"I can't believe you did this to me! How could you cheat on me?"
"I didn't cheat on you, you're just paranoid!"
Dominick groggily reaches for his pillow, trying to block out the noise of the couple's argument. Their voices grow louder and more intense. Dominick can't help but feel a twinge of envy for their passion, no matter how toxic. He lies in bed listening to the husband's accusations of infidelity and the wife's denials. He can hear the other neighbors growing increasingly irritated, some of them cursing and pounding on the wall.
Over the din, Dominick muses dejectedly, "Why can't I have that kind of passion in my life? All I have is a dead-end job and a cheap apartment. I used to have everything, love and a higher goal, and now I'm just trying to survive in this mortal world. The only thing that keeps me going is the hope of seeing Aiden again, but even that seems like a distant dream.
The argument continues, the husband's voice getting angrier and angrier, "You're a liar! I know you've been seeing someone else behind my back!" The wife's voice becomes more desperate, "I swear I didn't cheat on you, please believe me!" Suddenly, the argument reaches a climax and the couple's voices become indistinguishable as they both scream at the top of their lungs. Dominick gives up trying to sleep and gets out of bed, resigned to another day of the same routine.
The young man gets dressed and makes himself a cup of coffee, trying to shake off the remnants of sleep. As he sits at the small kitchen table sipping his coffee, he can still hear the couple arguing in the background. Suddenly, the argument stops and Dominick hears the muffled apologies and unmistakable moans. He can't help but roll his eyes at the couple's predictable makeup routine. He finishes his coffee and prepares to leave for work.
Dominick exits his small apartment. The building is run down, with peeling paint and broken windows. The stairwell smells of mold and the elevator is out of order. He walks out of the building and looks around dejectedly. The streets are lined with dilapidated buildings, and the sidewalks are littered with garbage. Walls and fences are covered in graffiti.
Dominick sees a group of people huddled on a corner, talking in hushed tones and casting furtive glances in his direction. The young man walks over to his old bicycle. As he approaches, he sees bird droppings on the handlebars. Domimick looks up and saw a pair of cheeky pigeons sitting on the ledge above him, looking at him as if assessing whether or not he would dare do anything in response.
Man tells himself to calm down: "Breathe, Dominick. These are just God's creatures, God made them to beautify our world..." But he can't stand it, the pigeons are too much for him. Oh, to hell! Dominick picks up a pebble and throws it directly at the pigeons, who scatter in horror.
He looks up. Today promises to be surprisingly sunny and clear - the morning sky is perfectly azure. This ideal azure blue makes his heart ache.
Dominick forces himself to lower his gaze and return to the reality.
The young man gets on his creaking bicycle and starts pedaling, trying to shake off the feeling of unease. He can't help but feel that his life is a never-ending cycle of struggle and hardship, from the constant noise of the couple below, to the dirty streets, to the insolent pigeons. But he knows he must move forward, find a way to reconnect with his beloved and reclaim the life that was taken from him.
***
Dominick arrives at the fast-food chain where he works and parks his bicycle outside. He takes a deep breath and braces himself for another day at a dead-end job.
The fast-food restaurant is a small, run-down building. The smell of frying oil and burgers wafts from the open doors.
Dominick enters the restaurant and goes to the back to change into his idiotic uniform. The uniform is made of cheap polyester and is at least two sizes too big for him. The company mascot was a dodo. The cap was made in the shape of a dodo's head, the visor curved like a beak. The young man can't help but feel embarrassed.
He walks into the dining room and takes his place behind the cash register. His co-worker, a young woman named Karen with brown hair in a ponytail, greets him with a friendly smile.
"Hey Dominick, how's it going?" she asks.
Karen has a friendly smile and a bubbly personality.
"It's going," Dominick replies, trying to keep his tone neutral.
"Rough morning?" Karen asks, noting his less than enthusiastic demeanor.
"Just the usual," Dominick says, thinking of the couple's argument and the pigeons.
"Yeah, I know what you mean. My roommates were up all night partying, I barely got any sleep," Karen says, rolling her eyes.
***
The rest of the day passes in a blur of customers and fast food. The local customers are mostly rude and impatient, but Karen's friendly chatter and jokes make the shift bearable.
After a long day at work, Dominick finally clocks out and rides home on his squeaky bicycle. He's tired and hungry, but he doesn't have the energy to cook a proper meal. The young man decides to buy some snacks for dinner.
He arrives at the grocery store. The store is dimly lit, and the smell of stale cigarettes and cheap perfume hangs in the air. Dominick grabs a bag of chips, a can of soda, and a frozen pizza and goes up to the counter to pay. After paying the cashier, an older man with a tired expression on his face, the young man left the store and got on his bicycle. His food in a plastic bag is hanging from the handlebars.
As Dominick rides through the rundown streets, he can't help but feel a sense of hopelessness. He thinks about his beloved, whose whereabouts he doesn't know, and he can't shake the feeling that he's stuck in a dead-end job and a dead-end life.
Man arrives back at his small apartment feeling exhausted and defeated. He puts his groceries on the kitchen table and notices a pile of bills next to it. He tries to push aside the feelings of hopelessness and despair, knowing that he must pull himself together.
Dominick warms his frozen pizza in the oven and sits on the floor in front of his old laptop, one of the few sources of entertainment in his life. He has opened a video sharing site in search of interesting videos, but nothing catches his interest.
As he eats his pizza, he suddenly sees a commercial for a new sports car. The car is sleek and shiny, with a deep red paint job. The camera cuts to a shot of the guy behind the wheel, a confident grin on his face. Dominick's heart skips a beat as he recognizes the man. He feels like he's been punched in the gut as all the memories and emotions come flooding back. He drops his pizza on the plate, nearly spilling his drink. He couldn't believe he had found Aiden in such an unexpected way.
***
Dominick didn't sleep all night. He found out who the star of the commercial was and gathered all the information he could find about him on the Internet.
As he dug deeper, he discovered that in this world, Aiden is the lead singer of a rock band. He has a huge following and is considered one of the biggest names in the industry. He has a charismatic stage presence and a powerful voice. He has a reputation for being a bit of a bad boy and a ladies' man, but Dominick couldn't help but look past that and remember the Aiden he knew and loved.
The young man was acting like a crazed stalker, and the comparison was entirely justified.
Dominick scrolled through Aiden's social media accounts, devouring every photo and post. He saw pictures of Aiden on stage, performing for thousands of adoring fans. He saw pictures of Aiden hanging out with other celebrities, drinking and partying. And then he saw the pictures that made his blood boil. Aiden was hugging models of both sexes and it was clear they were more than just friends. Dominick squeezed his soda can in anger, feeling betrayed and hurt. The young man knew the Aiden he knew and loved wouldn't be like this, but he couldn't shake the feeling of disappointment.
He slammed his soda can down on the table and said aloud, "I'm going to make him explain every single photo, and if he can't give me a good explanation, I'm going to make him regret it. Dominick knew that despite all the outrageous photos, he still had to find a way to reach out to Aiden, to reconnect with him, and to reclaim the life that had been taken from them.