The nightmare before us - part 1/2
Title: The nightmare before us - part 1/2
Author name: mistake_arrest aka A
Beta: The always glorious easilyglorious <3
Prompt: #6
Rating: R-ish
Pairing: Belldom, Dom/OC
Summary: (beginning from the original prompt) Matt and Dom are dating. Dom's a shy, young man that lacks self-confidence because his last relationships all ended in his partners leaving him for one reason or another. Matt's working really hard to make Dom trust him and finally, finally, Dom asks him to move in together.
A couple of days before them moving in Dom calls Matt to an abandoned building with a strange excuse. And that's when things start going horribly wrong...
Disclaimer: I don't own Matt or Dom and none of this really happened, surprisingly.
Warnings: Creepy behaviour, a bit of gore and violence.
Notes: I hope the POV thing is not too confusing to anyone. In any case, I hope you enjoy! It was fun to write and I've never taken part in anything like this horror fest before, thanks for making it possible! Thank you to my amazing beta and also big thanks to the person who posted the original prompt :) <3
DOM:
"Hey, darling, I'm home!" I say when I enter my apartment, the smell of his late morning breakfast drifting to my nose. Eggs and bacon, I recognise, a smile spreading out on my face. His favourite.
I hear a faint, muffled grunt coming from my bedroom and it makes my heart swell a little. It's his morning greeting to me, and I know I should feel lucky to even get one at all. I glance at the watch around my left wrist - 11 in the morning. He really isn't a morning person but today it looks like he has gone through some extra effort to make sure he is awake when I get home from work.
I walk through my tiny kitchen and pour some coffee into a mug. It's still steaming hot and the smell mixes deliciously with the one of his breakfast. I follow the smell and enter my bedroom to find a messy pile of pillows and blankets in my bed. I have to bite my lip - somewhere in the middle there's a lump that belongs to me. It's him.
You're probably wondering who he is, aren't you?
He's Matt. My Matt. My boyfriend, my best friend. Someone who has become my everything so quickly that it's almost scary. He's the one who picked me up and fixed me after I found out all those months ago - through a letter, out of all the possible means - that Greg had been sleeping with another bloke. He's the one who comforts me and tells me it's okay to be afraid. He's the guy who makes me laugh harder than anyone else, until I'm rolling on the floor in an endless fit of laughter gasping for breath. He takes my breath away with his bright blue eyes and infectious smile and his tiny body feels so right with my arms around it.
In fact, I don't think anyone has ever made me feel like this. I know it's a daring thing to say only eight months into a relationship, but sue me because that's really how I feel.
"Hnngh," I hear and snap back to reality. The pillows and blankets move and first I see the spikey, raven black hair, then his sleepy, squinting eyes. "Dmm-hmm.”
I have to bite back the laugh that is bubbling in the pit of my stomach. He’s so cute it almost hurts. How did I get so lucky? Maybe all my bad luck in my past life is finally paying off. Matthew’s all I want and I want him to know it. I hurry into the bedroom and sit down beside him, giving him the kiss I hope he desperately wants after being woken up from his after-breakfast nap.
“Good morning, Grumpy. I see you’ve gotten up early today,” I whisper before kissing him again. He’s slowly starting to respond and it delights me to see him like this. Fuzzy and willing. “What have you been up to?”
“Nuffin’ much,” he says sleepily and smiles. He gets up a bit in the bed and rubs his eyes. “I just wanted to be awake when you get home for once. Guess that plan fired up a bit. I was just so tired,” he laughs.
“You need your sleep, silly.” I ruffle his hair and get up. “Anyway, Matt, I wanted to talk to you about something.”
Matthew raises his brows. “Alright. What’s the matter? You sound serious.”
I nod. “You know what? It is serious. Now, don’t worry, it’s not anything bad,” I say reassuringly when I see him look slightly worried. “I hope it’s good. Something we both want.”
“If it’s to snog the life out of you right in this moment, then yes, it’s what I want,” he tries and reaches out for me, cupping my face in his hand.
I shake my head and lightly brush his hand off, smiling apologetically. “Later, alright? I just want to tell you this.”
“Go on, then.”
“Well… You know about my history. You remember how I’ve told you I don’t trust anyone because my trust has been misused too many times. You’ve seen me cry because I thought you’ve been with someone else.” I start to babble now and he tilts his head a bit - I can see he’s listening intently now. “You… you never left me. You listened to all that and all my other troubles and you never even considered - or at least you never told me about it - that you’d leave me. You know, I just walked past this old couple today and they looked so happy and I remember thinking that that’s what I want. I want to be happy with someone and to trust them with all my life and with all my heart and to forget whatever has happened in the past.”
“Yeah?” he manages to ask and I nod vigorously, my throat bobbing from pent up emotion.
“I really want to give this a shot, Matt. Really. I love you so much.”
“I love you too, Dom. You know that.”
I can see Matt’s struggling a bit with what to say back to me, so I continue.
“Do you want to make this a regular thing?” I make a motion with my hand as if showing him my room and his whole presence is like a living question mark.
“I… what?”
“Do you want to… move in with me?”
His jaw drops.
MATT:
I’m trying really hard to let all of this sink in as I sit on the floor of my tiny but half empty apartment. Most of my stuff is packed into several cardboard boxes carelessly left all over the small space. I’m really doing this. Moving together with Dom.
At first I was a bit wary of him. He can be a really nice bloke but sometimes… he changes. It’s like a whole different him. He might get angry out of nothing or get aggressively possessive of me all of a sudden. I’ve even brought it up with him. He claims I’m imagining it but I’m sure of what I see. Anyway, during these months together I’ve fallen in love with him harder than I’ve done with anyone I’ve been with in the past. It has to mean something, right?
I was really surprised when he asked me to move in with him. The previous night we’d had a really bad argument and he’d ended up sleeping on the couch for those few hours he’d had before he had to go to work very early in the morning. Like so many times before, he’d seemed like nothing had happened when he came home from work that day and seemed as affectionate as ever.
I’m dangling my keys in my hand. Only two days and I have to hand them in to my landlord. It unnerves me a little but I think I’m ready. Dom’s the one for me, I’m sure of it. He gives me all I need and he’s my everything. I can’t wait to start this new chapter in my life with him.
As if on cue, my phone rings. It’s him. I smile into the phone as I answer.
“Hey Dom, what’s up?” I ask.
“Nah, not much. Was just thinking of you,” he almost purrs into the phone and it makes me all tingly. I’ve never gotten such devotion and attention from anyone but him. “Wanna come hang out with me tonight? I’ve got something that I’ve wanted to show you for a very long time.”
“Oh? What could that be?” I ask. I know from experience that he is not going to tell me - the man loves surprises.
Dom chuckles. “Not gonna say. You’ll just have to see. It’s going to absolutely kill you, I swear. Can’t fucking wait to show you.”
For a split second I’m not sure if it’s really Dom on the other end because his tone of voice unnerves me a bit, but then I relax. After all, despite everything he’s been through he trusts me, and I really want to trust him too. After all, how bad can it be? The worst he could come up with would be an outrageous new hair cut or something like that. I love his hair just the way it is so I really hope it’s not that. I tell him I can’t wait to see what he has to show and hang up.
DOM:
I’ve just come back from work. We haven’t been apart for long but I already miss him. Only two days before we will officially live under the same roof! The thought is insanely uplifting and I absolutely cannot wait to have him all to myself finally.
I throw my bag on the sofa and walk to the shelf I keep photographs of my family and closest friends on. Matt is there too. I make a mental note to make space for Matt’s photos.
My hand brushes the top drawer below the shelf. A chill runs through me - I know what’s in there. All the letters from my exes, each of them with different reasons but the same end result. I can’t believe I’ve had such bad luck with everyone. First David who had to leave me because his mother died and he had to take care or his ageing father, leaving no time for romance. Then Nate who found Jesus and wanted to dedicate his life to him rather than me. Frank who got a pig for a birthday present and decided to set up an organic farm far away from here, making a relationship impossible. And last but not least Greg, who hurt me more than anyone else before him.
I open the drawer and sigh. It has to be done, I decide and take all of the letters and rip them apart. It feels really purifying in a weird way. I have to do this, to leave my past behind and welcome Matt into my life. He’s nothing like my previous partners. He’s caring and comforting and he really, really seems to like me. I doubt he’d leave me for a pig or even Jesus. And he’s an atheist and allergic to animals anyway.
I wonder what he’s doing tonight. For a second I contemplate inviting him over but he’s probably too busy with packing so I let the thought go as fast as it appeared.
Later in the evening he calls me but I’m too tired and he seems to be in a silly mood so I decide to not ask him to come over and just go to bed.
MATT:
I have no idea where I am. Outside our home town, yes, that’s for sure. Dom was really confused when I called him earlier, it was as if he didn’t have an intention to meet me. After a nap I called him again - this time he was much more cooperative and I managed to get the address of this place. I’m slightly worried about him - I think he works too much. Sometimes after a long day it’s like I don’t know him at all. I really need to talk to him about it before it gets out of hand. You have to value your free time, don’t you?
The trees are making a wheezing, almost howling sound that is making me shiver from more than cold. It’s scary. I’m truly in the middle of nowhere. After I pass the forest Dom mentioned as a landmark, the only building I can see is the one on my right, but it surely can’t be the right one? I quickly check the coordinates from my phone and have to admit that this beaten down building that looks like a very old farm house is indeed where I’m supposed to be going.
My phone beeps.
“Are you going to be here soon?” It’s from Dom.
“Yes, I think. What the fuck have you got planned for me in this place, you weird man, lol”, I type back fast before my fingers get too cold from the icy wind.
“Just come quickly.”
Usually Dom would have replied with a joke or with some kind of a witty comment, so his reply makes me slightly annoyed. I hope I’m not going through all this effort to meet a grumpy boyfriend. Hurrying my steps I approach the house that I hope is the right one. It’s pretty tall, I’d say about three floors, and probably with a cellar too. It’s hard to tell though because the windows are all unevenly placed, making the whole building look slightly unrealistic.
Maybe he bought the house and wants us to move in there? The thought crosses my mind and I would laugh if it wasn’t such an unpleasant idea. I don’t like the house. It looks unwelcoming, it’s probably infested with all kinds of insect and unthinkable animals, and it’s too far away from… well, pretty much everything. Also, even the smell around the house is really strange and off-putting.
“I’m at the door, can I just come in?” I text him with shaky hands. It’s not all from the cold now; I have to admit that being around this place makes me nervous as hell.
I almost jump when I feel the vibration on my hand.
“Yes.”
“Alright, Dom, I’m coming in but this is weird as fuck :D”
There better be sex at the end of this.
He leaves me waiting and I have nothing else to do but kick the ground I’m standing on. If this is his idea of a fun night or a romantic evening, then fine, I’ll let him do it just this once but he’d better not make it a regular thing.
“Welcome,” I hear and the sound of his voice wakes me up from my thoughts.
I rush up the couple of stairs separating us and hug him. Instantly feeling his posture freeze I aim my lips to meet his, seeking for the warmth of his body.
I’m pushed away.
“I have something to show you, Matt,” he says rather coldly and I pout, trying to kiss him one last time and instead of kissing me back he grabs my arm and starts pulling me towards the dark corridor. What the hell is going on?
“Hey, easy there, you could have at least said hello,” I tell him annoyed and try to plant my feet on the ground in half-protest but he just grins at me.
My stomach turns unpleasantly and I’m trying really hard to keep my cool.
“Where are we going, anyway? What’s this place?”
“It’s my hiding place,” he replies and I raise my eyebrows at that. “You’ll see.”
I’m being dragged forward and now I recognise the same smell from before again. It seems to be coming from the cellar.
The whole place looks like no one actually lives there. Spider webs and big masses of dust are everywhere I look. It’s quite dark and the building seems to be illuminated by only a few lit candles.
Dom is really not himself tonight. I can see that. He doesn’t sound like himself and he is certainly not acting like himself. His hand hurts around my arm and for the first time ever I don’t feel like being around him.
“Why are we going into the cellar, Dom?”
He doesn’t say a word; he just looks at me and I can see his grey eyes being darker than ever, with his pupils dilated and an unpleasant glint in the corner of his eyes.
The smell gets worse, and I stumble in the stairs and almost fall on him. It feels like an endless walk and once we’re finally there, or at least I assume we are since I can see multiple shaky lights at the end - I guess they’re candles.
He pulls me forward.
“Now, Matt. I know you have no idea why I asked you to come here tonight.”
“No, I really have no idea,” I breathe as I try to stop myself from gagging. I swear something rotten is at the end or the room we just entered, and I think I can see some of it in the faint light but I cannot figure out what it is. A big lump of something unidentified. Maybe a dead cat? Or… many dead cats? I grimace at the thought.
“Can you keep a secret?” he asks and his face suddenly looks oddly sharp. Maybe it’s the poor lighting, I think and before I can think any further his face is suddenly very close to mine. “Dom has had many lovers before you. Many poor lovers and none of them were even half as good as you.”
“Uff,” I say and squint my eyes. He doesn’t seem like Dom at all. I mean, he looks enough like the Dom that I know, but his behaviour… just no. And why the hell is he talking about himself in third person?
“I’ve kept every single one of them in my heart though,” he continues followed by a little laugh, and his grip on my arm tightens. “But Dom is the one who’s the closest to me. I need to have him all to myself. Get rid of everything that comes between him and me. If you know what I mean.”
I’m being pushed forward and by this time my heart is racing so hard I can feel it in my throat and all around my head. A horrifying realization threatens to take over me but I don’t want to accept it just yet.
“I - you’re going to do what? But you’re… Dom!?” I croak and suddenly I realise what the pile in front of me is.
I know Greg had curly hair and that’s pretty much everything there is left from him that gives it away.
“You see, Matt, I love Dom’s partners as much as he does, but there is something I love even more. It’s Dom himself,” he says and chuckles darkly.
Why is he talking about Dom like he’s not here? He is Dom. What’s happened? Is he in psychosis and doesn’t know who he is or what?
Why are there bodies lying in front of me in the cellar of the house my boyfriend brought me in?
I drop down onto my knees and my stomach lurches again. I empty it onto the cold stone floor rather quietly, Dom’s - or whoever this is - grip on my arm never letting me go.
He yanks me back up once I’m finished and pushes me forward.
“I don’t like it when people get too close to him,” he hisses and spits on my face. I trip on something and fall, landing on something both soft and hard in a lumpy way at the same time.
I look down and realise I’m sitting on a body that must have been there for many, many months. It makes a squelching sound and something gooey spills on the floor. I do not want to take a closer look at what it is.
“Hey! What the fuck is going on?” I shout and the first tear is threatening to fall down my cheek. My body is covered with cold sweat now and I have to bend down again to vomit on the side of what I assume is someone’s head. Luckily for me, it’s too dark to see the details but judging from the smell they aren’t pretty. “Did you do this?” I ask and point at his now very much lifeless and… well, quite rotten, ex-boyfriend.
“Yes, I did,” he proclaims proudly. “And you know what?” he asks and laughs at me, with a laugh that terrifies me to no end. It’s not Dom’s laugh - his laughs at quiet and giggly and this one is loud and daring and I don’t recognise him at all. “You… are next on my list.”
Author name: mistake_arrest aka A
Beta: The always glorious easilyglorious <3
Prompt: #6
Rating: R-ish
Pairing: Belldom, Dom/OC
Summary: (beginning from the original prompt) Matt and Dom are dating. Dom's a shy, young man that lacks self-confidence because his last relationships all ended in his partners leaving him for one reason or another. Matt's working really hard to make Dom trust him and finally, finally, Dom asks him to move in together.
A couple of days before them moving in Dom calls Matt to an abandoned building with a strange excuse. And that's when things start going horribly wrong...
Disclaimer: I don't own Matt or Dom and none of this really happened, surprisingly.
Warnings: Creepy behaviour, a bit of gore and violence.
Notes: I hope the POV thing is not too confusing to anyone. In any case, I hope you enjoy! It was fun to write and I've never taken part in anything like this horror fest before, thanks for making it possible! Thank you to my amazing beta and also big thanks to the person who posted the original prompt :) <3
DOM:
"Hey, darling, I'm home!" I say when I enter my apartment, the smell of his late morning breakfast drifting to my nose. Eggs and bacon, I recognise, a smile spreading out on my face. His favourite.
I hear a faint, muffled grunt coming from my bedroom and it makes my heart swell a little. It's his morning greeting to me, and I know I should feel lucky to even get one at all. I glance at the watch around my left wrist - 11 in the morning. He really isn't a morning person but today it looks like he has gone through some extra effort to make sure he is awake when I get home from work.
I walk through my tiny kitchen and pour some coffee into a mug. It's still steaming hot and the smell mixes deliciously with the one of his breakfast. I follow the smell and enter my bedroom to find a messy pile of pillows and blankets in my bed. I have to bite my lip - somewhere in the middle there's a lump that belongs to me. It's him.
You're probably wondering who he is, aren't you?
He's Matt. My Matt. My boyfriend, my best friend. Someone who has become my everything so quickly that it's almost scary. He's the one who picked me up and fixed me after I found out all those months ago - through a letter, out of all the possible means - that Greg had been sleeping with another bloke. He's the one who comforts me and tells me it's okay to be afraid. He's the guy who makes me laugh harder than anyone else, until I'm rolling on the floor in an endless fit of laughter gasping for breath. He takes my breath away with his bright blue eyes and infectious smile and his tiny body feels so right with my arms around it.
In fact, I don't think anyone has ever made me feel like this. I know it's a daring thing to say only eight months into a relationship, but sue me because that's really how I feel.
"Hnngh," I hear and snap back to reality. The pillows and blankets move and first I see the spikey, raven black hair, then his sleepy, squinting eyes. "Dmm-hmm.”
I have to bite back the laugh that is bubbling in the pit of my stomach. He’s so cute it almost hurts. How did I get so lucky? Maybe all my bad luck in my past life is finally paying off. Matthew’s all I want and I want him to know it. I hurry into the bedroom and sit down beside him, giving him the kiss I hope he desperately wants after being woken up from his after-breakfast nap.
“Good morning, Grumpy. I see you’ve gotten up early today,” I whisper before kissing him again. He’s slowly starting to respond and it delights me to see him like this. Fuzzy and willing. “What have you been up to?”
“Nuffin’ much,” he says sleepily and smiles. He gets up a bit in the bed and rubs his eyes. “I just wanted to be awake when you get home for once. Guess that plan fired up a bit. I was just so tired,” he laughs.
“You need your sleep, silly.” I ruffle his hair and get up. “Anyway, Matt, I wanted to talk to you about something.”
Matthew raises his brows. “Alright. What’s the matter? You sound serious.”
I nod. “You know what? It is serious. Now, don’t worry, it’s not anything bad,” I say reassuringly when I see him look slightly worried. “I hope it’s good. Something we both want.”
“If it’s to snog the life out of you right in this moment, then yes, it’s what I want,” he tries and reaches out for me, cupping my face in his hand.
I shake my head and lightly brush his hand off, smiling apologetically. “Later, alright? I just want to tell you this.”
“Go on, then.”
“Well… You know about my history. You remember how I’ve told you I don’t trust anyone because my trust has been misused too many times. You’ve seen me cry because I thought you’ve been with someone else.” I start to babble now and he tilts his head a bit - I can see he’s listening intently now. “You… you never left me. You listened to all that and all my other troubles and you never even considered - or at least you never told me about it - that you’d leave me. You know, I just walked past this old couple today and they looked so happy and I remember thinking that that’s what I want. I want to be happy with someone and to trust them with all my life and with all my heart and to forget whatever has happened in the past.”
“Yeah?” he manages to ask and I nod vigorously, my throat bobbing from pent up emotion.
“I really want to give this a shot, Matt. Really. I love you so much.”
“I love you too, Dom. You know that.”
I can see Matt’s struggling a bit with what to say back to me, so I continue.
“Do you want to make this a regular thing?” I make a motion with my hand as if showing him my room and his whole presence is like a living question mark.
“I… what?”
“Do you want to… move in with me?”
His jaw drops.
MATT:
I’m trying really hard to let all of this sink in as I sit on the floor of my tiny but half empty apartment. Most of my stuff is packed into several cardboard boxes carelessly left all over the small space. I’m really doing this. Moving together with Dom.
At first I was a bit wary of him. He can be a really nice bloke but sometimes… he changes. It’s like a whole different him. He might get angry out of nothing or get aggressively possessive of me all of a sudden. I’ve even brought it up with him. He claims I’m imagining it but I’m sure of what I see. Anyway, during these months together I’ve fallen in love with him harder than I’ve done with anyone I’ve been with in the past. It has to mean something, right?
I was really surprised when he asked me to move in with him. The previous night we’d had a really bad argument and he’d ended up sleeping on the couch for those few hours he’d had before he had to go to work very early in the morning. Like so many times before, he’d seemed like nothing had happened when he came home from work that day and seemed as affectionate as ever.
I’m dangling my keys in my hand. Only two days and I have to hand them in to my landlord. It unnerves me a little but I think I’m ready. Dom’s the one for me, I’m sure of it. He gives me all I need and he’s my everything. I can’t wait to start this new chapter in my life with him.
As if on cue, my phone rings. It’s him. I smile into the phone as I answer.
“Hey Dom, what’s up?” I ask.
“Nah, not much. Was just thinking of you,” he almost purrs into the phone and it makes me all tingly. I’ve never gotten such devotion and attention from anyone but him. “Wanna come hang out with me tonight? I’ve got something that I’ve wanted to show you for a very long time.”
“Oh? What could that be?” I ask. I know from experience that he is not going to tell me - the man loves surprises.
Dom chuckles. “Not gonna say. You’ll just have to see. It’s going to absolutely kill you, I swear. Can’t fucking wait to show you.”
For a split second I’m not sure if it’s really Dom on the other end because his tone of voice unnerves me a bit, but then I relax. After all, despite everything he’s been through he trusts me, and I really want to trust him too. After all, how bad can it be? The worst he could come up with would be an outrageous new hair cut or something like that. I love his hair just the way it is so I really hope it’s not that. I tell him I can’t wait to see what he has to show and hang up.
DOM:
I’ve just come back from work. We haven’t been apart for long but I already miss him. Only two days before we will officially live under the same roof! The thought is insanely uplifting and I absolutely cannot wait to have him all to myself finally.
I throw my bag on the sofa and walk to the shelf I keep photographs of my family and closest friends on. Matt is there too. I make a mental note to make space for Matt’s photos.
My hand brushes the top drawer below the shelf. A chill runs through me - I know what’s in there. All the letters from my exes, each of them with different reasons but the same end result. I can’t believe I’ve had such bad luck with everyone. First David who had to leave me because his mother died and he had to take care or his ageing father, leaving no time for romance. Then Nate who found Jesus and wanted to dedicate his life to him rather than me. Frank who got a pig for a birthday present and decided to set up an organic farm far away from here, making a relationship impossible. And last but not least Greg, who hurt me more than anyone else before him.
I open the drawer and sigh. It has to be done, I decide and take all of the letters and rip them apart. It feels really purifying in a weird way. I have to do this, to leave my past behind and welcome Matt into my life. He’s nothing like my previous partners. He’s caring and comforting and he really, really seems to like me. I doubt he’d leave me for a pig or even Jesus. And he’s an atheist and allergic to animals anyway.
I wonder what he’s doing tonight. For a second I contemplate inviting him over but he’s probably too busy with packing so I let the thought go as fast as it appeared.
Later in the evening he calls me but I’m too tired and he seems to be in a silly mood so I decide to not ask him to come over and just go to bed.
MATT:
I have no idea where I am. Outside our home town, yes, that’s for sure. Dom was really confused when I called him earlier, it was as if he didn’t have an intention to meet me. After a nap I called him again - this time he was much more cooperative and I managed to get the address of this place. I’m slightly worried about him - I think he works too much. Sometimes after a long day it’s like I don’t know him at all. I really need to talk to him about it before it gets out of hand. You have to value your free time, don’t you?
The trees are making a wheezing, almost howling sound that is making me shiver from more than cold. It’s scary. I’m truly in the middle of nowhere. After I pass the forest Dom mentioned as a landmark, the only building I can see is the one on my right, but it surely can’t be the right one? I quickly check the coordinates from my phone and have to admit that this beaten down building that looks like a very old farm house is indeed where I’m supposed to be going.
My phone beeps.
“Are you going to be here soon?” It’s from Dom.
“Yes, I think. What the fuck have you got planned for me in this place, you weird man, lol”, I type back fast before my fingers get too cold from the icy wind.
“Just come quickly.”
Usually Dom would have replied with a joke or with some kind of a witty comment, so his reply makes me slightly annoyed. I hope I’m not going through all this effort to meet a grumpy boyfriend. Hurrying my steps I approach the house that I hope is the right one. It’s pretty tall, I’d say about three floors, and probably with a cellar too. It’s hard to tell though because the windows are all unevenly placed, making the whole building look slightly unrealistic.
Maybe he bought the house and wants us to move in there? The thought crosses my mind and I would laugh if it wasn’t such an unpleasant idea. I don’t like the house. It looks unwelcoming, it’s probably infested with all kinds of insect and unthinkable animals, and it’s too far away from… well, pretty much everything. Also, even the smell around the house is really strange and off-putting.
“I’m at the door, can I just come in?” I text him with shaky hands. It’s not all from the cold now; I have to admit that being around this place makes me nervous as hell.
I almost jump when I feel the vibration on my hand.
“Yes.”
“Alright, Dom, I’m coming in but this is weird as fuck :D”
There better be sex at the end of this.
He leaves me waiting and I have nothing else to do but kick the ground I’m standing on. If this is his idea of a fun night or a romantic evening, then fine, I’ll let him do it just this once but he’d better not make it a regular thing.
“Welcome,” I hear and the sound of his voice wakes me up from my thoughts.
I rush up the couple of stairs separating us and hug him. Instantly feeling his posture freeze I aim my lips to meet his, seeking for the warmth of his body.
I’m pushed away.
“I have something to show you, Matt,” he says rather coldly and I pout, trying to kiss him one last time and instead of kissing me back he grabs my arm and starts pulling me towards the dark corridor. What the hell is going on?
“Hey, easy there, you could have at least said hello,” I tell him annoyed and try to plant my feet on the ground in half-protest but he just grins at me.
My stomach turns unpleasantly and I’m trying really hard to keep my cool.
“Where are we going, anyway? What’s this place?”
“It’s my hiding place,” he replies and I raise my eyebrows at that. “You’ll see.”
I’m being dragged forward and now I recognise the same smell from before again. It seems to be coming from the cellar.
The whole place looks like no one actually lives there. Spider webs and big masses of dust are everywhere I look. It’s quite dark and the building seems to be illuminated by only a few lit candles.
Dom is really not himself tonight. I can see that. He doesn’t sound like himself and he is certainly not acting like himself. His hand hurts around my arm and for the first time ever I don’t feel like being around him.
“Why are we going into the cellar, Dom?”
He doesn’t say a word; he just looks at me and I can see his grey eyes being darker than ever, with his pupils dilated and an unpleasant glint in the corner of his eyes.
The smell gets worse, and I stumble in the stairs and almost fall on him. It feels like an endless walk and once we’re finally there, or at least I assume we are since I can see multiple shaky lights at the end - I guess they’re candles.
He pulls me forward.
“Now, Matt. I know you have no idea why I asked you to come here tonight.”
“No, I really have no idea,” I breathe as I try to stop myself from gagging. I swear something rotten is at the end or the room we just entered, and I think I can see some of it in the faint light but I cannot figure out what it is. A big lump of something unidentified. Maybe a dead cat? Or… many dead cats? I grimace at the thought.
“Can you keep a secret?” he asks and his face suddenly looks oddly sharp. Maybe it’s the poor lighting, I think and before I can think any further his face is suddenly very close to mine. “Dom has had many lovers before you. Many poor lovers and none of them were even half as good as you.”
“Uff,” I say and squint my eyes. He doesn’t seem like Dom at all. I mean, he looks enough like the Dom that I know, but his behaviour… just no. And why the hell is he talking about himself in third person?
“I’ve kept every single one of them in my heart though,” he continues followed by a little laugh, and his grip on my arm tightens. “But Dom is the one who’s the closest to me. I need to have him all to myself. Get rid of everything that comes between him and me. If you know what I mean.”
I’m being pushed forward and by this time my heart is racing so hard I can feel it in my throat and all around my head. A horrifying realization threatens to take over me but I don’t want to accept it just yet.
“I - you’re going to do what? But you’re… Dom!?” I croak and suddenly I realise what the pile in front of me is.
I know Greg had curly hair and that’s pretty much everything there is left from him that gives it away.
“You see, Matt, I love Dom’s partners as much as he does, but there is something I love even more. It’s Dom himself,” he says and chuckles darkly.
Why is he talking about Dom like he’s not here? He is Dom. What’s happened? Is he in psychosis and doesn’t know who he is or what?
Why are there bodies lying in front of me in the cellar of the house my boyfriend brought me in?
I drop down onto my knees and my stomach lurches again. I empty it onto the cold stone floor rather quietly, Dom’s - or whoever this is - grip on my arm never letting me go.
He yanks me back up once I’m finished and pushes me forward.
“I don’t like it when people get too close to him,” he hisses and spits on my face. I trip on something and fall, landing on something both soft and hard in a lumpy way at the same time.
I look down and realise I’m sitting on a body that must have been there for many, many months. It makes a squelching sound and something gooey spills on the floor. I do not want to take a closer look at what it is.
“Hey! What the fuck is going on?” I shout and the first tear is threatening to fall down my cheek. My body is covered with cold sweat now and I have to bend down again to vomit on the side of what I assume is someone’s head. Luckily for me, it’s too dark to see the details but judging from the smell they aren’t pretty. “Did you do this?” I ask and point at his now very much lifeless and… well, quite rotten, ex-boyfriend.
“Yes, I did,” he proclaims proudly. “And you know what?” he asks and laughs at me, with a laugh that terrifies me to no end. It’s not Dom’s laugh - his laughs at quiet and giggly and this one is loud and daring and I don’t recognise him at all. “You… are next on my list.”