag. ”fine. Been busy with work and everleigh. The usual.” everleigh grabbed at the goldfish and nicole laughed a little at her eagerness. Watchign everleigh grow was something she would never tire of. The little girl was already a whiz at things. Nicole almost wanted another one. Almost but not yet. Rick was ok with everleigh but mostly let nicole do everything. she didn’t know if it was because it wasn’t his kid or if he didn’t want kids. Nicole didn’t push the issue too much. As nicole kept her gaze on everleigh, she shrugged one shoulder. ”it’s the human body. Whatever.” not really that whatever considering their past and nicole did care about him on some level. Not that she would amdit that. Sure she came off caring like a friend and the mother of his child but that was it. That was the extent of what she showed of things. Her face was harder to read these days as she struggled to hide the tormented thoughts in her head. As dominic came back, she had a soft smile while overlie ran up to him to settle beside him on the couch with her goldfish and one of her toys. Nicole herself pulled out some of the papers she had to grade and curled up legs upwards to work on them. ”let me know when you tow want lunch. I’ll make something.” what she wasn’t sure as she’d have to look through the house for something. She hated to rummage through other people’s cabinets even if this home had technically been hers once. Now it didn’t feel like she belonged to it at all. The shadows of memories clung to every nook and cranny but she brushed them off. lots of shadows and ghosts lived in her head anyways. ”how is your sister healing?” nicole asked while not taking her eyes off the French papers, reviewing the short stories she had the students do entirely in French.

TEMPLATE BY ROYALSTANDARD OF ETS AND CAUTION

[DOMINIC ELI BANES]

dominic glanced at nicole when she said he was looking a little better. she was looking down at her papers, though, and seemed distant. he wondered if she was like this with everyone or just him. "thanks," he replied, watching everleigh run over to her to get something out of her bag. he looked back up at nicole as she answered his question. "good. i should be able to start taking care of her for my two weeks soon." dominic knew that nicole loved their daughter, but that didn't mean it wasn't hard to look after her all the time, plus work a day job. he almost asked about rick, but decided against it. he wasn't something he wanted to think about, let alone talk about.

he paused for a second as nicole shrugged off his apology, but didn't say anything. he wasn't sure what to think of her reaction, other than the fact that it was clear she didn't care. dominic knew he shouldn't expect anything more than that, but it was hard not to. he wondered if nicole was really ok or if there was something up. having known her so long, he'd gotten pretty good at reading her, but not anymore. that could have been because they were no longer together, but he thought there had to be more to it than that. what it could be was something he didn't know, though.

dominic missed the smile on nicole's face when everleigh ran over to him, having been looking down at his little girl. he picked up her little toy and made it talk to her and walk around, also trying to steal some of her goldfish. this produced a giggle from everleigh as she pulled away her snack. he was laughing, too, though he tried to hold it back so he could do the voice of the toy. dominic couldn't help glancing at nicole once again to see if she was watching, or if she was completely distracted by her grading. this went on for a little while longer until she spoke again. "ok. i think brooke left some things today," he replied, remembering her mentioning a few groceries she'd bought for him. he'd been out of it, however, so he couldn't say what the said groceries were.

"summer's doing well. she didn't get hurt as bad as me, fortunately." despite his current state, he'd been calling her almost everyday, just to make sure she was doing ok. he liked having his sister around once again, her presence being back memories. a lot of them were good ones, but not all. he'd been thinking about his dad more than usual since her return. dominic brought his attention back to everleigh, who had just spilled some of her goldfish on the floor. he assured her that it was ok, an amused tone to his voice as he helped her pick them up. he may have been a neat freak, but little messes were just part of having kids.

oufit: here
notes: make this pretty later!

[NICOLE ANN COOK]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=style, width: 500px; height: 600px; padding: 0px; background: #ffffff;,true][cs=1]	[atrb=width,200] I don't know where I'm at. I'm standing at the back and I'm tired of waiting. Waiting here in line, hoping that I'll find what I've been chasing. I shot for the sky, I'm stuck on the ground. So why do I try-I know I'm gonna to fall down. I thought I could fly, so why did I drown? Never know why it's coming down.
[atrb=width,300][cs=1]	[atrb=width,200] tagged: dominic outfit: here
[cs=2][atrb=width,500] Nicole nodded in understanding of his words. ”ok whenever you feel well enough to do it just tell me.” nicole wasn’t cruel-she didn’t want to keep everleigh away from her father. Did nicole like coming to stay at the house while father and daughter had time together? Not particularly. It was awkward and generally uncomfortable for her. She was a stranger really in this house and for what dominic and everleigh did together. Nicole really didn’t feel like participating in the visit if you will because they weren’t a “family”. if everleigh asked she’d go join them but otherwise she just let dominic have his time with her. Hence the distraction of grading papers. It gave her something to do to pass the time instead of awkward silences. Yes they had been married. Yes there might be some feelings still there. Did that mean nicole was going to beg for them to be a family again? No. to nicole too much was broken. Not just her but things with them just hadn’t been good anymore. The last few months before she started her relationship with rick she had felt nothing between them. No spark. Being mom to a newborn she could only do so much to keep their marriage going with such emptiness. A marriage shouldn’t be empty. Then again it could’ve all been in her head. She could’ve been the only one feeling it but then she rationalized with herself that couldn’t be true. How could it be? Nicole shifted around at the mention of brooke considering she had a feeling the woman did not like her but still she simply nodded her head. ”that’s good. Seems like she’s been great with helping you out.” nicole wasn’t sure if she was jealous or just uncomfortable at the thought of Brooklyn coming around to help dominic out. She knew the two were just friends and that nicole had no reason to feel that way but there was a nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach she wasn’t really a big fan of. She wasn’t a fan of her moods in general lately. They had been everywhere and even nicole was beginning to notice it but wasn’t sure what to do. She hardly slept despite being exhausted. Not much was exciting anymore. Literally the only thing that made her smile was everleigh and even then that wasn’t for long. The moment was fleeting and hard to grasp onto. Nicole just nodded at him saying summer was doing good. Someone else she knew didn’t like her despite them having got along before. Again, nicole couldn’t blame them. When everleigh dropped the gold fish instinct told her to go help clean them up. Rick...he wasn’t a big fan of messes. The man wasn’t cruel or abusive but he was used to having his home a certain way. It was still an adjustment for him to have everleigh around. He was getting better, though, considering they were getting married and casually mentioned them having their own kid. That was something nicole still wasn’t sure of. She was terrified of having another baby. Nicole laughed a little as she helped clean up the mess. ”I’ve got it, dom. You just enjoy your time with everleigh.” nicole wrinkled her nose and smiled at their daughter before rubbing her nose against the toddler’s. ”silly girl. The fishies go here in your tummy.” nicole used her free hand to tickle ever Leigh’s stomach before she reached for the goldfish dominic had picked up and went into the kitchen to dump the small handful in the trash before she came back into the living room. Nothing to talk about came to mind so she just smiled tensely before she got back in her seat but this time took to watching everleigh instead of grading the few papers she had left.

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