Dominic
Once again, I found myself standing in front of a door, trying to find the courage to knock.
This wooden door had once been familiar to me. Now, I didn’t even have a key. I’d ditched it the night I’d left, along with my mobile. I knew keeping the latter would only lead to me contacting Ryan.
Given he’d made it crystal fucking clear that he didn’t want anything more to do with me, it had gone into the river.
Throwing my keys in after had been more symbolic. That river had taken everything from me. My mother. My father. My childhood. I’d let it have that final part, believing I’d never return.
But somehow, here I was.
Because of Ryan.
The door was a different colour now. The peeling red I remembered had been stripped away, and it had been repainted a deep blue. There was a new knocker too, the brass shining brightly as though it had been recently polished.
That couldn’t be the case though. Frank never bothered with shit like that. He didn’t care if dirty dishes were piled six deep, let alone what the entrance to his home looked like.
Fuck it.I said I’d do whatever it took to be back in Ryan’s life, and if this was something he wanted, then I was going to strap on a pair and see it through.Once it was over, I’d never have to see Frank again. I raised my hand and quickly rapped on the knocker before I could talk myself out of it.
The footsteps that followed were lighter than I remembered. A more careful tread rather than the harrowing stamping that sometimes thundered through my nightmares.
The door swung open, and for several moments, we both stood there in silence, staring at the stranger before us.
I knew I’d changed since I was eighteen, but this man in front of me?
It was undoubtedly my father, but there wasn’t a single thing I recognised about him. Nothing from his neatly cut hair to his clean-shaven face, or his smartly pressed shirt and chinos. Even his scent was different…but I couldn’t put my finger on why.
There’s no alcohol.
I had to force myself not to take a step back in shock. The lingering scent of spirits that I so strongly associated with him was…gone. As was the cloudiness in his eyes. His hands were shaking at his sides, but I didn’t think that was caused by alcohol.
I thought it was shock.
“Dominic,” he croaked finally. “It’s so good to see you, my boy.”
His words had my guard snapping back up. “I’m not your boy, Frank, and I haven’t been in a very long time.”
Frank’s throat bobbed. “I deserve that. Will you come in?”
He stepped to the side, leaving the door wide open. Leaving the decision in my hands.
I swallowed a couple of times before forcing my feet forward. My steps were jerky as my limbs tried to lead me in the opposite direction.
But I thought of Ryan. Of what he’d said.
“I’d never ask you to see someone who’d cause you pain. I wouldn’t send you back there if I believed with even an ounce of my soul that he’d hurt you again. Trust me?”
With anyone else, I might doubt his words. After all, what better way to get back at me for the pain I’d caused by forcing me to relive the worst period of my life?
But this was Ryan. He might bluster and bravado, but beneath that lay the kindest soul I’d ever encountered. Intentionally hurting someone on such a soul-deep level wasn’t something he was capable of.
What’s more, I did trust him.
Frank followed me in silence as I went into the living room and immediately froze. Had I entered the Twilight Zone? It was the only explanation for the clean, tidy, thoughtfully decorated room I’d entered. There wasn’t a single item of furniture I recognised.
Frank stepped up beside me. He cleared his throat, nodding at the unfamiliar space. “I’ve made some changes.”
“Took you long enough.”