Page 188 of Plaything

When I entered the house, I was greeted by Wyatt’s mother, who practically tried to force-feed me more potato salad. Still, I stood my ground (unlike last time.) A few others were in the small living room, watching a football game.

I thought I heard a woman say my name just as I shut the bathroom door behind me. I was willing to bet Wyatt’s mom was talking about me again or pointing me out to ‘the aunties.’

After using the restroom, I nearly ran into a man on my way out. The hallway was narrow, and I was glad I wasn’t looking at my feet, or a collision would have happened. “Sorry,” I mumbled while passing.

A big hand wrapped around my elbow, making me stop and stare wide-eyed at the stranger. He immediately withdrew his hand and chuckled. “Sorry, I just wanted to catch you before you left—I’m probably not making a good impression,” he smiled.

“It’s no problem,” I straightened my posture, wondering where he fit in the family tree. He was older, maybe in his late 50s, and towered over me. Besides his height, his only prominent feature was the two scars across his chin. “Sorry, did we meet earlier? I’m not good with names,” I surmised.

With a slow shake of his head, he responded. “No, I just got here a couple minutes ago. I actually came just to meet you,” he gestured to me.

No pressure at all.

I tried not to look intimidated as I nodded. “Oh... Um, are you one of Wyatt’s uncles?” I guessed, hinting for him to give me something to go off of. This was strange.

“No,” he laughed. “My name’s Court, I’m Dominic’s father.”

A thick silence of confusion washed over me. Either I was speaking to a ghost, or Aiden lied. “Dominic... Owens?” I lifted my brows in question, thinking maybe another man named Dominic was running around somewhere.

“He probably hasn’t mentioned me much; we didn’t have the best relationship when he was younger,” he shifted on his feet. “Chester invited me and mentioned you, so I couldn’t help but be curious,” he explained.

Discomfort draped over my shoulders, and I wrapped my arm around my middle. This didn’t feel right; he gave me a bad feeling in my stomach. “Does Dominic know you’re here?” I pried.

“No,” he rushed out. “Between you and me, I don’t think he should. I’m not staying long, and I doubt he’d want to see me,” he nervously chuckled.

Alarms rang in my head as I slowly nodded. “I think I should go. It was nice meeting you,” I muttered. If Dominic didn’t have a good relationship with his father—enough so for Aiden to lie about him being dead, I had no business talking to him. The man had barely spoken to me and had already asked me to lie. I had no loyalty to Court and every reason to immediately tell Aiden and let him decide. It was clear he wasn’t welcome in Dominic’s life.

He stepped to the side as I tried to retreat, blocking my exit. He held his hands up in surrender. “I’ll just be a second!” He assured. I crossed my arms, feeling nerves crawl up my throat. “Look, for whatever reason, my son wants no relationship with me. The only details I ever hear about him and his life are from Walt or Chester. I just wanted to meet you, and I’m happy that you seem... normal,” he rambled. “And very attractive, I should add,” he tried to joke, but his laugh fell short.

Normal? Why wouldn’t I be normal?

“Excuse me,” I quickly squeezed past him, immediately walking to the back door.

I was beyond confused about the entire interaction. First, I was told that Dominic’s father passed away. Then, he shows up and asks me to lie about his being here. Dominic was incredibly private, and the little I knew about him came out over nearly four months. He only mentioned he had a bad childhood once when I had a panic attack, but even then, he gave no details other than he used to get them, too.

“You forgot the water,” Niko chuckled as I approached the table.

“I’m plenty hydrated,” Wyatt dismissed before wrapping his arms around my thighs and hugging my legs to his side.

“What’s wrong?” Aiden narrowed his eyes on me. I probably looked concerned, with my eyebrows knitted in confusion.

“Um, nothing,” I lied, unsure of how to bring up what just happened. “Actually... Dominic,” I glanced up at him, and he stared back at me. “I’m really sorry to ask you this, but is your father dead?” I asked bluntly. Aiden lied right in front of Niko and Wyatt, but neither of them corrected him. Dominic was the only one who’d give me a straight answer. If the towering height of Court weren’t a factor, part of me would believe that someone might be playing a sick joke.

Caught off guard by my question, he only stared back at me with a blank expression. It was hard not to fidget under his intense eyes, looking through me rather than at me. Slowly, his eyebrows fell, and his eyes darkened, his expression changing from neutral to unpleasant.

Although looking away from Dominic’s clenched fists was hard, I glanced at Niko, Aiden, and a wide-eyed Wyatt. The tension grew when I realized that my other three professors’ eyes were locked on him as if he were a ticking time bomb.

“No,” Dominic all but growled his short response, ruling out any speculation I had about the man in the house. “Why?” The question came out as a demand.

“Did someone mention him...?” Niko guessed under his breath, seeming uncomfortable.

My gut feeling during my short interaction with Court was only validated by their rigid posture and weary behavior. I didn’t plan on keeping it to myself, but now I was all too confident in my decision to tell them about the meeting I had.

Pointing a thumb over my shoulder, I kept my eyes on Dominic as I answered. “He’s inside.”

Dominic’s features had gotten impossibly darker, and from how hard his fists were clenched, I was surprised blood wasn’t leaking from his palm.

Before the darkness took over, there was a split second when he looked... scared. It was gone in the blink of an eye, but I was certain it happened. Something in me suddenly felt defensive, like I should’ve asked Court to leave. Somehow, a part of me understood that fearful look, and I wanted to protect him from his monster.

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