The Abyss

Chapter 3

Over the course of the next week, Dominic and I started talking non stop. There was something about him that intrigued me. We talked about more than just how our days were, we talked about our families, our hopes and dreams. What we wanted our futures to look like. Deep, meaningful conversations that made it impossible to stop thinking about him. He was intelligent and incredibly well spoken and despite the fact that he was thirty and I was eighteen, I had even given him my number so we could have more conversations, often staying up late just to talk to each other. The utter rumble of his deep voice sent shivers down my spine and made me want to -

“Hello? Earth to Cassidy? Calling Cassidy Johnson,” I jerk back to reality, realizing I had completely spaced out while I was at work doing an oil change and there was now thick, greasy black oil covering me and the floor. My dad stood over me, arms crossed.

“What the hell is going on? You’ve been in your own head all day,” he raises an eyebrow at me, indicating he’s not going to back down from his line of questioning. I sigh in frustration and grab some degreaser and a broom to clean up the mess.

“Sorry dad, I didn’t realize I even spaced out,” I turn to face him, he’s still staring me down, “Alright, I was talking to Mar a few weeks ago and I finally took her advice. I started putting myself out there and I met someone,” his look of questioning turns to one of shock. He struggles with what to say next and instead calls my mom over so I can repeat myself. Both of them now unsure of what to say, Mom speaks first.

“How did you two meet?” I explained everything that had been going on, that I downloaded the app, my coffee date with Matthew, and the fact that Dominic was now constantly occupying all of my free headspace. After I finished talking, they both continued to gawk at me as I stood there awkwardly.

“Holy s**t Cass, you really made a mess eh,” Liam smirks at my appearance, noticing the looks on our parents faces, “Oh you finally told them?” I had clued my brothers into what was going on, simply because I had been texting back and forth with Dominic and “giggling like a schoolgirl”. They had been happy for me but warned me to be careful. There were a lot of horror stories surrounding dating sites and I told them I was going to be okay, I was just seeing what was out there.

“I think I broke them,” I wave my hand in front of them which seems to snap them out of it. They both study, looking thrilled and worried at the same time. Giving me the same warning my brothers did and reminding me to stay focused while at work and school, they go back to doing their own work. Liam and I look at each other and shrug before following suit.

Later that night, I tell Dominic what happened, making him chuckle.

“Well, at least they didn’t tie you to a chair and force you to stop talking to me,” he jokes. I giggle at the memory of the looks on their faces, “On that note, I would like to meet you eventually. Are you free tomorrow, say around noon?” Since the next day is Saturday, I don’t have to worry about school or work.

“Yeah I’m free, what were you thinking?”

“I was thinking of going for coffee or lunch, what would you prefer?” I bite my lip, giving the decision some thought. I wanted to meet him and get to know him but lunch was a bit too personal at this stage.

“Coffee sounds great, I know the best place to go too. I’ll text you the address,”

“That sounds amazing, I can’t wait for tomorrow,” I can hear his smile through the phone, causing my stomach to start flipping around.

“I can’t wait either,” my voice seems small and quiet in comparison to his.

“What are you going to wear?” His voice seems to have dropped an octave, causing my head to spin and my toes to curl in a way I’ve never felt before. Oh god, what the hell was he doing to me? I clear my throat and give my head a shake to clear it.

“I um, I don’t know yet to be honest,” I manage to sputter. I can hear him chuckling on the other end.

“Do I make you nervous, Cassidy?” I gulp and try to collect myself to give a proper response.

“N-no, um you don’t,” what the f**k was wrong with me? I was the calm, cool, and collected one! I didn’t get flustered over anything, especially men.

“Good. I’d hate to ruin what might become a very good thing,” his voice had dropped down to a whisper. Shivers were rocking my spine, my heart pounding out of my chest and the flips my stomach had been doing now launched into my throat.

“You know, it’s getting pretty late, I should get some rest. Don’t want to be tired for coffee tomorrow,” I spit out rather awkwardly.

“Alright, sweet dreams Cass. I’ll see you tomorrow,” we hang up and I breathe a sigh of relief. Holy s**t. Once my heart rate returned to normal, I called Maria.

“Maria, you will never believe what just happened to me,” I told her everything right down to what his voice did to me which just cracked her up.

“Girl, that’s what he meant to do. He did that on purpose to get you all excited to see him tomorrow,” I pause and think for a second. That did make sense but I didn’t care.

“Well, whatever he did, it f*****g worked. I can’t wait,” I hesitate, “Maybe I should wear something sexy tomorrow. Want to come over and help me again in the morning?”

“You know I’d love to! I’ll be there at eight sharp, so make sure you’re awake,”

“I definitely will,” as soon as she hangs up I flop into my bed, thinking back to my conversation with Dominic before looking at the time. It was now one in the morning but I was too excited to sleep now so I turned a movie on and tried to focus on it.

I jolt awake, hearing the floorboards outside my bedroom creak. I look around only to discover I’m back in my old bedroom at my parents house. I hear the sound again, quietly getting up and walking slowly towards my door. Before I reach it, I see the door handle start to jiggle. I backpedaled and tripped over a pair of shoes that had been laying in the middle of my floor. The jiggling stops as the door knob turns until it clicks, the door slowly opening to reveal a tall dark figure. I’m rendered paralyzed, speechless as a shriek gets caught in my throat. The figure strides over to me, picking me up by my arm and throwing me onto the bed before climbing on top.

“Hello baby doll, did you miss me,” I can barely make out his features in the dark but I know who it is. I whimper and shrink back against my pillows, trying to make myself as small as possible, “Tsk, tsk, tsk. Is that any way to treat your lover,” he pulls my arms up above my head and leans in closer.

“Get off of me Tyler,” I manage to spit out. He mimics me mockingly.

“Do you remember what I told you? You belong to me now,”

“No I don’t. I will never belong to yo-” his hand seizes my throat, squeezing my sentence to a halt. His eyes seem to be bathed in an icey blue fire, his face contorted with anger.

“You. Belong. To me. Now,” with each word, his grip gets harder and harder.

“Cassidy! Wake up,” I cough and look around the room wildly. I was back in my apartment and Maria was banging on my door. I groan and when I let her in, she starts ripping into me until she sees the look of fear clearly etched into my features. Her expression switches from annoyance to realization and she pulls me in, embracing my shivering frame. She strokes my hair as I blubber about the nightmare I just woke up from. Still holding me tightly, she shushes me and tells me everythings okay.

“Why do I keep seeing his face? Why can’t he leave me alone? Why does this keep happening to me?” I sob.

“You’re subconscious is still processing what happened, these things take time Cass,” her tone is soft and gentle now, almost soothing. She continues to hug me tight until I’ve calmed down. Wiping my tears away, she grips my shoulders, “Now, why don’t you go have a shower and I’ll make you some breakfast,” I nod, grabbing a towel on my way to the bathroom.

When I finally emerge in my bathrobe, she has orange juice and a cream cheese bagel waiting for me on the table. I thank you and even though I’m not exactly in the mood to eat, I choke it down anyways. The mood in the house begins to lighten up as I start to get excited to meet Dominic. We go through what feels like hundreds of outfits until I settle on the perfect one. Since it’s the middle of November now and there were clouds overhead that threatened to dump snow any day now, I opted to go for a knitted, long sleeved, maroon dress that went to the middle of my thighs, a pair of fleecy black tights, and of course, the gray boots I had worn on my date with Matthew. For jewelry I went with a necklace with a small diamond pendant Jonah had given me for my birthday a few years ago, and some rings. My hair is pulled back in a half up half down bun with strands framing my face and my makeup consists of neutral colors. Maria is sitting in the living room when I come out of the bathroom and when she sees me she claps her hands over her mouth.

“Girl you look absolutely stunning! Jesus, you must really like this one,” I grin and shyly look down at my feet, fidgeting with my finger tips.

“I do Mar, I really do. I just hope he’s the same in person as he is over the phone,” I stop as a doubtful thought runs through my head, “Oh no, what if he’s a total catfish? Or what if he’s boring,” Maria cuts me off.

“Cass, stop. If he’s a catfish or you need a get out of jail free card, call me and Jonah. We’ll come to your rescue like nights in shining armor,” we giggle at the absurd image. My phone buzzes and when I pick it up, it’s a text from Jonah wishing me good luck on my date. I hadn’t really seen him since before my date with Matthew. I wondered if everything was okay.

“Well, I should be off, don’t want to be late,” I grab my purse and shoo my best friend out the door. She gives me one last hug before sauntering back to her car. As I get into mine, my phone rings, this time it’s an incoming call from Dominic.

“Hey, I’m just getting in the car now, I’ll be there in about ten minutes,” I click my seatbelt together and put the car in reverse.

“No rush, I’m still about five minutes out myself,” he hesitates, “I’m really excited you know,” I chew my cheek, feeling the butterflies come back.

“I’m excited too. I should get driving though, I’ll see you there,” I end the call and start driving towards the coffee shop. Ten minutes later, I’m parking the car as my phone screen lights up. It’s a text from him telling me to look to my left. Confused, I look over and there he is, parked next to me. I laugh and get out of the car carefully. When we get closer to each other, I can see that he is a full foot taller than me and looks even better than he does in his pictures. As I look up at him completely speechless, he chuckles.

“I’m more of a hugging kind of guy than a handshake if that’s okay,” his voice is just as deep in person as it is over the phone, making me go weak in the knees. I snap out of it and smile as he wraps his arms around me, pulling me close. I felt so tiny pressed up against him and as his scent washed over me, I picked up a hint of sandalwood. I let go first and look up, taking all of him in. He’s wearing a black t-shirt that strains against his figure, dark blue jeans and a black leather jacket. A total bad boy in every sense of the word.

“Shall we go inside?” I manage to wheeze out. He chuckles and throws an arm around my shoulders, guiding me in. We get our coffee and find a booth, sitting across from each other. I can’t help but stare at his ruggedly handsome features as I sip the hot beverage.

“Am I what you expected?” he smirks. Damn it, I must look like a complete and utter i***t. I fidget with my necklace, rubbing it between my fingers.

“To be perfectly honest, you’re better than what I expected,” I let out a nervous laugh, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.

“Good. You are everything I expected but I’d like to see what else there is to you. Who are you deep down, Cassidy,” his dark brown eyes seem to stare into the very depths of my soul. As I sit there captivated by his gaze, I don’t notice I was mid drink until there’s coffee all over the table. I feel my face turn bright red as I apologize profusely and grab napkins to clean it up before it gets on either of us. He takes the napkins out of my hand and proceeds to mop the spill up.

“I’m so sorry, I don’t know what came over me,” he gently takes my hand, brushing his lips against the back of it.

“No need to apologize, it happens to the best of us,” he smiles, revealing perfectly straight, white teeth. I feel shivers running up and down my spine as we continue our conversation.

“I’m sorry to interrupt, but we’re closing in about five minutes. I’m going to have to ask you guys to leave,” the waitress says apologetically. I frown and look at the time, realizing just how long we had been there for. I apologize to her, standing up to leave. Dominic joins me and we walk out hand in hand, laughing.

“I can’t believe we talked for that long,” I say in complete disbelief. He stops walking and pulls me close to him by my waist, his hands almost wrapping around me.

“I can and I want to see you again Cass,” he leans in closer until our faces are just about touching. My heart racing, I close the distance and press my lips against his. His grip tightens as he pulls me closer, his lips soft but firm against mine. Fireworks seem to explode throughout my entire being as his tongue parts my lips, flicking and caressing passionately. It feels like forever before we finally pull back, resting our foreheads together, breathing heavily. He tilts my chin up and kisses me again, gently this time before gazing into my eyes. I bite my bottom lip, wanting more but he pulls away, loosening his grip on me.

“I want to see you again too,”

When I get home and close the door, I sink down with my back against it, reliving the events of the day. I giggle and smile, my heart feeling as though it’s about to burst. Feeling my phone buzz, I dig it out of my purse and absentmindedly answer it.

“Hello?”

“Cass where the f**k have you been? We all thought he murdered you and dumped you in the woods or something,” It’s Maria and she’s frantic. I laugh and proceed to tell her all about my date with Dominic. Her tone changes from frantic to ecstatic as she screeches so loud I have to pull the phone away from my ear, “Oh my god! That’s f*****g amazing girl. I’m so happy for you,”

“Me too Mar, me too,” we talk for a while longer until I start to yawn.

“You should go to bed, all that excitement must’ve worn you out. Try not to have naughty dreams about your new love interest tonight,” she says slyly before hanging up. I look at my now dark screen and scoff, shaking my head in disbelief.

As the days flew by, I continued seeing Dominic. We went on more dates, sent each other cute and flirty texts; he had even come over to my apartment on a couple occasions. As I started to learn more about him, I couldn’t help falling for him. He had twenty-three tattoos, his birthday was the fourth of February, he worked as a truck driver who did deliveries throughout the city so he wasn’t gone for months at a time, and was the oldest of three children. Dominic’s family all lived in a different province as he and his best friend, Lucas, had come out here for a fresh start after getting into a car accident two years ago. What I couldn’t get over was just how attractive he was, he’d swept me off my feet and made me feel things I hadn’t felt in a very long time.

“How’s things going with what’s his name? Is he respecting you like he should be?” Liam asks me one day as I’m playing with my nephew on the floor. I giggle as my face turns red.

“His name is Dominic and yes, he’s being very gentlemanly and considerate of my thoughts and feelings,” he sizes me up before turning on his serious big brother look.

“Cass, I know you like this guy but just take things slow okay? I don’t want a repeat of last time,” he’s referring to my ex. I had fallen for him rather quickly and before long, was completely involved with him, causing things to go sideways rapidly. I nod my acknowledgment and turn back to Chase and our game of peek-a-boo. By the time I leave, it’s starting to snow. Grateful I only live a few minutes away, I hurry home, running through the snow that’s falling a bit more heavily now. I get in and shut the door behind me, stripping off my now damp, cold clothing. Throwing it in the wash, I turn the kettle on to make myself some hot chocolate when there’s a knock at my door. Curious, I look through the peephole, surprised to see Dominic standing on the other side. When I open it, he pulls me in for a hug.

“Hey is everything okay?”

“Everything’s fine, I just missed you is all,” I smile, thinking how sweet it is. I invite him in and offer him some of the hot chocolate I’m making as he sits on the couch. He accepts and when I set the mug down, he captures my wrist, pulling me into his lap, “How was your day sweetheart? Do anything interesting?” he asks, running his fingers through my hair. I tell him all about playing with Chase and my conversation with Liam when suddenly he kisses me affectionately, cutting me off. I reciprocate, knotting my hands in his hair and adjusting myself so I’m straddling his lap. He moans, biting my lip, turning his attention to my neck, nibbling and licking his way down to my collarbone as his hands make their way down to my hips. I groan in pleasure, wanting more. I pull his head back to look up at me as I dive into his lips, our tongues dancing together.

“f**k Cass,” he growls, flipping me onto my back, his hand pushing my shirt up until it’s tucked against my bra. Turning his attention to my now exposed midriff, he starts planting soft kisses all the way down, stopping at the waistband of my jeans to look up at me. I waiver, excitement turning into fear. I hadn’t told him about what had happened yet, and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to. It wasn’t exactly the best time or place to do so. Pushing every doubt I ever had about this moment out of my head, I stood up, taking his hand and leading him to my bedroom.