The disappointment - Short story- Part 4

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She smiled when she realized who it was.

"You came back," John said and gave her a hug. He saw her walking into the bakery, and he wasn’t sure it was her. He had to come and make sure for himself. 

“I came back,” Dominique said as if she had seen John yesterday. 

He was the love of her high school life, and they had wonderful times together. He was even more handsome than he was nine years ago. 

“Do you have time to catch up a little?" John asked but she shook her head.  She was tired and hungry and all she wanted now was a hot bath and a home-cooked meal.  

“I can’t tonight. My furniture arrived today, and I have a lot of work to do. Could I take a rain check?”

He smiled. 

“No, I won’t take no for an answer. I haven’t seen you in ages and I can cook a mean steak. What if I come over and made dinner while you relaxed? I’ll even help you move your stuff around if you need help. “ 

She knew she didn’t have a chance to say no and nodded.  He helped her pack the groceries in her car and asked her if she was going to cook for an army.   

"No silly, I need to feed myself you know, the house is in shambles and I don't have time to waste going to the store for every little thing."

"With this amount of food, you won't have to go to the store for a year..." he said jokingly and laughed at her. 

She waved at him as she drove off and was actually looking forward to the evening. Luckily the kitchen was clean, and she could take a quick bath. She went outside to smoke another cigarette and was still sitting on the porch when John arrived.  

“That’s a bad habit. You should stop.”

“I know, I’m trying to…”

He stared at the house for a while before he walked up the stairs.   

"I haven't been here in years. By the looks of it, nobody has. What are you going to do with this place?"

"I'm going to live here John."

"Something must have happened to make you come back...everyone always tries to leave here, and they usually don’t come back to this godforsaken little town. "

"I really don't want to talk about it….and by the way, you live here too." 

“Yes, I do, but the difference is I never left.”

He laughed when they walked inside, and he saw the mess. "You weren’t joking when you said you had work to do. Would you like a glass of wine?" he asked while taking out two glasses and started searching for a bottle opener.   

It felt good to have someone familiar in the house. He poured them each a glass of wine and they just chatted for a while. John started to cook the steaks, while she sat at the table preparing a salad. She finally built up the courage to tell him why she came back, but it still hurt to even talk about it.  

“I never told you this, but Leah also tried her luck with me. She was never the friend you made her out to be, and it broke my heart when you chose her over me.”

“I know John, and I’m sorry John, I never meant to hurt you.” 

“I know, but I’m glad you came back to where you belong.”

The steaks were finally cooked, and Dominique was quite impressed with his cooking skills. 

"Where did you learn to cook this way?" she asked curiously.

“I told you I never left. It was always my dream to become a chef and I took over the diner from my grandfather.”

She laughed. “How could I forget? Do you still make those awesome chocolate milkshakes?”

John didn’t answer. His eyes were fixated on the door. 

“Dominique, why didn’t you tell me that you had a son?”

She laughed. “Are you crazy? I don’t have children, I’ve never even been married.”

John looked shocked. 

“Then who is standing in the door, Dominique? I’m definitely NOT crazy.” 

Dominique turned around just in time to see a small boy disappear around the corner. She could see the yellow shirt and the red pants, and she jumped up to run after him. She was just in time to see him disappear into the attic. 

“Little bastard. He’s been hiding in my attic. No wonder I was hearing strange noises during the night and this morning.  Will you help me find him?”

John pulled down the ladder and climbed up to the attic. The door opened easily now, and he slowly pushed open the door and stepped into the attic. He couldn’t see anything. He pulled up Dominique and together they searched every inch of the attic. 

There was no sign of any intruders, and none of the windows were open. 

“I clearly saw him coming up this way. Where do you think he went?” she asked still sounding angry.

“I’ve got no idea, but something doesn’t feel right.”

“Well whoever it was, is gone now.” Dominique said and asked John to help her down. She didn’t want to slip again, especially not in front him. 

 “I don’t want you coming up here again if no one is at home. I’ll come and help you tomorrow so we can clean up this mess.”

“You have no right to tell me where I may and may not go. This is my house, and I’ll do as I please…. but thank you I will appreciate the help.” She said somewhat sarcastically. No one was ever going to control her life again. 

“Hmmm just as fearsome as always, I really missed you, Dominique,” John said and smiled.   

“Well, I assume I missed you too.” She walked forward and kissed him on the cheek. It felt really good to be with someone that appreciated her. 

He pulled her closer and hugged her. “I’m sorry for what you had to go through,” John said and she could see that he meant it. 

“Thank you, but I’ll get over it. I’m just glad to be back.”

John offered to sleep on the couch just to make sure that she was safe, but she assured him that she would be fine. She had his number on speed dial, and if anything happened, she would phone him immediately. 

John kissed her goodnight on the forehead and promised to be back in the morning.  He really didn’t feel good leaving her alone and felt very uneasy when he drove away. 

The house was very quiet after John left. Dominique switched on the radio while she washed the dishes and went to bed just after ten. She locked her door just in case, as she promised John that she would.  It was a long day and she was beyond tired.  It was great to catch up with John but all she wanted to do now was to sleep. 

She fell asleep listening to the sound of the waves but woke up again a little while later with a very eerie feeling. It felt as if someone was staring at her. She switched on the bed light and didn’t see anything, but just as she was about to switch off the light, she saw the small figure of a boy standing in the corner. He was staring at her in a trance-like state and she felt completely paralyzed. 

“Who are you? What do you want from me?” she asked in a panicked state and when she looked again, he was no longer there. She was numb and she couldn’t move. Weirdest of all was that she wasn’t scared. She somehow felt connected to this boy and knew he was there for a reason. 

She wanted to phone John, but she didn’t want to drag him over there in the middle of the night. She looked around the room and for a minute she thought that she had just been hallucinating. The door was locked, and the windows were closed. There was no way that the little boy could get into her room. 

To be continued