The Dog, The Baby and The Criminal

Chapter 15

Evangeline

I couldn't recall how long I'd sat there watching Nathaniel sleep, holding him to me. I'd felt oddly comfortable, content even. It was strange though, how I'd been sat there for so long, but no one had come to check up on Nathaniel, even when he was crying.

No wonder someone managed to kidnap him.

The door creaked open behind me, and light shined in to the otherwise dark room, it was almost morning outside but I had kept the curtains drawn over the windows to let Nathaniel sleep some more. I shot up from the rocking chair as gently as I could without waking Nathaniel, turning around to see Dominic standing in the doorway, looking at me with an odd look on his face.

"I-I didn't mean to intrude I heard him crying and-" I started rambling.

"It's alright Evangeline, I don't mind" he said softly, and I released a breath I didn't know I was holding, grateful he wasn't mad. However, I was still confused.

"Where were you?" I asked, he looked at me confused so I continued, "I mean I heard him crying hours ago and no one came" I explained.

"Oh", it was my turn to look confused, oh?.

"I was about to come here when I'd seen you come in on the baby cam, you looked upset, I was going to come down but then when you picked him up, he settled really quickly and you looked a little less upset, I figured you could use each other" he admitted, rubbing his neck sheepishly. I smiled slightly, truly grateful he had given me those few hours with Nathaniel. I felt saner for it.

"Thank you" I told him, truly thankful.

He sent me a dazzling smile, "You're very welcome, Evangeline".

Before any of us could say anything else, Nathaniel let out a small cry that had me wanting to awe at him, he yawned before opening his eyes, staring at me as he clung onto a few strands of my hair. He was adorable.

After a few moments he started to become unsettled, crying a little.

"You hungry, baby?" I cooed to him. "Let's get you changed and fed" I whispered, kissing his forehead, completely forgetting where I was and who I was with. I looked up, eyes wide as I remembered.

"Do you mind? I understand if you don't it's just that-" I started to ramble again.

"Not at all, I'll make a bottle while you change him, nappies are in that drawer, baby grows and vests in that one" he pointed out before turning and heading out.

I laid the sweet little boy on his changing mat while I grabbed a fresh nappy and clothes for him. I changed him quickly because he started to cry loudly when I did, clearly not liking having his nappy changed, before I dressed him in a white vest and white baby grow, putting a woolly cardigan over the top, fearing he'd be too cold.

Once that was done, I picked him back up and headed out of the room, having no idea where I was going but hoping I'd find Dominic. After five minutes of aimlessly looking with no luck, Nathaniel started to cry loudly. Luckily, I found a woman a long the way, I think she was a maid and asked her if she knew where Dominic would be. She pointed me in the right direction, and it wasn't long before I found him, sighing in relief as I seen him shaking the bottle in his hand. I walked over to him, as he held his arms out for his son and passed Nathaniel to him, watching in awe as he settled straight away as soon as the bottle in his mouth, not even realising I was staring until Dominic looked up at me, smiling again.

"Are you hungry?" he asked, I nodded not really paying attention. He smiled at me again while I just stared.

"I'll cook us something once I've finished feeding him" nodding his head to Nathaniel, "I want to talk to you about something" he said, finally catching my full attention.

"About what?" I asked.

"I'll tell you over breakfast, grab a coffee the pots fresh" he said nonchalantly, it frustrated me slightly, but I didn't say anything.

I poured myself a coffee and watched as Dominic fed his son, none of us saying a word, falling into a comfortable silence.

Once Dominic had fed and burped Nathaniel, he put him in his bouncer and turned to me, and if I guessed right I'd say that he's nervous. I eyed him suspiciously as he stared at me, he opened his mouth to speak a few times but he never did.

"Would you like pancakes? I'm in the mood for pancakes" I raised my eyebrow at him before shrugging and going back to my coffee.

Dominic got out everything he needed to make the pancakes and started to cook them as I took a seat at the island in the middle of the kitchen. Dominic kept looking at me, every couple of seconds he would turn around, see that I was looking and then turn back around, as if he was a child being caught doing something naughty, it was hard to contain my laughter. If anyone walked in they'd think we'd gone insane.

It wasn't long before Dominic was putting a plate of pancakes in front of me, covered in maple syrup. Just the way I liked them.

Dominic sat down on the opposite side of the island after checking on Nathaniel he was sucking on his pacifier with a small rattle in his hand. I attempted to dig into my pancakes, taking a bite that tasted absolutely delicious, I almost moaned but stopped myself when I noticed Dominic staring at me, his pancakes untouched.

"What is it?" I asked, frustrated at his strange behaviour.

"I have a question to ask you" he said.

"What?" I asked again.

"Marry me" he said looking at me intensely as I dropped my fork, listening to it clatter off the floor. I stared at him with my jaw dropped, eyes wide.

"Marry you?!"

"Yes" he said, as if it was the simplest thing in the world.

"You're joking, right?" I asked, praying that he was.

"Why would I be joking?" he asked eerily calm, his eyes narrowing.

"You barely know me!" I exclaimed.

"I'll get to know you" he shrugged. I stumbled over words not knowing what to say.

"Dominic, four days ago you had me locked in a cold room and tied to a chair while you interrogated me about something I didn't do, hit me for something I didn't do" I started, he looked down into his lap almost as if he was embarrassed with his actions, "Then not even a full day ago your men beat my dog so badly that he died" I felt my eyes well with tears as I thought about Milo, but I quickly shook them away. He looked up at me and I leaned forward over the counter slightly. "Why on Earth would you think I'd marry you?".

"Nathaniel needs a mother." As if that explained anything.

"So?" I said my eyes narrowing at him again.

"Well, you're great with him and he likes you, why wouldn't you want to be his mother? You lost your chance at being a mother when your child died, here's your second chance" he said, trying to manipulate me. I stood up pushing my stool back harshly.

"I'm not going to marry you, ever." I said lowly. "Don't EVER try to use my grief and son to try to manipulate me, it won't work."

He tried to speak again, I didn't let him.

"Just when I think that maybe you're not that bad, that maybe you were just worried about your son and lashed out in the basement, you do something that makes me hate you even more. Your son is the sweetest little baby I have ever met in my life but I will NEVER let you use him, or my dead son to guilt trip me into something I don't want, and will never want" he didn't say anything. "For God's sake Dominic what is wrong with you?!" I yelled.

I didn't even care to listen to what he had to say as I turned on my heel, storming out of the room in anger.

I could hear Nathaniel start to cry as soon as I left the room, and I felt guilty for yelling but I wouldn't go back in there, his father was there to comfort him. His crazy, psychotic, insane father.