Sammy: Naked?
Maya: OMG, what?
Me: Not naked, in my nightgown.
Maya: Basically the same, it’s see-through.
Me: Well, thank you for the warning. And I have a coat.
Sammy: Wait, you’re modelling for Dominik? Is he a photographer or something?
Me: Not sure I can disclose.
*Maya removed you from the group*
Well that was fun?
“What’s that face?” Dominik asks me and I laugh.
“We have a bunch of nosy friends, you know?”
“A bunch of idiots to be more precise. But why do you say that?” Dominik asks still adding details and not letting me peek.
“Look at your phone,” I tell him and he shakes his head.
“Can’t. In the zone. Tell me,” Dominik says and I explain to him the conversation. “Tell me again, why are we friends with them?” Dominik asks and I look at him trying to seem mad, but he looks adorable when he’s annoyed. He has these eyes like he really wants to kill you out of spite. Kill them in this case.
“We like them,” I remind Dominik but he mouths “You like them”. I look out of the window, and when I look back at Dominik he seems to be finishing up. I peek at the time, three hours have passed.
“It’s done,” Dominik says, “Still need details, but you can-”
I don’t let him end the phrase, I grab the notebook from his hands and am in awe.
“You drew us?” I ask him looking back at the wall I stood against it’s a mirror, that’s how he saw himself. For the first time I see him appear clearly in his own drawings. And the moment is almost perfectly crystallised in time. The blue and red details make me seem like an angelic creature, wings included, Dominik looks like the devil himself, and has red shadows around us, especially surrounding him. And then I see a small inscription at the bottom of the page. “The angel to my demons,” I read it aloud and when I look at Dominik I can’t help but smile.
“My demon,” I whisper into his lips before crushing mine into them.
Dominik’s phone buzzes and I wake up, he’s not in bed next to me anymore. “Dom?” I call and he doesn’t answer. I grab his nearest shirt and shorts and walk outside with his phone in my hand. When I open the door there’s smoke everywhere, it fills my lungs and I start coughing hard.
“Dom?” I call again and a figure surfaces, but it’s not Dominik, it’s Aiden.
“We need to go,” Aiden says ripping his coat’s sleeve and putting it over my mouth, it becomes slightly easier to breathe.
“Where’s Dominik?” I ask him unmoving. He tries to scoop me in his arms and take me out of the burning house but I don’t let him.
“I don’t have time to explain it. You’ll have to- trust me he’s fine,” Aiden says and I follow him. We walk through every corridor and there’s no way out. “Ok, we’re going to carefully climb down to the ground,” Aiden says and I instantly think he’s gone insane. When he leads me to a balcony I know he’s not joking, we’re climbing down the building to the floor.
“I can’t do- this,” I affirm coughing, I try to breathe but the smoke is increasing. “Where is Dominik?” I question again yet Aiden doesn’t reply, not to that question.
“You can do this. Follow my steps,” Aiden says, I look down and see everyone but Dominik waiting on the other side of the street.
“Where’s Dominik, Aiden?” I insist when he slides out of the balcony to a pipe. “Aiden?”
“I’m sorry,” is all Aiden says and I walk to that tube and walk down it with Aiden. When I get to the ground I fall to my knees. My whole body shaking. “Where’s Dominik?” I ask Josh when he scoops me in his arms and takes me away from the succumbing building.
“Dad is at the hospital,” Josh says and I look at him tears threatening to fall.
“Where’s Dominik?” I question again.
