"Wanting you is not the problem, Dominique," I said, my voice hoarse.
"Then what is the problem, Nathaniel? I don't understand," Dominique said.
"I just can't. Not right now. I think this would simply add to your confusion, and I want you to come to me knowing you want me and only me. So, for now, I will tell you goodnight and let you get some sleep," I said as I walked out of the room, shutting the door behind me.
I made sure Dominique was still in the bedroom before I opened the door that was hidden in the wall at the end of the hall. Once I got down the steps, I sat on the bed that was there. This room was not on the floor plans of the house. I had built it myself once I had bought the house. There were no windows, so it was completely dark during the day. I undressed and lay on the bed. My thoughts were still with Dominique. I hated that I had hurt her earlier.
She was still upset with me, and I knew it. How could I fix this? I had waited too long to come into her life, and she had fallen in love with Tim. Now, Tim was back in her life, and she was back to falling for him if she hadn't already returned to the feelings she once had for him. I could feel her confusion for the two of us earlier tonight.
I did not want to give her up, but could I really force her to choose? If I did that, would she choose me? Could I wait on her to decide to come to me later in life so she could lead a normal life with Tim? No. What if something happened to her in the process of me waiting? This was the last chance I had to be with her. She would not have another cycle. I had to make her see that she should be with me.
If I told her the truth of who and what I was, would she turn away? She had told me earlier that she would not turn away from me if I did tell her about myself. She cared about me. I needed her to love me for my plan to work. I know that was where I had gone wrong before. I had moved too fast every single time. Perhaps I could strike a deal with her if she found out about me and wanted a normal life that I simply could not give her.
I would hate to give her up to Tim, but perhaps I could share her on my terms. She would have to truly belong to me, though I didn't think Dominique would like belonging to anyone. I would make her my human servant. She would live as long as I did, but she could walk during the day. I had never thought of doing that before.
Would that make her happy so she would choose to stay with me? But what about the rest of it? I could not give her children or a normal life as she would have with Tim. I sighed as I felt dawn break. I could only hope Dominique did not roam the house while I was away. I felt that old familiar pull and tumbled into the darkness.
*****
When I awoke, I could feel something was wrong with Dominique. I immediately got dressed and went looking for her. I could feel she was in the room I had placed her in. I opened the door but didn't see her on the bed. Then, I heard a thud and looked at the floor. She was seizing. I gently held her in my arms.
"Dominique, wake up. Please, wake up."
Dominique groaned as I shook her. The seizure had finally stopped, and she was finally waking up. It had scared the hell out of me when I found her on the floor seizing. It went on for a long time. She was mumbling in her sleep, and I knew she was dreaming of Rose and me.
"Dominique, open your eyes. I need to know if you are alright," I said.
I had my hand on her stomach, and she put her hand on mine. It looked like she was trying to talk to me, but she didn't at first.
"I'm okay, Nathaniel. Or at least I think I am. My head hurts. Am I on the floor?" Dominique asked, still not opening her eyes.
"Yes. I found you on the floor and have been trying to wake you ever since. You have a bruise on your cheek and a bad bruise over a bump near your temple. There is also a small cut near your cheek. It looks like you may have fallen out of bed and hit the nightstand's corner."
"That would explain the pounding I feel in my head," Dominique said as she finally pried her eyes open.
I picked her up and laid her on the bed. I went to get a cold washcloth to put over the bump on her head. Hopefully, it would cause the swelling to go down. I wiped the blood from her face, folded the rag over, and put it on the spot where she had a bruise near her temple. I was worried that something else might be wrong that I didn't know about.
"I think you should go to the doctor and ensure you don't have a concussion. I have nothing here for the pain," I said.
"It wouldn't matter if you did since you don't have anything for me to take it with. Who in the hell has a kitchen with nothing in it? Or a refrigerator that isn't even on?" Dominique asked.
I sat on the edge of the bed. I had not thought about her needing food while I was out for the day. How was I going to explain that away to her? She wouldn't believe me no matter what I said because it was odd not to have anything in the cabinets or the refrigerator for ordinary people. I hadn't thoroughly thought through her staying with me. I was only worried about her going upstairs and finding my blood supply.
"I'm sorry, Dominique. I have a small refrigerator where I keep my things. I did not think of this when I went to sleep this morning."
"Where were you? I called out to you, but you didn't answer. Your car was still here. I had to order delivery and saw it still parked in the garage. I, I went upstairs. I'm sorry, but I was looking for you so I could go to the store and get something. I saw the painting."
I stiffened and quickly looked away so she couldn't see the look on my face. She bit her lip as she slowly reached out and touched my hand. I couldn't bring myself to look at her because I knew my anger was showing on my face. I could feel her worry, but I was trying to get myself under control.
"Are you mad at me?" Dominique asked.
"Yes, very. I specifically asked you not to go upstairs. Did you see anything else besides the painting?"
"No. I didn't go snooping even though I wanted to know more about the people in the painting. I found myself fascinated by them. I just found a way to get your address and ordered a pizza. But where were you? You didn't wake up when I knocked on the doors or hear me when I called out for you?"
"No. I apologize. I am a very heavy sleeper. However, I still feel you should go to a doctor and be checked out. That is a nasty bump on your head."
"No, I'll be okay. I just want to go home. I want my things. And I can't get my door fixed unless someone is there."
"I will drive you home to get whatever you need for tonight. Then, we can stop at the store and get you some things, okay?"
"Nathaniel, I want to go home. I don't want to stay here. We all agreed to one night, not two."
"Well, that was before you had another seizure and apparently fell off the bed during it. You now have a very nasty bump, and if you won't go to the doctor, then you will stay here so I can monitor you for a little while. After that, you need to call whoever you need to and tell them you are not coming in tonight."
"Nathaniel, I," Dominique started before I cut her off.
"No, Dominique. I am not going to argue with you on this," I said as I looked into her eyes.
Dominique sighed and looked for her phone. I found it under the bed and handed it to her. I listened to her conversation with Melissa and then saw her texting Tim. He texted her back, and they began a small conversation. When she laid back on the bed, I saw the whole conversation. She had been trying to leave my house altogether. Of course, nothing was here for her, but she didn't need to leave altogether. And, of course, seeing Tim tell her that he loved her also made me angry.