CHAPTER FOUR
DOMINICK
Days passed, and Kim was no warmer towards me. It was like we were both silently suffering and had no idea how to cope with it. I knew she wanted to live with her sister. It had been a long time since they'd been together. Moving to a new city and into the house of a man who had been a stranger to her for years couldn't have been easy. Not to mention I let my jealousy get the best of me sometimes. Living with me probably wasn't the funnest thing on the face of the planet.
Kim needed to be with her sister, but I didn't want to see her go. I had grown used to having her around. Hell, I wasn't even sure what I would do without her at this point. I didn't want to think about it, to be honest, but having Tammy come and whisk her away for the day really put things into perspective.
For the past year, I endured Kim's presence. Sure, she could be a brat—was a brat a lot of the time, but I loved her. She took care of me like no woman ever had. Kim was a constant in my life, the first constant I'd had in a very long time. And soon, she'd be gone, and I'd be alone again. Things would go back to the way they were before. My days and nights would be filled with lonely silence. Back then, I had grown used to it. I didn't think I could stomach it now.
I knew what I was about to do was a betrayal. She might even be livid with me when she found out. It was selfish of me, but I had to try.
Calling Tammy was never pleasant. While I wasn't in love with her anymore, there were still lingering feelings there, and thanks to our lack of contact, she often seemed like a stranger to me. Our conversations were strained, but friends keep in contact, and I wasn't about to lose one of the few friends I had in this world. She tolerated me calling well enough, usually sounding genuinely interested in hearing from me. That hadn't changed over the years, though so many other things had.
It had been a few days since Tammy had arrived back in Virginia. I figured I'd give her time to get home and settle in, not that she could do much settling in with the move quickly approaching. This couldn't really wait though. Kim was already talking about packing, and I'd like to save her that trouble if I could. I had half a mind to hide her suitcases from her, but that would be childish.
I waited until late afternoon, when I knew Tammy was off work. She answered the phone, sounding tired yet happy to hear from me.
“Hey, Dom. What's up?”
“Hey. I was just calling to see how the move was coming along,” I lied, sounding calm as always.
“It's exhausting, as you can probably imagine. I don't understand how you can do this almost every year. It's so stressful.”
“I've got it down to an art.” I smirked.
“I don't think I could ever get used to it. Then again, I imagine I've got more stuff to move than you do.”
“When you move a lot, you tend not to collect stuff.”
“I can see why.”
“Speaking of moving, I wanted to talk to you about Kim.”
“What about Kim?” her tone changed slightly, almost as if she expected something to be wrong.
“You know she can stay here as long as she wants. It's no trouble to me.”
She sighed, “You say that, but I know it's not true. It's got to be hard living with someone else when you were used to living alone.”
“It's not as difficult as you might think. Besides, she's a big help to me. She cooks and cleans. I think I've gained a bit of weight since she's been here.”
Tammy laughed, “Keeping you well fed, is she?”
“Yes.” I grinned at the thought. “The point is that I really don't mind having her around. I don't think I realized how lonely I actually was before she came to live with me.”
“While I appreciate the offer, Dom, I'd rather have her with me,” the seriousness returned to Tammy's voice. “I want her to not have to work so hard while she's going to college, you know. She only does those things for you because she feels obligated to return your kindness. In a sense, I imagine it's kind of like having a job to pay rent. I don't want her to have to worry about that stuff anymore. College should be a fun time when you go out with your friends and experience all that life has to offer before you have to buckle down and join the real world.
“I know she wanted to move in with you to save me money. But now I'm moving there, so there's no reason for her to have to live with you anymore. I'm not saying that she's miserable living with you. Most of the times that I've talked to her, she's seemed quite happy. She never complains about you or anything. But she should be at home with her family. I hope you understand.”
I covered the speaker with my finger and sighed, feeling like an asshat for even bothering to call. What could I possibly say to that? She was right. Kim wasn't experiencing the normal college life while living with me, and it was selfish of me to want to deny her that. Too selfish.
“Alright.” I surrendered. “I just wanted to let you know that you have other options. If the move takes longer than you think it will, she can stay here for as long as it takes.”
“I appreciate that, Dom. You've always been so kind to us, to both of us. We'll never be able to repay you.”
You can repay me by letting her stay, I thought, though I didn't dare say it. That was just me being selfish again, wanting what we both knew wasn't the best for Kim. If I really loved her, I'd have to let her go, even if it broke my heart. That was all there was to it.