muttered, whose walk seemed to have gained on energy.
“Yeah, like rotting
stuff in the fridge from a month ago. Then again, he could have a freezer.”
Seth fantasized about some hot roasted potatoes and tea.
“Or cans,” added Dom. He
put his hand on the bike seat again, which, Seth supposed, meant he wasn’t
angry anymore. Seth barely contained the need to put his hand over Dom’s.
“Or pasta, or Rice
Puffs… I’m so fucking hungry. I didn’t even get to eat much of that lunch I
made.”
“Yeah, those freeloaders
ate it all,” Domenico said, clearly angry someone munched on food that was
supposed to be his.
“Didn’t you eat like
four of those lemon tarts?” Seth couldn’t help a smile when a large log cabin
emerged on the background of a starry sky.
“Yeah, but they didn’t
deserve any of it. They wouldn’t know a lobster from a scallop.”
Seth lit the headlight
of his bike to get a better view of the house. It didn’t look as luxurious as
he had first thought, but with a small porch at the front and solid looking doors,
it was decent enough. Not some dirty neglected shack. “Let’s get inside and
I’ll make you something nice if there’s anything to cook with.”
“Anybody here?” called
Domenico, even though there was no car around. “Better safe than sorry,” he
added.
“I suppose. Don’t wanna
have some redneck point a gun at me. ‘Get off my property!’” Seth did his best
imitation of a Southern accent.
“That’s racist,” Dom said,
walking on toward the house, as if he were the most politically correct person
in the world.
Seth groaned. “Said the
person who once did an impression of a cowboy for my amusement, using his best Southern accent.”
“I must be a horrible
person.” Domenico got on the porch and kneeled down by the door, his fingers
tracing the lock in the light from the lighter.
“You are. You can also
pick locks.” Seth parked his bike and cocked his head to the side. Would that
knowledge be enough to trigger Dom’s memory?
Domenico looked back at
him, his eyes sharp as ever as he dropped the purple balaclava to the floor. “You
have anything sharp and thin on you?”
Seth gave it some
thought and looked in the medical stuff he put in his suitcase. “This? He came
up closer and handed Dom a big safety pin.
Domenico nodded and
after taking a few other items off Seth, he approached the lock like it were a
platform game. His hair shone in the moonlight as if it had been treated by
some magic potion, not Peter’s conditioner. Seth wanted to pet it.
But until Dom actually
showed traces of potential interest, Seth wouldn’t push his lust at him. He
could only imagine the trauma of losing personal memories, so he didn’t want to
make things worse for Dom. And there it was, the click in the lock and Dom’s
victorious grin.
“Please, come into my
humble dwelling,” Domenico said, pushing open the door.
Seth took a big inhale
of Dom’s scent before heading inside. It was like entering a refrigerator,
though the lack of wind was relief enough for no one to complain. Only the
scent was different. Old wood mixed with some herbs and a pinch of mold.
Domenico used the
lighter, casting a weak yellow glow all over the room. It was a decent size,
with wooden planks on the walls and a fireplace with an old sofa and huge
rugged-looking chairs in front of it. To the left was a simple kitchenette with
lots of storage space, and ahead Dom could see a short corridor leading to a
room with a bed.
“Just what we needed,”
he said, turning to look at Seth. With the way his eyes burned in the light,
the ugly, swollen scar meant nothing.
“I’ll look for some
candles, so you can get the fire going, and I’ll get us some food. There must
be something here.” Seth smiled at Dom and shut the door behind them. If no one
busted them here, they could stay and get Dom into better shape before heading
out south. Seth would have some time to find gas, and work
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