Get Up While You Can
Chapter Forty
Gerard stared up into the afternoon sun and let out a quiet sigh. He still couldn’t believe all the shit that had gone down a mere seventy-two hours before. He listened to the sounds of the distant city traffic, the noise rising with the cool wind that blew through the trees around him. The shuffle of clothing brought him back to reality and he turned his head to see Dom kneeling at a dirty headstone. She placed a small bundle of flowers at the base and he heard her sniff.
He watched her silently, her long hair was down and hid her face as she placed a hand on the stone. She was dressed in a simple black dress and sweater. He could see a few scratches slowly healing on the back of her hand but she looked generally unscathed. He smiled, admiring her for a moment before looking away. The funeral procession had made its way down the hill and out of sight, leaving the two of them alone.
“It really takes a lot of guts to come to the funeral of someone who meant to kill you,” Ray’s voice interrupted the quiet moment and they both turned. He waved, stuffing his hands in the pocket of his suit as he came to stop behind Dom.
She straightened and shrugged. “I needed this,” she whispered. “This makes it real.”
“Why the hell did he even get a funeral?” he asked, staring off down the hill to the short line of cars.
“Even though he wasn’t the best guy, I knew his mother and I knew she’d want him to have one so I asked the police to allow her that courtesy. He was still someone’s son and brother. His family deserves that. They didn’t know about his other life.”
Dom moved to Gerard’s side and wrapped her arm around him. He squeezed her, pressing his lips to her temple. She looked up at him and smiled before resting her head on his shoulder.
“And this gave me a reason to come here,” she continued. “To see my parents.”
The wind rustled the petals on the flowers she’d just placed and Gerard glanced down at the stone. Her mother and father’s names were engraved beside each other, her mother’s a little more weather worn than her father’s. Ray nodded grimly and glanced back over the hill toward where the hearse had disappeared.
“Well, Frank and Nat are meeting us for lunch. I’m heading over there now. They want to see you when you’re ready.”
“Okay,” Dom nodded, breaking away from Gerard to hug him before he walked away. She combed her fingers through her hair and looked up at the sky for a moment. “I feel weird.”
“How?”
“I’ve never been really free,” she elaborated. “There’s no weight anymore.” Her eyes met Gerard’s and he smiled.
“It must feel good.”
“I dunno.” She shrugged and held her hand out to him. He took it and gave it a squeeze as he followed her back down the hill to the cab they’d taken across town. He watched her as they both climbed in and she told the driver where to go. She still looked exhausted.
They kept quiet until the cab stopped in front of a Starbucks a few blocks from Dom’s apartment. Frank, Nat and Ray sat by the window sipping from steaming cups and looking awkward. Gerard followed Dom inside and they all looked up, Nat being the first to jump out of her chair and wrap her best friend into a tight hug.
“Hey man,” Frank nodded at him and he smiled back, sitting down beside Ray. “You both look wiped.”
“It’s been a long couple days,” he nodded.
“I’m just ready to get the hell out of here,” Dom sat beside him and smiled. The sadness in her eyes had disappeared and she smiled at him, nudging him lightly. “I love New York but I’m ready for LA. For a new start.”
“Here--here!” Ray and Frank chorused and the group laughed. Nat smiled over her mug at Dom and took a sip of her mocha.
As the group split off into separate conversations Dom round herself staring out the window, she watched the people rush by in typical New York fashion and frowned when she caught herself staring intently at a man huddled down the block with a trench coat on. She was expecting him to be watching her but instead he glanced up at the sky, frowned and opened an umberella, jogginh across the street to the other side and rushing away.
“Hey,” Nat nudged her under the table and Dom blinked, turned away from her paranoid people watching. She raised her eyebrows at her friend and Nat offered her a smile. “You okay?”
“Yeah, fine,” she nodded.
Nat frowned, “You really need to stop saying that when you clearly are not.”
Dom shrugged. “I’m just trying to come to get over not having to look over my shoulder all the time anymore. It’s weird.”
“I know, but at least look a little happy, come on. You’re leaving tomorrow!” She reached across the table and gave her hand a squeeze.
“Yeah,” she nodded and a small smile lifted the corner of her mouth. “Leaving all the baggage behind.”
________________________________________________
Smiling up into the sun after the longest plane ride of her life, Dom took a second to breathe. She felt clean. Squinting into the sun she let the warmth bathe her and the breeze blow her hair out of her face. Taking another deep breathe she coughed and smiled. The cigarette smoke curling into her lungs reminded her she had stopped in the middle of a busy parking garage. Glancing to her right she watched Gerard take a long drag on the cigarette and breathe it out.
“You have no idea what watching out smoke does to people, do you?” she plucked the thing from his hand and took a pull.
“What?”
Sidling up to him she blew the smoke in his face and handed it back. She waited for him to take another drag but this time he let it dangle between his lips so he could unlock the car. Dom groaned as he lifted his suitcase and then hers into the trunk.
“God, that’s so sexy.”
He shrugged, pulling the cigrette from his mouth and tapping the ashes off the end. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Throwing her hands up in the air, Dom sighed and slid into the car beside him. “Oh my god, how can you not? You have to be aware of the insane hornyness you cause whenever you light up a cigarette.”
He smirked and shook his head. “Nope.”
“Liar.”
“Please, enlighten me, then,” he glanced at her and waited.
“You’re incredibly sexy when you smoke. Like, it should be illegal to look that good smoking a cigarette. Honestly, I’m ready to rip your fucking clothes off right now.”
“What’s stopping you?” Gerard wiggled his eyebrows and Dom groaned again.
“Oh I dunno, decency?”
“Right.”
He laughed and pulled out of the parking spot, only giggling more when Dom shoved him and stole his cigarette.
______________________________________________
Mikey half expected them to stumble through the front door fondling each other when he heard the car pull up to the house. It had taken them almost double the time to get home from the airport so he wasn’t surprised they were a bit ruffled when the front door swung open. Before Dom could step over the thresh hold, however, Gerard swung his arm out, stopping her.
“No, wait hang on.” She looked at him quizzically but he was already moving, doing his best to sweep her off her feet and into the foyer.
“You’re only supposed to do that when you’re married,” she laughed but his older brother shrugged and went back out to grab their bags. Dom blushed when she caught sight of Mikey sitting in the kitchen sipping coffee.
“Mikey!” She squealed and rushed to him, barely giving him a second to stand up before her arms were wrapped tightly around him. “It feels like a lifetime since I saw you.”
“Yeah, you look better, happier,” he pointed out and she eyed him too.
“So do you. Who is she?”
Mikey gaped but Dom waved it off. “Come on, spill.”
“Her name’s Alicia,” he admitted. “We met a while back and she was in town. We started reconnecting after Gerard went back to New York to help you move.”
The grin that spread across Dom’s face was one he hadn’t seen in ages. Not only was it genuine but she practically glowed with happiness. There was no trace of the beaten down, stretched thin Dominica he was so used to seeing.
“Well, I personally can’t wait to meet her. We should double date or something. But not this week, I have meetings to rent out a new space for my work. I’m going to start painting again!”
Gerard sighed, dropping the last of the luggage on the floor and joined them in the kitchen. He shared a look with Mikey and shrugged as Dom flitted around the kitchen like she’d lived there for years. Biting the bullet Mikey asked the question that had been bugging him since they walked in the front door.
“So why are you, like, inhumanly happy? This is weird.”
He knew it couldn’t have been just because Luke was gone and she was starting over. When he’d last talked to Dom before she flew out she was still struggling to accept that fact and it couldn’t have even been because Frank and Nat had just finished moving into Frank’s house. No it was something more than that.
Dom stopped her fretting and glanced at Gerard who smiled and shrugged. She chewed the inside of her cheek and moved across the room to him. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small velvet box and opened it. Inside sat a diamond ring, modest in size and glowing the sun streaming in through the window.
“I didn’t want to wear it because we’ve been travelling but...we were driving here and Gerard just kind of asked me. It was really cliché and hilariously awkward but… I couldn’t say no. Not after all the shit we went through these last couple… well since we met.”
Mikey nodded and she closed the box, sticking it back in her pocket. “I don’t even think he was planning on doing it. It just happened.”
There was an awkward silence for a moment and they each looked from one person to the other before Mikey let out a laugh.
“Well, congratulations. I always thought it’d be Frank and Nat first but, hell, they won’t be far behind.”
The air in the room deflated and Dom went back to grinning like an idiot. She hugged him quickly before moving out of the room the get her bags and Gerard watched her go with a shake of his head.
“So you finally did it, huh?” he asked, handing him a cup of coffee. Gerard took a swig and nodded.
“Yep.”
“It’s about damn time.”
He watched her silently, her long hair was down and hid her face as she placed a hand on the stone. She was dressed in a simple black dress and sweater. He could see a few scratches slowly healing on the back of her hand but she looked generally unscathed. He smiled, admiring her for a moment before looking away. The funeral procession had made its way down the hill and out of sight, leaving the two of them alone.
“It really takes a lot of guts to come to the funeral of someone who meant to kill you,” Ray’s voice interrupted the quiet moment and they both turned. He waved, stuffing his hands in the pocket of his suit as he came to stop behind Dom.
She straightened and shrugged. “I needed this,” she whispered. “This makes it real.”
“Why the hell did he even get a funeral?” he asked, staring off down the hill to the short line of cars.
“Even though he wasn’t the best guy, I knew his mother and I knew she’d want him to have one so I asked the police to allow her that courtesy. He was still someone’s son and brother. His family deserves that. They didn’t know about his other life.”
Dom moved to Gerard’s side and wrapped her arm around him. He squeezed her, pressing his lips to her temple. She looked up at him and smiled before resting her head on his shoulder.
“And this gave me a reason to come here,” she continued. “To see my parents.”
The wind rustled the petals on the flowers she’d just placed and Gerard glanced down at the stone. Her mother and father’s names were engraved beside each other, her mother’s a little more weather worn than her father’s. Ray nodded grimly and glanced back over the hill toward where the hearse had disappeared.
“Well, Frank and Nat are meeting us for lunch. I’m heading over there now. They want to see you when you’re ready.”
“Okay,” Dom nodded, breaking away from Gerard to hug him before he walked away. She combed her fingers through her hair and looked up at the sky for a moment. “I feel weird.”
“How?”
“I’ve never been really free,” she elaborated. “There’s no weight anymore.” Her eyes met Gerard’s and he smiled.
“It must feel good.”
“I dunno.” She shrugged and held her hand out to him. He took it and gave it a squeeze as he followed her back down the hill to the cab they’d taken across town. He watched her as they both climbed in and she told the driver where to go. She still looked exhausted.
They kept quiet until the cab stopped in front of a Starbucks a few blocks from Dom’s apartment. Frank, Nat and Ray sat by the window sipping from steaming cups and looking awkward. Gerard followed Dom inside and they all looked up, Nat being the first to jump out of her chair and wrap her best friend into a tight hug.
“Hey man,” Frank nodded at him and he smiled back, sitting down beside Ray. “You both look wiped.”
“It’s been a long couple days,” he nodded.
“I’m just ready to get the hell out of here,” Dom sat beside him and smiled. The sadness in her eyes had disappeared and she smiled at him, nudging him lightly. “I love New York but I’m ready for LA. For a new start.”
“Here--here!” Ray and Frank chorused and the group laughed. Nat smiled over her mug at Dom and took a sip of her mocha.
As the group split off into separate conversations Dom round herself staring out the window, she watched the people rush by in typical New York fashion and frowned when she caught herself staring intently at a man huddled down the block with a trench coat on. She was expecting him to be watching her but instead he glanced up at the sky, frowned and opened an umberella, jogginh across the street to the other side and rushing away.
“Hey,” Nat nudged her under the table and Dom blinked, turned away from her paranoid people watching. She raised her eyebrows at her friend and Nat offered her a smile. “You okay?”
“Yeah, fine,” she nodded.
Nat frowned, “You really need to stop saying that when you clearly are not.”
Dom shrugged. “I’m just trying to come to get over not having to look over my shoulder all the time anymore. It’s weird.”
“I know, but at least look a little happy, come on. You’re leaving tomorrow!” She reached across the table and gave her hand a squeeze.
“Yeah,” she nodded and a small smile lifted the corner of her mouth. “Leaving all the baggage behind.”
________________________________________________
Smiling up into the sun after the longest plane ride of her life, Dom took a second to breathe. She felt clean. Squinting into the sun she let the warmth bathe her and the breeze blow her hair out of her face. Taking another deep breathe she coughed and smiled. The cigarette smoke curling into her lungs reminded her she had stopped in the middle of a busy parking garage. Glancing to her right she watched Gerard take a long drag on the cigarette and breathe it out.
“You have no idea what watching out smoke does to people, do you?” she plucked the thing from his hand and took a pull.
“What?”
Sidling up to him she blew the smoke in his face and handed it back. She waited for him to take another drag but this time he let it dangle between his lips so he could unlock the car. Dom groaned as he lifted his suitcase and then hers into the trunk.
“God, that’s so sexy.”
He shrugged, pulling the cigrette from his mouth and tapping the ashes off the end. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Throwing her hands up in the air, Dom sighed and slid into the car beside him. “Oh my god, how can you not? You have to be aware of the insane hornyness you cause whenever you light up a cigarette.”
He smirked and shook his head. “Nope.”
“Liar.”
“Please, enlighten me, then,” he glanced at her and waited.
“You’re incredibly sexy when you smoke. Like, it should be illegal to look that good smoking a cigarette. Honestly, I’m ready to rip your fucking clothes off right now.”
“What’s stopping you?” Gerard wiggled his eyebrows and Dom groaned again.
“Oh I dunno, decency?”
“Right.”
He laughed and pulled out of the parking spot, only giggling more when Dom shoved him and stole his cigarette.
______________________________________________
Mikey half expected them to stumble through the front door fondling each other when he heard the car pull up to the house. It had taken them almost double the time to get home from the airport so he wasn’t surprised they were a bit ruffled when the front door swung open. Before Dom could step over the thresh hold, however, Gerard swung his arm out, stopping her.
“No, wait hang on.” She looked at him quizzically but he was already moving, doing his best to sweep her off her feet and into the foyer.
“You’re only supposed to do that when you’re married,” she laughed but his older brother shrugged and went back out to grab their bags. Dom blushed when she caught sight of Mikey sitting in the kitchen sipping coffee.
“Mikey!” She squealed and rushed to him, barely giving him a second to stand up before her arms were wrapped tightly around him. “It feels like a lifetime since I saw you.”
“Yeah, you look better, happier,” he pointed out and she eyed him too.
“So do you. Who is she?”
Mikey gaped but Dom waved it off. “Come on, spill.”
“Her name’s Alicia,” he admitted. “We met a while back and she was in town. We started reconnecting after Gerard went back to New York to help you move.”
The grin that spread across Dom’s face was one he hadn’t seen in ages. Not only was it genuine but she practically glowed with happiness. There was no trace of the beaten down, stretched thin Dominica he was so used to seeing.
“Well, I personally can’t wait to meet her. We should double date or something. But not this week, I have meetings to rent out a new space for my work. I’m going to start painting again!”
Gerard sighed, dropping the last of the luggage on the floor and joined them in the kitchen. He shared a look with Mikey and shrugged as Dom flitted around the kitchen like she’d lived there for years. Biting the bullet Mikey asked the question that had been bugging him since they walked in the front door.
“So why are you, like, inhumanly happy? This is weird.”
He knew it couldn’t have been just because Luke was gone and she was starting over. When he’d last talked to Dom before she flew out she was still struggling to accept that fact and it couldn’t have even been because Frank and Nat had just finished moving into Frank’s house. No it was something more than that.
Dom stopped her fretting and glanced at Gerard who smiled and shrugged. She chewed the inside of her cheek and moved across the room to him. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small velvet box and opened it. Inside sat a diamond ring, modest in size and glowing the sun streaming in through the window.
“I didn’t want to wear it because we’ve been travelling but...we were driving here and Gerard just kind of asked me. It was really cliché and hilariously awkward but… I couldn’t say no. Not after all the shit we went through these last couple… well since we met.”
Mikey nodded and she closed the box, sticking it back in her pocket. “I don’t even think he was planning on doing it. It just happened.”
There was an awkward silence for a moment and they each looked from one person to the other before Mikey let out a laugh.
“Well, congratulations. I always thought it’d be Frank and Nat first but, hell, they won’t be far behind.”
The air in the room deflated and Dom went back to grinning like an idiot. She hugged him quickly before moving out of the room the get her bags and Gerard watched her go with a shake of his head.
“So you finally did it, huh?” he asked, handing him a cup of coffee. Gerard took a swig and nodded.
“Yep.”
“It’s about damn time.”
Notes
The End.I know it's cheesy, I suck at ending things but I was so done with this story when I finished it I just wanted it to be over and I wanted them to have a happy ending because I tortured them so much. So, yay, cheesy, sappy, ending. Hope you enjoyed :)
3/26/13