Chapter 6
Brian got out of the Porsche. He pushed his seat up to allow a now awake Cody to slip out of the car and run up to the house.
Dom's headlights lit up its frame as it stopped next to him. Rome had pulled his own car into the garage and the wooden doors were automatically shutting behind it.
Dom stepped out of his Charger and glanced over the house. It was a mixture of wood and stone. A large deck sat above the four car garage. A zig zag stone staircase led to the front door and Dom could see a balcony in the shaded backyard.
The outdoor lights emitted a soft orange glow that complimented the property. Although he couldn't see them, the sounds of two dogs barked in the backyard.
"Hope you don't mind pets. Rome's got a bull terrier, Cody has a pit bull, and Alex has a poly-dactyl cat." Brian told him as they walked up to the house.
"Poly-dactyl?" Dom asked.
"Extra digits dude." Rome told him.
"We converted the attic and upstairs den into three bedrooms and Rome has the remodeled basement. We've got extra bedrooms you guys can use." Brian unlocked the front door.
A light automatically came on in the living room. The living room was bathed in tans, browns, and earth tones. A brick/stone fireplace shelf mix ran the entire length of the back wall. In a large nook above it was a large flat screen TV. There were numerous game electronics scattered across the floor, the game Crash Bandicoot resting on a game cube. There were leather sofas and other soft furniture as well.
Cody carried his bag into the kitchen where Dom could see rustic cabinets, hardwood floors, and cookware hanging from ceiling beams above the island. The bag was placed on a dark wooden chair at the island before the teen trudged up a back staircase.
"Here they come!" a yell from Roman came from a long hallway that went passed the main carpeted staircase and a few open and closed doors.
Loud barks sailed around them as two dogs appeared.
One was a pure white bull terrier with one blue eye and one brown. He had a green collar and tags that jingled together. He had a pink scar running between his eyes up to his left ear. The other was a merle and white colored pit bull. He was big but covered in scars. His legs bore the remains of past wounds. He wore an orange collar.
"Dom, meet Timone and Pumba." Brian introduced the terrier and pit respectively. The dogs circled Dom and sniffed him. They were both rescues from the local animal shelter. They had both been fighting dogs, more specifically bait dogs.
They were surprisingly gentle animals. Pumba had been through classes and was now a therapy dog for Cody. He wore a vest when they went places but said vest was thrown haphazardly over a couch.
Timone eventually saw nothing wrong with or interesting with Dom and walked off. Pumba stared at Dom and snorted.
Brian reached down and scrubbed the dog between the ears. Pumba snorted and licked his mouth in comfort.
"Don't worry if he snorts. He was shot in the head during a drug raid with a shotgun. They did reconstructive surgery on his sinuses so now he makes more noises when he breathes." Brian informed him.
(This really happened at the animal shelter I worked at. The pit bull's name was Medley)
Pumba walked away to find his owner.
"So you've seen the living room and the kitchen so I might as well show you the guest rooms." Brian led the older man down the hall to the three free rooms.
The first was the smallest. There was a queen size bed against the far wall with a bookshelf as the head board. An oak dresser was across the room and in the corner closest to the window was an entertainment center with a TV.
The second room was pretty close to the first except the layout was different with where things were placed. But Dom wanted the last room. It was the biggest with more space. The window on the far wall was covered in gray sleek curtains.
"The animals wander into rooms so we try to keep some of the colors close to their fur color." Brian mentioned.
As if on cue, from behind the cedar dresser next to the window, something scurried out.
Dom observed. It was a cat, a Maine Coon. It's hair was long, grey and white in color. Its ears were perked straight up.
Dom remembered Roman saying something about extra digits and sure enough, there were extra toes on its feet.
"Joplin won't hurt you. Unless you go near her owner. Then she'll take you down." Cody said, coming around the corner and picking Joplin up. The cat mewed and bumped her head against his chin.
Dom smiled and reached out and lightly scratched Joplin behind the ears. Mia had a cat when they were younger. It was never a fan of him though and would always scratch him whenever he would walk into a room. But then the cat had gotten out. Dom had gone out and searched high and low for the animal, knowing his sister loved it. She was at the age where it seemed like the end of the world. They had never found the cat which caused Dom to spend practically a month cheering Mia up.
Dom dropped his suddenly heavy bag on the bed. Unlike Leon and Vince, he hadn't taken time to unpack anything from his roughed up overly used bag. Wherever they had gone, Dom always kept his bag in the car when he wasn't at his current residence. Force of habit.
"I'll take this room. My lackeys can fight over the other two." he joked for the sake of Cody who let out a childish giggle.
The boy let Joplin jump out of his arms before he left the room.
"Start getting ready for bed Cody!" Brian yelled. He looked at Dom.
"You get used to the crazy after a while." he reassured.
As they returned to the living room, Brian collapsed on a couch and leaned his head back. The time was nearing ten, a time when Cody was usually already in bed. The day had already bee crazy so they had gotten home later than most days.
"You're more than welcome to watch TV until Leon and Vince get here. Tej will probably be back soon." Brian informed the tall racer.
Rome hadn't returned from his basement abode. Brian could see that the basement door was shut and no light shone underneath. It was safe to say the man was in bed.
A stampede came flying down the stairs and both men turned to see Timone, Pumba, and Cody clomping back to the first floor.
"Let Timone down with his pops." Brian hollered.
Timone did his happy dance and stared at both Cody and the basement door. He pushed the door open all the way and trotted down the stairs in a series of toenail clicks.
A rumble outside alerted them to a vehicle pulling up outside. It didn't pull into the driveway.
"Tej usually pulls up by the garage." Brian said, leaning his head back.
"It's probably Vince or Leon. They aren't always good with directions." Dom mentioned lightly.
They were cut off by the sound of footsteps on the porch and the turn of the front door handle. Brian looked up as the door opened and instantly his anxiety went up.
Alex O'Connor stood frozen in the doorway staring at them.
TBC
Comments
Post a Comment